Tearaway Review

I love games, but I seem to spend an undue amount of time around virtual jerks. Foul-mouthed criminals, shouting marines, evil nemeses of various stripes – it gets old after awhile. Thank god for Media Molecule. The English studio, which won acclaim for the LittleBigPlanet series, has a knack for creating worlds and characters that exude a playful charm, something that’s in short supply in both gaming and popular culture today.

In many ways, it’s a simple game. You play as Iota (or his female counterpart Atoi), a living envelope tasked with delivering a message to a mysterious figure in the sky. Thanks to the Vita camera, this godlike figure is actually you peeking out of the sun. Iota journeys through a series of surreal worlds, engaging in fairly straightforward 3D platforming.

Tearaway doesn’t reinvent the genre, but rather builds a strange version of it made entirely of paper. Inspired by papercraft, Media Molecule has created a world that feels unlike any other I’ve experienced. It’s a pop-up book come to life, with worlds and creatures that unfold and move in ingenious ways. Drag a finger across a level, and it folds out to reveal a new path. Moving platforms don’t magically float – they are propelled up and down by accordion-like structures.

Along the way, the game encourages you to take part in the creativity. You can take pictures with the in-game camera (which pays off to great effect at the end) that even has Instagram-style filters you can buy. Iota can be altered and tweaked with dozens of cut-out eyes, mouths, and other silly objects. By taking pictures of certain creatures, you unlock real-life papercraft plans that can be printed out on your computer. When’s the last time a game inspired you to take up a new hobby?

At certain points, you find a character who wants a new hat or some other object. Here, you are sent to a virtual work table where you can design and cut out paper designs with pencil and scissor tools. It’s fun and gives you a sense of ownership in the game; I loved seeing my sad, asymmetrical cowboy hat display on my character throughout the adventure.

Sorry, this video is not available