A puzzler-gawking simulator in the vein (vane?) of Journey without quite the same highs, but similarly an audio-visual thrill to behold. Few things can beat soaring and exploring. Quite the 'Journey!'

Gradient flapping.

Some scientists have predicted climate change could precipitate societal collapse by as early as 2050. Frostbitten... clasping their hands round a campfire, survivors will punctuate our inactivity now with the biggest question mark of the century. To that, I say that I introduced 'gawking simulator' into the wild over a year ago and it hasn't yet spread like wildfire. I propose a far greater centenary question of my own - 'what gives?'

Vane moves with the prevailing wind of its light puzzler-gawking sim inspirations - a cocktail of Journey with a smidgeon of Ico. It's a difficult family to live up to. However, with a peppering of Shadow of The Collosus's environmental flair and some inspired flair bartending aerial tricks that see you released from terra firma as a bird in flight, Vane is able to soar above such direct, unflattering comparisons.

If only there was a word for whatever the hell this is.

In light of the umbrella critical response, the real, lingering question on my cocktail-sweetened tongue is whether Vane is a victim of the narrow player expectations of the day or its gameplay is simply deserving of the battering. A take is a take - veracity is all you can ask of a critic. I simply feel I've been here before with such games as Fugue in Void on Steam wherein its dearth of interaction is still the subject of a hivemind onslaught, yet on a more accepting platform like itch.io is praised to high heaven. Is this just not the day yet for mainstream acceptance of experiential games or do they need particular fine details/features seen in Journey, Abzu, etc to overcome the same judgement?

If one thing can be consensus, it's on what originally steered eyes back in 2014 and maintains their direction today - the veritable visual cortex-maxing presentation. In spite of some sharp voxel rock models that I really wish would put some clothes on, I can see my reflection in the mirror sheen polish everything else has received here. Collosus-esque, gaunt landscapes lie open for exploration with a palpable air of an undefined history to them. Details like the iridescence of birds' feathers and the lens flare effect are startling in how gorgeous and unprecedented they feel. Effective use of lighting makes for some truly striking environmental staging. The storms are rendered in stunning style and detail with elements of the floor being ripped up and zapped with lightning all around you. Your finger won't leave the screenshot key. Perhaps even better than its presentational extraordinaries is its synth soundtrack that lends incredible moody ambience to its scenes. It's worth a listen - even isolated from the game itself.

I knew it! This game is secretly Half Life Episode 3.

Vane is similarly prepossessing, but not the finely-tuned rollercoaster of awe-inspiring and thrilling moments contrasted with sombre adversity as Journey or Abzu. Vane is flatter, less affecting and more plot ambiguous. The boy is never majorly personified and the stakes/events are never particularly obvious. I think there's nothing wrong with this approach necessarily. Having a mystery unfurl itself, unknown protagonist motivations, a story that's rewarded to you through prizing it from exploration, the environment, etc - these can be really positive. It's not something I managed to get to the bottom of beyond a surface level - especially having not found all of the achievement locations. When there are two endings available and you don't know the implications of either, perhaps it played things too close to the chest.

A lack of connection with the game compared to its contemporaries is likely the biggest point of distinction I can find. As much as I took to a very different visage on the kind of game I've enjoyed in all its permutations, freer as it is from any emotional manipulation, I can't deny its lesser resonance in my mind for it.

I knew I should have moved in with my brother from RiME.

You'll get plenty of time to stare at it because part of Vane's bold indifference to judgement is in its protracting movement speed combined with large areas to put a foot wrong in. It's the kind of thing I have spoon-heapfuls of patience for, but we're talking about 'them' now - the dreaded gamer who enters a conniption fit . Vane is also extremely slight - only two to five hours. Again, feed it into my veins, but that's the kind of thing people might need to budget for, so I shan't be as flippant!

Vane is unusually very distinct in its sections. It's undoubtedly at its best when it takes advantage of your boy/bird transformation. Turning bird is easy - jump off an edge. Turning into the form we're condemned to be imprisoned in every day takes a little more doing in the form of absorbing a gold... something. Bird flight controls like a dream and is so freeing that it remains the stand-out of every section it's a part of. It's a shame that after a time, it's sidelined in usefulness to merely scouting and the transformation mechanic is mostly dropped before it's explored. Vane feels like one of the first games of its kind I wish was either longer or, ideally, more packed in. Where Journey felt like a full exploration of what it presented, by dint of its greater puzzle potential here, Vane has left itself open to greater criticism.

The grass is always less polygonal on the other side.

If there's one thing that is intoxicating, however, it's the sense of freedom in the open environments. As mentioned, this can interact negatively with the movement to make things meandering at points, but it's an aspect I really enjoyed. There are no such slope-sliding, whale-riding ultra-linear spectacles in Vane (although there is one stand-out procedural moment) and this actually works to Vane's advantage. Simply gliding, diving, sweeping across sand and speeding through a canyon in the first section is something I could engage in for hours on end to relieve my anxious soul.

A light puzzler-gawking simulator in the vein (vane?) of Journey/Abzu, Vane doesn't have quite the same highs, but remains an audio-visual thrill to behold. Few things can beat the simple joy of being left to your own devices in its large, stunning environments to soar and explore. It might fall afoul of a lot of people's fundamental issues with experiential games where others can get away with it, but for people who would take this kind of experience over many other genres, I'm happy to inform you that Vane is quite the 'Journey!'