Probably the best puzzle game ever made. What made this game special to me was how steeped in mystery the world is. The environment asks so many questions and doesn't really give any answers, instead allowing you to come up with your own interpretations. Why are there statues of people all around the world? Are they statues or are they real people somehow turned into stone? What does the dot and line mean? Why does it appear everywhere in nature? Who are these people on the voice recordings? Trying to figure this game out touches on what I believe the allure of certain conspiracy theories have for some people -- you are so close to figuring out some unknown truth, just a few more puzzles, just a few more voice recordings, just dig a little deeper and you'll have the answer.
I will preface this section by saying I choose to ignore the secret ending as it seems somewhat tacked on almost like a meta joke. To me the game is an exploration of the human tendency to look for meaning and for pattern recognition like seeing faces in clouds, or constellations in the stars, or numerology. This can be a blessing and a curse as it primes us to be great problem solvers, but also opens the door to seeing patterns that aren't there: people who listen to records backwards and think there is hidden satanic messages for example. This theme is explored masterfully in this game. You are constantly trying to make connections not only to dots and lines in the environment, but also to the voice recordings, video clips, environments, and statues you find in the world. Is there some concrete meaning to them? I don't think there is an answer to that question... At least not one that everyone can agree on. But that is what makes this game special. Keep searching for the pattern.
I love all the directions they take this. There are faces in tree branches, shadows that make you look like you have angel wings, perspectives where water reflects something off it to make a complete image and so much more. It is simply mesmerizing. These occurrences help to play into the religious themes as well. Are all these seemingly perfectly designed patterns simply random acts of nature or did some creator purposefully put them there. Well this is a video game so obviously a creator purposefully put it there, but you get the point.
Simply put I loved everything about this games world and themes. The one complaint is that some sections do get a bit tedious with the large number of difficult puzzles back to back but this aspect is easily outshined by the gorgeously crafted world.
I will preface this section by saying I choose to ignore the secret ending as it seems somewhat tacked on almost like a meta joke. To me the game is an exploration of the human tendency to look for meaning and for pattern recognition like seeing faces in clouds, or constellations in the stars, or numerology. This can be a blessing and a curse as it primes us to be great problem solvers, but also opens the door to seeing patterns that aren't there: people who listen to records backwards and think there is hidden satanic messages for example. This theme is explored masterfully in this game. You are constantly trying to make connections not only to dots and lines in the environment, but also to the voice recordings, video clips, environments, and statues you find in the world. Is there some concrete meaning to them? I don't think there is an answer to that question... At least not one that everyone can agree on. But that is what makes this game special. Keep searching for the pattern.
I love all the directions they take this. There are faces in tree branches, shadows that make you look like you have angel wings, perspectives where water reflects something off it to make a complete image and so much more. It is simply mesmerizing. These occurrences help to play into the religious themes as well. Are all these seemingly perfectly designed patterns simply random acts of nature or did some creator purposefully put them there. Well this is a video game so obviously a creator purposefully put it there, but you get the point.
Simply put I loved everything about this games world and themes. The one complaint is that some sections do get a bit tedious with the large number of difficult puzzles back to back but this aspect is easily outshined by the gorgeously crafted world.