While there's a lot of Australian influence and activity happening in and around game development, both here and abroad, representation of Australia as a place and cultural-diverse society is still a largely untapped space. Wayward Strand is a game working to change that, one slice of dialogue at a time.

From independent Australian studio, Ghost Pattern, Wayward Strand is a unique videogame that bucks many trends, tropes and expectations that tend to tie to the medium.

Here's a snippet from our review:

Time passes always, regardless of whether you're catching the lift down to the cafeteria for lunch or stopping by Tomi's room to check if the watering can with which she tends to her plants needs refilling. Every character has their scripted schedule for the day and will go about their business accordingly, meaning events will play out across the airship even if Casey is not there to witness them.

As the minutes go by, you'll enter scenes part-way through, leave them before they're resolved, and even miss them entirely. Even though the clock is always ticking, there's no pressure here. Rather, the opposite, and there's a particular joy to be felt in the times when Casey thought she was just minding her own business and suddenly events descend upon her. As one character joked when the room abruptly and unexpectedly filled with people for various reasons, "What is this, Swanston and Bourke?".

Click here for our Wayward Strand review.