The Unfinished Swan - Full Review (PS3 game)

The Unfinished Swan is a game of childish wonderment and discovery where everything along its path is a new and intriguing curiosity for you to explore. This game is flawless, enriching and deeply enjoyable and has the ability to keep you wanting more even after you’ve completed it. The Unfinished Swan is a beautifully captivating tale that’s told in a storybook manner by a softly spoken woman who straight away manages to captures your attention as though you were back in nursery school. You’re first introduced to a young boy called Monroe and his mother who loved to paint but who was always better at starting things than finishing them. Her most favourite of all her paintings was the Unfinished Swan who’s missing a bit of his neck. When Monroe’s mother dies, leaving Monroe alone in an orphanage, the only thing Monroe has left of her is this single painting. One night, the young boy awakens to find a door in his room that he’d never seen before. The swan in the painting has someone mysteriously disappeared leaving nothing but a blank canvass. Figuring the swan must have gone through this door, Monroe enters it too; and that’s where the story really begins.

Gameplay

This game had me confused when I first played it because you’re quite literally left staring at a blank white screen with a tiny, barely noticeable crosshair in the middle. There’s a grey balloon in one corner and apart from that, no HUD. I wasn’t even sure if the game had started or not but after a tentative press of the controls I heard my own feet on the ground, I pressed X and heard myself jump and land. I was intrigued. After some running about on this blank canvass I found that you could launch what seemed to be large balls of ink and suddenly; I had found a wall, made apparent the large splatter of ink now staining the white abyss in front of me. I did the only natural thing; I spun in a circle and splattered ink in every which direction, revealing above me beams of wood and on one of the walls a door, it’s shape just about recognizable through the contrast of black and white. The door couldn’t be opened and it took me a little longer before I found a corner to the room. I could only see where I was going by splattering ink in front of me and where the very edges of the splat met with the white canvass revealed to me detail; a bench, bamboo, tiny black blades of grass . I could hear birds tweeting and distant the distant twinkling of what sounded like a wind chime. I almost stepped into a lake, so intent I was at exploring this strange new world, but was saved when the embankment was suddenly made visible in front of me. Experimentally I threw some black balls of ink in front of me, revealing a few grasses and whilst some of the ink balls plopped into the white water and sunk beneath the water's surface, those that remained were eaten by a few large fish that leapt from the murky white water before me. A frog croaked and I saw it briefly before a huge sea monster dived out of the lake and snapped it up right before diving back down and out of sight again. Stumbling backwards dramatically I suddenly felt incredibly vulnerable in this blank, white world.

The entire game isn’t like this; a blank white canvass for you to splatter ink on, but the first few areas are and it’s so satisfying to reveal things like iron gates, a castle, the boardwalks over the lake as you carefully tread only where you’ve uncovered. The game changes things up just when it’s about to start feeling repetitive by adding in very simplistic additions like painted on shadows to help you find your way around. Later on there are some really interesting puzzle elements and environments such as a terrifyingly dark forest where you can activate glowing baubles of coloured light to temporarily illuminate the area before you’re injured by unseen creatures. Every time you’re introduced to a new mechanic for traversing the landscape you’ll be fascinated and amused at this new feature and the sudden contrasts that it has caused in the surrounding environment.

The gameplay is not challenging and it’s not really supposed to be. There were a few times where I was unsure about how to continue or go about something but after some wandering about and looking around it becomes pretty apparent what you’re supposed to do. It’s not a negative thing that the gameplay is unchallenging because you’re there to experience a journey, not a struggle, and the constant shifting of puzzles means it doesn’t feel boring or one-dimensional. As an added gameplay element there are hidden balloons to find in each level which you activate by throwing balls at. It sounds like a silly, childish thing to find but they’re actually extremely difficult to locate due of the nature of the environments. For instance, balloons early on in the story are pure white to blend in with the blank white canvass of your surroundings and the only way you’ll find them is by seeing them shift against a partially splattered black and white backdrop. Finding and unlocking the balloons is purely optional and you can always go back to levels you’ve already completed to try and track them down. The purpose of them is that you can unlock special abilities such as a balloon locator, a water hose used for throwing ink in a long stream or the ability to stop time, put down a lot of ink balls that remain suspended in the air, then restarting time and allowing them to splatter the scenery all at once. This last one is particularly useful for when you’re throwing water that fades away quickly instead of the permanent black ink of the earlier levels. 

Though there are no other characters in the game, other than the swan himself, you don’t feel entirely alone due to the narrative and the storyline that you’re following. The story itself is primarily told through simplistic, hand drawn storyboards that are very basic in appearance; black and white outlines with a little delicate colouring in here and there. Some areas have large storyboards on a wall or piece of scenery that, when you throw a ball at them, they melt away into the page of a book with an accompanying image. The same woman who tells the story before and after levels will read out the page in gentle, soothing tones as though reading a children’s book and it’s such a quaint way of finding out what’s going on that you actively search for each and every page so you don’t miss a thing. If you enjoy a good plot then this is the storyline that will keep you playing as more and more is revealed about the unusual, dreamlike world you’ve entered and the ending is a curious, but lovely, thing.

Graphics and audio

Though the graphics are simplistic and understated they are extremely pleasing to the eye. The entire world is so perfectly pieced together that the simplistic nature of the graphics merely showcases the confidence of the developers. This game doesn’t need incredibly high definition graphics because it’s a world of paint and canvas and in this world less is more. Colour is done perfectly and there’s a great emphasis on making things stand out like the black on the white, bright vibrant colours on a black canvass and the shocking green of life in a dead city. Nothing looks unappealing or boring and there’s just enough detail to make something feel full yet not overcrowded which is a mistake that could have been very easily happened in the city environments. Overall the game has a lot of levels that it feels really substantial and each chapter has a different element that keeps it really fresh and interesting. What’s even better is that that starting level’s world isn’t just white out of random decision; the storyline explains it as you progress through the game so it’s not just a game where you play at being an artist. There’s a reason and a good, solid narrative behind everything and also lots of interesting little bits that makes every new area worth exploring and appreciating. 

