Ways to Travel

This Compelling Time Travel Adventure Is A Must-Play

Published

3 months ago

April 23, 2025

Seven years ago, Wadjet Eye Games released Unavowed, a point-and-click adventure that took the industry by surprise. Incorporating ideas from BioWare RPGs, this was a game in which the companions you took with you for any mission changed not only how the puzzles were solved, but how the story was told. It was magnificent, and received wide acclaim. Wadjet Eye’s follow-up game, some seven years later, is Old Skies, and while its structure takes a more traditional shape, it’s a boldly ambitious, constantly inventive piece of masterful storytelling.

As I began playing this time travel adventure, written and programmed by Dave Gilbert, I was waiting for the twist. It’s 2062, and Fia Quinn is a time agent for ChronoZen, a corporation that takes wealthy clients back in time, while maintaining government-mandated control of the timeline. In seven chapters featuring seven different clients, you visit various points during the last few hundred years of New York’s history, encounter surprises and twists, and solve puzzles through your inventory and conversations. The longer I played, the more I realized a twist wasn’t coming, and the more I realized how grateful I was for that.

“It took me a while to get over the burden of expectations,” Dave Gilbert told me over a video call this week. “[Unavowed] exceeded every expectation, sales-wise, review-wise, and there was that pressure to meet it or exceed it. It was paralyzing.” Eventually Gilbert, who is the primary developer on his games in collaboration with artists and voice talent, realized he needed to let that go. “Maybe it won’t be as good? I just had to—like—make it. Let it be its own thing and make myself happy.”

I’m pleased to report the result is an enormous success. Old Skies is a splendid adventure game, one that explores its central conceit from seven different angles, packed with the character-focused pathos that long-time players of Wadjet Eye games will have grown to expect, and newcomers will find refreshing. It’s reductive to describe it as “straightforward” simply because it (somewhat ironically) tells a linear tale, because it’s enormously complex in its narrative and worldbuilding, but in the absence of a twist it’s just some damned good storytelling.

Screenshot: Wadjet Eye Games / Kotaku

Looking back though Gilbert’s catalog, his games have always been about the intricacies of personality, about how the world affects its characters, rather than how its characters affect the world. Since 2006’s The Shivah—an intimate piece on the crisis of faith suffered by a Rabbi—this is how Wadjet Eye games have shone, and it’s the case once again for Old Skies. This is a game set in a future world that’s ever-changing because of the actions of time travelers in the subjective pasts, but it’s a game about Fia Quinn, a person usually detached enough to be able to work within this constant impermanence, but now finds herself affected by her encounters.

Gilbert spent a full year trying to make a game that, while focused on the same time travel concept, had vast consequences, an epic in which the present-day world to which Fia returns is destroyed, and she must explore the past to discover the cause and save the world. “I found it impossible to focus on,” Gilbert told me. “It being 2020 probably had something to do with that.”

It’s easy to see from the outside what the issue was: he’d flipped his perspective, and was trying to make a game about a world rather than the person experiencing it. But then, who could operate normally in 2020? What’s so fascinating in this finished product is how its origin during an international crisis of existentialism is still so powerfully there, but now it’s reflected in an intimate, insidious sense of…malaise.

Screenshot: Wadjet Eye Games / Kotaku

“Malaise” is a core concept of Old Skies, a game that’s also about love, loss, recapturing the past, and breaking free from constraints. Malaise is a term used by ChronoZen’s time agents to refer to a well-known side-effect of the trade, of being a person who can spend days helping a client relive a favorite moment, or put right a time-inconsequential regret from their past, only to return and find some other past change has just entirely wiped the person they were out of existence. Indeed, who the agent themselves is understood to be by the world is constantly changing. At one point, Fia receives a furious phone call from a husband she’s never heard of demanding to know why she isn’t looking after children she’s never had.

