Witness a surrealist exploration of two fractured lives in Frank and Drake.
There has been a growing number of influencers in the gaming community claiming that video games in 2023 have become stale. While that may be true for a certain crowd, one must look no further than the indie scene to discover a plethora of daring, unique experiences in a variety of genres waiting to be discovered. Frank and Drake are a perfect example that when you just take a peek out of your comfort zone, a wealth of adventure is just around the corner.
Frank and Drake is a mysterious story of two souls intertwined by unforeseen circumstances. Developed by Appnormals and published by Chorus Worldwide, this strange tale unfolds over six days of the dual protagonists, one by day, the other by night. Depending on the series of decisions that define your path each day, Frank and Drake will make you choose carefully to see all the pieces to the puzzle that is the story.
As soon as you start playing, what will grab your attention is the quite original art style full of personality. With a rotoscoping technique reminiscent of the film A Scanner Darkly and a graphic novel-inspired look, Frank and Drake’s artistry is in clear view. Frank begins his journey during the day, shifting around Oriole City on his way to his apartment complex, and receives a letter stating he will receive a roommate who only comes out at night, Drake.
Frank and Drake are complex young men tied up in even more convoluted situations. Frank lost his memory a year ago, before the events of the game. Drake is careless with a dark, troubled past. The bond between them and which road your playthrough will take is based on your decisions. A fundamental aspect of the game is the choices the game asks you to make from the beginning, and carve your way.
You interact with your environment through a point-and-click interface. Slightly animated objects in your surroundings indicate they can be interacted with, and make it easier to indicate where to go next. As each day goes by, the game tasks you with small, mundane interactions such as putting a bucket under a water leak, learning how to roll and project a film, or plugging in a lava lamp while either Frank or Drake contemplates their lives and the current predicament they are in.
An unmissable element of both Frank and Drake’s daily lives is the puzzles that need to be solved to proceed, usually giving an important clue to the grander mystery in the background. Organic, straightforward, and intuitive, these puzzles serve as a plot device to give more contextual information and historical facts about Oriole City and its inhabitants. Some of these creative endeavors are aligning a chakra, finding the right order for a movie collection must be in, and finding your way in a maze.
For a fragile, paranoid, and suggestive mind, reality can seem like a thinly veiled farce waiting to be broken. In Frank and Drake‘s case, a series of seemingly unexplainable situations can be enough to push them over the edge. At any moment when it feels like you are grasping a sense of normalcy, an unexpected event occurs, throwing your perception into disarray of what truly is real. It is almost impossible to shake the eerie sensation that strange machinations are occurring in the background of the everyday lives of the titular characters.
Choosing whether to go to the museum with a hidden secret or the park to meet with like-minded conspiracy theorists can affect the character’s psyche and eventually play tricks on their minds that could be too much to handle for them. This is where the careful selection and consequent endings come into focus, planting the idea into the player a classic “What if?” moment, should they have chosen to go to a different area.
After each day and night of shenanigans by Frank and Drake, they both settle at some point to note their emotional thoughts in their respective diaries, which, thanks to the strong writing, is fascinating to catch a glimpse into their fractured minds. As they do not directly interact with each other, the characters communicate through post-it notes, defined by what is written on them by the player. This can have a causal effect on their friendship, making it more strained or strengthened.
Duality is one of the main themes of Frank and Drake, and it is reflected in the music as well. Smooth and silky lo-fi beats and electronic synth waves, according to either of the main characters in their respective day and night cycles, fit perfectly with what they are set to do in their current activities.
As the game encourages replayability via several different endings and branching paths, it should be possible to add a sort of New Game Plus mode to pick up where one of the branching paths left off not without having to repeat some of the threaded paths in previous runs. Even so, as each playthrough and day is relatively short, this does not become much of an issue, but an observation.
Fascinating collectibles from an array of subjects, from classic movie cards where you can guess the name of it to heartfelt mementos of Frank and Drake’s lives, entice you to go for another run and have a keener eye on your surroundings. These can be accessed in the main menu along with the branching endings to reflect on the complex story to your heart’s content.
Somewhat imprecise point-and-click controls on the Nintendo Switch version can lead to searching for other avenues to play, and as the touch screen can be used for gameplay, it can be a more fluid option than having to drag the faulty Joy-Con stick around. The game also encourages using headphones, so a handheld playthrough might be preferred, although certain dramatic moments should be experienced on a big screen.
For those who know where to look, plenty of pop culture and obscure references reward your curiosity and knowledge, with Pink Floyd, Nosferatu, and Alice in Wonderland among them. It is clear to see Frank and Drake pulled from many real-world, groundbreaking works of art of their time to merge them into this enigmatic narrative successfully.
Sinister secrets begging to be uncovered and pieced together lurk beneath the surface, and with each playthrough, it’s even clearer to see this masterful tale’s endgame. Frank and Drake both have very complicated lives, and unraveling them, connecting the dots, and ultimately understanding their purpose in life is a thoughtful experience to witness.