The game not only looks stunning but it sounds brilliant too. In those early moments of the game sound is all you’ve got to go on to find your way around. That clang of hitting an iron gate with a ball of ink as it suddenly appears before you; strikingly black, now partially swung open is wonderful. The tell-tale clacking of your feet on a tiled roof and the creaking and groaning from an unseen construction tower is all incredibly atmospheric and it’s these little things that you really notice. The music is lovely too. Initially subtle and pleasant, childlike almost, the music dips and dives into something a little more sinister or a little more majestic as your environment changes and the game progresses. The voice acting is also quite simply spot on. The soft tones of the storyteller drops you straight into ‘bedtime story’ mode whilst the odd little grunts and noises that your character plays are cute, simple but effective and really do make Monroe come to life. 

Overall

There’s plenty of artistic indie games out there on the market but none of them quite like The Unfinished Swan. The healthy mixture of storybook narration and the constant engagement with your imagination makes this a game that bucks the trend and encourages you to look at the world from a different perspective. If you enjoy games that are different, imaginative and beautifully refined then this game is for you where every new challenge and puzzle is more creative and original than the last. Though it may be a short game it has plenty in it to keep you occupied and it will take a good handful of hours to finish everything and, even then, it’s an experience you’ll really enjoy playing through again. This is quite simply a gorgeous game. 

Score: 10/10

To discover more of my PS3 game reviews, check out this page here.

Child of Light - Full Review (Xbox One/360, PS4/PS3, PC and Wii-U)

“Come, tuck yourself into bed. Let me tell a story. Of Lemuria, a kingdom past. And a girl born for glory.” 

Child of Light is a beautiful piece of poetic artwork that stands as a solid nod to traditional RPG gaming yet with its own clear sense of identity. It’s not a joyful tale as the artwork suggests but instead an incredibly moving and deeply saddening story of a lost young girl and a grieving father.Through the use of the fantastic UbiArt Framework, an engine that helped to create the stunning ‘Rayman Origins’ and ‘Rayman Legends’, Child of Light now stands proudly as Ubisoft’s latest artistic masterpiece. The game boasts an unusual, but curious, combination of turn based RPG and 2D side scrolling platformer gameplay that gives it an immediate edge over the competition. Somehow the blending of these two genres have led to the creation of something incredibly creative and incredibly original but which suffers from a lack of any real challenge and a very predictable, short storyline. Regardless, this is a tale that unfolds itself before you with such grace and beauty that you simply cannot abandon it before its time. This casual game carries itself with such style and confidence that it doesn’t take long for you to fall victim to its charms and, before you know it, you’ve been pattering around the beautiful landscapes of Lemuria for hours.

Gameplay and plot

The true nature of this game is revealed in its earliest moments when a young girl, the daughter of a powerful ruler, is stricken down by some unexplained illness. The close relationship this girl had with her father is not only apparent but utterly destroyed when, one morning, she doesn’t wake. The king is thrown into despair and, rather than care for the kingdom that needs him, instead chooses to shut himself away in his grief. But he is not the only one who is lost; somewhere else his daughter has awakened only to find herself in an unfamiliar place, far away from the comfort of her home. This beautiful but haunting land is called Lemuria and it has lately fallen victim to a mysterious character known only as the Queen of the Night. This evil queen has stolen away the sun, moon and stars of the land and it now falls to Aurora, aided by her ethereal companion, to not only recover these stolen celestial bodies but to also be reunited with her father. This is a coming of age story with a difference that will show the lengths this young princess needs to go to become the woman she needs to be to tackle adversary and save the ones she loves. 

Taking on the role of this lost young girl you’ll be transported into a beautiful hand drawn world that seems to exist entirely from a child’s perspective, from its poetic narrative to its picture book appearance this waking dream will leave you feeling utterly enchanted. Feeding into the undernourished concept of artistic gaming Ubisoft have bucked the trends of traditional gaming and instead veered down a route usually only travelled by indie developers such as Thatgamecompany, Playdead and Giant Sparrow. Not only this, the game has been designed with a cross-generational appeal in mind in order to fight back against the negative stereotype that video games damage children. What with the media trotting out the idea that games are harmful, violent and something to be avoided ‘Child of Light’ has instead produced a game that parents would be proud to, not only give to their children, but to play with them too. You can immediately see the appeal to parents and their children however as the storybook design, rhyming verses and lack of complicated menus means that even very young children will find this game engaging.  

A bit problem with these sorts of co-op RPG games is that they can often result in a restricted second player who can do no more than exist as a spectator and maybe even grab some coins or experience during battle, such as in ‘Super Mario Galaxy’. Rather than this though the developers have ensured that the supporting character of Igniculus, Aurora’s firefly companion, is able to help at every stage of the game from exploring the environment to aiding in battle. Whilst Aurora is the one doing most of the fighting Igniculus is also incredibly useful and thankfully doesn’t just sit around on the side-lines. Igniculus can slow down enemies during battles by hovering over them and slowing down their personal timer which delays their attack. Igniculus can also heal party members by absorbing magic and energy from the surrounding environment making Igniculus more of a supporting role than a defined party member. Outside of battle Igniculus can also access certain treasure chests, switches and also help Aurora progress through some very simple puzzles.

The battle system of Child of Light is very familiar to those who play RPG and JRPG games. The combat is turn based with active time, meaning that a lot of tactics are involved in order to use your time efficiently. The battle system is very similar to what you’d find in a Final Fantasy game with your standard levelling up, increasing your stats and also an upgrade tree. The upgrade tree is fairly problematic with far too many choices that all offer more or less the same minor bonuses that you can achieve by simply levelling up. Your party has a maximum size of six members by the time you reach the end of the game but during combat you are limited to just two of these characters, though you can switch them in and out which is handy. Prior to battle enemies are encountered in a very standard JRPG manner; battles trigger whilst exploring the environment and coming across an enemy but with Igniculus’ help you can bypass these encounters entirely. If Igniculus runs ahead and shines his light on the enemy he can temporarily blind them, allowing Aurora to run through unscathed.

