Usoni

What would happen if we woke up one day to a new world order? In this order, African nations are first-world countries, and European nations are third-world countries. What if the effects of industrialization such as global warming and air pollution caused the downfall of the world’s superpowers, instigating a migration of humanity to the Global South? What would we do if the world as we know it ceased to exist? 

Survival for the Fittest 

Meet Ophelia, a Kenyan woman living in this dystopia. The year is 2063, and she is trying to flee Paris with her partner Ulysses. She hopes to return to her homeland on the shores of Lake Turkana. But hers is not an easy journey. The African continent, the only place where the sun still shines, has been transformed into a doomsday sanctuary by the world’s wealthiest.  

For her quest to succeed, Ophelia must make her way through refugee camps, zombies, border police, and industrial ruins to get to the Mediterranean Sea and onto the boat that will ferry her home. What’s more, Ophelia is pregnant, which makes her journey more laborious. Will Ophelia and Ulysses make it to safe shores unharmed? Or will they perish tragically like so many others already have? 

A Cultural Immersion 

Ophelia’s story is the setting of the post-apocalyptic videogame Usoni. The game is the creation of Jiwe Studios, a Kenyan game developing company. It was released in March 2021. The name Usoni is a Swahili word that translates to “future”. Aptly named, the video game gives a glimpse into the grim times that possibly lay ahead if climate concerns are not effectively mitigated. 

Usoni skilfully weaves the mission of the game with folktales from the El Molo community that inhabits the area surrounding Lake Turkana. Players get the unique opportunity to learn about a people whose language is classified as endangered by UNESCO. It is a brilliant show of the effectiveness of video games as storytelling medium in preserving cultures.  

Gamers, let us know if you have played Usoni. Did you get Ophelia and Ulysses to safety? Or is there a level that has proven too tough to complete? 

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