Stunning Point-And-Clicker ‘The Kite’ Hits Hard With Post-Soviet Social Realism

Anate Studio are currently working on an English version of their stunning point-and-click adventure, The Kite, which follows a mother in a typical post-Soviet city who undergoes a traumatic experience.

Production on The Kite only began in mid-2011 but it has already been released for free and gained a lot of appreciation in its native country. As with many point-and-click adventures, The Kite portrays a character study through a narrative-driven experience. The story follows a mother in the post-Soviet 90′s, though it is set around a fictional city.

The young mother, Mary, lives with her son and husband, though the latter is a shadow of his former self after problems at work caused him to sink to drunkenness and domestic violence. The world outside is no less safer than the company of her husband though, it is a thug-filled line up of streets in which anger, insults and indifference rule.

The only light in Mary’s downtrodden life is her son whom she unfortunately struggles to feed due to the lack of money in the family. This background provides a gripping and atmospheric mood that is able to really draw you in. You cannot help but find yourself gasping in panic when things suddenly take a turn for the worse. While Mary can just about bear the rotten conditions she lives in, when the life of her child comes under threat, she is ready to go at it.

The enthralling story is not the only appeal of The Kite though, the visuals are utterly unique and really add to the mood with their hand-drawn and drab scenery and subtle use of lighting to add to the overall effect. An epic soundtrack which includes the very effective use of familiar classical music really escalates the emotional impact of the story too.

Unfortunately, unless you can understand Russian then you will not be able to follow the story of The Kite in its current state. There is an English version being worked on though and it will release shortly. Saying that, you can still play The Kite for free and get a grasp of its masterful weave of narration, art and social realism – language is not the only way to convey The Kite‘s bold themes.

You can download The Kite for free simply by clicking on this link.

Head over to the official website with Google Translator handy to obtain more information. We’ll keep you updated on that English version.

Also be sure to check out the rest of the projects by Anate Studio on their official page, they have made other point-and-click adventure games that explore similar themes and further materials.