The First Tree

This would have been a totally OK game - simplistic but beautiful - if it weren't for the cringeworthy father/son B story. I swear I was expecting the characters to start praising Jesus at any moment. Turning off the audio actually improves the game, even though it removes the music. Unfortunately there is no way to turn off the voice-overs but keep the music.

This "game" has a few things going for it. It is undeniably pretty, the voice acting is good and the music is amazing. It delivers a wonderful, calming and dream-like experience. However there are also several flaws. The appearance is superficial. There is little to no interaction between the player and the environment and even cursory look shows that the environments are built through copy pasting assets (particularly noticeable with trees). The narrative has a weak link to the visuals and doesn't always feel connected. Considering how little happens in the game, I would've expected the few things that do happen to be done better. It's short, I don't see any replay value and there's no real gameplay beyond running through the environment. Essentially you will get great music, pretty visuals and an audio novel. Probably only worth it if you can get it on discount.

So, I wasn't sure what to expect from this one. I knew from the page description and some of the previous reviews it wouldn't be super long, and that it wasn't an extremely in depth plot-filled story. I was expecting a story of some sort, with some beautiful scenery. I was floored by the story. It's a story about coping with loss. Having recently lost a child I could completely relate with the fox's desire to find her cubs. All I can say is that the ending of this game had my full attention. I get the game is essentially a dream picture of the narrator's life and ultimately his loss, and the dream is intended to help you feel what he must have felt. However, it also reminded me of how I felt when going through those emotions with my own loss. There is an element of the game near the end that nearly brought me to tears. It's an interactive element, and I think it's really thoughtful of the developers to include it. I won't ruin it for those who have not played. But thank you to the developers for doing that! Now, if it's so great, why dock a star from it? Well, it is a game. And as a game I feel it comes up a little short. Let me explain: The controls are not as smooth as I would have liked. The jumping is a little clunky, and at times I had trouble controlling the double jump. As a game that is designed to be an experience, I feel that little details like this should have been smoother to increase the relaxation of the player. Second, the surroundings were beautiful and dreamlike. However, they were also sort of barren. At times I was confused where to go next because they were so open and devoid of life. Just trees and rocks and water. Again, SO PRETTY, but it felt really empty at times. Despite these minor issues I really enjoyed this game and would recommend it to anyone who has experienced loss of a loved one. It is a very touching story and was really profound and thought provoking.

I enjoy a walking simulator more than the average person, but this game is slow, boring and badly paced. The amount of time you backtrack and move around gets old really quick. Along side that the music blasts you away with zero way of turning it down in game. While the score is really beautiful and well done, it is ruined by this. I had high hopes going into this game when I bought it. I can only reccomend this game as a deep deep sale.

Its a good game overall pros: Great Story Amazing Music Beautiful Graphics Cons: Boring in the way that it takes forever to travel from one story to the next Not enough content Too short with about 2 hours of gameplay