Wednesday 12 August 2015

     Review: Everybodys Gone To The Rapture


       Games aren't art? Read this...

Lets get this out of the way right off the bat: Everybodys Gone To The Rapture isnt much of a game in the traditional sense. It is more of an interactive story experience. You simply control a character walking through a beautiful little village in Shropshire, England and its bloody marvelous. There, job done. Go buy it. But ofcourse it wouldnt be much of a review if we left it there so perhaps I should elaborate...


       Walking Walking Walking...

The game begins in 1984, with you listening to some sort of distress call from an American woman proclaiming she is the only person left. I will admit upon hearing that American accent I was almost ready to sigh that this was yet another "british" game that was about as far removed from an english setting as you can get. Yet this was not to be. Infact, Everybodys Gone To The Rapture may be one of the most unapologetically English games I have ever played. The American woman is indeed an Amercican through and through. A scientist come to investigate the goings on in the area. But the rest of the characters all have the accent and mannerisms you would expect to find in a little village in the south of England. The village itself, whilst fictional, could be a real English village, full of green and gold trees, pubs with silly names, and that ultimate English pastime, writing rude comments on bustops ( a message declaring Derek is a massive dickhead no less...) .
 The game is pretty much a walking simulator. with you walking from destination to beautiful destination uncovering the heartbreaking storyline as you go. However it is much greater than the sum of its parts and never feels like a chore moving through these areas.
The story revolves around some sort of event that has made the inhabitants of this village dissapear, leaving only these strange ghostly lights flying around here and there. A radio transmission instructs you to "follow the light" and so off you go to find out just what has happened here. To say anymore of the story truly would be an attack on what this game is all about,story. Needless to say from the very first moment you take control of this game it is intriguing, mysterious and hauntingly beautiful.


         Proof That Story Is Important In Games

If you are reading this and wondering when the protagonist aquires a gun and starts destroying everything in sight then perhaps this isnt the game for you. Rest assured you would be missing out on one of the greatest gaming experiences of the last few years. Much like Journey enthralled and entertained with its combatless exploration of a fantasy land, Everybodys Gone To The Rapture has you exploring a much more realistic setting which is positively dripping with atmosphere. helped in no small part by the absolutely phenominal soundtrack. As a fellow Englishman living in the North of England and being a child of the eighties the game hits all the right notes with me. I am certain that gamers from anywhere in the world would enjoy the fantastic visuals and incredible story though.

            How Much I would Pay

There isnt much bad I can say about Everybodys Gone To The Rapture. I suppose I could say the game isnt action packed. But that would be missing the point of the game entirely. It would be like complaining there is no football in a shooter. Also the game isnt especially long. I finished the game in just over 6 hours, a perfect amount of time for an experience like this. This game is about (and solely about) telling a tale to the player. A brilliant, atmospheric, heartbreaking tale that I cant recommend enough.

I would pay full price (£15) for Everybodys Gone To The Rapture

                     THE WAIT IS OVER



Guess who's back? Yes after a ( ridiculously) long time off I am back to do news and reviews aplenty. I did want peoples opinions however on how they would prefer to see things. 
would people prefer to view the articles here on this facebook page? Or would you prefer to click on the link to take you to my blog? Please do comment and dont forget to smother the like button. Review incoming very very soon...