The Gift

The Gift is Red_Nova’s present to the world come Christmas time – but it isn’t without its bittersweet tears. A 10-minute think piece about how we give, the game explores a day in the life of a woman named Rachel Heine, who is in her late 20s and by my understanding was desiring to be a musician, but was rejected for reasons of her skill not matching up to their standards. She is poor, and surviving cheque-to-cheque as a cleaning lady for an apartment block (which was a couple of wooden houses in a snow town?) and renting out videos that she wants to watch again and again, only to have it qualify for late return, incurring a 20 coin penalty.

She has 40 coins to start off with, and she must spend them wisely. As Rachel passes the houses, you are treated to a series of messages exploring the themes of giving and why we give. The game suggests that people like to give, but only because they like the feeling of giving. The game questions you if you are only giving because you get a warm fuzzy feeling inside when you do, or do you really want to help people?

On the 27th of December, the Christmas cheer has faded from this small town and Rachel has all excuse to wallow in the tedium and the antagonism of dreary everyday life – but no! She keeps a positive attitude, and possibly even helps others when she can. But there’s no stopping that constant wall of unkindness that pervades every NPC in this game (seriously, everyone’s a jerk) and that in the end is the message of the game – if you were one of those NPCs, would you have helped this lady out?

The graphics are RTP but delivered well, and the atmosphere is kept tense throughout, with tints, snow effects, lighting effects and other small touches. The handdrawn portraits are always a welcome sight to see. The music fits the festive yet slightly depressing tone of the game nicely.



The message is hammered in by some sentences that are overlaid over maps as you explore them, some of them feeling a little hard-handed and harsh, but all of them hopefully provoking a response. It’s good to have a game that asks the hard questions, and The Gift is not afraid to get in your face and really wave that red flag. “You have been naughty,” the gift shouts. “OK, I get it,” I say, self-deprecatingly. It’s a struggle I face every day and yet it’s important to keep alert to the possibility of helping others in need.

I give the homeless my $20 sometimes. Do I do it because it helps me sleep at night? No way. I want to help them but I’m not sure if they’ll spend it on alcohol or drugs and, if I’m not supposed to give it to them, where do I give it to? Yes, if there was a woman passed out in the snow on my street, I’d drag her inside and nurse her to health, or at least call 111 (I’m aware it’s 911 in other countries).

The Gift is not afraid to make you think about yourself, and what you’ve done, and what you haven’t done. It expresses a cynical view of mankind, but not without its optimistic counterpoint. The message I received, though, was more of a “if you’re poor and help others, they’ll help you” message. I didn’t get the feeling that the titular “Gift” was an unconditional one. Is the only reason why you were helped is because you helped them first? I would have much rather the message be that a person could give even unconditionally, without having been helped in the first place. The cynical idea that only those who have been helped can help others is a slightly sad one I believe. I’d like to think that people can help people even if they haven’t been helped themselves.

In this case, this act of charity springing from nowhere would have to come with Rachel’s kind option, if you chose it. Call me an optimist, but I’d just like to think Rachel would and should be helped by someone who didn’t think she deserved it.



In summary, The Gift, as sobering as it is didactic, is short, but far from sweet. The cautionary tale explores the theme of giving in the cold uncaring setting of post-Christmas winter wonderland, post-cheer, post-presents, post-end-of-year-sales. The Gift's title is slightly deceiving. The game is less a gift to everyone as much as it is a stern warning and a sobering wake-up call. A struggling musician sings the blues as she struggles with the brutal economy, and we struggle with her. Given 40 coins with which to survive the night, choices must be made that may drastically affect the balance.

I give the important The Gift a 4 out of 5. A great think piece about giving. I recommend you play it now.