The battles themselves generally boil down to the individual resistances and vulnerabilities of each character so whereas one may be particularly resistant to fire characters another may  be weak to them, requiring you to bolster their fire defence or just switch them out entirely. What this results in is quite a bit of character juggling as you move through the areas but it’s still a manageable amount due to the limited number of party members. The means in which you can buff your party members falls down to crafting special gems called Oculi which are really the games only crafting resource. Oculi are used to buff attacks, defences and also provide other benefits like additional experience and an increased chance of dodging. There are ten base gems such as sapphire and rubies which all have their individual properties so, diamonds increase your speed, earn additional experience from battle and also increase your casting speed. You can then combine gems of roughly the same quality, be that rough, tumbled or faceted to then create other gems of higher quality. Three rough gems of the same kind, for example, will produce one tumbled gem.  Unfortunately there’s no in game recipe chart or any form of guide so it can be quite difficult to remember how to make a particular gem without the use of pen and paper or just having to memorize everything .  

Graphics and audio

The first thing you immediately notice about this game is the stunning visuals. Whether that’s the beautiful and intricately hand drawn environments or the simple but delicately tailored HUD and font that compliments the overall feel of the game.  The environments and landscapes are incredibly varied with some very lovely visual elements such as droplets of colour rising from the ground to the sky as though a wet watercoloured painting was turned completely upside down. The game holds classic fantasy imagery everywhere you go and the childlike picture book quality does wonders for the atmosphere of this strange place. You really only need to look at the screenshots to see what a visual masterpiece this game truly is but what the screens don’t show is how beautiful the game not only looks, but sounds. The music is striking but gentle and provides a wonderfully relaxed, almost whimsical sense to the entire game though it can often dip into the melancholic and subdued as the story addresses more saddening issues.  It is clearly apparent that much loving care and craft has been poured into making sure this game punches you with the right visuals as they uplifting your spirits, swell your heart then drop you back down again with its melancholic, orchestrated melodies the leave you feeling emotionally tied up with the story. 

Overall

What let this game down was the simplistic gameplay and overly predictable storyline. It may be unfair to dismiss this game as far too easy because, and the developers have admitted as much, it’s aimed at parents and their children. The rhyming structure of the game, whilst intriguing at first, quickly becomes more of a limitation on narrative than an enhancement and sometimes you can sense that the writers struggling to keep in pace with this difficult task. The game is also very short with only about 12 hours of gameplay within it and though it is an enjoyable 12 hours it could have done with a lot of additional content. Despite the spattering of side quests alongside the main storyline the game still feels a little barren. With a game that looks and sounds so perfect and which provides such a promising concept and storyline it's hard not to feel let down as you realize the game is already drawing to a close after just several hours of play time. Despite its problems the game is a nice addition to artistic games, especially considering it’s from such a well-known developer. I can only hope that, in the future, Ubisoft try again but with something a little more fleshed out and with more effort put into the actual structure of the game. For a game that costs just £12 though it's very difficult to see these complaints through and, honestly, I only wish there was more of it because what was there was so enjoyable and so endearing.

Score: 8/10

5 Simple But Reflective Browser Games (Free online games)

Not all games are action or adventure orientated and often it’s nice to play a game that’s a little bit more interesting. These games tend to be incredibly unique, artistic and emotional and it’s a theme that’s been gaining both mainstream and critical acceptance following the success of games like Journey, Braid and Rain. These larger titles are not to be out done by the humble browser game however. This newly developing genre of game has produced dozens of high quality, free and online browser games that are reflective, thoughtful and incredibly original. Below are some of the most highly rated indie games that make you think a little about life, death and humanity.

Every Day the Same Dream (play it here)

I found this game to be surprisingly striking considering how bored I was for the first few minutes of playing it. You play a faceless man with no personality and whose life consists of getting up, getting dressed, going to work then repeating it all over again. You play this cycle again, and again, and again until you ask yourself; standing there in your pants by the alarm clock, what if I don’t want to do it again? Well, nobody’s making you, so why are you doing it? This game lets you figure that out by yourself, there’s no dialogue except the same one line from each person you meet; your wife and your boss. Everything is in shades of black, white and grey except a couple of tiny things like a leaf, the parking sign and the exit sign. I found myself trying to find things to improve this game and, consequentially, this man’s life and the moment you realize you don’t have to keep walking the same way, that you can find other things, that you truly see how life is represented in this simple, but meaningful game. The ending will leave you with questions and your own interpretations about what it all means. Play it here and ask yourself, is this my life? 

Today I Die (play it here)

This short game is more like a piece of interactive poetry than a game though it does have some puzzle elements. The game has a very simple, pixel retro appearance to it and it won’t take you much longer than 10 minutes to complete it, though it does have alternate endings. The game begins with the very depressing sight of a dead young woman held down by a boulder at the bottom of the ocean. Around her swims dark creatures and a handful of rising jellyfish, a very short poem is also on the screen. You can interact with everything and gradually fit together the puzzle pieces to move the game onwards and to change the wording of the poem. It’s an imaginative piece with great atmosphere and a strong emotional element that leaves you quietly reflective. This game manages to say a great deal in its simple poem format and spiritual melodies which make you ponder your own outlook on life and death. 

The Company of Myself (play it here)

This platforming puzzle game puts you in the shoes of an introvert as he progresses through a series of levels all by himself, well, not completely by himself. The goal of the game is to progress through linear levels and reach a green door on the other side of the level. Sometimes there are force fields and jumps too high to reach by yourself, but you’re all alone so who do you turn to? Here, the game takes an unusual twist. By pressing the spacebar prior to finishing the level you’ll die and be reborn again, using one of your lives, but now there is a shadow of your past self that will re-enact all of the actions, perfectly replicated, that you performed prior to pressing the spacebar. These shadows of your former self can pass through barriers you cannot, and are blocked by other barriers that you’re not blocked by. This means that you can find yourself in scenarios when you have to pretend to jump up a set of stairs so that when your shadow attempts it he’ll be actually going up the stairs; prevented from falling by the pink force fields. The game’s storyline is told in silent verses though the ending consists of an incredibly sad epilogue that changes the entire meaning of the game. If you’d like to read about the story I’ve written it out here but to keep this review spoiler free I’ll just tell you that it’s both shocking and saddening to have journeyed with this character through 20 introspective levels only to find out the true meaning of it all. 

