I was a Playstation gamer, born and bred. I was raised by the likes of Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon and Croc. So I have recently been on a bit of a Vita binge, playing all the games I have missed out on from this great system and one game I had sitting in my digital library was Tearaway from LittleBigPlanet developer Media Molecule. Not a fan of the LBP games I must say so I went into Tearaway with low expectations, but what I received was not some pointless collectible hunt for use in a different game mode, but a real old school platformer much like the ones I was raised on, nostalgia doesn't get much better than when you are experiencing it for the first time.
Tearaway takes place in a world made of paper. You play as Iota or Atoi (depending on gender), a letter with a body attached to it. You must deliver this message to yourself who resides inside the games sun. However along the way you encounter various villagers and creatures that require your help as well as battling pesky Scraps who are invading the world and covering it with newspaper.
Tearaway's story is not complex, nor is it very long, coming in at around 6 hours. But what it does provide is a trip down memory lane for 90's 3D platformer fans, where extremely polished and fun gameplay took centre stage whilst accompanied by a simplistic yet enchanting story.
So Tearaway may be a Vita game, but that does not mean its light on the gameplay front, in fact it is perhaps one of the most intense gameplay experiences I have had in a long time. A classic 3D platformer through and through, tearaway utilises nearly all of the Vita's unique features to provide an experience tailor made for the system. This combined with Media Molecule's love of player creation ensures that Tearaway is as unique to you as it can be.
First up, the controls are great. The thumbsticks are responsive and the camera doesn't easily get stuck, two key components of a great platformer.
You unlock new abilities as you progress through the game including the ability to jump, roll and use a camera to complete certain objectives as well as unlock collectibles.
The levels are extremely creative and well designed, often having a mixture between larger areas full of side missions to take part in and more linear areas with a heavier focus on platforming and combat. Combat itself is an infrequent occurrence in Tearaway unfortunately, however the difficulty does have a nice curve to it, ensuring its easy when you begin and slowly becoming more and more difficult, introducing new enemy types and more numerous foes as each encounter goes by.
The world is also interactive, bringing in the fourth wall breaking gameplay. Objects with specific patterns can be interacted with using a corresponding touchscreen on the Vita. The front often being used to peel open parts of walls or to roll out bridges between platforms, the back one usually being used to hit jump-pads or break your finger through into the game world to move platforms around.
Other features include the ability to customise your messenger by drawing on coloured paper and then sticking it onto their body; using the Vita's camera's to take pictures both in game and outside of it to change things in the game; using the gyroscope to move platforms, using the microphone to record your voice onto characters and more. Tearaway is a brilliant tech demo for the Vita, a tech demo that released two years after the system did.
Tearaway is a gorgeous looking game. It's unique art style helps it stand out from the crowd, drawing inspiration from papercraft models. Its extremely colourful and runs flawlessly on the Vita with very few short load times across the entire game. Game world objects react to the player in ways I have never seen a game do before, with paper pathways getting crumpled or folded when you stand on a bump and the look of objects being able to change on the fly at the players whim; one such example is when I changed the colour of snowflakes from white to blue as well as having a more rounded shape to them (which I drew all by myself, yes I would like a gold star for that).
It's sound design is also great, voice talent is minimal but the soundtrack and sound effects when interacting with the world are beautiful, really helps bring this world made of paper to life.
Tearaway is a must play for Vita owners. Not only is it a 21st century version of a classic 90's Playstation platformer, but it presents a world which is entertaining to adults and children alike. Fully utilising the Vita's full range of capabilities, you are unlikely to play another game like it anytime soon. Despite its short length, it also provides a lot of postgame content in the form of papercraft model blueprints you can unlock and print off by taking pictures of objects in the game, allowing you to bring the world of Tearaway alive in your own home.
Its originality is matched by its brilliance, even if it can come across as a bit simple at times.
Tearaway — 9/10
+Classic Platforming For A New Generation
+Uses The Vita In Very Cool Ways
+Beautiful Visuals & Sound Design
+Papercraft Postgame Content
-Short Length
