It’s the 19th century in colonial America. The mechanics behind The Oregon Trail differ little from the original teleprinter version. The result was this year’s The Oregon Trail, an Apple Arcade highlight that updates the original Oregon Trail to include Native Americans as central characters, complete with charming 8-bit visuals and a booming alt-country-inspired soundtrack. Gameloft scoured through 47 years of institutionalized injustice and finally dared to retell the same story a different way. The olive branch was proffered, but didn’t exactly receive a response back.Īnd yet, the story boasts a silver lining.

The historical Oregon Trail uprooted the indigenous population from the lands they called home, rewriting history and turning victims into villains, residents into outsiders, imperialists into superheroes. But more succinctly, they were victims in a relentless mass invasion as white Americans expanded like ticks, and their collective search for meaning unjustly romanticized at the expense of those who lived in the continent before them, Native Americans soon paid the price for their achievements. They were allies, partners, hosts, friends, family, and mentors, opening their borders to those willing to respect the plains and forests that birthed their people. The truth was, Native Americans were never just supporting roles in the early years of colonial America. 23 reinterpretations have come and gone, and not a single developer thought to make pertinent changes. As iconic as the 1971 text-based strategy game is for the modern-day American school system, it fed hapless 10-year-olds the same tired narrative where the quintessential white man’s trials and tribulations mattered more than those marginalized by their almost-parasitic spread across continental United States. The original Oregon Trail by student teachers Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger never strived to tell a different story. Indigenous characters were either unplayable guides or nameless murderers in every struggling European colony’s search for a land they could appropriate. In a computer game renowned among elementary schoolchildren for keeping white settlers alive, the Native American sentiment was always going to be secondary. Native Americans are the new heroes of Gameloft’s Oregon Trail remake. GIANT FREAKIN ROBOT > Games Oregon Trail Has Been Given A Modern Update

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