Coma (play it here)

This game is a highly imaginative, incredibly creepy game that takes place in a realm somewhere between the dreams and wakefulness of a boy called Pete. The artwork of this game is an entrancing mixture of unsettling darkness and luscious colour and it has instant appeal for those who enjoy atmospheric games. Everything is a little off colour, a little dreamlike and a little unsettling. You play a very small character with barely any features who starts off standing in a dark, dreary, oversized house. The game has puzzle elements but is quite linear and not particularly challenging as the focus lies on the journey, meaning and mood that it creates. You can quite simply move, jump and talk to creatures and people you find along the way as you explore this world and go about the tasks you are set. The first character you interact with sets the unnerving tone that the entire game possesses “Dad locked me in this cage so I wouldn’t tell. He locked your sister in his secret basement! He says he wants her to starve…” The overall meaning and story of the game that can be taken from the few simple words spoken in this game is entirely down to your interpretation but quite simply, you set out on a mission to save your sister. By the time the credits roll you’ll be wondering what Pete’s life is truly like for him to have created this striking, but dark, world and it really does make you wonder, was he in an accident or did something else, someone else, put him in that coma? 

ImmorTALL(play it here)

The short story of this game is both shocking and moving. It’s a short piece that takes the French idea of a bête noire, “black beast” and turns it into an interesting examination of humanity. A bête noire in literacy is something that is conventionally avoided or disliked and in this case it’s supposedly the alien creature that you play. After a crash landing to Earth you’ll play this black alien as he starts out tiny and grows larger and larger as the friendship of a farming family is extended towards him. Unfortunately, this alien is about to find itself caught in the throes of mankind’s lust for violence. This game manages to tell a story in very simple, small gestures and without words; opening the eyes of its players simply through expression. When the game ended I was left with a single question that I’m sure many others can relate to; “why?”

Flower - Quick Review (PS3 and PS4 game)

If I told you that this was a game where you play as a single petal on the wind, gradually gathering more and more petals, you’d probably laugh at me for suggesting it’s a fantastic game. Well, go ahead and laugh at me because Flower is a fantastic game. I admit, the concept is odd, absurd even, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that this is a subtly emotional, beautifully depicted piece of art with enrapturing music and a sense of majesty that is difficult to escape.  

Flower is a game with no words, no written objectives and no living creatures present in the entire game, except flowers. The use of the PlayStation Move controller makes it quite hard to get used to at first because it feels so overly sensitive but, after a little practice you and the controller become one. You soar through the hilly landscapes, dipping and diving and riding on the wind with such utter freedom of movement that it’s a truly satisfying experience and a beautiful sight to behold. The game is slightly puzzle based but mostly an expression of freedom that is completely without restriction. You begin as a couple of petals, bumbling across the wind until you knock into a flower, the petals from that flower join onto you and you become larger, a mass of petals that are different coloured as you plummet and soar into different types of flowers. There’s very little challenge and it’s all reward with no frustration which is a lovely way to relax and spend some time away from traditional, heavily action or story orientated games. 

There are six levels and each level has a little mystery to find within it though generally you’ll be spending your time finding and opening up the buds of flowers that usually form rings or patterns. By opening up all the flowers you’ll watch as the grass around you flutters with life and takes on a new colour, completing that area of the map. It’s a little tactical; you’ll need to catch the wind to reach new heights and by pushing it too hard and too fast you’ll end up swirling out of control, well away from your objective flower. Too slow and you won’t get enough speed to continue moving forward smoothly and you’ll spend a lot of time slowly turning on the spot. The flowers and grasses in this game are like finely shredded paper and they rustle with utter perfection as you breeze them through. Everything is very responsive to your touch and it’s an immense thrill to be thrown into an open world with no goals, no direction and to find things out for yourself with wondrous results.

Playing this game is an almost dreamy experience that’s incredibly calming and almost therapeutic, but at the same time it’s enjoyable and rewarding. This is likely to be a love it or hate it type of game but the combination of stunning graphics, a deeply expressive soundtrack and the sad underlying storyline makes this game a wonderful piece of interactive artwork. Overall, you can get a good few hours of gameplay out of this if you don’t rush it and it’s such a great source of escapism that I’m sure I’ll be playing it for years to come.

Score: 8/10

Loved - Quick Review (Free online game)

When you obey without question things are so much clearer, but when you defy authority and find your own path you tend to discover that, without guidance, it can be difficult to judge where to go next. This dark little puzzle game takes this idea and turns it into reality as from the very moment you start playing you find yourself at the mercy of a cruel narrator who mocks and jibes your every action. “Are you a man, or a woman?” you’re asked at the beginning only to be immediately told after your decision that you’re not, that you’re a good girl, not a boy. The narrator is a silent stream of text that appears on screen but it’s quite clear that this person is your master and you are quite clearly his minion. This platforming game is set in a world of black and white where everything is stark and bare and the initial navigating of the area is simple as you jump over spike pits and steer yourself up and down solid black ledges and platforms. Occasionally though, you’ll be ordered to do things.

“Take the lower path. Throw yourself into the barbs. Do not touch the statue.” Your master commands you at certain intervals, but do you obey? If you refuse you’re chided and berated though you notice that tiny little specks of colour are appearing on the otherwise black and white world. Now and then you’ll be asked questions, “Do I own your body or your mind?” by selecting body he demands that you dance for him, by selecting mind he demands that you beg for him. The little blips of colour that start to appear are so slight and insignificant that you don’t really see them until your master speaks again, “Touch that statue and I will forgive you.” Bypass the statue and you’ll be sneered at again but more colour appears, the more you defy your master the more colour courses across the screen in increasingly vivid and beautiful patterns but with that comes a price; you can’t see where you’re going. The game does become increasingly difficult by choosing to not obey and this confrontational approach to gaming is unsettling, though interesting as the ending does change depending on how you play it. It’s an extremely short game and can be completed in less than 10 minutes but it’s still very enjoyable and stands strongly as a solid and introspective platformer that can appeals to the causal and the serious gamer. 

 

If you want to try the game out for yourself, check out the creator’s website here.

