Tearaway Unfolded/ Media Molecule
TEARAWAY UNFOLDED
Tear-able.
by Felipe Parada
Don't let the title fool you, this game is an absolute delight. No matter what I did the game always managed to put a smile on my face, something that video games don't rarely do.I never got a chance to get to play the original tearaway on the PS Vita but heard nothing but great things about it. When I heard this game was being made available for the PS4 I knew I had to play this game. Sadly this was another game that got lost in the shuffle of a heavy release schedule back in September 2015.
Lets take a look at the games that were released the very first week of September 2015:
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – September 1
Mad Max – September 1
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare ‘Reckoning’ DLC – September 3
Tearaway Unfolded – September 8
Dragon Age: Inquisition ‘Trespasser’ DLC – September 8
Any game that gets released on this schedule would have gotten lost namely to the juggernaut that was Metal gear Solid V. So from the start, every game that was released in that last quarter had an uphill battle. It wasn't until the game was released as a Playstation Plus free game that it started to get recognition again. But somehow you still don't hear buzz about this game and what it was able to accomplish with the PS4 hardware.
Made by Media Molecule which gave us the gem of Little Big Planet, I knew what I was in for but was still blown away by this beautifully crafted game. Creativity just oozes from this experience, you controls the messenger Iota or Atoi (both play identically, with the only difference being the gender; Iota is male while Atoi is female) who is tasked with delivering a message to a portal that has mysteriously opened in the sky, displaying the player (referred to as "The You" in game). Yes, you are actually in the game (if you have the Playstation Camera) and you use every resource available to deliver the message.
Tearaway Unfolded/ Media Molecule
Look at me, well you......you know what I mean.
With this arts and crafts as its central theme, Tearaway’s biggest message remains the notion of creativity. You are often asked to create small parts of this landscape using the DualShock’s touch-pad. It's surprisingly accurate but the size of the touch-pad can lead to a bit of a challenge when trying to realize a design. Being able to see your designs come to live in the world makes for a real beautiful experience that everyone must try.
Whether it be the touch pad, the controller's light bar or the motion controls, it is refreshing to see a developer use the PS4 in such a creative way. We need more games like this in the future, games that creatively use the systems hardware to full immerse the player into the story. I'm a bit disappointed that more games like this don't exist. Just imagine if the Vita was incorporated into the PS4 version of Tearaway Unfolded, it would have added some much more to an already stellar experience.
Hopefully Sony will get wise and realize that this type of immersion in video games is severely lacking. I'll keep saying it, Tearaway Unfolded is criminally underrated, so much so that this game could be the PS4's most underrated game. It was such a refreshing change of pace from the first person shooters and the zombie hordes that seem to be all the rage. Do yourself a favor and DON'T pass this one up. Definitely a must play for all ages because this game is truly Tear-able (PUNS......all day, everyday).