Milanó
September 2nd, 2010, 01:07
The Company of Myself
http://jayisgames.com/images/dan_companyofmyself_screen1.jpg
What would you do if you were able to undo past mistakes?
The independent game industry of today seems the only one who actually cares about games that get the artsy tag, although it’s certainly not the only one. My hat’s off to you Team ICO. With mere curiosity and a good source, one can find a vast amount of games that seem to go where mainstream companies would rather not travel to.
The Company of Myself seems to go both ways in this aspect. Created by Elii Piilonen, this flash game is a telling of a story by a solitary man who only desires someone to talk to despite being content with his lonely state. Throughout the game he will tell you about the way he deals with his problems and how he surpassed the death of his girlfriend while solving various platform puzzles. These use a mechanic very familiar to those who have played Braid. Specifically, it takes the gameplay from the shadow clone world of Braid. In this sense it won’t feel very original, but let me tell you, you’ll be sucked in by his storytelling. Throughout the game you’ll experience allegorical versions of his events in life, each object with its own meaning revealed in the end. This isn’t Hemmingway we’re talking about, but everything is so captivating you’ll simply want to accompany this hermit throughout his journey, despite the name of the title. Sadly the difficulty curve isn’t very steep and his story can be concluded within thirty minutes during your first playthrough (it has 20 levels I think). You might be stuck for a while in some of them, because there are no levels with the same solution.
http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/1945/thecompanyofmyself.png
The first level of the game as a tutorial. It already features the game's first person storytelling.
His life’s soundtrack is solely consisted of two excellent songs one depressing but filled with hope and another more cheerful but also melancholic. This contrast exist throughout the entire game, as despite the emotional story the colour use is rather vivid and the same green/blue/brown pattern is repeated throughout.
http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/1945/thecompanyofmyself.png
The hermit's view on his life...
When you reach the ending you will probably feel a strong emotion inside you. If so, then you were indeed captivated by the game’s story and everything else it has to offer, deeply wishing it was truly never ending. However all stories must have a conclusion and this one doesn’t miss the opportunity of smacking you back into reality and forcing you to confront it, leaving you completely abandoned. It simply puts things in perspective and promptly eliminates many possible interpretations of the game. Is this a good thing? You decide… I, for one, can’t.
Please play this… it’s an excellent, FREE experience and there is certainly not much like it except for Braid. So if you played one of them, PLEASE play the other…
Sorry if you feel this review is short, but so is the game and all its technical aspects. I hope it was able to convince you to spend thirty minutes of your life with it.
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/1945/thecompanyofmyself.png
The hermit begins recalling his days with his beloved Kathryn...
The game is available here (http://www.kongregate.com/games/2DArray/the-company-of-myself) for online play.
http://jayisgames.com/images/dan_companyofmyself_screen1.jpg
What would you do if you were able to undo past mistakes?
The independent game industry of today seems the only one who actually cares about games that get the artsy tag, although it’s certainly not the only one. My hat’s off to you Team ICO. With mere curiosity and a good source, one can find a vast amount of games that seem to go where mainstream companies would rather not travel to.
The Company of Myself seems to go both ways in this aspect. Created by Elii Piilonen, this flash game is a telling of a story by a solitary man who only desires someone to talk to despite being content with his lonely state. Throughout the game he will tell you about the way he deals with his problems and how he surpassed the death of his girlfriend while solving various platform puzzles. These use a mechanic very familiar to those who have played Braid. Specifically, it takes the gameplay from the shadow clone world of Braid. In this sense it won’t feel very original, but let me tell you, you’ll be sucked in by his storytelling. Throughout the game you’ll experience allegorical versions of his events in life, each object with its own meaning revealed in the end. This isn’t Hemmingway we’re talking about, but everything is so captivating you’ll simply want to accompany this hermit throughout his journey, despite the name of the title. Sadly the difficulty curve isn’t very steep and his story can be concluded within thirty minutes during your first playthrough (it has 20 levels I think). You might be stuck for a while in some of them, because there are no levels with the same solution.
http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/1945/thecompanyofmyself.png
The first level of the game as a tutorial. It already features the game's first person storytelling.
His life’s soundtrack is solely consisted of two excellent songs one depressing but filled with hope and another more cheerful but also melancholic. This contrast exist throughout the entire game, as despite the emotional story the colour use is rather vivid and the same green/blue/brown pattern is repeated throughout.
http://img827.imageshack.us/img827/1945/thecompanyofmyself.png
The hermit's view on his life...
When you reach the ending you will probably feel a strong emotion inside you. If so, then you were indeed captivated by the game’s story and everything else it has to offer, deeply wishing it was truly never ending. However all stories must have a conclusion and this one doesn’t miss the opportunity of smacking you back into reality and forcing you to confront it, leaving you completely abandoned. It simply puts things in perspective and promptly eliminates many possible interpretations of the game. Is this a good thing? You decide… I, for one, can’t.
Please play this… it’s an excellent, FREE experience and there is certainly not much like it except for Braid. So if you played one of them, PLEASE play the other…
Sorry if you feel this review is short, but so is the game and all its technical aspects. I hope it was able to convince you to spend thirty minutes of your life with it.
http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/1945/thecompanyofmyself.png
The hermit begins recalling his days with his beloved Kathryn...
The game is available here (http://www.kongregate.com/games/2DArray/the-company-of-myself) for online play.