Score: 9/10

The Novelist - Full Review (PC game)

How do you balance the pressures of your struggling career with the responsibilities that come with family life? A marriage that's falling apart, a child who's failing at school, a writer who needs time to finish his book before it's too late and an artist who's trying to reignite her career. The Novelist puts you in the role of a guide as you try and steer a family that's fraying at the seams to make the right decisions but, ultimately, can you live with the consequences of your decisions? 

The Novelist is a dynamic indie title whose storyline develops around the decisions made by the player and which strongly encourages empathy, compromise and living with the consequences of your decisions. The game is confined to a holiday home in a scenic area of beaches and woodlands though the time of day and year changes as the storyline progresses. The story is centred on the family who is current staying in this holiday home; a father, Dan, mother, Linda, and their son, Tommy. Dan is a struggling novelist, Linda is trying to reignite her painting career and Tommy needs help with his reading and writing. But things are never that simple as, in the short week they have together, tough decisions will need to be made about who gets priority and what the consequences of neglecting the needs of others may be. Dan and Linda are not only having trouble with their careers; they’re having trouble with their marriage too, by focusing too much on his book Dan risks cutting off his family but, by ignoring it, can we count on Linda to bring money to the table? You play a spirit who has lived in this house for quite a long time and, watching the Kaplans, you have the power to read their minds, visit their memories and encourage them to act on their desires. If anything it’s a curious game that is slow paced, a little tedious but which manages to feel incredibly meaningful as you guide the family through this life changing excursion.  

Story

This game is so heavily focused on the story of the Kaplan’s family that I feel that I should write a separate category just for this. It’s a nice touch that though the title seems to indicate it’s talking about Dan it’s actually referring to you since it is you who will be writing this story and guiding what happens. Regardless, the game does seem extremely focused on Dan and his career as a writer, though it can just as easily be focused on Linda and, less so, Tommy who each have their own problems to deal with. I won’t go into the fact that it’s the father’s career the game focuses on and not the mother’s though I did notice the rather dramatic slant. Sadly, Dan’s pretty self-absorbed since all of his needs and desires are focused on his novel whereas Linda divides her interests equally between her career and her family. 

The message of this game appears to be that, in real life, it’s impossible to please everybody and that family life is all about compromise and working through difficulties together. In every chapter it’s your task to find clues around the house, 3 for each character, and then read their mind to see what it is they currently want. Tommy, for example, often feels lonely and neglected so would like to go play with his Dad at the beach whereas Dan is struggling to get any work done because people keep interrupting him. Dan would like to enforce a ‘do not open my office door when it is shut’ rule. On the other hand, Linda is considering how distant he’s already become and is thinking of enforcing her own rule where everybody must sit at the dinner table together for some quality family conversation. Who do you side with? It’s not easy if you can emphasize with everybody but, at the end of the day, somebody has to get their way and the other two are left out in the cold. Thankfully if you know what each of the three family members want you can pick one other person for a compromise option so, say, instead of going with Tommy to the beach you can stick him in front of a nature documentary whilst you get on with your damn work.

The characters of Dan and Linda are quite good, if a little stereotypical, and it’s really their relationship and their interactions that make the game substantial. Tommy’s character though is extremely under-developed and it’s as though he’s just there to be stuck in the middle of his parents problems. He only communicates through drawn pictures and what he wants is completely unimportant in the long run despite the natural inclination being to make sure he feels supported and loved. All in all, it’s turned out that Tommy’s just a third wheel in his parents’ drama story.

On a positive note the game is very dynamic and responsive to player decision. The story develops and changes around the choices you make and it is quite emotionally enriching since it makes you feel personally responsible for everything that happens. The choices are very genuine, realistic and honest so you do take care when deciding because, depending on who you sympathize with the most, you don’t want to upset anybody. It’s a powerful addition to artistic indie titles and though that may not be everybody’s bag it is mine since it puts games in a light of greater importance and meaning than shooting a thousand aliens dead in the fastest time possible. I particularly love how each chapter ends and details to you the consequences of your decisions and it’s saddening to view silent, black and white scenes of a neglected family member as the chapter’s conclusion is typed below in traditional, type writer text. Watching Linda sitting alone in the living room at night, drinking wine when she wanted to go out for dinner with her husband so she can see that he still loves her really did make me regret my decision to put Dan’s book first. It genuinely made me want to go back and try again, knowing I’d only be watching Dan pull his hair out and cry himself to sleep at night instead and the fact it can pull out that kind of commitment to the family is appreciable. 

It is admittedly unusual that over the course of three months the entire fate of the family is decided and, extensive as it may be, I’d have preferred decisions that carried on over a number of years and which shaped the family more organically. Unfortunately, the ending is awful as the final decision is extremely unfair and devastating to the individuals who don’t get ‘picked’ and that’s just not how life works. The ability to enforce a balance of interests isn’t really in the game and it’s very much one person gets what they want, someone gets a bit of what they want and the last person gets sod all whilst the ending makes all previous decisions totally irrelevant. This is a family that lives life dramatically it seems with very little conversation and no amount of actual compromise.

Gameplay

The gameplay has a fairly interesting concept as its stealth based but, since you’re a spirit, you possess lights to hide rather than duck behind counters and curtains. The game has two gameplay modes; Story and Stealth. Stealth is where you can be spotted and thus need to utilize the lights whereas Story mode adds no stealth element meaning you can waltz up to the Kaplans without any problems. Stealth mode ultimately results in lots of zipping about between lampshades and ceiling fittings so you can spy on what the Kaplan’s are doing and sneak up behind them to possess their memories. You can make the light flitter which encourages whomever is near to stop what they’re doing and walk over to the light and examine it whilst commenting on it being broken. This then gives you the opportunity to go into another light fitting and jump out into the room to slip up behind them or back out the door to go somewhere else. If they spot you walking about in broad daylight then they get spooked and you can’t pick their resolution at the end of the chapter but, despite having some very near misses, I was never spotted for long enough to spook them. The most I got was a sleepy and confused ‘huh?’ before I’d high-tailed it into the table lamp and they’d continued on their way to look out the window. Maybe I’m just incredibly fast or maybe the game just hasn’t made it hard enough but by the end of the game I was walking around quite brazenly through the corridors knowing that, even if one of them turned a corner, there was always a bulb close by. 

