I’d seen a lot of buzz around Tearaway for Vita. The PlayStation accounts everywhere posted teasers and interviews about it. I tried my best to avoid all of it as I still haven’t played a single LittleBigPlanet game barring the Vita one for a few minutes. The reviews started rolling in and after watching the final trailer, I decided to not read any review and just get the game and go all in. 9s and 10s as far as the eye could see. Could this game really be the console seller the Vita needed?
Tearaway is one of the most creative and unique games you will play ever. It is a pinnacle in platforming. Visually it is absolutely stunning with its paper-craft artwork. Even the water and rain is made of paper and it all looks excellent on the Vita. Tearaway makes full use of all the sensors available on the Vita. When I played Uncharted: Golden Abyss the touch elements felt forced but Tearaway really showcases how this stuff is meant to be used. There are often situations where you have to hold the back touch pad with one finger while using the joystick to move but barring one incident, it all adds to the gameplay mechanic.
It is hard to talk about the game without spoiling anything. You start by picking your gender for your main character and also your own skin tone. Tearaway has you, playing god in the paper universe, controlling a messenger, Iota or Atoi depending on what you select. As you progress through the story, you, the person controlling the game, play a big part in the story and are involved in various game mechanics. There are scraps (enemies) that attack you and try and make life difficult. There are two narrators helping you out with clues in some cases and just encouraging you in others. When you fall off a cliff in game or get hit too many times you lose your stamp as they say and are brought back to the last checkpoint.
Whenever you see fingerprints on an object, you have to use the front touchscreen to interact with it. This can range from opening the ribbons on a present to reveal a gift with two fingers or doing a vinyl scratch in an area that has circular records taking you further. There are elements in the areas that have the back touchpad pattern on them. The use of it is great and you can tear through a paper and guide your messenger or even tap to sound drums that allow jumping higher. I was impressed by how good the controls felt in the game.
There are presents scattered throughout the game. The red ones are usually hidden somewhere obscure and the blue ones are often obtained by talking to the person or thing next to it. The path of confetti leads you ahead and you can use this for purchasing items to add to Iota or the environment as needed. You are even given a camera that allows you taking pictures of the environment (you need to do this for some blue presents) and even selfies to show off your creativity. You can use confetti to buy camera filters or lenses and all of this is used for some puzzles in the game.
The paper-craft and drawing aspect of the game is really amazing. There are blank white people and objects in all areas. Taking a picture of them gets you the paper-craft model instructions. You get your own custom tearaway.me profile link as well that stores all your paper-craft models. In some cases you use your device camera and take a picture of something in the real world to use as a pattern for an object and you can end up with some really funny looking results. There are situations where just buying and adding something will not work. You need to manually draw a pattern on a coloured sheet of paper in the workshop section and have it cut out. When you meet a squirrel early on in the game, he talks about a missing crown and you draw and cut one for him. The game is very lenient with prompts about this. You are also required to speak into the mic in some parts and this is used in the story.
The checkpoint system in the game uses bookmarks for each area. These can be accessed from the pause menu that is more creative than most other complete games are. Once you have fully completed every bit of an area, it is stamped with 100% completion. Previously visited areas will have the coloured confetti replaced with a glowing white variety so you know that part is completed. All photos taken can be accessed from the pause menu and you can share them to Facebook or Twitter.
As the story progresses each person you meet is unique and the music is beyond amazing in each area. I really hope they release a soundtrack online because as of now it was a preorder bonus only. Tearaway is one of the best gaming experiences you will have on any console. It is worth picking up a PS Vita just for this. The music, environments, interactions and epilogue of the game will stay with you much longer than anything else. Media Molecule have created something that will put a smile on your face and probably a tear in your eye. This is gaming creativity and beauty at its best.
