Superbe réflexion sur la mort — ou est-ce sur la vie ? Qu’est-ce qui nous pousse, lorsque l’on regarde en bas du précipice, à rester accrochés en haut ? Far from Noise pose la question à travers la conversation entre un cerf empreint de la sagesse de Henry David Thoreau et un chauffeur dont la voiture est en équilibre précaire sur les rebords d’une falaise. La conversation a lieu à l’intérieur d’un unique plan fixe (ou presque) plaqué devant un horizon en perpétuelle transformation. Elle est ponctuée de musiques envoûtantes, d’interludes contemplatifs, de spectacles de la nature, nous berçant dans une profonde méditation sur l’importance de demeurer sur la terre ferme, de tenir bon.

Now, I honestly do feel bad ragging on indie titles. It's one thing to criticize a game by a big publisher who just wants your cash, but these are dreams crafted by a small group of people passionate about their project. That being said, I really didn't like this game. I got it as part of one of those huge indie relief sales on Itch, and it had gotten enough praise to catch my eye. You play as an unnamed and unseen character in a car teetering over the edge of a cliff as they ponder their existence alongside a talking elk. You heard me. As a positive, it is very well done visually. The game has a sort of low-poly aesthetic similar to Grow Home. The game spends 90% of the time displaying the same view, but occasionally cuts away to display a different angle or show a different environmental effect. It would make a good background for a lo-fi hip hop Youtube stream. The biggest downside is the dialogue, which I found to be really horrible. The game is basically a visual novel where you occasionally get to steer the direction with a few options. The elk character is very philosophical and asks engaging questions about the meaning of life and your place in it. He's not too bad. The player character however is a "lol so random" type who is constantly distracted by passing turtles and how they're secret ninja assassins who wounded them as a young child, causing years of mistrust, among other things. It's meant to be endearing, but if I was the elk, I would've pushed the fucker over the cliff and saved us the trouble.

(advertencia de contenido: temas sobre depresión)

Aunque es posible que la ejecución de esta obra se sienta forzada, o incluso apele a cierto mal gusto, Far from Noise asienta su fuerza en el hecho de que, por encima de todo, pretende ofrecer un momento de paz en medio de una vida de estrés incontrolado. Aunque la premisa resulta poco probable (si bien no se alejan de muchas situaciones que une podría imaginarse viviendo, aunque en el momento no lo supieran), la idea que la propulsa se basa en algo tan sencillo como aprender a ir más lento y a oler, literalmente, la brisa del mar. Creo que éste tipo de obras, aunque no tan poéticas ni efectivas como puedan serlo otras como Orchids to Dusk, son un buen ejemplo para aprender a apreciar el tipo de experiencias sublimes que otras obras más grandes y menos explícitas en su mensaje son también capaces de evocar. A su manera, Far from Noise te enseña a apreciar esos momentos de silencio que tienden a pasar desapercibidos si tu preocupación es conseguir la puntuación más alta o el último logro.

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(Content Warning: themes about depression)

Although its execution of this work might feel blunt or even contrived, Far from Noise bases its strength on the fact that, above all, it wants to offer some peace in the midst of a life of unmitigated stress. The premise might be unlikely (although it's not that far from certain situations that one might experience in their life), the idea that propels it is as simple as learning to slow down and smell, literally, the sea breeze. I think that these types of game, although not as effective as others like Orchids to Dusk, are a good way to appreciate the kind of sublimity that larger works, less explicit works are also capable of. In its own way, Far from Noise teaches you to cherish those moments of silence that tend to go unnoticed when your primary concern is getting the high score or the last achievement.

Far From Noise is a conversation I needed to have. George Batchelor’s games can more easily be described as conversation simulators, scenes in which the nuance of dialogue is picked and prodded at. In Far From Noise, that conversation is found in the most precarious of places, trapped in a punch buggy as it teeters on the side of a cliff face. The game manages its own deft balancing act, providing straight shots of naturalist philosophy while couching it in this wilder, existential comedy. It’s funny, it’s beautiful, and it has a soaring score that creeps up when you least expect it. For a brief 90 minute experience, the game is enormously enriching.

You're in a car, teetering on the edge of a cliff, while you ruminate on life with a talking deer... and yet somehow this is not engaging.

If you've never taken the time to think about basic philosophy there may be something to be gained by playing Far From Noise, but everything presented is so surface level that it ends up feeling shallow and unsatisfying. A conversation about epistemology goes no deeper than "it's impossible to tell if you are hallucinating so you have to assume the talking deer must be real". Thoughts like this and "it's freeing to know that the world continues to exist after I die" are conclusions I feel most people come to when they're thirteen years old, so for them to be presented here as revelatory is baffling to me. This isn't helped by listing the philosophers this game was "inspired by" in the credits.

Despite the intention of this game to be slow and contemplative, even its total time of just under two hours outstays its welcome. It's relaxing and I was ready to settle in for some serious thinking, but Far from Noise just had nothing new to say.

And honestly, if a talking deer came to my car hanging precariously off a cliff and decided to read a few poems to me, I think I would shift my weight forward.

A nice short story. I held off on playing this until I was in a position where I felt like I had nothing to do, since it felt like the right mood for this kind of story. It was basically the first day of regaining lucidity after a pretty bad sickness. I wouldn't want to go anywhere as to not infect anyone, and my eyes and ears were pretty sensitive and didn't want anything too intensive. I thought it would be a great time to be humbled by the experience of someone in such a precarious situation. I think I'll replay this again sometime in the future and try to get a different ending.

"There are none happiest in the world but those who enjoy freely a vast horizon."

Ruminate on life, choices, and our place in the world with a deer while teetering on a cliffs edge from sunset to sunrise with moments of humor sprinkled in. Inspired in part by the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Muir, and Henry David Thoreau. Your choices mostly made to highlight her outlook on the current situation with mostly small conversation changes. Good art work and relaxing music.

Screenshots: https://twitter.com/Legolas_Katarn/status/1295250273816862720