The character interaction of the game is awful and the entire atmosphere of the house is sterile and bland. It’s an unavoidable flaw in the game is a great shame since it ruins everything. As the family move around the house they’ll often make a soulless passing comment to one another which indicates where they currently are and I believe this is so you know that somebody’s on the way. What it results in instead is a house that feels lifeless and cold, maybe that’s the point if the family is at breaking point but when you watch one family sit in the living room only for the other one to get up and leave, you do start to feel as though the family members are far too robotic and less ‘family life’ than they should be. There’s an attempt at having the family talk to one another here and there but it’s so forced and vapid there’s not much point, though it does explain why communication is so bad between them all.

That said, the actual storyline is well written and it’s a really great concept at balancing professions with family life because it’s a problem so many people experience but that nobody ever really digs into, not in games at any rate. The fact that you can go into the memories of the family is interesting though still a little hollow feeling as, in each memory, you just have to find a frozen image of whomever memories it is and click them to get a spoken line of dialogue then to click whomever they are with to get another spoken line of dialogue. This is supposedly revealing hugely important plot details but it’s more like ‘…don’t you want to play with your rocket ship?...’ and ‘…I already played with it…’ that’s spoken in ghostly tones, showing that Tommy’s more obsessed with television nowadays than playing with his toys. It’s a creative spin on family life and family problems but it just lacks interactivity and life to make it feel real and to engage its audience.

I’m ashamed to admit it since it’s such a great concept but I found this game tedious. In order to put up with a lot of what the game had to offer I had to be a very specific mood; somewhere between self-motivating and extremely empathetic. There are a lot of in-game notes and letters to read and this is primarily the source of monotony found in ‘The Novelist’. Letters are fine when they’re a few sentences but when you bring up the fifth page long whinge it’s hard to not just skip past it and get back on with the action of deciding people’s fates. Of course, by skipping through all the pages and notes you miss out on the storyline and you’re then not entirely sure about what’s going on in the Kaplan household. This essentially makes playing the game entirely pointless because you’re supposed to care about what’s going on and each little additional bit of information that arises. Some of the notes are read aloud but the voice acting isn’t fantastic and it comes across as a slow drawl that runs the risk of sending you straight to sleep.  Now, I understand there are plenty of people who won’t mind reading so many things in game but I would have preferred a lot more talking and a lot more interactivity because, like Tommy, I’m a bit of a visual learner.

Graphics

The game has a sketchy, painted look that’s very simplistic and quite downplayed which keeps the focus on the storyline. There’s nothing particularly ugly about it but the family members don’t look realistic and have extremely undetailed faces but, truthfully, they do fit in great with their surroundings. I'm kind of of the opinion that by having extremely high definition people with lifelike features and expressions would have actually made this game less artistic than it originally came across as.

The colours are lovely and the memories put everything in muted, black and white tones to differentiate between the present and the past. Oddly, going into a light puts a muted tone on everything too so you’re often looking out at a great landscape but in a way that doesn’t give it enough credit. Of course you can bypass those restrictions by playing in story mode but it’s just a shame nipping out a light to possess somebody then being all, ‘wow this game is incredibly colourful and attractive, back into black and white I go.’ Overall, you won’t be disappointed by the graphics because they’re there to portray a nice, painting backdrop to a storyline and it’s all done very well with plenty of detail in an interesting but vibrant style. It's just a shame about all the muted tones that you're forced to view the world through because there are some lovely scenic moments in the game.

Conclusion

Sadly, I think The Novelist fell a little short of where it was aiming. There’s too much reading and not enough talking to make this game feel alive and the over simplified nature of communication in the family is exasperating and unrealistic. The ending of the game is extremely disappointing because you spend a lot of time juggling the family’s needs and wants throughout the chapters then, at the end, you’re forced to make an impossible decision between two options which renders all previous choices irrelevant. The stealth element of the game doesn’t really add any challenge as the Kaplans are very slow on the uptake even if you’re seen running about in front of them. The ability to enter their memories is, in theory, interesting but when you get there it’s just more sterile, lifeless scenes and a few soundbites of their opinions and problems. Overall, this game is worth your time because I did enjoy it and the difficult decisions that had to be made, graphically it looks pleasant and it all feels very modern and very slick. Unfortunately the game lacks what it needed to make it a fantastic title but it’s not a disaster and there are some lovely experiences to be had in The Novelist.

Score – 7/10 

Shadow of the Colossus - Full Review and Trailer (PS2 and PS3 game)

It is hard to find words to describe this game as even if I listed off words like; immense, beautiful, majestic, vast or phrases like; heart wrenching, life changing, stunningly unique, enchantingly creative I’m afraid none of it comes close to how I feel about this game. Prior to Shadow of the Colossus there were no games that let the world speak for them, that allowed the camera to pan out across the vast spaces of open plains and mountains with no sounds but hooves on the ground and the breathy pants of its rider. No game dared to let its artistic value tell the story because, I imagine, gamers wouldn’t have ‘got it’ and it would have felt barren and lacking. Shadow of the Colossus feels barren, but it is most certainly not lacking.

Gameplay and plot

The storyline of Shadow of the Colossus is curious as there are very few words spoken and nothing is truly explained. You play a young man called Wander who has travelled a long way to a forbidden and sacred land with the intention of resurrecting a young woman called Mono, who he carries with him. After finally finding a temple in the centre of the land he lays her body out on the altar that rests at the end of the temple corridor. Above, an unseen voice speaks, telling Wander to look upon the sixteen idols of the temple and to destroy them by killing the incarnations of them; the Colossi. If he defeats all sixteen colossi then the idols shall fall and Mono’s soul will be returned to her body. As a final warning, Wander is told that he may pay a heavy price by the end of his quest, but Wander does not care. You are instructed to be on your way then, and the game begins. 

You must now locate and kill, one by one, the colossi of the land. You’re initially given a vague clue about the particular colossi you’ll be encountering but this information alone won’t be enough to go on. The voice has instructed you that, to find them, you can use your sword by holding it up against the sunlight and following where the beams focus together. The map area is huge and quite often you’ll have to navigate through shadowy canyons or across spiralling cliff faces so it’s not quite as simple as just running in the direction of the beam To help you get around faster you have your one and only companion; Agro. Agro is an immense black war horse who plays a core role in the game as an indispensible ally, he may shield you from danger and gallop fast enough to catch up with some of the more evasive colossi you’ll encounter. There are certain hidden features of riding Agro; dangling off one side of him, standing up on top of his saddle so you can jump to greater heights or causing him to rear up and bolt forward into a full on gallop which extremely useful for quick escapes. Also, you can pat him on the neck to tell him he’s a good horse.

