[Discovering Indies] The Tiny Bang Story

Before starting to write this review, and in my search for additional information on the internet, I have read more than once that this title is essentially Machinarium but without the robots. I do not agree with that idea and I would like to make it clear, in addition to clearly explaining what the approach of The Tiny Bang Story so that those who have read those same reviews written by inexperienced people, or who have not even played the game directly, do not get an incorrect image of what this video game from the Russian studio Colibri Games, made up of only two people, offers us.

Yes, both games have hand-drawn characters and settings, and yes, both games have the game genre in common. Point & Click. Of course, there are also puzzles in both, and in both we will find some mechanical objects that we will have to make work. Oh, and let's not forget that both also include a couple of minigames. Saying that they are essentially the same because of these things I have listed is the same as saying that most graphical adventures are essentially the same game.

All graphic adventures Point & Click They have the same style of play obviously because they are within a certain genre, just like all driving games or all platform games. But you will agree with me that platforming and driving are not all the same. Rayman is not a Super Mario Bros. without Mario, nor are the platform adventures of the most famous plumber a Adventure Island without Master Higgins; F-Zero neither is it a need for speed but with tracks and space vehicles, and The Tiny Bang Story is not equal to Machinarium but without the robots. And these last two cannot even be classified within the same genus-subgenre, because The Tiny Bang Story besides being a graphic adventure Point & Click it's a game of Hidden Objects (hidden objects, where you have to look for several certain objects in a scenario), and don't tell me that it is equal to Mystery Case: Ravenhearst or any of that style, because it is not either.

The game begins by showing us Tiny Planet, a very small planet, which is hit by an asteroid that causes the world to break into several pieces shaped like puzzle pieces. Your objective in the game is basically collect all the pieces that have been scattered across the stages and put the planet back together. In each region you visit, your mission will be to collect all the puzzle pieces that are scattered around the area and unlock the path to advance to the next region. also having to overcome several puzzles to operate mechanisms that give us access to a new area within that same region, or operate a lever that opens a trunk where perhaps there is an additional piece that we need to complete our mission in that region. In the transition between each region we will see the main menu that also acts as a stage or map where the world appears in the form of a half-empty puzzle board and there we must place the pieces that we have collected and that will be available at that moment in order to put it together little by little until we reach how it was before the impact. The pieces we collect in each region help us complete a section of the map that opens access to a new region, and so on.

The regions or scenarios that we will explore are characterized by being colorful and representing peaceful landscapes, where everything seems to be alive but dormant or paused, as if you were visiting a town on a sunny day with the perfect temperature, and where everyone was resting or enjoying the tranquility and silence. Something that is also noticeable is that Despite looking like a well-kept and alive world, there is an alarming absence of characters in the game, as if this world was abandoned by humans and left to the mercy of nature, with a few survivors having a peaceful and carefree life. The sets are very imaginative and many things seem straight out of children's stories, such as houses that are a giant boot, huge bottles, elevators on huge trees, or a teapot lighthouse.

The color palette used is a soft palette, and combined with the hand-drawing style, imagery is created that generates a unique and serene atmosphere and turns the whole thing into a visual delight, making exploring the settings by scanning them in detail with your eyes in search of the puzzle pieces, sometimes perfectly camouflaged, a very enjoyable task.

The sound section perfectly complements the graphic section, offering us several instrumental tracks that fit perfectly into that peaceful atmosphere that the game proposes, with instruments that emit soft sounds such as an acoustic guitar or a xylophone, with a slow and relaxing rhythm, and although the melodies tend to be repeated several times, they are at a volume that does not overlap with environmental sounds, such as the chirping of birds or metallic and mechanical sounds produced by the elements that we use or the artifacts that we will activate.

Como ya he mencionado, por el camino irás encontrando un puñado de personajes como por ejemplo una anciana que está tejiendo o un viejo con apariencia de gnomo que fuma en pipa. Sin embargo, estos habitantes lo único que hacen es quedarse sentados o parados pacientemente sin otro objetivo más que ofrecerte alguna pista para resolver un puzzle, o mostrarte un objeto que necesitan para poder darte otro que tú necesitas. Estos personajes se comunicarán contigo mediante burbujas de texto donde las pistas aparecen dibujadas, y no tendrás otro tipo de interacción más que esa, por lo que si a la poca cantidad de habitantes de Tiny Planet le sumamos el hecho de que esos pocos ni siquiera hablan o interactúan contigo más allá de darte algunas pistas sueltas, terminarás teniendo la sensación de que estás prácticamente solo en tu aventura y de ser el único que se preocupa por restaurar el mundo.

Toda la ambientación y la estética lograda con este juego se desperdicia y desluce en lo que parece un producto inacabado. Si bien el juego contiene varios puzzles bastante ingeniosos, no son innovadores para quienes sean aficionados a los juegos de este tipo, por lo que resultarán familiares y se harán más fáciles de completar. Aquellos que tengan problemas con este tipo de juegos y se queden atascados en un puzzle, no tienen la opción de saltearlo como pasa en otros juegos, así que están obligados a resolver todos los puzzles si quieren terminar la aventura. La búsqueda de objetos en los escenarios es entretenida, pero después de cierto tiempo se vuelve monótona y terminarás dando clicks rápidamente moviendo el cursor por toda la pantalla para poder encontrar los objetos que te falten, ya que muchos además están tan bien escondidos o camuflados que se hace muy difícil encontrarlos a simple vista. Para peor, el juego es muy corto, teniendo una duración media de 4 o 5 horas, dependiendo de la velocidad con la que superes los retos que se te presenten, y de esas horas la mayor parte la habrás utilizado buscando piezas de rompecabezas desparramadas por los escenarios o algunos objetos necesarios para avanzar.

The Tiny Bang Story es un juego tan pequeño como su mundo, con un estilo gráfico único que nos vende el producto por los ojos, pero que a su vez desaprovecha ese estilo creando un videojuego que en su conjunto es entretenido pero corto y poco gratificante.