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It proves that plain shapes can have character, has pinpoint controls, and reaches the sweet spot in the balance of puzzle and platform gameplay. It's a game that captivates you in other ways. It's a tantalizing layering of electronic noises, mixed with guitars and synths that fit perfectly with what's on screen. Created by David Housden, you can listen to the soundtrack here. The music in Thomas Was Alone is fantastic. Lighting effects add mood, the backgrounds change color as you progress and shadows and textures give the game depth. The backgrounds give the game life that seems to be missing in the foreground.
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Yes, Thomas Was Alone is sparse, old, outdated, however you want to call it. Some are feeble jumpers, others leap further, and some can get very high. Jumping is 'pixel perfect', meaning that you'll never fall as a result of a bug in the game - only because you messed up!Įach character in Thomas Was Alone has a distinctive type of jump. The game responds perfectly to what you want to do, where you want to go, or how you want to jump. Physics are arguably better than any game of the last few years. Excellent physicsĬontrols in Thomas Was Alone are fantastic. These are presented in two ways: either you have to combine characters together, switching controls between them to progress or figure out how to overcome various obstacles using your skill and imagination. Thomas Was Alone walks the line between pure platformer and puzzle-solver. It's a great example of how you don't necessarily need amazing graphics to generate an absorbing atmosphere. This narration is the only contact that you have with the characters, and really helps bring them to life with plenty of gentle humor thrown in. It describes what Thomas and his pals are thinking, and how they feel about each other. At first it's not very complicated, and although the later levels become tortuous, the infinite lives and checkpoints mean that it's never too hard to progress.Ī voiceover narrates the story of Thomas Was Alone as you progress through the game. There are more than 100 levels of increasing difficulty in Thomas Was Alone, in which you'll need to combine the different talents of the angular heroes in order to progress.
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