I’m starting to think that half the reason I like this game is I spent so many hours playing Adventure for Atari. In Adventure, you play a little square and go on, well, an adventure. You have to dodge dragons, traverse mazes, and generally run around a lot. And while the dot in that game didn’t really have any personality, he was the hero and so I kind of got attached to him.

Well, all the heroes in this game are squares and rectangles. But unlike the poor square in Adventure, these quadrilaterals have personalities. And names! As the game progresses and new characters are introduced, the brilliant narration explains each of their strengths, flaws, insecurities, dreams and more. And in a short while, you begin to see these simple shapes as something much more.

Each one also has a special ability. The red rectangle, Thomas, is small but can jump pretty high. The bright yellow rectangle named John can jump super high and is very useful for getting through each level. The large square Claire can float, allowing others to use her to get across the patches of deadly water. One acts as a trampoline allowing others to bounce on it to get to high places. And one, probably the saddest one, can barely jump, but is small and can get into tiny places to hit the all-important switches.  

Each level is essentially a puzzle, and you must figure out how to use their special abilities to move each one into a specific spot. As the game progresses, the puzzles become more and more complex. Especially when the green one who has the opposite gravity of all the others is introduced. There are quite a few gravity-based puzzles that require a bit of patience to get through.

The graphics are simple, but stylish. The control is spot on, and the only complaint I had was the PS Vita version was a little buggy. Especially when trying to switch between characters. There were also a few sound issues as well.

One of the coolest features of the game is the commentary where the creator tells you his thought process behind the game and characters. It made me wonder, why don't more games have this feature? How cool would it be to play through a AAA game, while the designers tell you what they had in mind in each level?

Thomas Was Alone is a neat game. It’s a little artsy, but not in a pretentious way. The platforming is tight; the jumping perfect. You probably won’t break your brain on the puzzles, but some do require patience. The narration’s superb, and the story will stick with you for quite some time.

Also the game has a nice message—no matter how fat, small, weird you may be, there’s a need for you somewhere. Whatever skill you have, not matter how insignificant, will at some point be needed to get to “the next level.” At least that’s what I got out of it.  

Related Links:
Official Site 

by Alexis Kirsch