I’ve never been one to consider things like atmosphere or aesthetics in my reviews. After all, they don’t affect the game-play, and it’s the game-play that really matters. Well, I think I finally found a game that warrants discussion on its aesthetics.
This is a 3D action platformer. You begin only being able to move and grab/toss objects, but as you progress, you’ll get the ability to jump, roll (attack), and near the end, you get an item that can suck in an enemy and launch it at another. However, the game’s main gimmick is its use of the Vita’s touch screens: objects with a finger print texture can be moved by using the front touch screen, and the back touch screen interacts with the Playstation-buttons-texture (whether it’s to stick your finger into the world to move objects or it’s just a glorified, manually-operated bounce pad). This might even be the most clever implementation of the Vita’s rear touch screen in a game, even if it can be finicky regarding where on the pad you need to press when there’s only a small area in the game to stick your finger “through.” Also, you’ll find confetti scattered throughout the world, which is effectively the game’s currency. You can use it to buy accessories to put on the protagonist (there’s also a few NPCs you can put accessories on).
Something else that should be mentioned is that the game has a website where you can download outlines for how to make actual paper-craft versions of characters and objects from the game. Yeah, this game’s art style isn’t just a gimmick. In fact, this is one of the game’s biggest selling points, partly because the game itself is really short and easy (there’s no way to see my exact playtime, but I can’t imagine it took me much longer than 2-3 hours to beat). Of course, you have to unlock the paper-craft plans by finding them in the game first.
The levels also have secret present boxes hidden in them (they contain confetti and an extra step toward 100% completion). Mostly, these are placed in a side path and only require you to notice that it’s there to get the secret (and if you come across a split path, you’ll know to turn back if it lasts more than a few seconds before you reach a present box). However, there are a couple that go a bit more into the puzzle route, mostly with you trying to figure out what aspect of the Vita lets you interact with the object (like the ball-bouncing mini-game). I’ve never been a big fan of either of these types of secrets, so I won’t be going back to get 100%.
As mentioned previously, this game is extremely forgiving. You can take two hits before you die, but not only do you have regenerating health, but death only sets you back a few seconds. Enemies only show up in predetermined arenas, similar to the 3D Sonic games and Billy Hatcher, but the enemy AI is simplistic enough that they can be dispatched with little issue (and they become even easier when you get later power-ups). Plus, if you get killed by the enemies, none of the enemies you killed come back, effectively meaning there’s no consequence for dying during these parts. There aren’t even any bosses; the game’s climax is more waves of standard baddies. The game’s only challenge is from pure platforming, but even this is fairly forgiving, as most of the game is either straight paths with no pits or a small gap between large planes. The difficulty you see in the game’s demo is as tough as it gets most of the time. In fact, sometimes, if you miss a jump right before a checkpoint, the game will re-spawn you on said checkpoint! To be fair, the game does have quite a few small-platforms-over-bottomless-pits and other tricky moments, especially for a few of the branching paths that lead to secret presents.
Despite the game being so easy, there is an issue that makes the game harder than it should be: the protagonist has a regular shadow, not a drop shadow, which makes it hard to judge where your character is during moments of actual platforming.
One of the game’s major gimmicks is that you can go into first-person mode and take pictures of the game world (evidenced by the screenshots below). Most of the time, this will be used to bring color to a solid-white model, and this is how you get access to more paper-craft instructions on the game’s website. Of course, they can also be used to share your creations, evidenced by the screenshots below.
Another of the game’s major gimmicks is the ability for you to create 2D paper objects during certain segments of the game and stick your creations on various in-game models. You select a colored paper, draw shapes on it with the pencil tool, then tap the scissors icon to cut along the lines automatically to create your shape and maybe repeat with another color of paper. You’ll probably spend about as much time creating these things as you will doing actual platforming. Most of the time, the NPC’s dialogue implies you can create whatever you want, but even in cases where you’re asked to create a specific object, it doesn’t matter whether your membership badge is heart-shaped or heart-shaped; you’ll be accepted regardless. The only exception is when the request brings you to the sticker shop instead of the cutting room; then, you need to purchase the requested item (if someone asks for a tie, you won’t be able to get away with giving them a bow-tie).
