Everybody's Gone to the Rapture (2015)

whoa, this sorta came out of left field it felt from their other games...+1 points for the philip k dick inspiration (and premise). but -1 points for walking so far a(and so slow) ujgh i know its a walking sim but let us run a little more, ehj?

Overall this feeels like a more grandeur version of Dear Esther.I dial it down from a 5 because it certainly has it's forgivable flaws.

I originally gave this a 4 but had to come back and improve my rating to a 5, which I reserve for all time favourites because I just keep thinking about this game, the story, and the beautiful countryside which was such a joy to explore. I highly recommend doing a second playthrough and following a guide to get every story bit and pick up on some of the details scattered throughout.

A couple of forgivable issues I had -

• The tilt controls for the big chapter ending moments were insufferable
• I got overwhelmed with the paths and shortcuts. It was too easy to get lost, but following the guide is a guarantee that you will miss some of the juicy hidden story details.
• Through the whole game every radio could be turned on/off / replayed multiple times. In the final stretch the radios could only be played once and I got a bit button happy and accidentally double clicked them and missed out on hearing them that time around.

"Even in this idyllic place, death is still present"

Story:

There's something about stories where death and disaster strike quaint and quiet little places, and even better if this disaster is alien and cryptic in nature. By gazing through ripples in time, you follow the unravelling of this community as the alien presence continues to claim people. But you witness something else as well- very human dramas that run parallel to the unknown threat. It is melancholic and tragic but also beautiful. And you never feel visceral horror as you might in other more bloody games but you feel an ache, as you are seeing the lives of these people vanishing, leaving only the abandoned village for you to explore.

Music:

If the story is slow too slow to some or too boring to others, the soundtrack is one thing everyone can agree on. Beautiful choruses and operatic pieces, often accompanied by violin and piano. The music is simply mesmerizing and the more complicated pieces are placed exactly where they need to be. If you don't mind a bit of spoiler, check out this particular segment, especially from 2:10 onward:

Gameplay and Environment:

There aren't many gameplay mechanics in the traditional sense. No inventory, map or quest log. It is purely a walking simulator that relies on exploration and using your mouse to activate certain things like radios, doors, phones and the ripples in time. This is the way the story is delivered and it slowly unravels as you continue to explore through beautiful landscapes - meadows, flower gardens, farms, cottages and lakes. And in contrast to other walking sims like "What remains of Edith Finch", the character you control has no personality or personal connection to the place. You are simply a spectator as if you were reading a book.

SPOILER ABOUT THE MEANING OF THE CODE ON THE RADIO

In the wake of a human being’s death, what survives is a set of afterglows, some brighter and some dimmer, in the collective brains of those dearest to them. There is, in those who remain, a collective corona that still glows.

-Douglas R. Hofstadter (a quote from the book »I Am a Strange Loop«)

[Photography: Gameplay]

(This photo was made by my friend freyzeitgamer)

Really beautiful. Sound desgn and visuals were both incredible. The story was simple and the pace very slow. I didn't really mind the pace very much though, since it fit the game and forced me to really take in the beauty of the world in a way that most games just won't. I respect a game that's not afraid to demand something from the player, whether it be skill, focus or patience.

Also props for the attention to detail. When you walk at laundry, you don't clip through it but it moves over you like real fabric. I went back and forth through sheets so many times just to appreciate the graphics! :D

All you can do in the game is walk, open doors and listen to radios and phones, so I did find myself getting a bit tired of doing the same things by the end. That might just be a me-problem though, and not a real fault in the game itself. If a walk through the British countryside sounds good, you might also enjoy this game.

Also it bears repeating: the music and sound design are amazing.

This game has everything that I personally adore, a deep and emerging story, gorgeous visuals, beautiful and fitting music, and flawless mechanics. It's definitely not for everyone, there is nothing much apart from walking and watching how the story unfolds, there are no battles, no actual dialogue, only the player wandering around an empty town. For me that's what made it so charming, I spent a lot of time exploring and bathing in the stunning surroundings, the first person view added another layer of depth to everything I saw and did. The story is remarkably done, all the little snippets of memories and scattered information are slowly painting a picture of what happened to this quiet town, split up into separate segments that reveal the personal story of one of the townsfolk. I'm not ashamed to admit that one or two had me in tears, all of them are done with so much depth and emotion that it managed to get me attached enough to actually care about the characters. That being said, one of the most important requirements to enjoy this game to its fullest is patience – you won't be happy with it if you rush through it and don't take the time that is needed to get into the right mood, it's not a quick and easy play but one that is build on the player's willingness to take their time and play the role the game has given to them. You are an observer, an entity in search of answers in a world where time holds no meaning and nothing but you and memories exist.

Of course, there are some flaws. The story is not linear and the map rather big, you can easily miss a good chunk of important sequences if you lose track of where you are, have already been to, or simply overlooked a tiny trail that leads through the woods. I invested a lot of time in exploring in a way that I thought of as rather thoroughly and yet I hadn't found several memories, which I only noticed during a second playthrough. Something fairly annoying that also made itself known to me on my second run, both the music and sound effects tend to get so loud that it's nearly impossible to hear radios and telephones, especially your 'guide' can get very clingy and it's hard work to get away from it, chances are that you will lose sight of your track and end up being lost and confused about where to search next. This won't be a problem if you don't care about the trophies and only want to enjoy the game, I haven't even noticed while focusing on the story.

My rating should be obvious, I greatly enjoyed it and can wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone who likes tragic, slow-paced, and purely story driven games.

After playing and enjoying Dear Esther, I remembered that I already owned its follow-up thanks to my PlayStation Plus account.

I did not enjoy it quite as much. Its scope is grander than Dear Esther, but not so much that it justifies its comparatively longer (though admittedly still modest) play time. The world is larger, but also less fantastic and (for me) a bit less interesting to explore. Where Gone Home , Firewatch and Tacoma rewarded my attempts to interact with my surroundings, I eventually gave up pressing the A button next to anything that wasn't a radio, phone or door swung partially ajar. I also found the game a bit buggy, its guiding balls of light getting stuck on geometry or lost entirely until enough aimless wandering triggered an optional cutscene (which appeared to reset them).

What saved this game for me was its cast. The voice acting is really well done, with each scene piquing my curiosity enough to stick around for the next. The story itself never really delivered a narrative payoff a la Life Is Strange, but it's hard to argue with the performances themselves.

If you love this sort of solitary, outside-looking-in "walking simulator" type of game, you'll probably find something to like here. But if you're on the fence about any of the other games mentioned in this review, I doubt this one's worth your time.

Pros:
-- As far as housing and land go (not so much items and details), the town is fleshed out nicely to explore
-- Seeing the pieces of the mystery start to fit together can be interesting
-- The music design and implementation is one of the strongest aspects of the experience

Cons:
-- Even with the "quick-walk" available, if you get lost down the wrong path, it can be very slow to find your way back on track
-- Could have been much more engaging seeing the events of the game live, rather than in broken memories
-- For a world that has been suddenly abandoned, there are not many items around to interact with

Check out my full review at TheKlotzNet