Animal Farm, the political novel by George Orwell, is going to be a game

Nerial has announced Orwell’s Animal Farm, a new narrative adventure game based on the allegorical novella by George Orwell. 

Orwell's Animal Farm will soon be a video game! We're working with @emshort and the Dairymen. Wishlist on Steam https://t.co/zdYhs8V4sy
and follow @AnimalFarmGame pic.twitter.com/BTFkVQ5zMH

— Nerial (@nerial) August 17, 2020

“Orwell’s Animal Farm is a narrative game based on George Orwell’s renowned satire of totalitarian regimes. Throw out exploitative farmers. Found a new Republic. Guide its leaders. All animals are equal. You decide which animals are most equal of all,” read the description of the game, which is set to launch later this year for PC and mobile. If you’re not familiar with the original book, it follows a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, and gain control of the fields and land. 

Their aim is to create a wonderful utopia on this farm, where all animals are free and happy. I won’t spoil the plot, but Orwell wrote Animal Farm as a reflection on the Russian Revolution, and the transformation of the country into the Soviet Union through Stalinism. So. Yeah. 

Nerial is most famous for Reigns, a strategy game that looks a bit like Tinder but for medieval monarchs. I imagine that Orwell’s Animal Farm will possess its own similar style and gravitas, while satirising the mechanics of a narrative adventure. Moreover, the developer cites Papers Please, Populous, Beneath a Steel Sky, and A Dark Room for influences on the game.

Also, I’m pretty amped that the book has become a game. This War of Mine was recently added to academic reading lists in Poland, and it would be brilliant to see this referenced or even assigned in secondary school syllabi. And, Abubakar Salim narrates the adaptation, and you might recognise his voice because he also played Bayek in Assassin’s Creed Origins. You love to see (hear?) it. 

Orwell’s Animal Farm is coming to PC and mobile later this year.