But I love Chris's constant grouching - and so whenever he's atop one of those taller rectangles, it always seems a triumph of the spirit. He's a bit touchy and grumpy around more generously-gifted shapes, and sometimes it's a pain to get him around. For example, Chris, who turns up fairly early, is a squat orange brick that can't jump very high. In what is probably Thomas Was Alone's greatest achievement, their characters bleed into how you're manoeuvring the little band around levels. The shapes all have their own thoughts about the ongoing situation, and goals, and favourites among the other shapes. You get fond of them, with the arch and surreal script complemented perfectly by the childish malevolence in Wallace's voice.
There are no googly eyes or hats, just different shapes and colours, yet by the end of the game you'll think of each shape as its own person. The oddest aspect of the characters is that they're represented as rectangles and squares.
It turns out Wallace is playing several characters he's a solo ensemble. Each level begins with a few lines from the narrator, an omniscient presence voiced by Danny Wallace, and as you're guiding the team through, he often says other things. It's a game with a story to tell, and a very good one at that. Thomas Was Alone's best levels comes with the introduction of James, an anti-gravity rectangle that has an inspired partnership with Thomas and a somewhat introverted personality.Īfter this beginning, Thomas Was Alone slowly begins introducing an extensive cast. As the game progresses you'll see more than one nod to the Mushroom Kingdom or The Lost Vikings - or you'll think you do, until a second glance shows just well-spaced squares.
The game's opening takes the form of 10 short and simple platforming variations, a breeze for anyone, each environment's angles sculpted into a safe playground. The word 'deconstruction' has long been ruined by amateur chefs and critics, but in the true sense, it catches one of Thomas Was Alone's underlying themes. The correct answer is no, but it's the game's keen sense of platform game craft and history that raises the question in the first place. Thomas Was Alone is a platformer built from the purest elements, but one that, in traditionally important aspects like challenge or length, wouldn't score highly. A platformer with a tale to tell, Thomas Was Alone shows you don't need big budgets to handle a big story.Īs games become ever more numerous, our old and trusted genre categories for them seem ever less useful - especially when they get in the way.
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