The culture of native tribes and ethnic nationalities is the world’s great heritage along with the art in the Louvre Museum or ruins of Greek temples. Preserving old traditions and ancestors’ ways is a tough task in the modern world ruled by technologies and internet culture. Thankfully, there are many people who take this challenge and use all available means to introduce the culture of their nations to the younger generation and to the rest of the world.
Now, games have become a great tool to deliver such themes to the masses and Reclaim! Azhe-giiwewining stands among such projects. At the first glance, it can appear as a common point-and-click adventure, with nothing special but pretty graphics. However, this simple and charming game does more than anyone can imagine by only scrolling through its Steam page.
But what is so special about it and what it has to do with the culture preservation I’ve mentioned? Let’s find out together.
Reclaim! Azhe-giiwewining invites players into the world based on the Ojibwe culture, immersing them into the atmosphere of nature and mystery. The story follows a Miskwaa, an Ojibwe girl from the city, who got swept into the storm of strange events. One day, she walked out of Grandma’s house and got lost in the forest.
However, everything there isn’t as she used to imagine the common calm nature to be. It is alive and has its own consciousness. Plants and animals are willing to communicate, while spirits are ready to help if treated with due respect. Here starts the adventure of the city girl, who has to recall the native beliefs and traditions of her people if she wants to find her way home.
The game features a simple point-and-click gameplay, which is not a flaw. As the game is designed to introduce the culture mainly to the kids and many different groups of people, this simplicity plays in favor of the main goal. Aside from moving and exploring the location, players have to combine items, use them to achieve different goals and solve puzzles to progress through the story.
The main gameplay feature isn’t some ground-breaking new mechanic, but the offering system. The tradition-based action opens new possibilities in both dialogues and actions for Miskwaa, as she gets the grace of the spirits and nature. Treating the spirits with respect can get her new clues or simply more information about local life. Placing a gift for a tree or a bush, she can receive permission to use them for specific tasks.
This mechanic as well as many points of the game design and narrative are tied to the Ojibwe belief that the natural and spiritual worlds are directly intertwined with their origin, survival, and identity. By leaving an offering for a rock, a strange tree, or a body of water, the player learns that the environment is not a passive backdrop but an active participant in the story. The game signals that to succeed, one must acknowledge and honor the forces that rule over the land.
However, aside from deep traditions and history, the game aims to preserve and teach players the basics of the Ojibwe language. Every character, plant or spirit is fully voiced in this beautiful but complicated language. While at first everything feels and sounds unusual, with time the player gets used to the new words and intonation, diving deeper to the world of the ancient culture.
But of course players are not left without proper guidance in a more common language, which is English for now. Subtitles provide great translation and allow you to understand everything clearly. Yet with one small twist. Reclaim! Azhe-giiwewining never stops teaching players, and subtitles serve as another tool for this purpose. While many words have English translations, some of them are still written in Ojibwemowin. This is a common and effective method for learning new languages, as the human brain automatically connects the new word with one that could stand there in their native language. Somewhere close to the middle of the game, many words simply stick to the player, even if they don’t realize it yet.
Though the cultural part is not the only thing the game has among its strong sides. The game features lovely 2D graphics, which seem to be combined with 3D elements as well. The environment is thoughtfully and carefully created to the aesthetics and feel of the Great Lakes region and its nature. Pines, lakes, animals – nothing stands out of place, combining into a single picture along with narrative.
Some characters and their sprites are also stylized into unusual spirit-like art. This is probably another depiction of the Ojibwe traditions through visual presentation, which catches the eye right away. The game certainly has this unusual feeling about it, which grows stronger the longer you play and deeper you explore the realm of spirits.
Lovely characters and their emotional mini-icons during dialogues only amplify the game appeal. Every creature or spirit Miskwaa meets has their own personality, problems and views on the world. From a cautious cat to a friendly wolf, or even shy scared beavers – every character breathes life, leaving no chance for the player to forget them too soon. It’s simply interesting to meet them all and learn more, as the narrative flows lightly, entwined with light jokes and deeper meanings between the lines.
For some reason, for me one of the most memorable dialogues became one with the Princess Pine tree. It starts as a funny joke exchange and Miskwaa telling it her beliefs and attitude towards the trees and nature. But then the Princess Pine brings up a deep thought about humans treating them as decorations, throwing them away like unnecessary trash after Christmas. And if you look at this from the position of an intelligent creature, this act is if not an act of genocide then at least humiliation and violation.
Sadly, even the greatest things in the world are doomed to have flaws, and it would be unfair to ignore them. Despite the game being great in narrative and art aspect, the technical side of it struggles to follow. This likely comes from the fact that the game was created mainly by passionate enthusiasts, who just need some more time to polish the rough sides and make it truly shine.
One of the main issues the game has is its performance. With no FPS cap, the frame rate skyrockets right away, which can create significant load on the system. For the majority of the modern PCs this won’t be a critical flaw, but it still can lower the accessibility. For a game with stylized graphics and 2D art, Reclaim! Azhe-giiwewining appears to be a bit too consuming, yet this is something easily fixed even on the players side through special apps.
The same goes to the VSync option which is crucial for people with older monitors or laptops. The line on the screen during exploration becomes annoying very fast. This is not some complicated option which requires grand investment, but adding it would certainly improve players’ experience and gain their gratitude.
Another disappointment, which can also become a problem if the game is truly meant to be an educational one, is the absence of a proper tutorial. Of course, point-and-click games are mostly intuitive, but some younger or much older players may have difficulties. For example, the item merging system could use a bit more clarity at the start, as well as item usage in general.
As for the rest, the game doesn’t have any critical bugs. The player is more likely to face some minor inconveniences with location transitions or just funny glitches. Personally, I spent a good long minute laughing at the turkey proudly moving in a moonwalk style after gluing new feathers to his butt with a litter.
Reclaim! Azhe-giiwewining is a great example of a game that tends to teach, preserve, and advocate for the culture of the Native people. It shows the world that ancient people believed in and passed the knowledge down to our generations. The game immerses players in an Ojibwe worldview where nature and spirits are deeply respected and makes them question their own relationships with nature.
However, even if the player pick it up for more trivial reasons, like pretty art, a recommendation from a friend, or simply curiosity about an indie title, they will still have a lot of fun. Even an unintended player will walk away with some knowledge about the Ojibwe—their beliefs, their oral traditions, and their ongoing connection to the land. That knowledge becomes a great bonus, turning casual play into a subtle but meaningful learning experience.
