You don't usually figure a title with the simple name "Flower" would be made into a game.
Now why is that? Well to be frank...how can you sell it? That's where Thatgamecompany's mindset comes in and..well..somehow makes it into not a video game but an 'experience'. I don't usually review things like this where it's based purely on 'experience' or things like 'atmosphere' unless it's from my favorite horror series (which is Silent Hill) but for Flower...there was something a bit more.
Which is a good thing, so I decided for this review I go alongside my buddy RockTheJake who's joined me here in helping to go over it. (Who here will be referred to under RTJ for his input.)
RTJ: Absolutely! I've played the game many, many times already and as someone who enjoys any game that can make me "feel good", Flower is definitely one of those games at the top of the feel good list.
Thanks again for having me in on this. Especially since I convinced you to play the game in the first place. Ha!
Haru: Convinced me to BUY it, mostly. Impulse buys. But now let's get down to the basics.
~Finally able to paint with the colors of the wind~
H: Now the thing though with Flower is this doesn't control or even play like a regular game. Which is saying a lot since...I'm finding it hard to even call it a game. Can it be call a game? I'm find with just calling it a "relaxation simulator" because that's the very first thing that shows up onscreen when you highlight it on the dashboard of your Playstation 3: it tells you to relax. but to play it you are here in any given area to bloom flowers by holding down any button to blow the wind. You move the Playstation 3 controller like you were to control an airplane (? ) or steering wheel since the wind and flower petals move to said direction. You don't have a life bar. There are no 'points' to gather here but there are rules in this "game": unspoken rules that you just sorta....figure out that's immediately also tied to the music in-game. You ever go through Wal-Mart and as you walk by just fiddle with wind chimes? That's almost like what it sounds like in Flower...only a tons more relaxing and in-sync to the mood. The creators of this game also wanted you to, supposedly, get another view of the natural life you might be missing since each time you choose a 'location'/'level' you get a brief animation prior to it, and upon beating a 'location' or level, you get an idle animation where the camera pans to several portions of the area you just cleared like a screensaver.
Where I live going to enjoy nature isn't too hard but if you live in a heavy urban city area you may appreciate this FAR more. At least the music, since it's super relaxing but like the game itself, has mood swings....er.....if that's even possible.
I apologize folks, describing something like Flower is a bit tough since it's all subjective to the player due to how BASIC it is.
RTJ: But of course, basic isn't a bad thing. In each level, the music starts off very basic, very simple, with plucks of what sound like harp strings or filling but quiet ambient sound. There is a backing soundtrack to each level that melds with the sounds you make each time you hit a flower and collect a petal. When you hit a small cluster of flowers, it usually strikes a chord that goes along with the music. And just like any good music, it has its highs and lows in "feel."
The music is composed in such a way as to increase and decrease with the players actions. If you bring color back to a hill or a field of grass, the music becomes more verbose for a bit until coming back down to where you are as you collect more petals.
Speaking of bringing color back, the visual aesthetic of the game is something to be admired. The colors in the game are vibrant and alive at times and dark and gloomy in other moments. The graphics, though not exactly "top tier", so to speak, are very much made with crafting, loving hands. When you fly across the ground, you can see every single blade of grass move in the wind and part when you glide through. There are plenty of technically impressive games out there, but Flower deserves a spot amongst them for its, what I like to call, "Extreme Minimalistic Detail." What I mean by this is that even though one can't see the little ripples and lines one normally sees in a flower in real life, the detail in the movements and the colors themselves create a stylized and immersing world that helps you relax and lose yourself to the music and the visuals.
As a side note, you can acquire the soundtrack of Flower for free, as well as other goodies, by buying the Journey Collector's Edition disc. It holds the music for Flower, Journey, and Flow as well as the games themselves, commentaries, downloadable art, and even some minor games that Thatgamecompany made. At 27 bucks on Amazon, it's pretty much a steal! (Seriously though, if you like calm music in general, you should get the soundtrack anyways. ~ Haru )
H: I think when it comes to people coming to Flower...you have to ask if you're open enough to want to experience something that's more than a video game. Just as the Wii introduced different ways to play video games to your parents and grandparents, I think Flower is another window to show people where we are in technology.
It's not, to me, so much a video game as it is an experience...and one that I find myself replaying on rainy days. Is it odd that I find the natural sounds and views in this game prettier than what's outside my own room? It's probably intentional.
As such, I can't give this game a rating at all because it's....not a "video game" to me. It's actually frustrating because by all accounts I SHOULD give it a rating. I should give it a "Definite Buy" at the very least but...this sort of thing isn't for everyone..and it's not exactly a video game...GAME. You know? It's an experience. It's "Flower" and almost anybody can enjoy it...and for $10 you can enjoy the title by yourself on the Playstation 3 via Playstation Network. If you felt calmed down and soothed by just the free demo, then imagine a whole game around it stretched to roughly 4 hours.
RTJ: As for me, I feel that this is both a video game and an experience. The reason I believe it's a video game is because, in the most basic (there it is again) reasoning, it's something you can play and control on your gaming console that has a game-like structure (levels, enemies, "final boss"). It's not so much a game in the traditional sense, but in a more modern, free-to-be-it sense. It's completely understandable that my buddy Haru here can't rate this game because in a way, rating something like this just doesn't quite measure it's true worth. It's short game that still takes it's time and has coming back for more replaying. It has a nature-centered messaged that some may consider possibly heavy-handed but never preachy and annoying. It's a game made to make you feel good. And in this day of modern gaming, a game that can make you even FEEL at all is worth something. I feel comfortable enough to give this game a 9/10. It's a near perfect experience in its own unique and special way that could have benefitted from one or 2 extra levels.
Thank you, Haru, for letting me get in on this review. It's always fun to share the things you like with other people! And thank you all for reading this review!
I myself am a video maker and voice actor, so if you'd like to stay up to date with what I do, I gladly invite you to follow me on twitter @rockthejake and subscribe to me on youtube at this address: http://www.youtube.com/user/Tokugoru . I recently started a new series of videos called Game & Think that hopefully all of you would enjoy checking out. Thanks again and peace out!
No comments:
Post a Comment