Sonder is a beautiful little narrative driven experience that revolves around the realisation that everyone you encounter has a life as vivid and complex as your own.
In Sonder you control a little butterfly avatar as it flits between different people sitting in a subway carriage, then guide their thoughts in positive or negative ways. Each person is essentially having a conversation in their own head and you get to choose which thoughts they focus on. As this happens an imaginary scene is envisaged by the person and it will get sunnier or more stormy depending on whether you focus on positive or negative thoughts. There’s no end goal (other than to play though the nine passengers thoughts), so it’s entirely up to you what direction you want to guide their thoughts in.
It’s a wonderful little game with a beautiful low rez visual style and a premise that really helps draw attention to the face that EVERYONE is a real person, with thoughts, worries and lives that are just as important as your own. It’s easy to lose sight of that in a world where social media and the traditional media increasingly portray people as two dimensional characters. It’s worth being reminded that the world doesn’t revolve around you now and again.
Controls: Mouse – Point & Click
Available On: Windows & Mac