Daedalic have a knack for creating amiable and endearing works. The first game from Daedalic I played was another point-and-click adventure game titled Deponia, which went on to spawn a trilogy of games set in its universe. I enjoyed Deponia for its charming cast of characters, soundtrack, and its beautifully hand-drawn graphics which gave Deponia its signature. Needless to say, I went into The Night of the Rabbit with a certain set of expectations that derived from my experiences with Deponia and came out rather pleased, despite some of the games more critical flaws.
The game follows the adventures of Jerry Hazelnut, a young boy with only two days left of summer vacation. Spending his days outdoors in the forest, Jerry longs to be a renowned magician one day. His dreams have a chance to become reality as an enigmatic rabbit, the Marquis de Hoto, promises Jerry apprenticeship in the art of Treewalking, an ancient and magical tradition used to traverse different worlds to help others in need. Together with the Marquis (and promising Jerry he'll return to his family before dinner), Jerry enters the world of Mousewood, a small town that resides in the woods Jerry played in and is invisible to the ordinary human eye. Now with the the perspective of a mouse, Jerry travels and explores Mousewood and its surroundings, helping out its inhabitants and occasionally traveling to mysterious locations to learn the spells of the Treewalkers. However, it becomes apparent that the Marquis knows of an impending danger not only to Mousewood, but to all the worlds intertwined in the roots of the First Tree which acts as a bridge between worlds the Treewalkers use. Jerry Hazelnut's training is for an ultimate destiny, but the Marquis himself seems to harbor a pivotal secret.
how do the crows just not eat all of them
The Night of the Rabbit's premise clearly draws inspiration from Carroll's Alice in Wonderland while the game's visual style is reminiscent of a Miyazaki film; both sources lends the game its sense of fantastic wonder and charm. The ambience of the environment coupled with a fitting soundtrack effectively commands the tone of the game whether it is a jubilant party or a dark and sinister moment in Jerry's adventures. For older audiences, the game dips itself into issues regarding urban sprawl, environmentalism, and the pastoral genre, but its awkward narrative arc and pacing keeps those themes from being as effectively or fully developed as I hoped. However, such themes are present and while their full discussion is probably outside the scope of a first impression statement (perhaps in a future blog post), they are wrapped in a fairytale delivery that fits the narrative and setting without feeling tacked on. Better communicated themes such as friendship and courage against large odds (the mouse-sized perspective lends itself well) are more readily developed and accessible, important for a younger audience.
the last place i expected to be
Gameplay is what you'd expect from a point-and-click game and is actually well streamlined for simplicity, making the game more accessible to younger players. Some point-and-click titles had a multitude of actions you could perform with an object or character via a wheel of verbs; interactions in The Night of the Rabbit are one-click deals. Now, you might think that a simple interaction model may affect the depth or complexity of the puzzles involved, but the simple interactions aren't a factor in dumbing down puzzles. In Chaos on Deponia, a similar interaction system is involved but the puzzles involved were more creative and just as challenging because the fundamental design was different and there was a variety in its puzzle design. The puzzles in Chaos on Deponia involved more mini-games and self-contained puzzles where rules are more readily contained and consistent whereas the puzzles in The Night of the Rabbit consist mainly of environmental interactions and combining items together. This leads to some rather inconsistent and sometimes illogical solutions to puzzles. There is a hint system in game, but it is far from helpful and only serves as an audio playback feature of what the Marquis said to Jerry.
The Night of the Rabbit's ultimate strength lies in its amazing audiovisual presentation. The game's introductory acts are drawn out and the ending is strangely rushed, but the game's narrative do have interesting twists and turns that did catch me off guard. A fair chunk of the game's universe is largely unexplained and can either be telling of a sequel or can be left to the player's imagination. After all, Jerry and the Marquis are in a day of summer vacation where anything is possible.
i'm willing to accept anything
"but perhaps someone is going to step up?"
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