Thomas Was Alone

1. Glynnister

   Aug 2, 2013

   9

   Mike Bithell makes a game that is such an incredible joy to play, I hated having it finished.
   Sporting hilarious narration, beautifullyMike Bithell makes a game that is such an incredible joy to play, I hated having it finished.
   Sporting hilarious narration, beautifully simplistic design and truly enjoyable mechanics that was only let down by the simple technicality that there was just not enough of it.
   
   Originally finding its way into my life as one of the PS+ freebies for April, Thomas Was Alone was randomly selected to be the first game I've played in a long time on the dust collector called my PS Vita.
   The story of Thomas is a simple one. He is an AI gone rogue, but an AI with a heart that is ultimately filled with friendship and heroism as he joins a band of other misfit AI to escape into the world.
   
   Thomas, as the name suggests, begins the story as a lone jumping rectangle that you guide through various simple side scrolling levels. On your journey however you meet various other quadrangles of different sizes that provide different skills; including a short wide pink one that functions as a trampoline, a large blue square that cant jump very high but floats on water and a tall slim yellow one that jumps to enormous heights. It is in this part of the design that the games concept truly excels, instead of learning skills you meet friends, instead of fighting enemies you tackle the changing levels as a team, you must use your brain and work out the correct way and place to make use of each characters skills to guide you through the story, a concept I really warmed to.
   
   Each shape is given unique personality and character via the stunningly charming and soothing narration by Danny Wallace continuing to add to the nonsensical depth of a group of shapes and giving you an idea of the importance of their adventure from their perspective. It is at this point where Thomas Was Alone really becomes an experience. The story narration, alongside beautiful music by Danny Housden, and lighting effects that are pointlessly beautiful, bring the mechanics of this little game to life. On face value this is a game where you play as a series of shapes jumping around a world, but the more you play, the more it becomes, making you care for the characters, cheer for them, vilify them and genuinely be happy for them as they progress through their journey, a journey that is all too short.
   
   And it is here where my only issue, but a personal argument lies. At around 3 hours this game is short as you'd expect from the price point and genre but I cant decide if I want more. There is a fascinating commentary edition to play through that as a fan of movie commentaries I loved but what I really wanted was more to play in this world. However the issue I'm facing is that I feel much more would have devalued it, risked the ‘novelty wearing off’ or myself becoming frustrated at an eventually rising difficulty curve.
   
   Thomas Was Alone is the beautiful vision of a single man that takes any ‘graphics over gameplay’ argument by the scruff of its neck and gives it a good smacking. You become engrossed in the story, the characters and the world in a way I haven't felt with any triple A games in a long long time and any indie games since Journey. Its low price point and short compact ‘experience it’ story make it a must buy with the latter being this games only downfall. Give me more.… Expand

   • 1 of 2 users found this helpful
2. timsim26

   Feb 14, 2014

   9

   a game that makes you care about characters that are nothing more than rectangles or squares. Thomas was alone provides a really unique anda game that makes you care about characters that are nothing more than rectangles or squares. Thomas was alone provides a really unique and interesting experience. It is a puzzle platformer that requires some thinking and the use of numerous "abilities" that the shapes possess. There are a number of powers and it is a treat to use the shapes numerous sizes and jumping abilities to navigate through a series of levels. the game is around the perfect length for something like this at about 3 hours (maybe less) but despite the excellent gameplay it is not the star of the show.
   
   an excellent story told by narrations from an UN-named narrator describes the feelings and thoughts of most of these shapes as they attempt to escape their doom. The story is really interesting and is brilliantly written.
   
   this game was an absolute treat to play on vita.… Expand

   • 1 of 2 users found this helpful
4. Acidblood83

   May 11, 2013

   9

   I got Thomas Was Alone because it was free this month on PS Plus, but I would have been very happen to purchase it. If I had to describe it II got Thomas Was Alone because it was free this month on PS Plus, but I would have been very happen to purchase it. If I had to describe it I would say 'portal with quadrangles'. It is available on multiple platforms but with well implemented touch controls that complement the standard buttons and most levels only taking a few minutes to complete it is a perfect fit for Vita.… Expand

   • 4 of 5 users found this helpful
5. MrGingerGeek

   Apr 28, 2014

   8

   This game is fantastic. The story is incredible, as are the graphics and soundtrack. It is near perfection. It works really well on the PSThis game is fantastic. The story is incredible, as are the graphics and soundtrack. It is near perfection. It works really well on the PS Vita, and I found the touch-screen controls very useful, as I often lost track of how to control each character on the PC version. I am very excited to play Mike's next games!… Expand

   • 0 of 1 users found this helpful
6. sityoazzdown

   Apr 3, 2014

   7

   pretty unique and addicting game. the story was very sweet and charming at first, seeing the blocks who dont get along work together to get topretty unique and addicting game. the story was very sweet and charming at first, seeing the blocks who dont get along work together to get to a goal. the game is pretty simple, but it does have 100 levels, with some variety in each new level. gameplay got repititive as you kept playing, and I gradually lost interest in the storytelling, but it's a good game for what it is, I gotta say i agree with metacritic and the 78 score for this game.… Expand

   • 1 of 1 users found this helpful
7. drlowdon

   Nov 25, 2013

   7

   In terms of storytelling telling and atmosphere Thomas Was Alone gets everything pretty much spot on, managing to create a memorable cast ofIn terms of storytelling telling and atmosphere Thomas Was Alone gets everything pretty much spot on, managing to create a memorable cast of characters from little more than squares and rectangles despite its minimalist approach.
   
   Unfortunately the gameplay itself, while competent, can't quite live up to the excellent presentation. I expect many will find it to be a little slow paced and its a shame that the puzzles never evolve to be as difficult, or indeed as clever, as the very best in the genre (such as Braid). It may not be a true classic but I'd recommend it to anyone looking for something a bit different.
   
   *Having played both the PS3 and Vita version I must say it suited the handheld better.… Expand

   • 1 of 1 users found this helpful
8. Benh0123

   Aug 15, 2015

   6

   I thought I'd give this game a go, considering its largely positive response, and that it sounded as though the creator aimed to achieveI thought I'd give this game a go, considering its largely positive response, and that it sounded as though the creator aimed to achieve something rather interesting: giving personality to coloured squares and rectangles. Being interested in innovation in video gaming encouraged me to give this game a shot, and honestly I can't complain considering the relatively low price of admission (£6.49 on PS Vita) and the fairly short time investment of a couple of hours (including acquiring all the available achievements). However, with such a simple concept, the execution needs to be impressive, combining strong level design with an interesting narrative. The game unfortunately falls short on both of these criteria: from the outset to the end, the level design is pretty lacklustre at best, and for me this is unforgivable in any side-scroller. The narration is clearly where the effort has been applied, but even this largely didn't work for me, and felt rather twee, albeit whilst adding depth and identity to an otherwise pretty basic game and "characters". I would still recommend this game, as just because it didn't work for me doesn't mean others won't find value in it. That said, I think it could have been executed far better.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful

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