That malaise seeps through to the player in the best possible way, the sense of the inconsequential nature of so much of reality often being heartbreaking, but sometimes being coldly nonchalant. When I put this to Gilbert, he reminds me, “Is it obvious that I designed this game in 2020? That I’m releasing it during Trump’s second presidency?”

You may be wondering, in a setup this complicated, how the game deals with the rules of time travel. So often in the sci-fi niche, we’re bombarded by instructions, of the vital importance of not changing anything, of protecting the relative present at all costs. Old Skies is peculiarly liberating in its freedom from this, set in a world where—for a few years after time travel became possible—there were no rules, until some government regulation became vital. Certain events were ordained absolutely critical, and people are all designated by their significance to the timeline. It’s morally abhorrent, and very freeing. Some manner of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey sci-fi magic imbues some events, places, and people with permanence, but the rest of the past is up for grabs for those rich enough to afford to travel to it. And then there’s the somewhat arbitrary ruling that meeting oneself causes both of you to melt.

Screenshot: Wadjet Eye Games / Kotaku

One fixed event in time is September 11, 2001. In the game up until this point, you have experienced stories about people wanting to address regrets, or ask questions of the long dead, but at points in history that are fairly inconsequential to the story. The 9/11 chapter is even more striking because the time it’s set in is so central to the story it’s telling, let alone because this is territory that gaming has otherwise not dared to tread. For Gilbert, who lived in New York in 2001 and saw the World Trade Center on fire, it’s an incredibly personal story, and one he felt ready to approach.

Crucially, this chapter is not about the terrorist attack at all. It’s a separate story about an unsolved murder, the body found the morning of the attacks. A police detective wants closure, wants—for very personal reasons—to solve a crime that got lost in the ensuing events. And what soon becomes clear is that she in fact wants to prevent the murder from happening at all. So it is that the chapter plays out on September 10, and for various reasons, also skips ahead to a month or so later. “I couldn’t bring myself to show the event itself,” Gilbert says, remembering how that day he was on his way to his grandmother’s funeral when he drove past the burning Twin Towers. “I didn’t trust myself to be able to handle that. Having gone through it, I was able to infuse a lot of my own experiences in the way the characters talk about it. Yvonne [a character in the chapter] says, ‘It looked like giant, flaming cigarettes.’ That’s what I thought when I first saw them. That was what entered my head.”

What makes this even more bold is that this is a chapter about police corruption, set at a time when the NYPD was held with an almost holy reverence. The game is brave enough to explore this, sensitively to the tragedy, but bold and forthright about the reality of the police. This is helped by it all being seen through Fia’s perspective, which as Gilbert points out, is utterly unlike our own. She’s living 60 years after the event. “It’s like talking about the Hindenburg, or the Titanic. It’s ancient history for her.”

Screenshot: Wadjet Eye Games / Kotaku

Once again, it’s an excellent example of how the game focuses on the specific minutiae of the characters, rather than the world around them—the game has no desire to proselytize about the attacks or the response, nor does it want to perform obsequious reverence, but rather to talk about how a handful of people experienced the horror of the moment. And a murder that took place. And various forms of corruption. And…love. “Weirdly enough,” Gilbert says with half a grimace, “I created a love story with the backdrop of 9/11. Took me by surprise. Sometimes things just don’t go where you expect them to.”

That’s certainly true of my own experience of the whole game. What strikes me most having finished the lengthy adventure is how many memories I’m left with. Often, when I finish a game I enjoyed, I’ll remember it almost like a vacation I’ve been on. I’ll think back to a significant moment with fondness, with that warm memory of being somewhere enjoyable. With Old Skies, I realize I have multiple memories, as if I’ve been on a string of holidays. There’s that tale of old-timey boxing matches, and that time I was infiltrating the vertical farm laboratories, and when I tried to discover the identity of a mysterious 1920s painter.

