Glen looks back at the PS3-exclusive Flower, a quietly brilliant game that, in a chaotic gaming landscape, provides a welcome breath of fresh air...
As a PS3 owner, my main area of interest are the titles that are exclusive to the platform. One of my favourite PS3-only titles is one that, up until now, I haven’t written about – thatgamecompany’s Flower. I appreciate that it's been available for some time now, but having played through Flower again a couple of times recently, I am again in awe of just how good it is.
Designed by Jenova Chen and Nicholas Clark, Flower is seen as the natural successor to the pair’s 2006 Flash game Flow, which lead to thatgamecompany recruiting the designers to adapt it for the PS3 and PSP. Once that was completed, work began on Flower, which was their first full project after leaving full-time education.
Chen was behind the decision for Flower to elicit a range of emotions not normally experienced in the majority of videogames, and have the focus on enjoyment rather than challenge.
You start off controlling a single petal with a gust of wind, and as you fly through the landscapes and interact with flowers and other objects, you gather an increasing number of petals, creating a colourful tail. Should you interact with the requisite number of objects, new life blooms in the areas you pass over.
In its final stages, Flower takes a turn towards more objective based gameplay, and introduces a darker tone that seems at odds with what preceded it. However, this adds a nice change of pace, and introduces a greater challenge. The darker tone ties in with a depleting environment, which aids the game’s message that beauty can come from even the bleakest landscapes.
I fully acknowledge that, from this description, Flower won’t be a game that will appeal to everyone, and I admit that I was sceptical prior to taking the plunge and buying it. My scepticism proved to be unfounded within minutes. Flower has been labelled as more of an experience than an actual game, and I feel that, in the nicest possible sense, that’s an accurate description.
When I first started playing Flower, everyone who came into the room while it was on asked what it was and questioned the point of it, but were compelled to stay and watch it for prolonged periods of time.
It’s testament to the game’s charm that describing the game to people may cause them to balk at the prospect of playing it, but when they see it in action, from my experience, they have been eager to try it for themselves.
There hasn’t been a game before or since that has made such effective use of Sixaxis technology – Flower can seem awkward at first, but after a couple of minutes you’ll be controlling the breeze at high speed and clearing targets and obstacles with very little effort. The controls feel incredibly natural.
Playing the game is an incredibly relaxing experience, which is partly due to the simple controls and gameplay, but largely thanks to the wonderful music by Vincent Diamante. There’s a soundtrack that evokes the settings of each level, with each set of instruments correlating with specific natural elements.
All of these set pieces are beautifully composed, and match the mood of the levels they accompany perfectly, while certain player actions add musical flourishes, allowing you to score your own gaming experience. This also means that it’s unlikely that the game soundtrack will be the same on subsequent replays. The soundtrack is available separately from the game via the PSN store, and is also well worth picking up.
The only downside is that Flower is relatively short, and can be completed in a little over an hour if you rush through. However, there’s some replay value, as playing through any of the levels proves to be an enjoyable experience for me when I’ve got a few minutes to kill and looking to unwind. Plus, it’ll take a lot longer than an hour if you try to attain the platinum trophy.
In a world where games are dominated by competitive conflict and carnage, Flower is a breath of fresh air. It’s brave and unique game that goes against the grain and is, in essence, an arthouse game and, as such, won’t be for everyone. But for those willing to embrace something a little different and succumb to its charms, Flower will prove to be a wonderfully rewarding experience.
If you own a PS3 and have yet to give Flower a go, I can highly recommend spending £7 on it. Flower really is a wonderfully unique and interesting game that’s a refreshing change of pace from the usual fare that dominates the release schedules.
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