Orwell's Animal Farm

A solid interactive narrative based on the classic novella, Orwell's Animal Farm lacks a lot of gameplay, but makes up for it with its use of the prose.

Animal Farm, like the novel it's based on, has a very clear stance. It doesn't shy away from the themes of anti-fascism and totalitarianism. Games as a medium have the opportunity to tell a wealth of stories. Political ones like this should always be welcomed no matter what the current state of affairs may be in the real world.

Orwell's Animal Farm faithfully recreates and even reinvents the classic allegory at a time when it's never been more relevant for some players.

Orwell’s Animal Farm is a pleasant retelling of the 1945 novella, and revisiting the story again after reading it in high school has been lovely. As a lover of literature as well as video games, I couldn’t help but smile seeing the story come to life. Not everyone will feel the same way though, and as an adventure game or even a visual novel, Orwell’s Animal Farm is unlikely to grab players that don’t already have a vested interest in the original story. Still, it’s a valiant effort in bringing a classic novella to new audiences, and might just be a valuable tool for students.

Kudos to developer The Dairymen for tackling the classic parable, but a narrative focus means that players suffer the same lack of freedom as the game's characters.

All animals are equal! Are you sick of Napoleon and Snowball’s ideological quibbles? Could do any better? Relive Orwell’s farmyard fable as you try to keep everyone fed, attempt to fend off human attacks and, most importantly, keep the spirit of Animalism alive.

I really think of all the ways to adapt Animal Farm, this is definitely one of the best ways. Actually making the decisions and watching corrupt leadership undermine them, or being the one to justify sacrificing the “lesser” people for the “greater good,” really emphasizes how easily selfishness ruins a perfectly good dream.

The turmoil of a revolution gone wrong is conveyed through nothing more than a few mouse clicks and quick decisions. It’s flawed and frustrating, but there’s an undeniable elegance to the game.

My relationship to the written works of George Orwell is, like many other Australians my age, “those depressing books they made us read in high school”. Sure, I respected the ideas behind his novels even then, but I simply had no interest in engaging with Animal Farm when I had Mass Effect 2 to play.