Far: Lone Sails (game-PS4) - Lovely but short and too easy

I'm becoming a big fan of these types of games and I don't really know what to call them. I suppose they could be considered "adventure" games but basically they are beautiful side-scrolling games that are relatively simple and lovely.

source

The thing I like about this new age of platformers is that they aren't supposed to be difficult, they are supposed to be artistic and lovely: Far: Lone Sails definitely achieves that. The musical score, the "scorched earth" surroundings. The ominous lack of other living creatures and the destruction that you see on your progress towards we-don't-even-know-what is all a wonderful combination.

source

You are controlling a unnamed character who operates this vehicle that has an engine and also sails on it. Throughout the game you have to jump around to various parts of this vehicle to keep it running by supplying it with fuel, releasing the steam before the engine overheats, and repairing parts of it that break because of environmental effects. It is quite rare that this becomes stressful because you have more than enough time to accomplish all of this because again, it isn't about the difficulty, it is about the wonder of the area outside and the desolation that you encounter on your path.

source

On occassion you have to exit the vehicle in order to progress up some sort of tower but again, none of this is terribly difficult and for the most part it is really easy to figure out what to do next. The camera automatically zooms out to accommodate what it is that you are meant to be looking at, but you can control it to zoom in / out if you want to... This isn't terribly necessary though.

It won a ton of awards, most of which I have never heard of but still, I am sure they are prestigious for such a small production company. I loved the simplistic gameplay and the almost scary and lonely surroundings you find yourself in. It is left up to you to determine the story, but basically it is a post apocalyptic journey of desperation. In the end it is completely left up to the player to figure out what the overall message was and I found it to be wonderfully presented.

My only gripe would be that it was really short. I was finished with the entire game in less than 2 hours and once you have gone through there is really no reason to ever play it again because there are no bonus areas that I am aware of.

It was on special for around $5 or so and I think it was worth it.