Care play. 6 May 2021
There s been a recent rise in Afrofuturist stories. Authors such as Nnedi Okorafor, N.K. Jemisin and Rivers Solomon have become wildly popular, and Marvel s Black Panther celebrated an African perspective on science fiction on the big screen. Games are set to follow - Furi by The Game Bakers and Beautiful Desolation by the Brotherhood are two examples of games interested in the culture and visuals of a continent that too often gets overlooked. Similarly, We Are The Caretakers, which entered Steam Early Access on April 21 (and which will also be released for Xbox Series X|S), actually isn t set in Africa, but a whole new world called Shadra, an analogy for real places and events, that focuses on telling a story about poaching and conservation efforts, a hitherto unique topic for a game.
Save the World From Itself
Usually when games set out to “save the world”, there is usually an outside or invading force. We Are the Caretakers subverts that idea a bit. What if… we were the monsters all along? Well, we kind of are. We are reckless and destructive in the name of progress. This RPG is all about preserving the world, by force if necessary. The style of the game is Afrofuturism, which I believe directly translates to ” really cool”. Everything is futuristic, inspired by traditional African clothing, architecture, music, and symbols.
If you see this trailer and think “Black Panther”, well both these things are inspired by Afrofuturism. They show us how far preservation, and African beliefs and tradition could go with the tools and resources of the future. The trailer shows turn-based, tactical squad combat. We also see customizable squads with different warriors you can swap with and a map of various locations and missions to choose from. These Caretaker