Jumping right into the dark forest we left off at last time, it’s time to get past a fear of Crows and save the forest. After running into a whole bunch of crows blocking the path we reach a crack that we can’t quite deal with yet. Moving forward we see the shiny key we oh so need in the distance. Problem is that a wild Crow possesses it and it has an entire army helping it out.
Run Iota they’re going to steal your soul!
Getting close tells us that you don’t mess with the Crows and the sky god decides to take pity on us. After we make our clouds to fill the sky. We gain access to a new power, the power to control the wind and blow past any obstacles. This is amazingly cool as you just gesture on the touchpad of the Dual Shock 4 and the wind blows in the direction that you slide your finger.
Paving a Path Forward Using the Amazing Power of the Wind in Tearaway
We use the wind to move some cloth on the ground to form a bridge so we can cross a chasm. Next, we flip a platform to get it to give us an opening to move onward. But not before grabbing a present under it. I grab several presents while moving through this section which is just an amazingly rewarding feeling. Crossing a few chasms moves us to the key but the Crow runs away and the scraps come into ruin our day.
Your damn right, I fell right into their ambush
From here we’re stuck and we need to battle our way to get off the rock. Using the wind we can stagger the scraps to beat them. Once they are out of it; its as easy as throwing them off. We continue to chase the key down, grabbing some presents along the way. We roll open a gate and enter what feels like a beehive.
Bee Flooring That Flips over Ain’t Going to Stop Iota
This section is very cool, you can use the wind to flip the flooring beneath you. It’s a two-way street however as the Crows can also flip the floor by flying over it. But that’s a little later, for now, we need to cross a pit using a barrel that we move with the wind. From here it’s just crossing some more chasms, taking pictures, and defeating more scraps. Next time we’ll continue to chase down the Crow and hopefully get the key back.
Today’s episode is truly a fun one, as we get to the good stuff right off the bat. After leaving Maypole Fields we quickly learn that a once-great warrior pig is now sad. Well, this just won’t do. We’re going to have re-ignite his love for battle if we are to proceed. Thankfully this is as easy as fixing his one small eye and making it nice and big. I try my best to make it identical size but I think I may have missed the mark a bit.
Nah, those eyes are close enough; it’s all good
We jump on this now fearless hogs back and ride headfirst into those dastardly scraps that block our path. This part of the game is a nice change of pace from everything else we have seen in Tearaway thus far. The pig is fast and controls great, it’s not a non-stop runner you can go backward as well as forward. This gives you a chance to not miss any destructible boxes or enemies. The music roars and the pig moves at full-speed, you can use the Guiding Light to help destroy scraps and help heal the world.
Iota and a Pig Braving the Darkness to Find True Love
Going from the nice beautiful outside to the dark and dank inside of a cave isn’t enough to stop us. Using the Guiding Light of the Dual Shock 4 controller we light up a path to take through the darkness. This allows us to deal with scraps and a few puzzles in our path. The cave is a pretty stark difference from anything else we have seen yet in Tearaway. There are emblems on the walls and ground, maybe they’re relics from the past or maybe they’re just world-building. Either way, I’m determined to make it all as clean as possible.
The only game I can think of where two pigs come together to find true love
Exiting the cave brings us back out into the sunshine as we come to the end of our big adventures. Thus we find what appears to be our hero pigs’ wife and they go inside a little hut. The game deals with this in a very adorable way that I won’t ruin her. Iota is still young don’t you know. Moving on from that life lesson brings us to everyone applauding us for making it this far on our quest.
The World Opens Up, We Meet Some Elk and Need to Deal with Some Dastardly Crows
Coming out of the other side of the applause we come to a big field where we can explore at our leisure. This is the first time this game opens up and it’s nice. It keeps it linear by telling you how to progress but letting you explore the area to your heart’s content. Moving to a big house we have a crow steal a key and fly into what looks like some scary woods. Unfortunately, we need that key to enter the house and apparently, crows steal souls.
You can’t match the majesty of this amazing Elk so don’t even try
Moving behind the house I find an area that has no color, we change this with a quick blast of the Guiding Light. We save a sweet Elk by bringing light back into the cave that was once covered by scrap everywhere. Moving back into the open field we explore the area a bit to collect some presents. failing at talking to people on a boat we give an Elk that has all hope a new look to feel better about himself. From there we head over to where the dastardly Crow brought the key and call this today’s episode!
