Songs of Travel

About

Songs of Travel is a point-and-click visual novel that follows five distinct characters navigating their lives as migrants in Europe. Each story is presented through interactive dialogue and branching choices, blending personal histories with universal themes of identity, loss, and what it means to call a place home. Developed by Causa Creations, the game released in May 2024 and is available on Android and iOS devices. What sets the game apart is its focus on real-world experiences, shaped by Syrian artist Jack Gutmann’s collaboration with the development team. The five narratives include a non-binary Syrian refugee rebuilding life in Vienna, a Vietnamese-German daughter navigating cultural duality, and a Ukrainian lawyer fleeing war twice. While no official ratings are listed, the project’s emphasis on humanizing migration has been praised in early reviews. Its mobile-first design makes for a compact but emotionally resonant journey, best played in short sessions.

Storyline

An animated graphic novel exploring the unique stories of five migrants seeking new beginnings in Europe. Together, these stories paint a mosaic of themes such as our hopes, dreams, and identities; home; and the things we treasure most. The aim of Songs of Travel is to bring the personal stories of migrants to a wider audience and paint a vivid picture of the topic of migration. The narratives are tied together by the experiences of the Syrian artist Jack Gutmann, who co-developed the award-winning game "Path Out" with the game’s developer, Causa Creations. Follow the narratives of: * Light, a non-binary Syrian refugee who arrives in Vienna after years of hardship and war in Syria and the United Arab Emirates. * Vân, the daughter of a Vietnamese contract worker who grew up in East-Germany and who must deal with the duality of being Vietnamese-German. * Michele, the son of Francesco Cicora, an Italian coal miner who died in the great mining disaster of Marcinelle 1956 in Belgium. * Hasan, who came to Austria at the age of 1, when his mother moved there from Istanbul, Turkey. * Olya, a Ukrainian lawyer and a refugee who has had to flee twice: first when she left her home of Donetsk in 2014 and fled to Kyiv, and then when she fled from Ukraine once war erupted in 2022.