Yeah, they must be the longest running credits in the history of games. Finished it earlier too - and now can't sleep - so thought I'd post some pics from our (Iota + me) fantastic journey:

Managing to 100% a fair few levels, but some I've been through two, three more times and just cannot find the last present or six.

Xmas can't come soon enough! (Fingers crossed)

This post was originally a link to my blog but, since I'm taking the blog down, I'll post it in full here.

Tearaway

Paper view


Aristotle, pupil of Plato, tutor of Alexander the Great, metaphysical mastermind and, reputedly, an awful man for the drink, is attributed with the oft-touted expression, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts." It flies somewhat in the face of his master's assertion that, "A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link," but both can be true. For example a telephone directory, famously, is somewhat harder to rip in two than the individual sheets of paper from which it is combined, but used as a substitute for one of the sandbags in a flood defence wall and its limitations are rather brought to the fore.


The first thing to be said about Tearaway is that it is beautiful. The environments are crafted entirely from paper and card, and the love with which this has been done unfolds out of the screen and kisses you all over the face with soft, papery lips. Surface textures are made up of layered strips or carefully cut shapes, structures made of folded or curled sheets, where the tabs and slits the slip into have been thought through. Media Molecule are proud to show their workings, and rightly so. Everything has such internal consistency, it wouldn't be surprising if the team made much of the game world and its characters with real paper, confirming how a piece might be made, and reproducing it in the game. If you think the screenshots are gorgeous, wait until you see this game move.


The only time this is let down is when Media Molecule seek to tear down the fourth wall and make the real world part of the game. It is hard to tell whether the gameplay and visual elements informed the plot, or vice versa, but the result is incongruous to the detriment of the game world. Both front and rear cameras on the Vita are used to show the real world when rips appear in the paper world, most notably to put the player's face in the sun, a near constant presence, thankfully only seen at irregular intervals. While the effect is no doubt intended to be an interesting juxtaposition, it fails in execution. It is no doubt hampered by the poor resolution and washed out picture the cameras produce, but the cameras cannot shoulder all of the blame.


The atmosphere in Tearaway is pretty much set by the visual style. Everything radiates with a joyful innocence that warms the heart. This is to be expected in the opening, lush environments, but even as Iota ventures into inhospitable areas, the air is relentlessly playful. Enemies are cute, and burst into a plume of confetti when defeated. Given that Media Molecule's previous output was LittleBigPlanet, it should be no surprise that they are able to produce visuals that capture and enrapture audiences with handcrafted sweetness. Succeeding with this tactic is easier said than done, and Tearaway is confirmation that Mm have managed to bottle this magic, allowing them to create worlds with a consistency of charm to rival Disney, Nintendo or Pixar.


Sound is another area where Tearaway excels. The music is utterly charming from beginning to end, its themes becoming instantly recognisable and never unwelcome as the game progresses. The paper sound effects - rustling, rippling, folding, unfolding, tearing and sticking - are executed flawlessly. The characters gibberish voices are a cut above other examples. Not the flat, repeating noise of, say, Starfox, but full of perfectly pitched personality and rolling intonation that effortlessly suggests this is a fully realised language.


Fairly early on, Iota is given a little camera, for which he can acquire a number of lenses and filters. It is occasionally introduced as a requirement to progress the game, which unfortunately is generally limited to producing another self-portrait, but the variety and quality of shots it produces will mean that it alone wil prolong Tearaway's shelf-life on your memory card. You may never tire of using the macro lens to take pictures of the squirrels and gophers that skedaddle around as you play.


The unbridled joy of skipping, bouncing, jumping and rolling around is only occasionally let down. Sections using the Vita's gyroscopes are fun when they involve little nuanced movements, less so when the final jump to a fixed platform involved holding the console steady at the most awkward of angles. The rear touch-pad bounce feels inconsistent, and when death results from a half-cocked bounce it often feels like the game's fault. Some of the ribbons Iota must roll down will be impossibly narrow for younger players. Drawing on the card in the crafting tasks is finicky, the unwieldily pencil let down my the nature of the touchscreen.  That the lead needlessly snaps is an unforgivable inclusion, though, and a baffling inclusion.


It should be stressed, though, that these moments are only occasional blips in an otherwise glorious experience. Seeing your own paper-craft inventions brought to life in the game fills you with a pride you haven't felt since your teacher pinned one of your drawings to the classroom wall, and the reversal of that; collecting models in-game that can be printed off and made with real paper is a simply delicious proposition. Restyling Iota so that he is undoubtedly yours, lending your voice to in game characters, manipulating the environment like the world's most elaborate pop-up book, all combine to make your heart sing. You will fall in love with the creatures you meet along the way, with their bizarre looks and babbling voices, and you won't want to leave. Seeing, finding and experiencing every corner and item of the world isn't always easy, but when you are spending that time in a place you love, frustrations are stripped away.


By this point it's not really a question that needs answering; whether or not the various elements of Tearaway combine to create something greater, or whether it is only as strong as the clunky contiguity of camera and craft. In reality the overwhelming jubilation this game is both made with and elicits from its audience far outweighs any aspects that don't quite work. After a few minutes, it will cement itself in your affections, and after a few more you will be ready to forgive it for almost anything. You'll be telling anyone who'll listen about this wonderful paper world. If you want to play a game that will make you happy, that will put a smile on your face, that you will struggle to tear yourself away from, play Tearaway.

This game is truly beautiful.

Delightful screenshots, guys.

Enjoyed it but felt like the last quarter run out of ideas just a bit (like most games), the ending was touching though.

Yeah they're a beauty- spent some time last night taking photmographs of the crafts.

Ok... I'm starting to get into this now...

I haven't played 3D Mario World yet, but this easily the most polished game I've seen in years...
The art is good, yes, but the sound... Especially the effects are top class.

Is anyone else getting echo's of Aardman animation's Morph?

Only starting out, but making a crown and decorating it, for a squirrell really made me smile

You're right!

What a missed opportunity

Can't find the pirate looking fella paper craft in The Harbour. Causing me all kinds of stress.

Vous que?

beano wrote:

Vous que?

That was the last one I got. Come back to this level once you have finished the game or something. If you want to really know:

It's from about the November issue. I've had the screen grabs sitting on my iPad for a while, meaning to lay them out all pretty for here.