PREVIEW – Tearaway was a huge success on the PS VITA, and as such Sony saw the potential to re-release the game for the PS4 on the 8th of September. The development was handled by the Swedish Tarsier Studios. The game gets a longer story, a bunch of new of functions thanks to the Dualshock 4, and it seems that Iota will be cut from this version (a partner of Atoi in the handheld version).

When Tarsier Studios comes to our mind it’s Rag Doll Kung Fu, but mostly LittleBigPlanet springs to mind. The two companies have provided the gaming community with fun games and it is not different in this case. Tearaway Unfolded matches perfectly with their profile, which will not be a surprise when the „unfolded” version will be successful. However we must not forget that Media Molecule was also responsible for the PS VITA part.

Do you dig it?

Ever since the PlayStation 4’s release I do not think that there was a game that used the touchpad in such a way as Tearaway. It is a really great that a developer finally uses the touchpad to its fullest, as Sony did not put it there on the joystick for fun, developers use its functions…. In the beginning we can draw on the touchpad what form of snow should fall. There is no template on how to draw it.

Once it is done we can use with the help of the motion sensors, and with a button to put it into a letter, and then we become amazed as the snow we drew is exactly what is falling from the sky. Without any lag or issues, such fun objectives we will have to reach our goal.

Once upon a time…

The story is simple as a wooden block, Tearaway Unfolded is not the game that is sold to us for the plot. This is not really an issue as its interactivity, and creativity will make up for the lack of story. Players will enjoy their time spent in the paper worlds. A simple story can be told also with great quality. Well unfortunately we do not know what is being added to the campaign. We do know that Iota the original handled version’s male character has been cut, so we will have to complete the tasks with Atoi. However the road will be filled with enemies that we will need to dispatch in a number of ways, from simple throws to fun little ideas like mesmerizing the enemy with the controller’s light.

 

Winning form

I think Tearaway will be great, and will be loved by fans of the genre. We do not know how much the gameplay had to be retooled because of the two machines’ technical differences. It is certain that the remade game will have 1080p resolution and 60FPS, so the graphics will be top-notch. The question remains however how good the port will be. As far as I remember besides the LittleBigPlanet series, not many ports were successful. Maybe Unfolded will join the success side of these port? Maybe.

– Dazo911 –

Publisher:  Sony Computer Entertainment Europe

Developer: Tarsier Studios, Media Molecule

Genres:  Platformer

Release date: September 8th, 2015.