While the game has a strong arc, and a very satisfactory conclusion that I absolutely did not see coming, its individual chapters are so strikingly different as to feel like unique adventure games. So much so that as each chapter ended with its own rewarding conclusion, I found myself thinking, “That would be a very satisfying ending to this game,” and then being delighted to find it was carrying on, that I was going to get to experience a whole other story.

Screenshot: Wadjet Eye Games / Kotaku

Old Skies is a tremendously enjoyable game, one that makes a big graphical change from the catalog with regular artist Ben Chandler creating hand-drawn animations for its host of characters instead of his traditional pixel work. I wasn’t sure about that shift when I started, but became extremely convinced a short while in. It also has, as is always the case for the developer, fantastic voice acting and direction—I hadn’t been convinced by the vocal portrayal of Fia when I played the demo, but I was absolutely wrong, and completely love it now. Context plays a massive part here, and Sally Beaumont’s performance entirely won me over. It’s an all-round great cast, but I want to especially call out Chanisha Somatilaka for her portrayal of Yvonne, a favorite character of mine.

While Old Skies is a more “traditional” adventure game than Unavowed, it does the game a disservice to leave it at that. This is a hugely ambitious game, perhaps even seven different games combined into one, repeatedly reinventing its approach to its central conceit throughout. And it’s one that’s stuck with me, one I keep thinking about days after I finished playing.

Old Skies is out today for PC, Mac and Linux on Steam and GOG. A Switch version has been delayed.

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John Walker

Ways to Travel

Pursuit of entertainment or self-expression? Research on adventure tourism

Published

3 hours ago

July 19, 2025

Ayşe Nur Soysal

Data collection

The study focused on domestic and foreign tourists aged 18 and above participating in rafting at Antalya Köprülü Canyon. The questionnaires were applied immediately after rafting in-person, and it was thought that the tourists’ experiences were reflected. In order to accurately measure tourist motivations, the literature was reviewed and scales were selected from the literature. In the process of selecting the scales, previously experienced ready-made scales were used, however, the scales were preferred from ready-made scales with high values in terms of validity and reliability. The aim here is to measure the constructs measured in the study in the most reliable way and in a way that can be distinguished from other constructs. For this purpose, scales with high Cronbach α or composite reliability values and AVE (average variance extracted) values were preferred. Then the convenience sampling method was used as the sampling method because there was no random selection. It is a statistical fact that the convenience sampling method does not represent the whole population because it is not random. However, it is easier to apply than random sampling in terms of reaching individuals with new experiences. In addition, as a result of studies that can be carried out in other countries or regions, although it is not a random sample, new literature becomes more debatable and converges to a scientific reality with the literature obtained with the convenience sampling method together with the developing literature.

Participants voluntarily participated in the survey after the rafting experience. Thus, it can be stated that the participants’ responses to the questionnaire were not influenced by any incentives. This situation causes the participants’ views on the subject to be more sincere. The questionnaires were collected in 2021. From 327 questionnaires, 31 were excluded for incomplete data, leaving 296 for analysis. The demographics included 68.1% Russian, 21.5% EU citizens, 9.5% Turkish, and 1% from other nationalities, reflecting general tourism trends in Turkey as reported by the World Travel and Tourism Council (2021). According to the World Travel and Tourism Council (2021) report, 12% of those who came to Turkey in 2019 were Russian, and 8% were German tourists, while in 2020, this rate was 13% for Russians and 7% for Bulgaria, Germany and Ukraine. In this case, it is predicted that the data and results obtained from the target audience will provide correct inferences. Therefore, bias in the study poses as much risk as bias that can occur in real life.

Although 50% of the participants have visited Antalya before, the rate of those who have visited Köprülü Canyon before is 24.3%. In this case, it can be said that individuals who have visited before have returned home without rafting in Köprülü Canyon. The rate of those who have rafted before is 29.7%. The fact that the rates of those who have visited Köprülü Canyon and those who have rafted are close may indicate that individuals tend to do it again after the first experience. While 62.4% of the participants were female, 37.6% were male. In this case, it can be stated that women are more oriented towards adventure tourism. 12.2% of the participants are high school graduates, 21.3% are associate degree graduates, 57.4% are bachelor’s degree graduates, and 9.1% are master’s and doctorate graduates. The average age of the participants was 33.36, while the median was 33.

