New Ice York Is A Funny Look at Hating The Places We Love
I was born and raised in New Jersey, only an hour away from New York City. And despite my familiarity with the fast-walking, mean-mugging and aggressive driving in my own city, I always felt foreign when I visited NYC. As people say, it’s a world of its own. No time in my own city ever prepared me for the weird mess that is New York City.
New Ice York, by magicdweedoo, parodies the hardships of living in New York and turns the city even more inhospitable by adding a layer of ice. As the lead detective, the player is tasked with discovering who caused the city to freeze over. The mystery leads you on a long trail of fetch quests, brawls and puzzles that make for a crude but smart look at the insufferable nature of New York. The game embodies the look and feel of the big city: It’s a little hard on the eyes, sometimes grating on the ears, but hidden in the dense smog is a lot of intellect, humor and beauty.
The game doesn’t take itself seriously; there are plenty of moments where New Ice York acknowledges its gaming elements, and pokes fun at its own limitations. But there were a few times I felt the game point at a deeper meaning, hidden behind a layer of blue. New Ice York, much like the city it’s based off, is a game of survival. There’s a point in the game where the player must leave NYC to find the culprit for the city’s freezing. As the detective travels out of New Ice York, he relays a sense of relief, as if he can finally be himself again. Even the color returns as he leaves New York, a momentary reprieve before he must return and solve the mystery of the the ice-cold city.
