Tearaway Unfolded is a platform action adventure game developed by Media Molecule studio. A studio whose projects consist of the Little big planet series, the original Tearaway and Dreams. The original Tearaway was released for the Ps Vita in 2013 as a console exclusive but the potential was there
and so two years later Unfolded was release for the playstation 4 console with the help of Tarsier Studios (known from the little nightmare series ) who contributed on the transaction from Vita to Ps4 and ofcourse SONY who is the overalll Publisher of the project.
Upon it's release the game was receive mainly with possitive reviews and high scores from both Journalists and gamers across the globe. There were a few reviewers, who couldnt make a decision as they experienced the original game on vita first and then the one on ps4, which might felt inferior as the vita can offer better interactions with the game
than the ps4 dualshock. All of them though praised the effort and the creative though that went in the project in order for this transaction to be made. For those unaware, the original game was made with the idea that it would demonstrate every single function the psVita had to offer to the player. Very similar to how Sony hired Team Asobi to
create a game to demonstrate the Ps5 and the Ps5 Dualshock with their game Astro's Playroom in 2020.
The physical release of the game came in two forms:
Standard
Included the game alone
Messanger Edition
Included The game and Ingame cosmeticks
Special
Included the Game and a plsuhy of Iota or Atoi
Story of the Game (Minor spoilers ahead.)
Terraway Unfolded is an Extended Remake of the original. This means that similar to the Vita version The players get control of the Character of Iota or Atoi depending on which gender the players made their messanger. Gender Selection does not affect the story, the events nor the character customization. The only thinh that is affected is
the way the Narrator will call upon the messanger. The story is very simple yet very effective, the players will help their Messanger to go through different stages, in order for the Messanger to reach the You known as the player. The game refers to the player as the YOU , a godly being who created a Hole in the sky. The messanger has
to find a way all the way to get to You. This pretty much sums up the story.
The story of the game is delivered in cutscenes and in the form of a fairytale. Two celestial beings, begin narrating a story that they feel like the player will enjoy listening to. Everytime something is about to happen, one of the two will start narraing the idea to the player or describe the event that occur or will Occur. This is a very clever way
to narrate the particular tale as it works in a suprisingly good way. Furthermore, the two beings seem to dissagree with the other and thus they interfere causing problems to the messanger and expanding the Messangers adventure. To elaborate, new addition to Unfolded was tthe paper planes. The messanger can find this origami planes and fly around the maps.
The first plane appear in the middle of the game, and the Messanger will try to fly high in the sun and deliver it's message, however these beings say that this solution is too boring for our tale and thus a stong wind rose out of nowhere which blew the Messanger on the opposite direction. This is a smart way to expand the fairytale and also show the new
additions and mechanicks of Unfolded.
Thoughts on the Story
The story of the game is short,simple and yet very effective. The idea that the player is literally a godly being in the game is really unique and original.If the players own a Ps Camera, The giant hole in the sky(sun) will have the players face printed in it. and if not then the game can proceed as Usual. Having a camera simply adds to the experience
of the player beeing 100% involved but won't matter much if the sun is simply empty. The Messangers are doing everything they can in order to reach the You and deliver the mail. They re travelling through Deserts, Mountains, Oceans, Abandoned laboratories and Snow baiums in order to see their mission through. The enemies who worship the You are very interesting
and their own level adds alot to the world that was not expected. Furthermore there are cerain levels that can demonstrate possible outcomes that can occur when a Messanger fails to deliver their mail, which adds realism to the idea of the Messanger as not many mails made their way to the receiver.
Gameplay
The gameplay of Tearaway Unfolded is very interesting and unique which manages to captivate the magic of the Vita and port it into the Playstation 4. Meida Molecule love to explore and expand upon the idea of creativity and thus Tearaway was created to Celebrate gaming creativity. With a quick glance Tearaway can be seen as the typical 3D platformer where the
player gets control of Iota Or Atoi on their Journey to reach the player. The messanger can jump, spint(roll), pick up items and interacti with the player. Typical to a platformer, the player dies by one of two ways:
Falling into a non playable area (AKA Cliff)
Getting Hit by Enemies in this case 3 times.(Critical state is indicated with the messanger turning white and making a warning sound whilst a heart appears on top of the messanger)
The enemies the Messanger is phasing are known as the Scraps. The Scraps are small box shaped creatures that re warped with newspaper. They came falling from the sky when the You teared up the sky. Scraps are the main enemies of the game and very similar to the iconic Goompas found in the Super Mario series have various forms to add to the difficulty and
to the overall enemy variety.
