80 Days is a video game developed by Inkle in 2014. It is a loose interactive fiction adaption of Jule's Verne's classic novel Around the World in Eighty Days. The player takes control of Jean Passepartout, valet to English gentleman Phileas Fogg who has made a wager that he will circumnavigate the globe in just eighty days.
The game features a steampunk, anti-colonialist twist on the original work, shedding light on the lives and lands of people around the world in an alternate 1872 where artifice and automata have risen.
Gameplay[ | ]
The gameplay consists of two main aspects, interactive fiction and travel management. The player must select a route around the world on the fly from location to location, along the way buying and selling items to make profit, choosing to explore areas, borrow money from banks, stay in hotels, gather information from people and ensure the wellness of Phileas Fogg.
The fiction sections are triggered when the player chooses to explore a location or stay in a hotel, or at fixed points when they are aboard transport.
Story[ | ]
The game's story varies greatly depending on the route taken by the player, making repeat playthroughs very valuable. The story begins when Phileas Fogg and Passepartout set off on their journey and has multiple endings depending on the result of the wager and the changing interests of Fogg and Passepartout.
The unique alternative 1872 the game is set in is notable. Power is displaced from the western nations, with groups like the Zulu and Ottomans being given more agency on the world stage. Women and racial/ethnic minority groups are able to occupy positions of power and garner respect, but issues that stem from the rapid changes of society like sexism and racism are still explored. Lastly, the setting has a steampunk tone, with automata and other inventions being created by artificers, who are present in every country in the world. Many are members of the worldwide-spanning Artificers' Guild, an organisation prone to corruption and ignorance but housing many great progressives and visionaries.
Digital Availability[ | ]
80 Days has had an exclusively digital release. It was released on July 31st, 2014 for iOS and December 16th, 2014 for Android. It reached PC and OS X on September 29, 2015.
Reception[ | ]
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| The Telegraph | 5/5 |
80 Days was received positively, with praise directed at the quality of its writing. Phill Cameron of the Telegraph called it "one of the finest examples of branching narrative yet created" and praised its variable events. IGN commented on the enthusiasm in the game for "its world, its characters, and the human desire to discover". It was the only video game to be placed on the Telegraph's end-of-year list of 'best novels of 2014'.
The game was also nominated for several BAFTAs in 2014, best British Game, Best Story, Best Mobile Game and Game Innovation. It won TIME's Game of the Year award in 2014.