This game is unusual when placed alongside traditional games as it features no other characters other than the ones I’ve already mentioned. There’s nobody to talk to and, other than a few lizards and the odd bird, no other living creatures in the entire game. The content of the game is roughly divided into two aspects; finding each colossi and then working out how to kill it. You can find where the colossus is located in this huge world by standing in the sunlight and holding your sword up. The light will then shine off the sword and, by moving around, you’ll be able to focus the beams into one bright point which is the direction you’ll find the monstrous creature. If you’re in an area that’s bathed entirely in shadow then unfortunately you’ll just have to figure things out for yourself. 

Once you’ve found the colossus then you have to work out how to bring them down. Each colossus has its own weaknesses and tends to be based on a type of creature such as a horse or an electric eel. In this sense the game is kind of a puzzle game as figuring out how to kill each colossi is a challenge in and of itself and, generally, they’re not easy to bring down. You’ll generally need to use the environment around you to help defeat them and since each colossus lurks in its own personal lair this can be very interesting since you’ll be using a different method for each creature. To actually kill a colossus you have to first find its weak spots by using your sword in the same way you found him in the first place to locate a type of glowing sigil on its body. There’s usually more than one sigil on each colossus so, once you’ve worked out how to climb onto him, you’ll need to move between the locations; scaling down furry backs or jumping up ledges of its armour. Colossi generally can’t just be walked up to and jumped on though so finding a pathway up will take a bit of thought. Once you’re actually on the colossi it can be very challenging to stay on them as they will do their best to shake you off and this depletes your grip meter. Wander can only cling on for so long so you need to find places to rest and allow the meter to refill itself, if the colossus shakes and throws you about to get you off then your meter will quickly deplete and, if it empties, you’ll be thrown aside like a little paper doll and will have to get back up there again, provided you aren’t stepped on first. No two colossi are alike and you’ll find yourself with a new challenge every time and some situations you find yourself can be, quite literally, breath taking. 

To add a new dimension to the game you have the ability to go back and fight colossi that you have already defeated. After killing them you can return to the spot where they fell and find their fossilized and moss covered bodies, by interacting with them from here you can complete additional challenges. By completing enough of them, on either normal or hard difficulty, you can unlock additional things like a different coloured Agro and different weapon types.

Graphics and environment

Depending on which version of the game you’re playing the graphics will vary. The original PS2 game had graphics that were good for the time and age moderately but which don’t do the beautiful environments justice. They can be a little clippy, choppy and blurry in some parts which is a shame as it will naturally reduce the overall impact of the game. Despite this however they are still lovely and, after looking at it long enough, you begin to forget that they’re sub-par compared to more modern graphics. Shadow of the Colossus really does push the abilities of the PS2 console to its very limits though, and the frame rate has suffered a little though it’s still completely playable. The PS3 edition of the game features re-mastered graphics that are wonderfully high definition. The frame rate of the game has also been dramatically improved making it all run a lot smoother and consistently. Beneath the new, glossy exterior still lies the same beautiful game however and both editions stand in equal stead.

The environments of Shadow of the Colossus are breathtakingly majestic and you’re faced from the start with a seemingly endless world that you can explore at your whim. Everything is seamless and there are no loading screens as you transition between desolate desert landscapes and lush green forests dotted with tiny streams. The map is cold and empty, devoid of life aside from the odd bird and the occasional lizard. The main starting area of the land consists of vast open plains with craggy mountains surrounding the region, reminding you that this is not an area usually accessed by the living. Where some parts are bordered with mountains, others are bordered with shorelines that descend into deep, endless oceans as far as the eye can see and, standing atop mountains and looking out into the distance, you can see that this is truly a secluded place. There are plenty of curiosities in the landscape like the ruins of what appear to be man-made structures, long since abandoned, and it’s very difficult to determine what their original purpose would have been. When fighting colossi you will experience the very highs and lows of the land so you do truly get to see absolutely everywhere at some point or another. The game does have a hidden area however and it is one that will require a great deal of climbing and a lot of persistence if you’re to get there.  

The colossi themselves are beautifully designed with defined characters and appearances depending on which animal or figure they represent. Whether they are organic or not is difficult to tell and their design reflects the ambiguity of their origin; partly made from rock and grass but also hair, fur and possibly metal. Once they are felled their body remains where you left it; moss covered and fossilized, now a permanent part of the landscape.

Audio and music

A lot of this game is completely silent with only the noises you yourself make by running around, whistling for your horse or grunting as you jump. It’s extremely atmospheric to wander through an empty landscape that is completely silent with no birdsong and barely any wind, whether that atmosphere is that of a dead world or a sacred one is up for interpretation.

The voice acting that is present within the game is very good. It’s all spoken in a pseudo-language so you must rely on subtitles to understand what’s being said but the booming voice in the temple is a very grand, steady and resonating voice that really does sound like some kind of God. Wander can shout and call to Agro and the level of his voice depends on how far away Agro is; he’ll shout if the horse is far and simply say it if Agro is beside him. Wander also has the ability to whistle loudly when Agro is too far out of range to call him, though the whistling is partially intended for calling Agro over from long distances it also serves to grab the attention of the colossi when you’re close by them. The shrill whistle cuts through the silence, or battle music, like a knife and it’s one of the few bits of audio that isn’t music. The rest of the voice acting is down to the grunts and gasps of pain that Wander emits as he traverses the landscape and colossi, so nothing too major and everything is very minimalistic when it comes to sound.