Scraps
These are the normal enemies who simply walk around and chase the player.
Black Scraps
These are the normal enemies who are capable of stacking into each other making them into a bigger target.
Bounce Pad Scraps
These enemies are the normal scraps who carry a bouncy pad and try to launch the messanger away. The Player will have to bounce on them
Flying Scraps
These scraps are capable of flying up in the sky.
Scraps on Stilts
These are the enemies with huge legs who need to be tripped in order to act like normal enemies.
Nobody knows who or what are the Scraps other than the fact that they came from the human world. The only things known about the Scraps is that they re always trying to prevent the Messanger from completing their goal and also that everywhere Scraps appear they 'pollut' the area. The Scraps marks of pollution are being depiction as newspaper scattered around the world. The players
know that they re to be blamed because they re the only creatures made of newspaper and they can also infect any area with them. The Messangers are not as much of a fighter like theis Ps Vita incarnetions but they re still capable of fighting. The first way foe the Messangers to attack is by grapping items such as rocks and toss them on the enmies who were effected by the throw. Rolling
on enemies with Stilts will throw them on the ground for the Messanger to have a chance in compat. The main way of combat is through the Usage of the Gods (You) . The You is capable of sharing their light energy with the inhabitants of the world. In fact the light of the Yous is the only thing capable of getting rid of the Scraps infection. By hovering the light (by tilting the controller)
onto the newspapers they re all burned and fade away. In compat this same light when pointed on the Scraps will hypnotize them and they will follow it everywhere, in holes, on spikes everywhere deadly. The player can also use their light in order to lead the scraps away from the Messanger or even use them as 'weight' when dealing with certain puzzle. Further more the Yous are capable of creating
Strong winds by simply swifting onto the touchpad of the controller. The winds are mainly used to create platforms and solve other types of puzzles but the players can also abuse them by creating strong winds that will through the Scraps off the map into their doom. The Messangers themselves are not affected as much as the Scraps so using the winds is now dangerous for the players.
The third way of dealing with the enemies is through the power of collaboration. As mentioned the Messangers are capable of colleting items and throw them into the opponents, however nothing stops the Messanger from throwing their item to the You. The messanger has to turn in order to look at the player. Ascreen effe will suround the screen indicating that Iota is facing the player and
that whatever they throw it will come towards the creen and land on the players controller. When an item is thrown to the controler, it will vibrate and when the player moves the controller vibration will occur to wherever the item is located. The player can them aim the controller and by swifting the touchpad, the controller will launch it's item to the location aimed on screen. This process
of shooting is used for both puzzle solving and to deal with enemies. The combination attack is also suitable when dealing with flying enemies.
The gameplay of the game enjoys the fact that Tearaway's purpose is creativity and so with every possible opportunity available to them, Media Molecule grapped the chance and enhance it. As mentioned above, the Origami plane was not available in the Vita version and since Unfolded gave the You the power to control the wind, every plane section requires the player to use their wind control and
controller tilt in order to fly. The same wind mechanism can be used to swap platforms upside down. Map areas have spikes and require the player to swap the platforms upside down in order for the messanger to walk on top of them. Other areas are platforms that require the wind in order to elevate it into higher place or higher platform. Tilting is the way to steer the plane and move around.
Furthermore, as mentioned tilting is used when the You is shinning their light down to the ground and cleaning the newspaper. It is important that the player keeps the controller to the appropriate spot since the launch of the game as it may lead to a confussion.EG. If the light of the controller was facing the ground when the player booted the game, the game registered the face down controller
position as the default location. This is something that can be easily fixed, by simply pressing the right button on the keypad and synchronizing the light on screen with the controllers default location. The microphone of the game can be used when the player is helping out the scarecrows. Certain areas require the player to place a face on a pumkin and then give it it's own voice. This can only be
achieved by using the microphone in order to record. The voicelines recorded are the ones the scarecrows will be using through out.
