The Indie Challenge: Thomas Was Alone - Week 4

I'm not the sort person who is fond of Indie games. I like my big name titles, my polished graphics and my big budgets. I dislike titles that I can't add to Steam or that can't use the processing power I've lovingly paid out for in my gaming rig. I am, for lack of a better term, a gaming snob. For this reason, I have given myself The Indie Challenge.

Each week, I will be playing at least one lesser known Indie game. I may not have enough time to complete said game, but I will at least try it. I'm doing this to attempt to expand my gaming horizons and stop being so focused on a small selection of game types. There is a whole world of gaming out there ready and waiting for me to come across.

I'll be posting a weekly blog following this challenge and detailing the game I've been playing as well as the game I will be playing next week. If you want to follow along with me, I'll be posting a link to the game.

---

Previous weeks:
Week 1 - Receiever
Week 2 - FTL: Faster Than Light
Week 3 - Reus

---

This past week, I have been playing Thomas Was Alone, the 2D platformer about game glitches, friendship, jumping, puzzles, floating and dying. My initial thoughts of this title weren't great. I thought it would be another puzzle game and I'd be bored within five minutes. It's safe to say I was wrong.

It's a puzzle game, sure, but you come for the puzzles and stay for the story. You wouldn't think there's much of a story in blocks of colour but that's where you'd be wrong. Narrated by Danny Wallace and with music by David Housden, every level is a pleasant experience of both comedy and serenity as you make your way through obstacles and traps.

You do so with a few different characters: Thomas, Chris, John, Blaire, Laura, James and Sarah. All these characters perform a different task for instance, Claire can float in water whilst John can jump very high. You switch between the characters on the fly and use them to complete the level. 

Everything about this draws you further into the game and I managed to wrack up a few hours this week alone. Thomas Was Alone is an incredibly fun and light game but with enough challenge to keep your gripped and enough story to make you feel for those poor little oblongs. 

You can read our review of Thomas Was Alone here: http://www.gamegrin.com/game/review/ps3/thomas-was-alone-ps3-review

If you'd like to play it is available on the steam store here: http://store.steampowered.com/app/220780/

---

 

This week, I will be playing Loadout, a multiplayer third person shooter that's all about guns. You can create and customise your own arsenal with billions of combinations of weapons.

If you'd like to play along with me, you can grab Loadout on steam here: http://store.steampowered.com/app/208090/