Orwell's Animal Farm Critic Reviews

Orwell's Animal Farm faithfully recreates and even reinvents the classic allegory at a time when it's never been more relevant for some players.

Orwell’s Animal Farm is a very good reimagining of the famous novel, staying true to the spirit of the dystopic Republic of the Animals. Though it lacks the kind of puzzles and gameplay to make it a full-fledged adventure, it’s a must-play for those who would enjoy a well-executed exploration of a classic novel.

After playing Orwell’s Animal Farm, I found myself gobbling up every analysis I could find on the original work and ultimately settling into bed with a copy of the book found online. From the subversion of politics through the subversion of language and logic to reducing complex ideals to meaningless catchphrases, it was truly eye-opening just how Orwellian the past few years have been — although not the way in which the word has been thrown around after January 6th. The team’s unique history with totalitarianism made them competent candidates for the game version of this compelling allegorical tale, and I find myself still trying to wrap my head around the experience with these additional layers of context. If you’re looking for an incredibly memorable and surprisingly emotional refresher on this all-too important story, look no further than Orwell’s Animal Farm.

Animal Farm remains an important story, and this retelling in game format feels incredibly timely and poignant. With lots of ways the game can play out depending on your choices, you can revisit Orwell's themes as well as being able to dive even deeper into them.

Orwell’s Animal Farm is clearly a respectful adaptation. From the closely adapted text onscreen to the demarcated destinies and potential outcomes, it interacts thoughtfully with Orwell’s ideas of dictatorship and manipulation. But, in the mechanics of gameplay, some of its intentions get lost.

A video game based on Animal Farm is a crazy idea on paper, but it mostly manages to stick the landing with its weighty political themes still intact.

Orwell's Animal Farm is a pleasant mix of Visual Novel and management experience, with some lovely visuals, music and a very good narrator. The fact that it allows you to retell the story is interesting. But as it still offers a good way to know what the book has to say, it can feel redundant, and a bit foggy in its intentions and mechanics.

I really think of all the ways to adapt Animal Farm, this is definitely one of the best ways. Actually making the decisions and watching corrupt leadership undermine them, or being the one to justify sacrificing the “lesser” people for the “greater good,” really emphasizes how easily selfishness ruins a perfectly good dream. It’s not terribly long, but there is plenty of replay value in trying for various routes and endings and it’s relatively cheap.

Its mechanics are muddled and confusing at best and frustrating at worst, but it remains a decent and charmingly presented adaptation of the farmyard fable that so strikingly warns of the dangers of corruption and totalitarianism.

I fully recommend Orwell’s Animal Farm as a great way to familiarize oneself with the timeless novella. It lacks a lot as a game though, because the adaptation is completely faithful and therefore restricts the player’s freedom heavily.

Ultimately, Orwell's Animal Farm is still worth a look because its presentation is so strong, but the actual gameplay may leave a lot to be desired for those expecting a strong foundation like Orwell's writing to translate into equally engrossing decisions.

Orwell’s Animal Farm is a pleasant retelling of the 1945 novella, and revisiting the story again after reading it in high school has been lovely. As a lover of literature as well as video games, I couldn’t help but smile seeing the story come to life. Not everyone will feel the same way though, and as an adventure game or even a visual novel, Orwell’s Animal Farm is unlikely to grab players that don’t already have a vested interest in the original story. Still, it’s a valiant effort in bringing a classic novella to new audiences, and might just be a valuable tool for students.

The turmoil of a revolution gone wrong is conveyed through nothing more than a few mouse clicks and quick decisions. It’s flawed and frustrating, but there’s an undeniable elegance to the game.

Orwell's Animal Farm could have been something really special, but plays like a flat interactive fiction that will (maybe) please those who have loved the original novella.

The game is also too faithful to Orwell’s plot, for all the alternative endings. At its best, it encourages you to rethink and even challenge some of the novella’s concepts, including its rather dated classist metaphors. What if the rats were more of an opposition than an infestation? What if the sheep were more than mindless propaganda machines? But these divergences are frustratingly limited by the need to pack in familiar scenes and conversations from the book. In the end, Orwell’s Animal Farm can’t work out whether it’s a retelling or a revolution – but with the nation’s schoolkids in lockdown, it’s nonetheless a valuable adaptation.

Orwell’s Animal Farm relays the content of the book well, but stops short of drawing from any new depths, as choices are limited and the plot takes second place to a dry management sim.

The game looks beautiful, and its source material is brimming with potential, but the gameplay itself is lacklustre in the extreme. Most of the time you simply don’t know what to do or how to achieve the few things you’re sure you want. A very confusing, sometimes frustrating experience rescued only by the strengths of the book.

Where it does succeed is in its original intention – to bring this story to a new, modern audience. I finally understand George Orwell’s Animal Farm a bit more, even having still not read it. Despite my frustrations, I still spent yet more hours outside the game thinking about the ramifications and meanings of this Orwellian tale. In that at least, Orwell’s Animal Farm realizes its potential.

I commend the developers for keeping true to Orwell’s work, depressing endings and all, but unfortunately what we have here is a worst-of-both-worlds situation — as a visual novel, it’s a slog to get through the repetitive mundane, choices, and the gameplay isn’t refined or engaging enough to be a solid management sim. Simply reading the book might be a better option.

The game adaptation of Orwell’s Animal Farm tells a disjointed story, without the kind of buildup and nuance that makes it a classic novel. As a game, it lacks the kind of options and menus necessary to make you feel like you’re ever in control of your farm.