There are various puzzles that require various solutions to use in order to solve them. For example, some parts require the hero to ride on pigs in order to move around, break obstacles and proceed further in a location. Other locations require the player to collect certain orbs in order to be placed in a staue for them to unlock further passages and gates. Other locations require the collaboration
between the Messanger and the You. The You can use either the air as mentioned prior or the teamwork of throwing certain items on certain locations. These puzzles are not hard to be dealt with but they do require some creative though and perfect timing tabs.
The world of Tearaway has by far it's own unique identity. Everything is completely out of paper. Very similar to how pixelized blocks help people identify the game as Minecraft or Minecraft clone, this one uses paper. It is filled with origami, paper, cartboards and diffrerent paper crafts. Its so fascinating how everything in this universe is made out of paper, even effects such as dust blown
in the desert or a simple splash in the water is made out of paper. This also allows for some unique and clever level design, such as the fact that the Messanger can walk verticaly by stepping into paper that has wet glue into them. Another stage, where the enemy Scraps hangout, is filled with the You pictures (If the camera is being used) and diffferent newspapers thrown left and right.
There are even basketball hooks where the Messanger can throw rocks inside it as if they re playing basketball. The Game is not fully open world like it meant to be originally but it does feel like it in the essence that the player starts at the ground trying to reach the top , then drops somewhere deeper and goes into somewhere else. There are plenty of side quest, unlockables and rewards to be found
around each corner. Other worlds require the player to decorate the world with items they choose. For example, in the mountain the game requests the player to create snowflakes out of cartboard and upon doing so these drawings will fall from the sky. The same can occur with butterflies and flowers. Other parts request the player to use stickers to create a canvas that will decorate the entire area.
Furtermore, NPCs requests the YOU to take pictures of items in order for them to appear in the craft world. For example, a deer requests the player to take pictures of something in order for it to appear as it's clothing pattern. Last but not least the music in each level is beautiful and help seperate each area, or give the right atmosphere. It has relaxing soundtracks that were made by a very talented
orchestra.
Collectables and Store items
The game has three types of collectables.Th first two are different colored presents:
Red Presents:Red presents are scattered across the world of Tearaway and they are easy to spot. The player is required to move the hero around the world in order to reach the presents. Some require a bit of parkouring or small puzzle solving in order to make their way towards it. Upon aproaching the present the player will have to interact with it and unbox it by pressing the
touch pad on the controller. Inside the presents there are Confetti which act as the currency of the world.
The currency can be used to buy items such as decorations , camera lenses and filters. Decorations can be used to customize the Messanger or other inhabitants. These 'stickers' can be eyes, mouths, ties, different shapes and others.
Blue Presents:Blue presents look and act like the red ones. Their major diference is that they require the players to complete a side quest in order for them to be accesible. Once the player spots a blue present, they should look around in order to spot an inhabitant with a blue Exclanation mark (!) who will give the side quest to the Messanger.
The final Collectable of the game are the papercrafts. Around the world there are items or inhabitants that lost their color and appear in pure white. The Messangers are given a special camera that can take a photograph that depiction's the white 'item' in their original form. By doing so the original coloring will return to the papercraft and it will be so happy that in return
will reward the player with the paper craft. By going into the main menu, the player can open a notebook which includes manuals on how to create these papercrafts step by step.
Overall Synopsis
Overall Tearaway Unfolded is a really unique and creative Game. A great remastered whose ps4 versions manages to captures crusial parts of the Original game while also expanding familiar old places. The story is simple effective, with a unique spin of a tale whose tellers dont like things to be simple and keep chaging it as they go. The character of the Messanger is really cute and brave who is set on their goal.
The gameplay is simply unique that takes advantage of every mechanism the Ps4 dualshock has to offer. From tilting mechanicks to icrophone usage and others. The platforming feels unique as a world made of paper has alot to offer to the player. From Jumping trampolines, to flying into an origami plane to walking up the mountain on a road that has sticky glue and allows the hero's paper feet to stick on the vertican
surface. The graphics of the game are breathtaking and creative. Everything in the world is made of paper, The water, the waves, the bushes, everything is made of paper, papercrafts and origami.Creativity exist everywhere in the world, from customizable heroes to creating snowflakes for the snowymountains and others. Last but not least the collectable of the game are unique and allow the player
to be creative and recreate all these craftable items in the real world.
