Orwell: Ignorance is Strength

Genre: Graphic Adventure / Visual Novel / Simulation

Players: 1

.

Review:

(Note: This game is included in Orwell Bundle, along with Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You.)

Orwell: Ignorance is Strength, released in 2018 on PC and ported to Nintendo Switch in 2026, is the follow-up to Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You, and similarly combines elements of Graphic Adventure, Visual Novel, and Simulation, with players taking the role of a newly-hired intelligence agent trying to get to the bottom of potentially incendiary events during a time of civil unrest by piecing together information found both online and through your government’s extensive surveillance apparatus.

I’ll note that this game is extremely similar to its predecessor, so I’ll be copying over most of my review of that game here.

Given the name Orwell in the title, the themes of living in an oppressive police state and a government controlling the flow of information are of course a major part of the plot here, though rather than taking place in one of George Orwell’s novels, this game seems content to merely be inspired by works like Nineteen Eighty-Four.

The gameplay here is played through controlling a computer screen through which you access various documents, websites, and audio recordings, largely searching for keywords and bits of information that provide a clearer picture to the mysteries you’re trying to unravel. Occasionally you’ll gain access to a new website or a new source of information, but it all works roughly the same way, with major story branches happening when you select a yellow-highlighted piece of information, as these are often contradictory and can lead to different conclusions depending on which ones you select.

The theming and story here are overall pretty good, but the interface itself is extremely frustrating – it’s clunky to navigate, and it’s often unclear what the game wants you to do next, making you rifle through dozens upon dozens of pages of information searching for something, anything, you can interact with.

The presentation here is good, with simulated websites and abstract-looking images depicting various people and events in an indistinct way that works well enough, all backed by a subdued soundtrack that fits this game’s dark tones. I should note that the visual presentation looks different than the images on the eShop page, and is more clunky and inconvenient to navigate, though the art assets are largely the same.

Overall, I really like the concepts of Orwell: Ignorance is Strength, but I feel the execution leaves a lot to be desired. The interface is terrible, signposting is severely lacking, and it can be maddeningly frustrating at times to figure out what the game even wants you to do. If you’re a very patient player who thinks you can enjoy taking the role of an investigator for a surveillance state government, you might find this to your liking. However, players looking for a good detective game have multiple better options.

tl;dr – Orwell: Ignorance is Strength is the follow-up to Orwell: Keeping an Eye on You, and once again combines Graphic Adventure, Visual Novel, and Simulation elements in a story that has players taking a role as an investigator working for a dystopian surveillance state. The themes and plot here are quite good, but the clunky interface and incredibly poor signposting make for an execution that’s often far too frustrating. Unless you have a huge interest in this game’s themes, I’d argue you’re better off with one of multiple better detective games on Nintendo Switch.

Grade: C

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