This game was the free game on PlayStation 4 last month, with a few others, and was the game I was most keen to play. I didn't know much about it, but I knew it was an "art" game from an indy developer, thatgamecompany, and involved a journey...
And that is what the game was and it was brilliantly done. Beautiful graphics, great sound track and a fantastic anonymous multiplayer system where the game will know if a player is near and you'll seamlessly enter the same game world.
The actual mechanics of the game are very simple, you move around with the stick, jump with one button and send out a shout with another, and that's it! The game progresses through various levels, which lead onto each other as you go along the journey, each level having some basic puzzle to be solved. It's not a hard game at all, it's more like an interactive film or story; you'll get to the end, but how will you get there, who will you meet on the way and what will you see?
I won't describe any of the levels as that'd spoil it or even what the aim of the game is, needless to say it's to get to your destination, which I wasn't sure of until quite near the end of my play through!
Visually the game is stunning. The landscapes you navigate deform under foot, the weather swirls around you and the lighting illuminates the world in a fairy tale like glow. It's both simple, in styling, and yet so detailed in the overall effect.
The multiplayer works without you even noticing, until you see another player running around in front of you! When I first saw another player I assumed it was a computer control person in my game world, then I realised they were behaving in a non-AI sort of way and was very adept at both finding me, following me and leading me to hidden spots.
The shout command is a single expression which makes for an interesting communication system. I met players who'd be frequently giving out short shouts, as a sort of, "over here", expression, and others who'd stay silent until they let out a single long shout, by holding the button down for longer.
Every player, including yourself, has a unique symbol, which is shone above you head when you shout. When I'd love a companion I'd soon myself encountering another, with a different symbol, and sometimes I'd bump into the same people! Until you complete your journey you have no idea who the people are you meet, all you know is that they are other players. You can only have 1 other player in your world and I think that's perfect as it makes the relationship between the strangers more intimate.
Overall, I felt entirely captivated by the game. Most of all I loved the interaction with strangers and the sense of camaraderie that developed when my travelling companion stayed with me for a while.
Sounds cool!
ReplyDelete