Misleading Titles

The ideal UK summer sky - cloudy with patches of heretical blue

Ever felt that the title of a game doesn't reflect the experience of playing it?  I can think of a few such games: Final Fantasy (it sure wasn't the last one) and Half-life (the game starts with Gordon Freeman having full health).  Jokes aside, the hands-down winner of this category of video games has to be The Magnificent Trufflepigs.  Spoiler alter!  There are no pigs or truffles, nor is this recently released indie game "magnificent" (reviews are decidedly mixed).  So, what is it really about?

Ostensibly, Magnificent Trufflepigs is actually about metal detecting in the idyllic countryside of northern England.  Getting down to it though the game is a mostly linear story-driven walking-sim focused on two characters - Adam and Beth.  All of their interactions are dialogues usually taking place over a pair of walkie-talkies.  Sadly, players can't operate their metal detector while listening to these frequent conversation sequences.  The way players find buried objects is also a bit strange.  Instead of making sweeping motions back and forth while advancing slowly (until the detector beeps), the system works more like a proximity detector (chiming more and more rapidly as the player closes in).  I don't think the game needed to be a one-to-one simulation of the real thing, but something that was more akin to how metal detectors actually function might have made gameplay somewhat less barebones.  Since there's not all that much in terms of gameplay...how about the story? 

At the risk of sounding reductive, it's Firewatch: handheld transceivers, red herrings, a natural setting, and sprinkle of romantic tension...the same framework is there.  The problem is our two leads in Magnificent Trufflepigs have a very lopsided relationship.  Of course, there's a story reason for this dynamic - it wouldn't be a proper Firewatch clone without a late game plot twist or two (more on one of those in a moment).  Having said all that, I noticed more than a few players who got annoyed with Beth pretty quickly because the "treasure hunting" aspect of the game is put on pause every time she wants to chat.  Tangential question...why bother with portable radios when they both have working smartphones?

Well, that's a relief...being a horror game I was
worried there for a minute...

Anyway...the endgame twists I alluded to earlier is Adam not being an actual childhood friend of  Beth's, but rather a figment of her imagination.  The tale concludes with Beth selling off her valuables in order to go on an "adventure" of self-discovery.  I suspect that the intent here was for players to be left with bittersweet or heartwarming feelings about finding oneself.  However, one review I read (possibly written by someone with a background in psychology) noted that hearing voices in your head while pawning off all your personal belongings is a major red flag as far as mental health goes.  I found that interpretation amusing, but it is perhaps too dark a turn of events given the sentimental subject matter.

In the interests of fairness, I should mention a few of the good points.  The voice acting is topnotch.  The music is pleasant.  Visually, the game is beautiful.  A tip of the hat to whoever was tasked with art direction.  The hot air balloons and wind power generators, in particular, were a nice touch.  In general, it's a relaxing game that doesn't overstay its welcome.  I think with some modifications to the script and improvements to gameplay, it could have been a indie gem...that is if the title were changed to something to do with metal detectors and soul searching.