Thomas Was Alone has managed to elicit a response in me that I never thought would happen; it made me care about characters which are nothing more than basic shapes. Mike Bithell has given more depth and personification to bouncing quadrilaterals than a lot of AAA developers manage to give to their characters in multi-million dollar titles. It’s certainly a unique experience, but is it worth your time?
Fantastic Narration
The other notable feature that Thomas Was Alone implements is the absolutely fantastic narration, by none other than Britain’s Danny Wallace. The only other games I can think of which have narration as impressive as TWA are Bastion and the recently released The Stanley Parable. He provides a lot of background and side information to the characters, following you as you progress.
Incredibly Simple
If you’re looking for a challenge, Thomas Was Alone is not the game you want to play. The concept of the game is incredibly simple; slide and jump your way to the goal of each level. The game does attempt to implement some form of difficulty as you progress through the game, however Mike Bithell’s (creator of the game) intention clearly wasn’t for it to be difficult.
Special Talents
As the game goes on, more and more characters are introduced to you. Each character has a special gimmick, or talent, and every level will give you a different combination of the characters you’ve met, allowing you to use their variety of talents to navigate the courses in unique ways.
It’s obvious Mike Bithell wants the game to be as accessible to as many players as possible, young and old, casual and experienced. The unfortunate thing about this is that the learning curve isn’t high enough to keep experienced players interested in the game.
Lack of Depth
When comparing Thomas Was Alone to other popular platformers such as the traditional style of Mario, or Sonic, or something more recent such as FEZ or Super Meat Boy, something becomes apparent: there is a distinct lack of depth in the level design.
There aren’t any secrets or hidden areas, and the only ‘collectible’ in the game are known as ‘achievement pickups;’ and they’re small, glowing icons, sticking with the minimalist feel to the game. They’re not difficult to find, only requiring you to go slightly out of your way to collect them.
Quality Experience
Due to the lack of depth in the game, Thomas Was Alone isn’t very long either; it definitely does what it intends to, however you’ll be done with the game in around 3-4 hours and it’ll just leave you wanting more.
It’s definitely a quality experience, and for the £5.99 asking price, I would say it’s worth it. It’s the same price you’d pay for a fast food meal, or to see a film at the cinema. Mike Bithell and Danny Wallace do a fantastic job with the narrative, so while there could be a lot more added, it’s still a worthwhile game.
Benjamin’s Flight
Plus, there is a DLC planned which has already been released on the PSVita version of the game called ‘Benjamin’s Flight,’ which is expected on PC soon, as Mike Bithell announced back in May that it’d only be a few months away. The price for Benjamin’s Flight is confirmed to be £2 upon release and it adds another 20 levels and a brand new character with a unique talent.
Seven out of Ten
At the end of the day, Thomas Was Alone is a game you’ll finish in one sitting without much difficulty, but it really makes you care about and understand personified shapes. It goes without saying that it’s unique, and if you’re a fan of well done narratives, then it’s certainly a game you’ll want to take a look at.
I give Thomas Was Alone a 7/10; the gameplay is a little simple and the experience was a bit short for my liking, but the story it tells has a lot of redeeming factors.
Volume
Also keep your eyes peeled for Mike Bithell’s upcoming game called Volume, a stealth based game which is undeniably looking like a promising game.
