I’ve already written about Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture. I enjoyed it very much. What did you think?
It’s one of those games isn’t it? You get to the end and you’re like, “I’m not 100% sure what just happened, but I am most certainly feeling things.”
I’m still a little confused about the details of Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture, but I also feel like it’s one of those video game stories that requires that bit of mystery. That’s really the point.
If you played The Chinese Room’s last game Dear Esther, you’ll know the feeling. I preferred the writing in that game — the literary style of it. The awkwardness of the style. The obscurity of it, the weirdness.
Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture feels like a far more ambitious game compared to Dear Esther. On every possible level it’s bigger. Broader scope in theme, larger world, bigger ideas. Sometimes it falters, but I loved the experience. I loved the environment in particular.
The Chinese Room does an incredible job of making its games feel completely unique. Who else is making a post apocalyptic game set in a tiny, homely little village in the UK? Yeah.
Who else is making a video game with a Welsh choir rendition of Scarborough Fair as part of the soundtrack? Seriously.
But that’s what I love about it. This video game is allowed to exist and be very successful. It says something about where we’re at right now. How comfortable games are becoming as a medium.
I love it.
Comments
10 responses to “Community Review: Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture”
They’ve gone to the rapture?
That doesn’t make much sense.
Maybe it’s a place called “The Rapture”, like some sort of strange fetish club or something 😛
It’s not the ACTUAL rapture; it’s more “Everyone’s gone.” You find out what happened during the game.
Personally I enjoyed much of it but it’s too easy to miss certain key events, which then blocks off key scenes and prevents finishing the game. Really annoying. It takes a 4/5 game down to 2/5. The forced walking pace also gets old when you’re looking around form something that you missed.
I loved lots of elements of it. The story was interesting, it had moments of great visual style and design, the way it was a story about people, with the end of the world as a framing device and omnipresent *thing* without having it overwhelm everything else. Oh man, and the first nightfall? Grand.
Noticing that the words they were singing in the music were the same ones the priest used in his prayerBut then its walking speed suuuuuuuuuuuuuucks. Even with the “run” you move at a glacial pace, and it made backtracking a pain, and there were probably things I missed because I couldn’t be bothered going back at the speed of a one legged tortoise.
I’m not usually one for “walking simulators” but this really hooked me in to the point that I found it quite an emotional experience (I’m a sucker for pretty visuals and a good soundtrack). The transitions from night back to daylight are alone worth the price of admittance. I just wish it could’ve come to PC and benefited from all the visual advantages (that’s a minor issue though).
First type of these games I have played. Enjoyed it. Finished it. Have no intention of playing it again.
Like @blaghman, I probably would’ve explored a lot more than I did but that walking speed, even when “running” is just to slow.
I dunno, I’ll tell you when it finishes downloading in like 20 years, pick up your game PSN wth
I really enjoyed the experience and the slow movement was a nice break from the games I have been playing lately. Its a ‘game’ to take slowly, listen intently to the coversations and soak up the incredible locations. I would also recommend playing in the dark and wearing headphones.
It’s so pretty. I have taken a retarded amount of screenshots. The mystery has got it’s hooks in me too.
Fascinating title. The performance of the game was distracting at times as did the ridiculous walking speed but despite those niggles I still enjoyed my time with it.