Thomas Was Alone Game by Curve Reviewed by Philip "Pocket Squirrel" Wesley Size: 236MB Save: Memory Card Released: 2013 Works with: Play Station Vita ESRB Rated: E Quick Opinion: Try **************************************************************************** Opening Snide Remarks: I love games that examine the function of video games as performance art. I also enjoy video games that put the mechanics of their play as a way of progressing a story. So, Thomas Was Alone is instantly attractive because it contains an interesting narrative. **************************************************************************** Gameplay Description: This game is about controlling blocks in a maze environment. Your goal is to get each block to the door in the level that is shaped like them. Each block has a unique ability. One can jump higher than another, one can do a double jump, one has an ability that may help other blocks go to places they could not normally reach, and so forth. In many of the levels, you switch between the blocks to get past obstacles and complete the level. Think of this as an Atari version of "Lost Vikings" in which a very British voice actor tells you the story of the game as you play in a dramatic style. There are a decent amount of levels to navigate and the game has fairly generous check points to prevent frustration from the player. There are online leader boards that tell people how quickly you have completed a level, even though there is no visible timer or any sort of penalty for taking your time. The game is simple enough to understand and does an excellent job in coaching the player through the game. Each section of the game is broken into "scenarios," with each scenario having ten chapters. Liked: The game is interesting to play and there are online leader boards and two hidden dots in each scenario for trophies. The game has a generally reasonable pace and good ideas. Hated: There is a "staircase" mechanic to the game which some people may find to be tedious. **************************************************************************** Graphics Description: The look of the game is incredibly simplistic, each "character" in the game is a different colored block. Some of them are squares and others are rectangles. The levels are usually monochromatic with moving shadows and occasional lights. The camera angles on this side scrolling game are intended to be sparse. The "antagonist" of the game is visually interesting enough to invoke just a slight sense of dread for what truly amounts as a "Pixel Cloud." This is a game that is difficult to sell to people on looks. In fact, the entirety of the game just looks incredibly lazy. In a way, I feel that this game is made better because it is on one of the handhelds. This game benefits from the Organic Light Emitting Diode screen of the PS Vita due to the much deeper blacks and brighter colors. I would love to see this with some sort of three dimensional effect, but in a flat way, on the Nintendo 3DS. Liked: The game keeps the graphics simple to make it more "artistic" and clearly push forward the narrative of the game. Every bit of spoken story dialogue is also shown in subtitles. Hated: But, aside from a few particle effects and "lighting" in the game, there is not much to see. In fact, you could almost say the game was not very good looking at all. Maybe you could say Thomas is Alone, because Thomas is a bit of a blighter to look at. **************************************************************************** Sound/Music Description: If I could give another star for just the audio in this game, I would certainly do that. The music is wonderful in this game. There is no time limit, so it is certainly not a bad idea to take your time and just listen to the wonderfully tragic music. The music has little digital blips and bloops mixed with soft piano, or deep bass. The music sounds wonderfully clear and all the sound effects are appropriate. The game also features a commentary on every level from the creator of the game. This serves as a game design 101 course for the player. The banter is both amusing and insightful. This means that you will probably want to play each level at least twice to hear both the story dialogue and the commentary. Oh, the story dialogue is the real meat of the game in terms of presentation. Without the story, the game becomes a rote experiment in gameplay. It is the story that is presented in audio that injects a measure of charm into the game and this is done exceedingly well. Liked: The music, the story dialogue, the commentary, and the sound effects round out a game that is unique and interesting. Hated: The game requires the audio to a point that, if the story dialogue was removed, this would be a much lesser experience. **************************************************************************** Play Control/Game Design: The play control is pretty easy to understand and the game does an excellent job in presenting game mechanics in unique and interesting ways. Overall, the game is story driven to a drastic fault. Without either the commentary or the voice over, this game suddenly becomes a very dull exercise in jumping puzzles. Keep in mind that this is an experience game. You NEED to have the volume up to get the most out of this game. In a way, I would feel that this a good example of the use of the medium for art. This is also a great game for people who enjoy hearing about the creative process that goes into designing games. The story of the game is where the real fun comes from and this does an excellent job in conveying the somewhat tragic story. Liked: The story is helped along by the unique abilities of the blocks and the way the game gently introduces new mechanics. The optional commentary is just pure frosting for those of us who enjoy learning about what happens during the creation of a game. Hearing the creator's thoughts on various levels is very entertaining. Hated: Without the story dialogue, this becomes a tedious, somewhat bland, exercise in platform design. **************************************************************************** Improve: A little bit more variety in backgrounds and more levels. The game could use a little less "staircase" aspects, but even the creator of the game already knows that. RIYL: Strange experimental games like VVVVVV or Bastion. It reminds me a bit of NightSky as well, since that game is mostly atmosphere as well. **************************************************************************** Final Words: Thomas Was Alone is an interesting game that is worth trying at least once and worth beating at least once. In a way, this is a bit like Portal in that it is a fun experience with not much else attached to it once you strip away that presentation. I had a lot of fun with it and even the "hard" parts of the game were never anything frustrating. I should mention that I enjoy tedium to a small degree in games and the "staircase" aspects never managed to fluster me. Try this one before you buy it. **************************************************************************** Score Gameplay: *** Graphics: ** Sound/Music: ***** Play Control/Game Design: **** Value: **** Star Total: 54% Personal Opinion Merit: 20% Final Score: 74% Letter Grade: B ****************************************************************************