I’ve seen my share of American media that treats postal workers with a patriotic significance. To an extent, it makes sense. Some of the most revolutionary changes to human societies followed rapid developments in communication technology or infrastructure. We’re in the middle of such a period right now, even.
Thousand Threads is a walking simulator with an open world light RPG-ish simulation on top. It is a little bit, like Death Stranding, about how a courier or postman can hold a society together. It’s a vastly more relaxing and low-key game, and about walking in the woods and observing the dynamic behaviour of its many NPCs than rebuilding or fighting or pontificating. There’s not even a story as such. But through playing it over these last few days, I have come to understand that it is not, in fact, the player’s role as a noble postal worker holding this society together. It is Gretchen Anderson.