Measures

Five-point Likert-type scales assessed all constructs. The scales covered “experiencing nature” (Perić et al., 2019), “escape” (Carvache-Franco et al., 2019), and “joy” (Pestana et al., 2020). The “WOM” influence (Sirakaya-Turk et al., 2015) and “self-image congruence” (Sirgy et al., 1997) were also measured, along with “revisit intention” (Zhang et al., 2018).

Data analysis and results

The data analysis validated the measurement model and evaluated relationships between the constructs.

Measurement model

The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated a satisfactory fit, with chi-square/df at 2.81, CFI at 0.92, SRMR at 0.059, and RMSEA at 0.078 (Hu and Bentler, 1999), as detailed in Table 1.

Table 1 Confirmatory factor analysis results.

Construct validity was confirmed, with convergent and discriminant validity assessed and meeting established thresholds (Hair et al., 2014) as shown in Table 2.

Table 2 The results of the inter-construct correlations and AVE value.

According to Tables 1 and 2, the AVE values are greater than 0.50 and the correlation between the variables. Therefore, convergent and discriminant validity is provided. After this stage of the analysis, common method bias (CMB) or common method variance (CMV) was examined. According to Podsakoff et al. (2003), CMB analysis refers to the bias that emerges from external factors on the data set and occurs when the majority of the variance is explained by a single factor (Podsakoff et al., 2003; Gaskin and Lim, 2016). To measure whether the majority of the variance was gathered under a single factor, the single factor Harman test was performed, and the explained variance rate was calculated as 43%. Since the single factor Harman test is a weak analysis, CMB was re-examined using the Controlling for the effects of an unmeasured latent methods factor analysis suggested by Podsakoff et al. (2003), and each regression path was calculated as 0.64, and the explained variance rate was found to be 41%. Since CMB does not exceed 50% (Eichhorn, 2014: p. 8), it can be said that CMB does not exist or is insignificant (Büyükdağ and Kitapci, 2021).

Structural model

The structural model’s evaluation produced the following results: chi-square/df value at 2.81, CFI value at 0.92, SRMR value at 0.059, and RMSEA value at 0.078. These indices satisfy the criteria set by Hu and Bentler (1999), indicating a good fit between the theoretical model and the observed data.

Table 3 shows that push factors significantly and positively influence self-image congruence (β = 0.66), WOM (β = 0.55), and revisit intention (β = 0.32). Self-image congruity also significantly enhances WOM (β = 0.35) and revisit intention (β = 0.30), while WOM positively impacts revisit intention (β = 0.28). The model explains 44% of the variance in self-image congruity, 68% in WOM, and 66% in revisit intention (Fig. 2).

Table 3 Result of the SEM.

Fig. 2: Structural model with standardized path coefficients.

This figure shows the tested structural model with standardized regression weights, reflecting direct and indirect effects among variables. This figure illustrates the structural model with standardized path coefficients, examining the relationships between push factors, self-image congruity, revisit intention, and word-of-mouth. The push factors are measured through three dimensions: experience nature, escape, and joy. The arrows represent the hypothesized paths, and the numerical values indicate the standardized regression weights. The model shows that push factors significantly influence self-image congruity, revisit intention, and word-of-mouth, both directly and indirectly.

Multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM) and analysis results

Multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to compare the regression paths between two variables based on socio-demographic and field-specific characteristics. Various studies have utilized this approach: Yada et al. (2018) to understand teachers’ attitudes and self-efficacy, Al-Swidi and Al Yahya (2017) to examine educational intention and work behavior differences by gender, and Babin et al. (2016), Huang and Ge (2019), Murray et al. (2017), and Aka and Buyukdag (2021) to analyze factors such as culture, household characteristics, store design, and marital status. In this study, multi-group SEM was applied to explore the effects of rafting experience (first-time vs. repeated) and gender (female vs. male model).

According to the multi-group SEM related to rafting experience, the model showed good fit indices with a chi-square/df value of 2.19, a CFI of 0.90, an RMSEA of 0.064, a GFI of 0.79, and an AGFI of 0.73. The comparative analysis between unconstrained and constrained models revealed a chi-square difference of 35.06 and a df difference of 25, indicating no significant variation between the effects of rafting experiences (p = 0.087). Consequently, the research model is applicable to both first-time and repeated rafters. The significance of each path’s rafting experience was further analyzed and is detailed in Table 4.

Table 4 Multi-group SEM results.

According to the multi-group structural equation modeling focused on gender, the model demonstrated good fit indices with a chi-square/df value of 2.17, a CFI of 0.90, an RMSEA of 0.063, a GFI of 0.79, and an AGFI of 0.73. This suggests that the multi-group SEM adequately represents the gender-based differences in the data. Comparative analysis between unconstrained and constrained models showed a chi-square difference of 24.83 and a df difference of 25, indicating no significant variance in gender effects (p = 0.472). Therefore, the research model is equally applicable to both female and male categories. Further analysis was conducted to determine if significant differences exist in local paths based on gender, with detailed results presented in Table 4.

Table 4 shows that push factors affect self-congruence differently for first-time versus repeated rafters. Rafting experience moderates how these factors influence self-image congruence, with a more pronounced effect on first-timers. While push factors significantly impact WOM for both groups, the effect is stronger for newcomers, but rafting experience doesn’t moderate this relationship. Similarly, push factors notably influence revisit intention for first-time rafters, but less so for experienced rafters, where experience doesn’t act as a moderator (Fig. 3).

Fig. 3: Multi-group comparison by visit frequency and gender.

This figure illustrates differences in structural paths across first-time and repeat visitors, as well as male and female participants, using varying line styles. This figure presents the multi-group analysis results based on visit frequency (first-time vs. repeated) and gender (female vs. male). The structural paths between push factors, self-image congruity, revisit intention, and word-of-mouth are illustrated with different line styles. Solid lines represent first-time visitors, dotted lines indicate repeat visitors, dash-dot lines show female participants, and dashed lines represent male participants. Path coefficients are shown along each arrow. The figure highlights how these variables interact differently across groups, revealing variations in motivational and behavioral responses based on experience and gender.

The influence of self-congruence on WOM is significant for both novice and seasoned rafters, more so for the latter. This suggests that rafters with prior experience, and with higher self-image congruity, are likelier to share their experiences. Self-congruence significantly affects intention to revisit among experienced rafters, but not for newcomers. However, rafting experience does not moderate these relationships in either case.

The impact of WOM on revisit intention was significant for first-time rafters but not for repeat rafters, with rafting experience not moderating this relationship. Table 4 shows variance differences between these groups. For first-timers, the explained variance is 51%, while only 26.9% for repeat rafters. For WOM, the variance is 70.5% for first-time users and 66.5% for repeat rafters. Regarding revisit intention, the variance is 65.3% for novices and slightly higher at 66.1% for experienced rafters.

The model showed no significant gender-based moderating effects, but coefficients highlight important relationship nuances. Both genders experience a positive, significant effect of push factors on self-image congruence, with males showing a higher coefficient. The impact of push factors on WOM is significant for both, yet stronger for males. Females, however, demonstrate a greater influence of push factors on revisit intention. The effects of self-congruence on WOM are similar across genders. Males exhibit a more substantial influence of self-image congruence on revisit intention. WOM’s impact on revisit intention is marginally higher in males. While gender doesn’t significantly moderate these paths, the data suggest males typically have higher values in consumer experiences involving adventure and risk-taking.

