Tearaway - Review

 

Back in 2013 Tearaway was released on the PlayStation Vita, I remember playing the demo and while it piqued my curiosity it never completely sucked me in. Recently, my brah Ivan was getting rid of a few games and one of them was Tearaway. I really like the PS Vita and had not played it in a while and thought why not give it a proper go.

Growing up I loved jelly, it was brightly coloured, when you shake it it jiggles, has a simple yet satisfying taste what's not to like?  As I grew up I stopped liking it, the simple colours and jiggles just didn't do it for me. I think I just grew out of jelly. Playing Tearaway I wondered did it taste like when I was a kid or how it does now as an adult?

Story

The game has you take on the role of Iota a messenger from a world where everything is made from paper. Iota's head is made from an envelope that carries a message that needs to be carried to the sun. The sun is made of paper but in the middle of it is you. When I say you I really mean it, the game uses the PS Vita camera to make you then sun which is quite fun. There are little pieces of paper called scraps trying to stop you from reaching you.  Along the way there will many creatures looking for your help, a number of them are optional but does make things more interesting.

Overall the story is simple but sometimes feels like it trying to be bigger than it really is, which seemed kind of strange. It felt like animated movies that are aimed at kids but try to throw in an adult theme that never quite hits the mark.

Visuals 

The visuals in the game are really interesting, everything is made from paper, like South Park but not as much fun. That's harsh, I mean it is fun to look at but in a different way. It's very cutesy, small squirrels, and crazy looking creatures, the downside is that due to the world being created it can all feel very flat even in a three-dimensional world. Some of the visuals elements that I really liked was when you could push your finger into the world (use the back panel of the PS Vita), sometimes used to move something or to bounce Iota up into other areas of the world.  The end sections of the game get very otherworldly and definitely a positive change from the sometimes overly cutesy world, I only wish there had been more sections like it.

Overall the visuals while interesting lost there appeal fairly quickly, in my opinion in a game where there isn't a lot of story, it is important the other elements help balance it out.

Music

The music reminded of a cross between Bagpuss and a kids TV show, sometimes creepy and dark, other time light and fun. The soundtrack was composed by Scottish composer Kenneth Young, Canadian Composer Brian D'Oliveria and British composer Ed Hargrave. Between them they have worked on the music for; Little Big Planet, Heavenly Sword, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Resident Evil VII Biohazard.

The soundtrack runs at over an hour and while there are many tracks within it there was nothing that really wowed or excited me which is a shame as I really enjoy video game music. Overall the soundtrack was a little underwhelming.

Gameplay

While there are certainly a lot of weaknesses in the game the gameplay is not one of them. Iota is fairly simple to control, he can jump, pick up and throw, which at least in the beginning is all you need. As the game unfolds it utilises many features of the PS Vita such as the camera and touch panel to manipulate objects to help Iota navigate the world. Die is not an issue as you have an infinite number of lives and the checkpoints are fairly frequent.

A big thing you can do in the game is craft items using pen and paper and cut them out. Sometimes creatures in the game will ask you to make them a hat, a face, eyes or even some gloves. It is fun but as a fairly non-crafty person it didn't excite me a huge amount but for people more crafty than myself or younger people it would likely be tons of fun.

The world sometimes has shiny surfaces with fingerprints on them, these can be used to open gifts or help unlock new areas or platforms. This was particularly fun in faster-paced areas as it required you to be quick on the mark.

Overall the gameplay and while the crafty parts were not for me personally for many others it would no doubt be very appealing.

Final Thoughts

So, after nearly seven hours how did I feel?  A little underwhelmed, the game got a lot of positive write-ups at the time but when you look at Zelda The Phantom Hour Glass which utilized all the elements of the 3DS it did it a lot better than Tearaway. The story was simple but sometimes felt the story was trying to be more than it was, like a child wearing trying to get away wearing their parent's clothes. The visuals while interesting at first glance quickly became mundane until the latter areas of the game. The music was far from exciting, so it was bad is unfair, to say it was good might be pushing it. The gameplay was the most exciting element of the game but was not enough on its own to make up for its shortcoming.  Perhaps this game was simply designed for a younger generation than me and if that's the case fair enough, but if it was designed to attract all ages it failed. This one slips in with a 3 out of 5