Publisher: SCEA
Developer: ThatGameCompany
Genre: Action
Release Date: February 12, 2009
Platform: Playstation 3
ESRB Rating: E
Developer: ThatGameCompany
Genre: Action
Release Date: February 12, 2009
Platform: Playstation 3
ESRB Rating: E
In the age of an abundance of shooters and RPGs, rarely does one come across a game that truly fulfills the notion of 'videogame as art'. Granted, there have been noteworthy examples in the past, such as Okami and Shadow of the Colossus, but nothing quite on the subliminal level that Flower triumphs. There isn't one individual element that can be used to explain the game's high caliber. It is a breath of fresh air that takes you through a flower's dream. And what a fascinating dream it is.
The first thing that strikes you about Flower is just how beautiful it looks. The graphics are incredible, showcasing dense, grassy landscapes that move about convincingly as you breeze by them. You won't be seeing any menu or HUD in this game. Just wilderness spreading as far as the eye can see, flowing in the wind as clouds pass overhead and cast shadows. The music is fantastic in its own right, playing a pivotal role in the overall impact, immersing you into the world and suspending your disbelief. The overall experience is awe-inspiring, often so in a haunting way, bringing about an inexpressible blend of experiential melancholy and a true exuberance of spirit, accompanied by the whole range of emotion that entails.
The story follows a series of flowers that dwell in a colorless, urban locale. As vision transcends reality, you are taken through a journey across different landscapes. The plot isn't unraveled in the conventional way and there's no narrative whatsoever. Rather, the silence is what gives it away. There's a very powerful, yet subtle, message that the game tries to convey through means of the gameplay itself. A message that is pivotal to its core theme. The uncertainty of your outcome urges you to carry on, in order to find out what will happen next. That is how the story works.
Hidden beneath the audio/visual artistry is an actual game that surprises you with its unique gameplay elements. You assume control of a single flower petal that goes around making several other flowers bloom. In doing so, it builds its own momentum by tagging along a petal from each of the flowers it comes in contact with. With this accumulated spirit, it aims to revitalize barren land and restore life to the environment. Tilting your controller changes your direction, while holding any button blows wind in the direction you wish to move. The motion-sensing is superb, detecting the slightest inclination or nudge made by the controller so that you can move around by tipping it as gently as possible. The controls are swift, accurate and effortless, quickly becoming second nature.
While the first half of the game is about discovering and celebrating the joys of nature, the second half demonstrates a remarkable shift of mood, adopting a darker tone and introducing some hindrances as means of thwarting your progress. It would be a crime not to mention the last level, which is quite possibly (for me, at least) one of the finest moments in gaming history. The rest is worth discovering on your own, as spoiling it would be a terrible injustice to the hard work that went into making this masterpiece.
My single complaint with the game is the lack of substantial content. There are only a handful of levels, and the game leaves you wanting more. It's a little sad that the developers didn't make much of an effort to enhance the longevity of the game by offering time trials and online leader boards. However, given the $10 price tag, some may consider it to be of negligible concern. Here's hoping ThatGameCompany provides some meaningful downloadable content in the near future. Either way, you're probably going to want to play the game again and again, if only to admire its visual splendor. Or you may be a trophy enthusiast, in which case the game puts up quite a challenge.
The Playstation Network started off with some lackluster content, especially as compared to rival MS's Xbox Live. However, over the course of time, it has gained ground with a unique library of downloadable games, with Flower being its centerpiece gem. If you're ever planning on getting a PSN game, let this be the one. It's just too rich an experience to overlook. Acquired taste or not, there's bound to be something or the other here for everyone to appreciate.
**Note: Each score is marked out of 10**
7.0 Value/worth: You will occasionally come back for more, if only to soothe yourself, though there's no substantial reason for doing so (unless you're a trophy freak).
9.0 Graphics: Best looking downloadable game ever. It's more so an artistic achievement than technical, but what's there is mighty impressive.
9.0 Sound: Soothing, atmospheric music, accompanied by ambient bells and whistles, makes the game's sound an essential part of the overall experience.
9.0 Gameplay: Most intuitive and effective use of the Sixaxis' motion-sensing functionality, with uniquely challenging, and most of all, highly entertaining gameplay elements.
0.0 Multiplayer: N/A
9.0 Overall (not an average): A rich and enchanting experience that will hook you from start to finish and leave you in awe.
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