The USB Stick Found in the Grass

When people talk about wanting next-generation games and innovative ideas, what they are usually asking for are the genres they love with prettier graphics. But I would argue that the year's most original game doesn't need super-powered processors or even bleeding-edge graphics to be innovative, because sometimes all you need is the ability to read a Word document and open a few JPGs. Let me introduce you to The USB Stick Found in the Grass, a brand-new puzzle game that accurately recreates what it's like to, well, find a USB stick in the grass. If you've ever wanted to spy in on other people's lives and solve a mystery, then this may be the game for you. Or, it's going to be the game you end up hating the most this year. There's not a lot of middle ground on this game.

Okay, hear me out: One of my favorite movies of all time is Blue Velvet by David Lynch, which sees a very young Kyle Maclachlan gets caught up in the seedy, drug-filled underbelly of his otherwise sleepy hometown. In that movie, he stumbles upon a severed ear in a field of grass, which spurs the college student to investigate the case for himself. This ultimately leads to spying on Isabella Rossellini and hanging out with one of Dennis Hopper's craziest (and most memorable) characters.

The USB Stick Found in the Grass reminds me a lot of Blue Velvet. Not the stuff with the drugged-up nightclub singer, but rather that feeling of finding a clue in a field and then throwing yourself ear-first at the investigation. For the first time in my entire life, I felt like young and innocent Jeffrey Beaumont from Blue Velvet. I had everything I needed to get hopelessly swept up in the drama and mystery of other people's lives. Not because you're playing a character in a video game, but rather because you're the character in the video game. You're the one who is really conducting this investigation, which means that you can use any real-world programs or know-how to your advantage.

The conceit here is that you just found a USB stick in a field and decide to investigate it. Instead of loading into a title screen or doing the usual video game stuff, The USB Stick Found in the Grass creates a new drive on your computer filled with stuff to explore. In other words, it mimics what would happen if you plugged a mysterious USB drive into a desktop or laptop. It contains a Word doc, some pictures, a couple eBooks and a few password-protected folders. We have everything needed to solve this puzzle, including free computer software. The only thing left is for you to piece it all together.

I'm not going to lie; this is a tough game to talk about. I can tell you that there's a lengthy diary in the folder that you're going to want to comb for clues, but I probably shouldn't get into specifics. It tells you a story about a character and their friends, all while hinting at not only the bigger picture, but also how to uncover many of the game's juiciest secrets. It's not enough to simply poke around for the right answers, because you'll need to dig deeper and think like an investigator.

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The most refreshing (or frustrating, depending on your perspective) thing about The USB Stick Found in the Grass is that it never holds your hand. There isn't a pop-up box that recommends searching in the books folder or something pointing at right days in the diary. This is a game that expects you to be intrigued enough by the mystery to see it through to the end. It's for the kind of person who watches detective shows on TV and is always one-step ahead of the cops. This game expects you to put in the hard work to crack the case.

And let me tell you, it's not always obvious what you're supposed to be doing. Your first instinct is to want to crack those password-protected folders, but you will quickly learn that they don't always hold the key you're looking for. And it's not as if the rest of the folders are much help, as they seem more designed to obfuscate than clarify. Do I really need to read The Wizard of Oz? Why is this folder empty? What's up with these two links to download the controversial 2013 French movie Blue is the Warmest Color? Is that even legal? Am I going to go to prison for playing this game?

These are questions I've never asked while playing a game. And the truth is, the deeper you dive into the diary and fiction, the more reality starts to blur. Part of this is because you're using all of your normal computer programs to crack the case. When I use Google to cross-reference clues, I'm using the same browser I always use to get caught up on news, find map directions, check Twitter and upload videos to YouTube. I can use the version of PhotoShop I tinker with on a daily basis to analyze the random pictures. Hell, I'm reading the diary using the same edition of Microsoft Word that I use to write every single one of my reviews. It all begins to feel "real" in a way that you never get in a video game, not even when plugged into a virtual reality headset. There were times when I would hit a brick wall and have to remind myself that this is just a game. None of these people are real. I can try to solve the mystery another day.

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And yet, even as I played other games and went about my normal routine, I couldn't help but think about that diary, the pictures, the empty folders and the fact that the owner of the drive clearly downloaded Under the Skin and moved it to the computer. But wait, is Under the Skin related to Blue is the Warmest Color? They both came out in 2013. Could that be a clue? Is that connected to the weird time stamps in the diary? What about the bold letters? Did I just have a lightbulb moment, or is this another dead end?

Of course, there's another question to ponder: Is The USB Stick Found in the Grass actually fun? The truth is, I don't know. It's definitely rewarding. Even the smallest cracks in the case feel like monumental accomplishments, so in that sense I had fun. What you're buying here isn't necessarily a video game, but rather a real-world mystery experience. It's the same reason you go to an Escape Room. The story that's being told, as good as it often is, ends up being secondary to the journey. And when it comes right down to it, you're either on board for that journey or you're not. There's no middle ground here.

I can see a lot of people giving up on The USB Stick Found in the Grass and concluding that it's the worst game ever made. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if most people come away with that opinion. This is a game made for a very specific audience -- the hardcore investigative types. There is no casual player for this game. You don't dip in and out when you have a few spare minutes. This is an experience that can easily take over your life. There were times when I felt like every movie detective with a table full of old evidence, examining and re-examining the photographs trying to find that clue I missed the first, second or five-hundredth time. That's an amazingly cool feeling. But, at the exact same time, if you're not into solving these kinds of puzzles, then you're going to hate ever second of this game. If that describes you, then let me recommend the 1986 movie Blue Velvet. It's a classic.