Self-congruence significantly influences WOM for both first-time and repeat rafters, more so for the latter. This suggests experienced rafters, likely with higher self-image congruity, are more prone to sharing their experiences. Self-congruence also impacts revisit intention significantly among experienced rafters, but less for novices. In both cases, rafting experience does not moderate these relationships.

The study shows gender differences in variance rates for self-image congruity, WOM, and revisit intention. Self-image congruity explains 49.3% of the variance in males and 38% in females. For WOM, the variance is 81.6% in males and 57.7% in females. Regarding revisit intention, males have a variance rate of 68.1% compared to 65.7% in females. These results imply that self-image congruence is more prominent in male first-time rafters, who also tend to discuss their adventurous experiences more, indicating higher communication about risk-taking and adventure among males.

Study 2

A multiple correspondence analysis examined relationships between push factors, self-image congruence, and demographics in adventure tourism for greater insight into consumer behavior dynamics.

Multiple correspondence analysis

Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) is a robust multivariate technique used to examine relationships among nominal data. This method allows researchers to analyze data, interpret findings, and develop perceptual maps, facilitating a deeper understanding of the data structure (Hair et al., 2010; Hair et al., 2014). In this study, MCA was employed to analyze the relationships between individuals’ perceptions of push factors, self-image congruence, WOM, and revisit intentions, alongside demographic or social factors such as gender, nationality, rafting experience, and visiting status. The objective was to conduct in-depth research and derive meaningful inferences. The graphical representation from the Multiple Correspondence Analysis is provided in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4: Joint plot of category points from correspondence analysis.

This plot visualizes the associations between categorical variables, such as nationality, gender, experience, loyalty, and satisfaction. Spatial proximity indicates stronger relationships. This joint plot of category points illustrates the relationships among categorical variables based on their positions along two dimensions extracted through correspondence analysis. The plot visualizes associations between destination-related experiences (e.g., visit status, experiential satisfaction, loyalty), demographic variables (e.g., nationality, gender), and motivational/behavioral outcomes (e.g., push/pull factors, revisit intention, WOM). For example, high revisit intention, high congruity, and high WOM cluster on the right side of Dimension 1, while variables like low satisfaction and low loyalty appear on the left. The spatial proximity between categories indicates stronger associations.

According to the multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) results, repeat visitors to Köprülü Canyon are predominantly Turkish, male, and have prior visits to Antalya and rafting experience. These individuals are notably influenced by push and pull factors and demonstrate high self-image congruity, WOM, loyalty, and satisfaction, indicating a strong intention to revisit. Conversely, first-time visitors to Antalya and Köprülü Canyon are primarily Russian and female tourists, characterized by their pursuit of excitement, unique experiences, and experiential pleasure in adventure and risk-taking activities. Despite showing a high intention to revisit, the likelihood of Russian and female tourists returning is relatively low. This pattern suggests that while tourists enjoy adventure tourism as part of their sea, sun, and sand vacation, it is not the primary purpose of their visit. The findings imply that although tourists have significant rafting experiences and entertainment, they are more inclined to explore different geographical regions rather than revisit the same location. Consequently, it is expected that these tourists will likely choose alternative destinations for their next vacation.

Therefore, emphasizing promotions targeting first-time visitors in rafting or adventure tourism is anticipated to yield significant benefits. Consequently, catering to the preferences of Russian and female tourists with diverse adventure and risk-taking tourism options is projected to create a vital market segment. However, the analysis indicates that European tourists exhibit lower levels of self-image congruity, WOM, revisit intention, and satisfaction with push and pull factors related to rafting. As such, understanding the specific expectations of tourists from the European Union and offering varied tourism alternatives could become a significant source of revenue. Addressing these preferences may lead to enhanced tourist experiences and increased revisit rates.

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