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Thomas's thoughts are narrated by Danny Wallace |
Quick Info | |
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Reviewed by: | Mark Goninon |
Developer: | Bithell Games |
Publisher: | Bithell Games |
Release Date: | 13 Nov 2012 |
Time played: | 4.5 hours |
A Modern Classic
Thomas Was Alone is one of those games I know is critically acclaimed and has been around for so long now (more than a decade in fact) that it becomes very affordable during sales. So last year I finally purchased the game, vowing to give it a go and that's exactly what I did.
When I mentioned the game was critically acclaimed, I mean it: the game has a Metascore of 77 indicating "Generally Favourable" reviews on Metacritic, has a "Very Positive" rating on Steam based off 92% of the 3,949 user reviews being positive, and the game was nominated for awards, ultimately winning an award for Best Performer at the 9th British Academy Video Games Awards due to Danny Wallace's performance as the Narrator.
But, isn't this just a puzzle platformer? Aren't these things just a dime a dozen nowadays? Well, as mentioned before, this game is now old by video game standards and back in the late 2000s/early 2010s, this is when we saw the start of the indie game renaissance. Thanks to games like Minecraft and the addition of Steamworks to the Steam platform in 2008, this resulted in many critically acclaimed puzzle platformers such as 2009's Braid and 2010's VVVVVV. So maybe for its day, this game was considered the bee's knees but is it still worthwhile playing today? For someone who has never played it before yet heard about all the hype, does it stand the test of time?
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Chris is the first character that Thomas meets. He doesn't jump as high as Thomas |
A Minimalist Platformer
At its core, Thomas Was Alone is what you'd expect from a puzzle platformer nowadays. It has basic, minimalist graphics where everything is represented by simple polygons including the cast of characters you'll eventually control in the story. While you start off with the eponymous Thomas, you'll meet a whole bunch of other different coloured quadrilaterals later in the game with different abilities. Some characters can jump further than Thomas or float in water or even act as a trampoline. You'll eventually have to rely on all these abilities in order to successfully navigate the levels to the exit and this reminds me of a Ron Gilbert game called The Cave (although The Cave was released in 2013, which is after Thomas Was Alone - however The Cave most likely took inspiration from an earlier Ron Gilbert game, 1987's Maniac Mansion).
As mentioned, this is a platformer full of delightful jumping puzzles, but when I say "delightful", I'm being sarcastic because they are one of my pet peeves: I'm not normally a fan of platformers and while most levels are manageable for someone of my skill level, the difficulty seems to go up and down like a rollercoaster. I'd have much preferred it to be a linear curve upwards, but alas it was not meant to be.
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Thomas and his friends are using Claire as a boat |
A Well Told Story
However, what made the game palatable in the end was the superb audio. I'm not talking about the music, which is generally pretty good, albeit repetitive if you end up stuck on a level for too long, no, I'm talking about the narration. You'll learn more about why Thomas and his friends are important to the world in general as you progress through the game thanks to British comedian Danny Wallace. There's a reason he won that Best Performer award I mentioned earlier, and was a perfect fit for this humorous and heartwarming tale which reminds me of other games with zany voice acting such as Portal 2 or The Stanley Parable.
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Later in the game you'll meet James who can jump in the opposite direction to gravity |
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Ultimately, it's the story and its narration that elevates this competent yet minimalist puzzle platformer to one that's still worth a look over a decade later. There are some infuriating parts to the game if you're not into jumping puzzles but it should be a breeze to those that are veterans of the genre. |
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