People think dreams aren’t real just because they aren’t made of matter, of particles. Dreams are real. But they are made of viewpoints, of images, of memories and puns and lost hopes. -Neil Gaiman

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How much gaminess does a video game need if a video game needs to be gamey? A better question yet: how many different experiences can video games as an interactive medium create? That I think is the positive phrasing of the original question, the question of a game needing to be a certain way. See, rather than confine games within a sense of “what they must be”, we can try to think of games as “what they can be”. I think if we stick with “must” then that’s how we get clones and cut-and-paste titles, but if we ask what they “can” be… well, then their potential is confined only by imagination.

Shape of the World is a game which doesn’t feel like a game. Is it a walking simulator? Is it an exploration adventure? There are no timers, no points, no lives, no game overs, no pits, no spikes, no reticles, no menu sifting, no stat balancing, no experience points, no bosses or mini-bosses, no upgrades, no weapons, no armor, no shops, no money, no health bars, no mana bars, no coins, no super mushrooms, no classes, no high scores, no multiplayer, no co-op, and no- battle royale. There is trophy support on the PS4 version I played, which seemed a little counter-productive.

This is an anti-anxiety game. I think that hits on one of the chief reasons why people come to play video games: they find the act relaxing.

Which games offer relaxation will vary depending on the person. I’ve had chats with people who are able to zone out and forget about life for a bit under the heaviest stress of a digital battlefield. There are yet others who find themselves most at ease under the ticking timer of a frenetic puzzle game. Still others, like myself, can lose themselves in an engrossing storyline, identifying with characters and embracing themes. With Shape of the World, the intention as described by the marketing and the developers themselves was to craft a game which encouraged the player to unwind. It is the digital equivalent of taking a leisurely stroll through nature.

It feels like a laidback, lackadaisical dream, not the sort where you’re constantly anxious, chased by monsters, or falling off a cliff only to wake up before the bottom. None of that here, thank you. In a world where people seem more stressed out than ever, a game like this could be a very positive thing, indeed.

Shape of the World is a first-person perspective game about exploring and enriching a world of light and color. The surreal, psychedelic environs shift in constant flux around you, causing distances to seem near and opened paths to suddenly close. The palette of the world is always shifting from one beautiful set of hues to another, from a tranquil land of greens to a harsher world of red and black to even a bleaker, colder realm of icy blues and grays.

Otherworldly flora and fauna abound, some of them curious about your presence, others blissfully unaware. You the dreamer have a direct impact upon this realm, though. You can (but are not required to) collect seeds which you can then use to sow new trees, bushes, copses, thickets, entire forests of alien trees with chromatic leaves. Contrariwse, you can choose to be a force of elimination and destroy trees in your path, clearing the land and shaping it as you see fit.

There isn’t total control but what abilities are available to you are enough to cause you to feel tangible in the world.

Occasionally, older members of my family will see me playing a video game and ask me “What’s the objective?” Typically, they are thinking in terms of achieving a high score or fighting a bad guy, so I like to play with their minds and tell them there is no objective. “Why play it, then?” Then I tell them the utility is in the act of playing, itself. It is its own end.

Shape of the World is just such a game. There however are monuments scattered throughout the realm in the form of upside-down V’s. These can be seen like looming apparitions from a distance until you come to their base as if following a rainbow. You’ll discover smaller V’s like portals which you can pass through. When you do, the world around you immediately responds with a burst of new colors. To my knowledge, you don’t need to find every monument in the game but they are at least indirect markers of your progress.

They are more than just optional gates to pass through though. I really think they tie the game together by providing focal points for your curiosity. What game about exploration could function without making the player curious? What’s over that hill? What’s under that lake? What’s behind those woods? Or in Shape of the World’s case, can I make it to that slope before it becomes a spire?

Click here for the full review... https://thewellredmage.com/2018/06/05/shape-of-the-world-2018-ps4/