Problem is that I have no idea how to prank said the squirrel, it takes me running around for a bit before I realize how to accomplish this. I go grab a present muse over some of my options and return to decorate and prank the squirrel. I place an eyeball on the squirrels tail and call it a day, I get the present and proceed onward with my adventure.
Having an eyeball on its tail will not end well
From here we leave the kingdom and move towards a giant forest filled with drums. Utilizing the touchpad to bounce, move objects to clear a path and platform my way through.
After a bit, some more dastardly scraps show up to just make things more difficult. I just use the guiding light to throw them over the edge and into the abyss below. You can also use the drums to dizzy them to make it easier to dispose of them. Once they’re all gone we get an apple to start a party!
Turn Tables and the Magic of Jumping
The party starts, the world lights up and color reigns supreme. Everyone’s super happy, dancing, and just thrilled that the area has been granted color once more. Turntables and apples litter the area as you push through the party-goers.
Coming to a giant X in the ground we run and press X right over the top of it. This causes it to launch Iota way into the sky, unfortunately, it’s just not high enough to reach our destination and deliver our important message.
Iota was within reach of getting to his goal, but it was just out of his grasp for now
To come so close only to come crashing down isn’t enough to deter Iota on his adventure. The fall causes him to fold up his legs and allow us to chose when he jumps. Being able to jump at will is a nice addition and allows for some good puzzles down the road.
We start by grabbing a nice present with our sweet new jump ability. Walking across some turntables reveals that we can use the DualShock 4 touchpad to scratch them and make our music. It was a cool sequence, no doubt.
Moving into the Maypole Fields
Yep, this is easily the creepiest thing in this game yet
Jump some gaps and we run headfirst into our next section of the game. We have to reach the area above but to get there, we have to move through a field in our pathway. Taking a short tram ride down to the Maypole fields is a little blast of joy, it’s a cool sequence. Upon exiting the tram we open another book and thus another chapter.
We run into a blind man who wants some eyes, so I give him three eyes. Cause you can never have too many eyes. Jumping a few fences takes us to a section where we learn that the butterflies in the area have no wings. So using my creative skills I create wings for the creatures. Taking a nice breather to enjoy the butterflies I just helped end today’s episode!
Accomplishing things in Tearaway feels good when you’re the one doing it
Tearaway Unfolded is just a delight through and through
As After coming off my full playthrough of Lumo I jump back into Tearaway Unfolded to help deliver the important message. Getting right down to it we make our way to the Wassail Orchard and learn a bit how the chapter selection works.
Probably so we can go back and collect any presents we miss along the way. We sort of get the sense that someone or something is stalking us through the world. Which is always unsettling. Using our light we create pathways through logs to reach a drum.
You use the touchpad on the DualShock 4 controller to make Iota jump into the air using the drums
Tapping the touchpad on the PlayStation 4s Dual Shock 4 allows us to jump to higher ground. This also creates music and allows for some neat platforming sections. Since Iota can’t jump at will we need to time our taps perfectly to move forward without falling. We come across the squirrel that we created a crown for last time. But he’s lost his color and only a picture will do the job. From here we just need to be on the look out for things without color, so we can fix them.
Giving color back by taking pictures is really cool
Drumming and Apples Lead to Victory
The scraps make a return and we need to defeat them and grab an apple to move forward. Using the Guiding Light makes this short work as we throw them over the edge. Grabbing an apple and throwing it into the glowing soup allows a plant to grow and open a pathway. From here we use more drums to bounce upward. Landing in a battle arena we use both the drums and Guiding Light to take down more scraps.
To move forward we need another apple and the only way to get this one is to solve a quick puzzle. Using what we’ve learned from using the drums we need to bounce the rolling apples upward to reach a single point. It’s fairly easy but kinda fun, just tap the touchpad when need to make the apple reach its destination. After we grab the apple we drop it in the soup and press forward.
