Release Date: 23/02/2017
Played On: Win
Available On: Droid / iOS / Win
Time Played: 1h
Progress: Completed
Developer: Joe Richardson
Publisher: Joe Richardson
I feel like at this stage, I could ask any regular reader of this blog for a short list of things that I really like to see in games and anyone keeping track would have an easy time figuring it out. Perhaps you might start with a narrative, or some king of story-telling device that plays a central role. You might then add in some kind of aesthetic importance, where the graphics can be considered art, and they play an important role in telling the aforementioned story. Finally, even though it's not as obvious as the others, you might think to shape the game mechanically as a traditional point-and-click adventure. If you did all that, you'd undoubtedly be pretty close to a game that really can't fail to impress me.
Or you've just described Four Last Things, which is essentially each of those elements taken to some kind of extended conclusion. However, this is not a game that merely ticks the boxes and goes about its day, as this is a game that has been lovingly put together in a way that is surprising, beautiful, and just plain funny. It's not often that I really get a chuckle out of comedy in games, but the writing in this one had me laughing out loud on the regular.
One look at the game and you might already have figured out its main gimmick. The entire world is a collage of renaissance era paintings, which have been cut and cropped to create characters and locations for the game to take place. Even our heroic main character is cut from a master's work, only to be puppeteer-ed into a functional point-and-click character, complete with animations and movements that rival some other, more basic animation styles. At times it can feel like you're looking at a confusing mess of colour and detail, but as you take the time to soak in each scene as it's presented before you, it all starts to make some kind of sense.
For an art fan like me, not only is it a lot of fun to see famous paintings being used as the graphics for a game, but the spirit and intentions of those paintings have also been retained. There are many religious and surreal pieces that offer depictions of debauchery and slums, so when the game brings these scenes to life with equally discreet, yet somewhat confusing collage, it becomes a feast to behold. Not to mention how adding little bits of animation to images that are famously still and unmoving, really goes a long way to bring them to life and make them feel all the more real.
The story itself is an absurdity that fits in step with many of the artworks that feature throughout its telling. The short and skinny of it is that we play as a poor soul who has sinned and visits a church to ask for forgiveness. Unfortunately though, they're too busy or something like that and we are told to head to another county where we will be forgiven. The rub is that we haven't sinned in that county, so in order to receive divine resolution, we must head off and commit all of the seven holy sins in order to then recant and receive absolution.
It's a silly story that shares inspiration from other absurdist comedies like Monty Python and even The Canterbury Tales. In fact, the animation style shares a lot with Monty Python's own style, which is to say that there are plenty of fighting perspectives and basic puppetry and collage. Maybe it's because I've watched a lot of Python in my time, but there's something about this kind of animation that I find inherently funny from the off. Thankfully, it's used well in Four Last Things and serves to compliment the excellent script by bringing it to life with these fantastic visuals.
The gameplay loop is fairly straight forward and your typical point-and-click system that requires a lot of exploration, and a good chunk of puzzle solving. There's also a lot of dialogue to discover as you talk to all the interesting and diverse characters that you'll meet throughout the world. Running into new NPCs was probably the best part of the game for me, as each character pulled from a painting has been reinterpreted as something slightly different. For example, down an alley we find a bard playing their lute, but their animations are erratic and the soundtrack tells us that they're riffing some hardcore licks like a modern day busker would. I don't know about you, but I often hear traditional classical music in my head when I see an image of a bard, I rarely think of them jamming out to some real face-melters.
My main requirement for a fun point-and-click is that the puzzle solutions don't get too up their own butts and end up requiring some nonsensical moon-logic to solve. Four Last Things features a series of progressive puzzle solving, but I never felt like I had to stretch too far to figure it all out. Most solutions flow from one step to another and allow for some reasonable thinking to find the right path, which ended up being a lot of fun.
As we're attempting to commit every one of the seven deadly sins, the gameplay loop often starts with identifying sins as they happen in the world. There's a large statue in the centre of town, which ends up being the perfect way to turn ourselves into an idol. Additionally, there's a nude woman behind sheer drapes in her home, who might be convinced to partake in a little lust if we provide her with the right gifts and motivations.
Essentially, what I really liked about Four Last Things and the way that it delivered its point-and-click loop, was that I never felt like I was lost in the woods. Often when I was stuck, all I had to do was talk to people and pick up on the clues they'd inevitably drop about what to do next. At best the solutions were intuitively understandable, but at worst it just meant a little extra leg-work and a few more discussions to get me back on the right track.
However, even though Four Last Things has proven itself as a competent point-and-click adventure, the real achievement for me is how well the writing marries the beautiful renaissance art, and is further complimented by its classical soundtrack. This should be a poster child for how royalty free art can be used in interesting and meaningful ways. In fact, I don't think this game could have been made in the same way if it didn't lean on and use the art and themes that it does.
There are countless lines and scenarios throughout the game that were hilarious to me, but may be a little too silly for some. This is an absurdist tale after all and doesn't make any apologies for its blunt and unapologetic delivery. Much like the art that inspires it, the dialogue is bawdy, dark, surreal, and at times confusingly wordy. By the end of our journey, I felt like I had been taken back in time and lovingly thrown in the deep end where I eventually found my rhythm and swam to freedom. At times I felt like I was back in my Medieval Literature class where we read Chaucer out loud and eventually learned his dialect like a foreign language.
What I mean to say is that Four Last Things can be a bit abrupt and overwhelming at first with it's cacophony of visual stimulation, and it's strange, old-school animation. Exploring the environments initially had me lost and unsure of where to go, but I soon learned the streets and where I could find each amazing character I could interact with. In many ways it reminds me of actually making a painting and filling a canvas. Nothing is complete at first and it quickly becomes a relative mess of colour and texture. It's not until right before the end of the piece that it all comes together and clicks into focus. That's kind of what playing Four Last Things feels like at times, and it's awesome to be taken on such a journey.
Part of me feels like this could be a bit niche for some gamers, even those that love point-and-click adventures like me. While it sticks to traditional and understandable mechanics and gameplay systems, the unique use of renaissance art and 2D puppet-like animations is what really sets it aside as something different. Along with some witty writing and truly absurd character arcs and plot progressions, this is one hell of a fun game to play.
I enjoyed it so much in fact, that while researching some details for this post I discovered that there's a spiritual sequel called The Procession To Calvary, which I will be buying and trying out as soon as I'm done here. If any of this looks interesting to you, then I suggest seeking out the bundle where both games are a little cheaper when bought together. You'll rarely get the chance to play a game that's quite this unique and special, so by all means get out there and get sinning!