After you create your cut-scene-mandated design, you’ll usually see it make a few cameo appearances not long afterward:
My only issue is that there are no tools to help you cut out basic shapes like circles or straight lines; your designs are only as good as the path your finger draws on the touch screen. There’s an erase option to let you erase lines before you cut, but there’s no undo (only a complete restart), which is annoying when you go to cut out your shape only to realize too late that the lines didn’t quite connect, so instead of the shape being separated from the paper, it’s just a transparent mark on said sheet of paper, and then you have to try to connect the gaps without messing up your intended shape.
Similarly, the game will ask you to take pictures of real life (not just in-game pictures). Most of the time, these display in the game as actual framed photographs, but there are a couple times where the picture becomes the texture for a certain in-game model, like so:
As you can see, the photography implementation also has its issues. Yes, the texture is mapped upside down, but I took the picture right-side up. It turns out that the game overlaid the image on the top of the model, then wrapped it over for its left and right sides (if you look at the moose from the other side, you’ll see the image displayed right-side up over there). I can’t help but wonder why the devs couldn’t mirror the mapping for the body, or at least rotate the model so that the right-side up part is facing the camera.
By the way, the game has quite a lot of these “make/photograph something!” moments interrupt the platforming game-play, so much so that there are a couple that don’t show up again after the initial creation (like the one where you’re asked to show what you think of the face in the sun). Part of the game’s fun is seeing what crazy stuff you can come up with, then sharing your abominations with others. It’s surprisingly social for a linear platformer, and probably the only time I ever thought a game’s aesthetics helped make up for the game-play’s dull areas. The ending was also well done, though I won’t spoil it for you.
I should also point out that I encountered a couple bugs during my play-through. There’s one part where you have to run away from monsters too powerful to fight, and if they catch up to you, they swipe at you and knock you to the side, dealing damage. One time, the swipe knocked me through a wall and I only got out by getting killed by the monsters intentionally; I regret not taking a picture of that incident. Another time, I walked behind and under a chair, then got stuck between the chair’s legs and couldn’t move (this was in the RV in the desert). I had to reset the game that time.
Overall, despite the clever ideas, this one isn’t easy to recommend. You have to be a fan of platformers and a fan of paper-crafts (as well as be willing to spend real life money on some more paper and ink cartridges) in order to get the full enjoyment out of this game. Without the real-life paper-crafting element, it’s a short, relatively dull platformer with a few neat ideas and a few decent platforming segments. I managed to get it on sale for $5, and as someone not really planning on making real paper-crafts of the game’s models, I’d say it was worth it for that price, but I would’ve been disappointed if I paid the full $20.
Thanks for the review. I’ve seen this game before and I wasnt wondering if I should get it on sale. I don’t really have an interest in paper crafts though. I only enjoyed it’s cute look and the fact that it’s a platformer. I’ll probably skip out on buying this game but it was a interesting read!
I played the demo and I agree it’s probably the one game that made the most use of Vita’s touch controls. Also, I never knew how much I wanted to be the SUN until the camera layering feature made me one. I wonder if getting the PS4 version might be a better choice for people who want a more straightforward platformer without the gimmicks.
Well, my main issue wasn’t with the gimmicks (and from what I read, the PS4 version expands on those gimmicks), it’s that the difficulty practically stagnates after the first level (with few exceptions), an issue that could potentially be exacerbated by making the game twice as long. I can’t say for certain since I haven’t played the PS4 version, though.
It does? I mean, people seem to be allergic to motion controls in any shape so having that removed would probably do wonders for the experience.
Well, from what I read, the PS4 version uses the motion sensor on the controller to shine a “light” on the screen (taking the place of the former’s touch controls), and the touch screen on the controller is also used for certain things, like throwing objects into the game world. There are also more times (or at least different scenarios) where the game stops you and asks you to create a paper object; I saw a screenshot where the game said “Make a butterfly wing!” and that sure as heck wasn’t in the PS Vita version (all in-game crafting segments are mandatory, so I would’ve seen it if it were in the Vita version). Of course, the element of collecting real-life paper-craft plans is in the game, too (it has a separate tab on the website so you can separate the plans you found in Tearaway from the ones you found in Unfolded).
I do know that there are parts in the Vita version where you tilt the console to move platforms, but I don’t know if that was kept in the PS4 version.
But yeah, from what I read, the PS4 version seems just as gimmick-heavy as the Vita version, if not more so. Then again, the PS4 version’s additional length could give the game time to expand on some of the gimmicks to make them actual game-play features. You might wanna look up a more in-depth description of the differences.