Milkmaid of the Milky Way | |
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Developer(s) | Mattis Folkestad |
Designer(s) | Mattis Folkestad |
Programmer(s) | Mattis Folkestad |
Artist(s) | Mattis Folkestad |
Writer(s) | Mattis Folkestad |
Platform(s) | iOS, Android, Windows, macOS |
Release | January 5, 2017 |
Genre(s) | Adventure |
Milkmaid of the Milky Way is an independent adventure game for iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS. It was developed by Mattis "machineboy" Folkestad and released on January 5, 2017. [1] The game's plot features a Scandinavian milkmaid, Ruth, who loses her cows to a spacecraft, and has to jump aboard to save them.
The puzzle adventure game takes place in space and in 1920s Norway. [2] The main character is Ruth, a milkmaid living alone with her cows on a farm in a Nordic fjord in the 1920s. [3] The game's story begins with Ruth doing tasks and chores on her farm, longing for a different life after the mysterious disappearance of her mother and death of her father. [4] Then a spaceship flies overhead and abducts her cows from a field. Ruth has to get on the wing of the ship as it flies away, and figures out how to get inside to rescue her friends the cows. [5] Later gameplay involves an intergalactic feud involving an oppressive monarch, and other characters such as an oracle, and space cows. [6] [7]
The game is a point-and-click adventure game.” [3] Players start by exploring the farm and surrounding area, encountering various challenges and puzzles. [4] The game allows both running and walking speed. [7] [8] Early tasks include milking cows, patching the roof, making cheese, and also rescuing a lost cow. [4] Puzzle solving is used to get through obstacles, not leveling up, and the skills learned in the first day are useful later on in the game. [9] In between gameplay, there are also animated video clips to move the story along. [4] On day two, the game becomes a science fiction venture concerning alien situations. [4] When a spaceship abducts Ruth’s cows, Ruth has to get on the wing of the ship as it flies away and figure out how to get inside. [5]
The game was independently developed by Mattis "machineboy" Folkestad, a developer in Oslo, Norway. He got illustrator Natalie Foss to make the cover. [10] He worked on the project over two years, in his free time while also working a full-time job. [4] The game was initially released for iOS. [4] In January 2017, this was followed by a release for Steam (for Windows and Mac) and Apple’s Mac App Store. [4] It only came out for Android on May 18, 2017. [11] The soundtrack is available on iTunes. [10]
While the images are done in a pixelated style, the backgrounds are hand-painted with a pastel color palette. [8] The game is completely written in rhyme, and is available in English, French, and Norwegian. [10] [8]
Aggregator | Score |
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Metacritic | iOS: 77/100
[12] PC: 74/100 [1] |
Publication | Score |
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Adventure Gamers | [13] |
Pocket Gamer | [14] |
TouchArcade | [15] |
The Microsoft Windows version of the game was given a score of 74 out of 100 by Metacritic, a review aggregation website. [1] Adventure Gamers praised its story, but complained about the rhyming and lack of hints, giving it 3.5 out of 5 stars overall. [13] Stuff.tv gave it 4/5 stars, stating the script had moments like a Douglas Adams story, and the “entire project feels like a concise, modern take on a classic Lucasfilm game.” [6] Gamezebo thought it was “charmingly retro.” [9]
iDigitalTimes gave it 5/5, [10] [4] saying that it was “already a strong contender for one of the best mobile games of 2017,” because of its “engaging storyline, beautiful graphics and clever gameplay.” [4] Macworld thought that “everything about Milkmaid of the Milky Way has clearly been carefully designed, and the result is gorgeous.” [7] Also, Pocket Gamer gave the game the “Pocket Game Silver Award." [3]