Bouncing these apples is pretty easy, but no doubt pretty fun
Flowers Shooting Apples
From here, we need to break scraps around flowers in order to shoot apples into more soup. Doesn’t get too complicated just kind of timing based, same with jumping across the rotating drums. Entering another arena we take down some more scraps. This part I liked as you need to have the flower shoot the apple, then light a path for it to follow on its way to the soup.
Meeting the Squirrel King
From here we jump on some more drums, get to a camera I can’t use and meet someone quite interesting. All the squirrels line up and usher us into their domain in order to meet the squirrel in charge. We become privileged enough to wear the crown we created ourselves, this helps other squirrels know that we’re kind of a big deal. We take a nice happy picture together and call this an episode!
As soon as I saw that Tearaway Unfolded was free on Playstation Plus a big smile was crafted into my face. The game on the Playstation Vita was just awe-inspiring, it was such a unique little adventure that managed to showcase everything the Vita had to offer.
It the Vita was capable of doing it then Tearaway took advantage of it and brought it to its full glory. I never had the chance to play the Playstation 4s version of Tearaway Unfolded but now I have the option and am more than ready to dive right in!
You’re just a little Iota trying to get to the great big moon
The World Is a Story Book and You Get to Turn the Pages
That fire is just so warm and peaceful
In Tearaway Unfolded you start with a simple objective after a relaxing opening, to get a message to the moon. Seems like a simple task until you realize you’ve got a big and crazy world to get through.
After a bit of exploring we come to a doorway and a cutscene stops us in our tracks. Turns out the world is just a tad to peaceful and it’s time for a nasty twist.
The moon opens up and a horde of scraps come bursting in Lumos world, thankfully we as the player have got the tools to bring them down. The villagers may run in fear but we’ve got the guiding light to help put an end to the scraps.
In this first area, we get to open a little house that scraps covered up to save some villagers. Throw some scraps down a well and crush some of the last of them with a nice big seesaw log.
Tearaway Unfolded Has Presents and Wants You to Open All of Them
A good story always has a villain
In the next area, we get to relax a bit and shot some hoops. In the process, we learn that presents are scattered throughout the world; there are red and blue presents.
The red presents are opened by just getting next to them and hitting the touchpad button on the Dual Shock 4 controller, the blue ones are a tad more tricky. These are opened by completing secret tasks in a given area, in this first area it’s as easy as making all the baskets.
I also like how you can use the guiding light to take away the scraps that have plagued the world. I have no idea if this accomplishes anything or if there is some bigger goal but it is cathartic and makes you feel good. After dropping down to a new area we give some squirrels an apple and retrieve another blue present.
Must Collect All the Things
Tearaway has a lot of stuff to collect and I must have it all
I spend the entirety of this next area collecting everything that isn’t nailed down. It’s nice and relaxing you just go through this soothing world and collect, destroy scraps, and move forward at your own pace.
Nothings rushing you, nothings nagging you to get something done, it’s going at the pace you set. Paper crunches under your feet, legs open up so you can cross, everyone says high to you it’s so nice.
Customizing Iota Is Just Charming
Tearaway gives you some nice customization for Iota, hey I recognize some of those stickers
Iotas face is your canvas in Tearaway Unfolded, the game pauses to tell you to make him your changes. I sort of making a nice little headband using the stickers from past games I’ve played.
It’s cool that those are there, I’d imagine it’s scanning my Playstation saves and unlocking them based on that. I like to think the X is a scar so I place an eye over that and give little Iota a mouth. You know for practical reasons. The little things collected throughout the world are used to unlock more stickers to place on Iota. Also, there are costumes to choose from but those are to boilerplate for my liking.
Setting the Stage for the Rest of the Game
Literally and figuratively
To cap off this episode we come to a stage show but they’re missing a light source for the main star. Luckily we have a guiding light that fits the bill and the show manages to go on.
It’s a nice little set piece, charming, cheerful, and brimming with personality. But oh no the star of the show can’t go on because he doesn’t have a crown. We get a cool little section where we are tasked with creating a crown for him. I take a stab at it but using the touchpad on the Dual Shock 4 is just awful, there’s no fluidity and I just screw it all up.
But dammit If I didn’t try and the star sure seems happy about his sweet new crown. We clear the stage of scraps, take a couple of selfies with the star and call this an episode.
The star loves the new crown so I feel better about my awful design
