At first glance, Tearaway is an oddity that really enjoys putting your face in the game, but punch a hole in the fabric and you’ll discover a world so much more exciting than your mug shot in the middle of the sun.
The meaty preview takes you through the first five stages of the game, and you begin your journey as either Iota or Atoi. After doing some brief customization you find yourself as a letter, thrown into a world made of paper. A world that sits firmly between your hands. You see, you are more than just a face in the sun, you are the recipient of the letter and it’s your job to help either Iota or Atoi to get there and deliver it. Like many other games you start out with a limited set of skills, and you will most likely be a bit startled by the lack of jumping in the beginning. But don’t worry, there is a lot to be learned.
As you embark on your journey you are constantly introduced to new features and ways of interacting with the things you encounter. It’s a world with funny, quirky characters, new sounds, crazy music and a lot of poking around the environment. Literally. The game utilizes the Vita in every way possible, using front and rear touch, gyro, the camera and more. The most obvious way to interact are indicated by patches of land with the rear touch pattern on them. Some will bounce your character around helping you reach higher spots, while others let you poke a hole directly into the world, either killing enemies or moving obstacles. A nice touch (…) is that bouncing spots really don’t require you to hit that specific spot, but just touch the rear pad anywhere to trigger it. You might have discovered in other games that precision handling with the rear touch can be a hassle. Not so in Tearaway. Fingerprints indicates spots where you can use the front touch, and usually involves pulling things apart to open doors and unlockables. Like me, you might not be a fan of some of the ways the game wants to include you; you being you – the one, the sun, the recipient. You play a central role in the game, and as a result you will suddenly see your face smack in the middle of the sun in the corner of the game as the narration turns its attention to you. I have to admit it’s a funny way of making you a part of the story – an outside entity holding and interacting with the world – but it might not be for everyone. The notion of the world being in your hands is implied a lot of times. Even as the game loads and you first start seeing the world, your movement with the Vita impacts the view.
The first five stages of Tearaway take you on a small journey starting at the Standing Stones and leading you through fields and barns all the way up Gibbet Hill where you will hopefully reach me or you. It is a fairly linear journey, but it’s sprinkled with such detail to marvel at, and tasks to do that it’s easy to get a bit lost in all the paper-y love. The odd jobs available to you can be gathering something for someone, or helping them change their look in some way. You will be drawing a lot in Tearaway, be it crowns to put on someone’s head, mustaches or new types of snow. It’s funny – albeit hard – to be good at, but you get to see the result in the world and that usually ends up being pretty funny. Some jobs require you take pictures with your in-game camera, and while they serve a purpose in the game, you can also upload these to your profile at tearaway.me. A thing you will probably see a lot of are selfies of hugely customized Iota’s and Atoi’s. You will also find the papercrafts you unlock in-game at tearaway.me. You can print these out and craft the same things you see ingame, which will provide a fun distraction outside the game. For fans of collectibles you will find your thirst quenched in Tearaway. Each stage comes with statistics on what you’ve achieved, including gifts you’ve found, papercrafts discovered, enemies killed and more.
I have discovered a hugely charming, colorful and fun world in Tearaway. It is very clearly a Media Molecule game, easily recognized through the witty narration and attention to detail. My hope is that the rest of the game keeps up the engaging first stages and introduces more things to do, and perhaps more challenging platforming along the way. It is also a great addition to the Vita library, something it very much needs.
We will be back with a review closer to November 22nd.