Tearaway Unfolded – Recensione

Article by Samuele Zaboi

We are remastered. There are ports. And there is Tearaway Unfolded. Everyone, as a child, sooner or later, we have opened one of those pop-up books capable of suddenly jumping into the sky castles, forests and objects of all kinds, even if made of paper. With their eyes everyone has dreamed and imagined being inside these worlds, catapulted into a sort of fairytale universe. After two years from the arrival of the counterpart on PS Vita, Media Molecule has created this "port" for the PlayStation 4. The quotes were not used by chance, since it is difficult to speak properly of portino. Here because.

The evolution of the species

Those who have already had the opportunity to literally challenge the version for PlayStation Vita, have already been excited by the work done by Media Molecule and, despite this, will also appreciate this version for PlayStation 4 which, the first big news, is shown in the game controls. If special controls had been studied for the Sony portable console, aimed at making full use of the touchscreen of the hardware, in the same way the developers had to readjust the entire scheme to make it fit perfectly with the DualShock 4 pad: thanks to the LED light, for example, pointed at the screen, it will be possible to eliminate the evil Litter while with the small touch pad of the controller you can interact in different ways, transforming it into a drum or a sort of palette on which to draw with your fingers.

From the point of view of the contents, the PS4 version expands the levels present on PS Vita by adding new secrets, completely unpublished, to be found in areas to be explored that turn out to be even larger than what we saw two years ago. The interaction between Tearaway Unfolded and the player remains unchanged, with the ability, on more than one occasion, to bring down that fourth dimension, allowing users to be part of the game and to be the game itself, as if, in some ways, it were the title to play with you and not vice versa. This experience differs from what was seen on PlayStation Vita but still remains enjoyable, allowing players to be part of Tearaway's poetry.

Paper poem

For those who do not yet know it, it is difficult to explain what it is Tearaway Unfolded. It is true, it is a video game, but behind this naked and crude reality there is something else, the ability to excite and create something unique and rare in this environment in the player, a feeling of transport and involvement, despite having a dealing only with pieces of paper. As one of the two protagonists, Iota and Atoi, and with the aim of delivering an apparently simple and harmless message, users will find themselves in the magical world of Tearaway Unfolded, capable of telling pure poetry only with paper, with trees that will shake and sway in the wind with a very realistic effect worthy of PlayStation 4. It does not matter if the longevity of the title leaves something to be desired, with an overall duration that is around 6 hours, and if, above all, the difficulty level is definitely leveled down. This last fact, however, was a deliberate choice by Media Molecule, which had a clear idea in mind of bringing its game to the widest possible audience, including even the smallest players or those still novice. For this reason we will not face too challenging puzzles and riddles that will force players to have to push their brains too hard to find the solution. For more navigational users this will only be a marginal impediment, since it will always be possible to get involved in the game universe.

The paper world of Tearaway Unfolded comes to life like never before on PlayStation 4, thanks to the power of the latest generation console from Sony which, as already mentioned, manages to give a high level of realism to the universe created by Media Molecule.

Playmates

Finally, a final mention belongs to Companion App di Tearaway Unfolded, available for iOS and Android devices (and also for PlayStation Vita). This will allow you to create objects to be cut out and inserted into the game world where, by magic, these creations will come to life, enriching the already impeccable paper landscape of Tearaway Unfolded. This is undoubtedly a welcome addition, which allows you to join, as already mentioned above, smaller players or novices.

Final comments

Tearaway Unfolded expands the good things seen on PlayStation Vita thanks to the power of PlayStation 4. The paper world of Media Molecule and the emotions it can communicate are worth the purchase money, whether you have already had the opportunity to try the game with the portable console Sony, whether it's your first approach to Tearaway Unfolded, a little pearl in a sea as vast as an ocean.