| Developer: | Coktel Vision |
| Publisher: | Coktel Vision |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Platforms: | Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, DOS, Thomson TO7 |
| Released: | November 28, 1987[1] |
Méwilo is a 1987 French adventure video game by Coktel Vision.
It was the first game by Muriel Tramis who was designer and producer at Coktel Vision.[2] [3] It saw a new direction for the developer, which had previously released strategy games.[4] [5] Tramis "proposed to program a game that [she] thought totally original", which became Mewilo. The head of the Coktel Vision, Roland Oskian, allowed her to develop her own story, and she began work in 1986.[6] Collaborating with Martiniquan créolité writer Patrick Chamoiseau the game was inspired by the Caribbean legend of jars of gold.[7] It was graphic designed by Philippe Truca.[8] The software was accompanied by a short story by Chamoiseau.[9]
Set in the town of Saint-Pierre, Martinique on May 7, 1902, the game takes place a day before Mount Pelée is set to erupt, causing catastrophic damage. The player is a parapsychologist called into town to investigate zombie sightings.
Tramis suggests that while the game was a failure in France, Mewilo performed better in Germany due to the country being "tinged with colonialism".[10]
For the 30th anniversary, Tramis created a crowdfunding campaign to create a remake.[11] [12]
Atari Magazine praised the "excellent graphics, which can hardly be surpassed in terms of color and richness of detail"; it also highlighted the German localisation.[13] Joystick deemed it an "exciting and instructive adventure",[14] highlighting themes of slavery and the social ills of the tropical plantations.[15] Aktueller Software Markt felt it was "very complex and extensive",[16] and praised the "thought-out story' which "included the cultural and social background of [Tramis'] home country".[17] Additionally, the magazine wrote "Tramis understood how to create a captivating atmosphere through the interesting and realistic background of the story".[18] Amstar Magazine thought the game was original in its subject and execution, far from the traditional adventures games containing monsters and dungeons.[19] [20]
Am Magazine praised its "cultural dimension" which it felt was "rarely found among its colleagues in adventure games".[21] Generation 4 described it an "educational adventure game" and wished more games in this sub-genre would be released.[22] Amiga News felt the software "leaves something to be desired", commenting that the "animation (for the rare times when there is some...) is sloppy and jerky".[23] Tilt wrote it offered a "real dive into the Caribbean soul, all at the same time complex, passionate, violent and irremediably marked by the claws of its history (slavery)".[24]
Tramis asserts that the city of Paris gave her a silver medal for the work.[26]