The music of the game is reserved for cutscene and your battles with the colossi and is another matter entirely; it is magnificent. Your first taste of the gentle choir and the harmonious orchestra is at the very beginning of the game as Wander travels to the temple. It’s a beautiful, haunting melody that suits the lonely journey perfectly and then, when he spots the bridge to the temple, it uplifts into something hopeful and optimistic. Later, when you fight a colossus the music rises in pitch and tempo. The battle music is strong and adventurous and really does add to the epic proportions of the battle you’re waging with the enormous creatures but then, when you’ve felled your opponent, the music too slopes into something sombre, sad and weary. The lack of dialogue in the game makes the music extremely important and it never disappoints. Each musical piece is suitable for the situation it arises in and is incredibly emotional. Truly, the music does wonders for this game and it’s an extremely strong companion to the visual backdrop you’re treated to and I think it’s safe to say the game would be incomplete without such a powerful orchestral soundtrack.

Overall

When games are designed to be pieces of art it can either work or it doesn’t, there’s very little in between because they need to have a powerful statement within them to be effective. Shadow of the Colossus most definitely works and not only is it wonderful to look at and to explore but it features engaging gameplay with an emotional storyline that leaves you wanting more. The Ico Team, who developed this game, have made very few games but every single one has been absolutely fantastic. Anybody who has not played this game is missing out on something extraordinarily memorable. Now that this game is available on PS3 it is most definitely going to be a cherished purchase of new gamers everywhere and, for me, it is the pride of my gaming career. 

Score – 10/10

The Graveyard - Full Review (Free PC game)

The Graveyard is a 2008 indie type game that was developed with the intention of drawing an emotional response from the player and existing as living, breathing art. For me, it failed to do that. I was disappointed with the stark nature of the game and the inability to do anything other than walk down one, set path and sit on a bench. Whilst the game looks quite appealing in its minimalist black and white palette and sounds quite nice the sheer lack of interactivity makes you wonder why they bothered making this a game in the first place.

Graphics

For a game that boasts ‘fantastic’ graphical ability the actual appearance of the game was good, but not that good. What was more noteworthy was the detail and realism of the small fluttering birds that bandied around the graveyard as they were genuinely quite nice to look at. The entire game is in black and white which, whilst overall reducing the visual impact of the game, fitted in with the themes of death that the game was promoting. The shadows of the old woman, lamp posts and graves were all nicely done and tended to darken or lighten depending on what the clouds above were doing. The entire game however came across as slightly fuzzy with clumps of 2D leaves in the otherwise lovely trees. The ending of the game is a prolonged close up of the old woman’s face where you can vividly see deep wrinkles in her weathered face, short and choppy hair stuffed under a black cap and her tired, sad eyes. Unfortunately the face model is all bit sharp around the edges and the lips, chin and clothing in particular all have very defined, straight edges which ruins the effect entirely.

If anything, this game makes you consider the pointlessness of life.

Audio

I think the first thing I noticed upon entering the game was the quality of the sounds. The game has no music but relies instead on a backdrop of a blustering wind, cawing crows and tiny twittering birds. The audio is all very clear and, though minimal, stands quite strong as the necessary backdrop you’d expect in such a peaceful place. Considering the game is set in a graveyard it would have been very easy to give it all a dead, eerie feel but instead the developers have opted for something quite innocuous and tranquil. Any tranquillity that the game instilled in you is lost towards the end though when, after sitting on the bench at the end of the pathway, the creepiest Dutch song begins to play. It’s kind of a summary of the death in the old lady’s life in what is, presumably, her native language which is a nice touch as it feels more personal that way. The song goes on for a long time but with English subtitles so you get to enjoy the unusual lyrics, consisting of things like; “Look that’s Emma, stillborn, take care you don’t step on her, her portrait is long lost, a little blue cross, never baptized.” Whilst the music itself keeps up a continuous, steady beat with an almost childlike tune of plucking strings. Never have I been so glad for an already short game to end.

Gameplay

Ok so, is looks quite nice and sounds great but the game is simply lacking in things to do. Rather than it being a game as such it’s more a short piece of indie artwork that can be interacted with, though that appears to have been the point. The woman, what with being rather old and hampered by a walking stick, is extraordinarily slow as she hobbles down the one main path. Attempting to go off to other paths just leaves the camera stuck in the middle with no swivelling around to see where your character has gone so it’s quite obvious there’s nothing there to explore. I’d have preferred it if things could be interacted with; feeding the birds, thinking to herself or perhaps there should be some other grieving people in the graveyard, but there’s not. The game is fairly barren in terms of content and it feels as though, despite trying to get across some message and going to a fair bit of effort to do so, the developers have missed an opportunity to flesh it out into something a bit more substantial. At first I imagined it was due to the fact I was playing the free trial of the game but, after buying the full game for a rather modest sum, the only additional feature of buying the full game was that the elderly woman had a very small chance of death each time you play the game (of natural causes, not some kind of freak accident.)

By purchasing the full game, and after repeated playthroughs, there is a chance that the women will die as she sits on the bench with the Dutch song stringing along in the background as the camera focuses on her face. This ending is, admittedly, much preferred as it feels like the chapter of her life has finally drawn to a close after reflecting on the deaths of those she knew.

Looks fairly appealing, shame you can't go anywhere.

Overall

The Belgian developer of this short little game describe it as "more like an explorable painting than an actual game” and I am inclined to agree with them; it’s not a game. Unfortunately, it’s not really ‘explorable’ either as there is quite simply no exploring involved. There’s nothing to actually find within the game. The harsh truth of the matter is this; you walk down a path, with no turning involved, just forward. Turn around, sit on a bench, listen to a sad song about her life and then, if you paid for it, watch her die. Is this an explorable painting? Not really, whilst I agree that it’s a form of art I don’t necessarily agree that it’s an interesting or emotional one. It’s a shame, as the game was designed to draw an emotional response from the player, which it doesn’t. Not only that, I imagine it was designed to portray themes such as the fragility of life, the unending struggle of this woman’s existence and how she’s now deteriorated into something quite weak and humble, but again, it doesn’t. In short, whilst The Graveyard is certainly a curious little thing it quite simply isn’t fun and, instead, it’s rather boring. Any attempts at being a living piece of artwork has fallen flat and, when trying to create a connection between a player and a character, it may actually help to have more interaction than sitting her down on a bench.

If you want to try out the game for yourself and see if you enjoyed it more than I did, feel free to pick it up here.

Score: 5/10

To discover more of my PC game reviews, check out this page here.