flOw (PS4) - Review

So I got a brand spanking new PlayStation 4 and the first game I completed on it was an 8 year old Flash game.  Funny how things turn out.  flOw (no idea why it's written like that) was later ported to the PS3 with motion controls and has now fully evolved into a shiny 1080p PS4 launch game.  I mention this because that's the gist of the game - you start out as a very basic underwater creature that slowly grows and evolves before your eyes as you make your way through the levels becoming the most advanced version of you possible.

flOw is a very minimalistic game - there are no menus, intro videos or tutorials here, you're just landed straight into the game with no instructions on what you're meant to do.  You just start messing around and figure it out as you go.  This is all part of the game's charm - there's no pressure on you to achieve anything and playing it is a very relaxing and therapeutic experience.  Figuring out the purpose of the game is easy enough - eat stuff, grow bigger, repeat - but figuring out how the controls work might take a little longer.  

Your creature's movement is handled entirely by motion controls - although a button press will give you a boost.  Personally I found this all a bit fiddly and ended up twisting my hands in uncomfortable positions for short periods.  Eventually I did become accustomed to it and could move my character around the screen at ease, but it still felt a little gimmicky.  For such a relaxing and immersive game the controls were a bit of a pain and I don't really think they added much to it, given your movement is restricted to a 2D plane.  I can understand that they were added to show off the new features of the PS3's "Six Axis" controller, but given that the game was getting a facelift seven years down the line I would have liked to see the option of a more traditional control system implemented.

With that niggle out of the way, on to the good stuff. As I mentioned before flOw is a very relaxing game, so don't go in expecting to be hit with a bunch of challenges that will perplex your mind or test your reflexes. Calling the game "easy" would be an understatement, but it would also be doing it a disservice. This is more like a casual walk in the park rather than a mountain trek and if you approach it in this way there's plenty to enjoy.

The atmosphere adds immensely to the experience, created mostly by the subdued soundtrack that gives you the feeling of slowly drifting along in the ocean, washing away your worries.  The sound effects that are triggered by your creature's actions - simple movement or devouring other organisms - fit this tone excellently and sound quite musical themselves, so as you work your way through the levels it feels like you're creating your own soundtrack.  There are more sinister moments in the game as well and the music does an excellent job of shifting the tone with a single note evoking the isolation and the feeling of "the great unknown" that exists at the bottom of the ocean.

The graphics are pretty simple but the art style used is absolutely fantastic, often having only two to three bold colours on screen at one time but creating a brilliant contrast that will really show off what your HDTV can do.  The creatures on screen resemble balls of light more than solid objects and the effects are really impressive.

Overall flOw is a well put together game, but to be honest it just isn't that fun.  It's the kind of thing I'd much more enjoy having a gameplay video play on my TV in the background while I do something else - like one of those Christmas Fireplace or Tropical Aquarium DVDs - some kind of autoplay mode would really increase the chances of me loading it up again.  It's not an expensive game by any means and I did enjoy it for a while, but working through five different levels using the dodgy motion controls felt like more of a chore than I think playing video games should be.  There's no real climax or sense of achievement at the end either and I can't help but feel it may have worked better as just a freeplay game with no start or end points.

It takes less than two hours to see everything on offer and after that there's no real desire to go back and actually play the game again, but I still have a lingering desire to revisit the fabulous underwater world it created.  A real mixed bag of a game - not one that I would widely recommend to people, but if you like the sound of the ambience it creates and go in with low expectations of the actual gameplay then you'll find something to enjoy here.  Also, if you're on drugs it'll probably be an incredible experience.

Indie Game Mini Review: NightSky (PC)

I've never bought an "Indie game" from Xbox Live, but since I bought my new laptop and got acquainted with the joys of Steam I've found Indie games a lot more accessible.  This particular game grabbed my attention firstly because of a recommendation and also because I was really drawn to the artstyle.  Anyone who has played Limbo will feel instantly at home with the dark foreground and twilight backgrounds along with frankly brilliant ambient sound effects.

The actual gameplay is nothing like Limbo, but NightSky could also be described as a mesh of platform and puzzle genres.  The "story" (very loose use of the phrase there) is that an unnamed boy one day finds a mysterious and beautiful sphere at the beach one day and brings it home with him.  Ever since that first night he has been having the most surreal of dreams - presumably the levels you play out are those dreams.  Really this just sets up a quaint scenario from which the game can kick on with it's wonderful atmosphere.

The gameplay sees you take control of the sphere with only the left and right arrow keys to roll it in one direction or the other.  NightSky's physics system is great and gives the ball real momentum that can make it tricky to handle at times, but entirely believable.  In later levels two more buttons are introduced that for the most part allow you to control the speed of the ball to a higher degree, but can take on other powers in some levels.

The game is split up into 11 worlds, each of these further divided into bite size levels.  Rather than the typical approach of platform games where the screen scrolls with your character, NightSky has a bit of an old school take on things which each level consisting of 3 static screens that you must traverse using your skillset that expands as the game progresses.  Sometimes it's as simple as rolling the ball up a ramp and over a jump, while other times you need to manipulate obstacles to either clear a path for you or create a new one.

Further on in the game the levels get more complicated as moving platforms, levers and even vehicles for the sphere come into play.  While at times the game can get quite challenging it never gets to hair pulling levels of frustration.



Overall the game is a joy to play - one that is more about enjoying the ride than frantically fighting to reach your destination.  The game is a relatively short one - I spent around 3 hours playing it but the way it's designed it can be enjoyed in small chunks probably moreso than just blasting through it in one sitting.  If you take the time to let this game soak in it will be one that will stick in your mind for years to come and I'd imagine one that will be just as fun to revisit some time down the line.

Thanks to this game I am well and truly on board with Indie Games and the experiences they can offer so if you're a bit cagey why not give it a shot?  One final mention for the soundtrack - to be honest if you bought the game and just let it sit on the title screen as you wound down for the evening it would be money well spent as you'd be hard pressed to find more chilled out music anywhere on the internet.