The Fire Nobody Started – A Train Journey Through the Eras

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” – George Orwell

Overview

The Fire Nobody Started is a poignant visual novel that takes the player on a train journey through history. It explores major events and beliefs of different eras via the experiences of a specific family.

Gameplay

The gameplay in The Fire Nobody Started is minimalistic and straight-forward, as to be expected of a visual novel. Players make a sequential journey through the different carriages of a train, each representing a different era. Whilst doing so, they can interact with different characters and objects. The mouse-only controls are simple and intuitive and consist mostly of clicking once to focus and twice to engage.

The bulk of the game involves dialogue from NPCs, which is very much monological with the player unable to reply or query them in any way. Progressing to the next carriage often involves obtaining and using an object, either via character interactions or simply picking it up.

Unsurprisingly, the game is heavily text-based and involves a lot of reading. There are moments towards the end of the game where the carriage is replaced with a black screen containing text, unfortunately, these appear too briefly to be read in full, leaving a sense of perhaps having missed something important. Similarly, it is also possible to miss certain interactions if the player clicks on the wrong character or object too early.

Narrative

The Fire Nobody Started follows the lives of a family of Irish descent through a century of history spanning from the industrial revolution in England to the Vietnam War in America. Dialogue explores a range of historical events, societal beliefs, and political views such as the two world wars, communism, mixed education, suffrage, colonisation, and the Empire. Noteworthy people and places are also referenced including Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, the Moulin Rouge, and the Titanic.

The narrative is told mostly via the dialogue, and enhanced by the aesthetic elements. Different views are presented by each of the characters the player listens to and the game boasts a poignant exploration of the themes within. The overall effect is engaging, unsettling, and sometimes moving, and the game effectively conveys its overarching question of whether the social issues and suffering we face today are a consequence of the mistakes of our forebears.

Throughout the carriages, a different member of the focal family is present and players learnt their history and how one generation’s choice affects the next. This adds a level of personal connection to the historical exploration and helps connect the player to some of the harrowing things being talked about.

The dialogue is well written in terms of content and themes, however, there are a considerable number of instances of inaccurate spelling, the wrong words being used, incorrect words, syntax errors, and typos. Evidently some things got lost in translation, which is understandable for a two-person team, but for such a text-centric experience, so many prominent errors can feel interruptive. More playtesting and proofreading would definitely have been beneficial.

Styling

The Fire Nobody Started begins with a minimalistic black and white art style, however, as the player progresses through the different train carriages, the style and colour palettes vary significantly. Each carriage is depicted in a different style, reflecting the era that it represents and mirroring the trains of the time. The visuals incorporate artistic movements of the time and include nods to art deco, pop art, art nouveau, and surrealism. This helps to create interest and a level of variety that contrasts well with the simple mechanics. Characters do not have faces but instead have various objects such as different body parts, a sewing machine, or flowers for heads. The objects tie into the themes of discussion and the era and add a unique touch.

The music is similarly varied and also changes with each carriage to reflect its era and the tone of the discussions. Some recognisable classical music is used such as Clair de Lune by Debussy and Gnossienne 1 by Erik Satie. The music adds to the ambience and can be somewhat emotive, but does unfortunately use quite short and noticeable loops which can be jarring and interrupt player immersion. The sound effects, such as train noises, and background chatter, counter this slightly by further adding to the sense of immersion.

Summary

The Fire Nobody Started is a short game taking around 2-3 hours to complete, and has a low price point making it very good value. It provides an interesting exploration of modern history from a range of perspectives as well as adding a personal connection with the inclusion of a story from a specific family. The two aspects of the narrative tie together relatively seamlessly and create a well-rounded experience. Aesthetically, the game is successful at reflecting the different eras by drawing on artistic styles of the times and utilising music that suits the themes and events being discussed within each carriage. Overall, the game is engaging and emotive and I would happily recommend it to fans of historical games or visual novels in general.

Giveaway

Courtesy of Team SpitFire we have one Steam Key for The Fire that Nobody Started to give away! For more details and your chance to win (or just to chat about indie games), simply join our friendly Discord server and check out the announcements!

Looking for more visual novels? You may also enjoy these reviews:
Three Visual Novels from Nikita Kaf! – Frank and Drake – A Unique, Beautiful, and Uncomfortable Experience. – Beyond Your Window: Emotive and Intertwined Slice of Life Stories

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