Release Date: 22/04/2011
Played On: Droid / Win
Available On: Droid / iOS / Lin / Mac / Win
Time Played: 13h 36m (on PC)
Progress: Completed a few times (on PC)
Developer: Colibri Games
Publisher: Colibri Games
One of the coolest things about any form of art, is that it often defies any rational justification for why we like it. Sure we can point to likely culprits, such as quality and detail, but sometimes something hits you harder than expected. I often think that these odd connections with creativity are all the more powerful, as they defy logic and rationale.
That's not to say that one of my favourite games of all time has little to show in its favour. On the contrary, the Tiny Bang Story is full to the brim of quality and perfect execution. What always baffles me though, is how a simple hidden object/puzzle game could be made with such brilliance and with such deft control.
The story of Tiny Bang Story is abstract and up to the player to piece together (pun intended). The game opens on a tiny world exploding and breaking up into pieces. We soon discover that as we complete each of its handful of levels, we're given the opportunity to put the world back together with puzzle pieces. It's a simple conceit, but there's something ultimately satisfying about reconstruction being the reward for success.
Each level is a progression on the last, and features a series of static screens filled with hidden objects needed for assembling and completing puzzles. For instance, to undo some screws on a panel you need to find a wrench, but to get the key to open the box where the wrench can be found, a lady wants you to assemble a picture for her. At the same time, you can't get a junction going because the circuitry inside requires light bulbs, which can be pilfered from locations around the level. For the most part, it's typical hidden object gameplay, with sometimes lengthy chains of puzzles that reveal other puzzles.
Hidden within each level are jigsaw puzzle pieces, that appear to serve no more purpose than simply being a collectible. Especially in later levels, the hidden nature of these objects gets more detailed and tricky, with some pieces disappearing into the detailed background even as you stare directly at it. This isn't a quick and easy hidden object game, as finding every last piece will really bring out the pixel-hunter in you, as you scour every inch of a scene to find that last puzzle piece.
Additionally, the puzzles are not your average walk in the park puzzles either, although many of them are recognisable. There's the pipe puzzle where a maze of pipes must be rotated to seal every opening in order to power some machine. There's the that frustrating puzzle where you rotate two hemispheres of a global map until seemingly randomly placed sections line up in their correct positions. There's even a simon-says game where you must remember colour sequences and repeat them to send a signal.
The good thing about all these recognisable puzzles, is that it's only about a third of them that are a walk in the park. Another third are challenging, but simple enough to solve; while the final third are devilishly complex and challenging. It's nicely broken up and I find that even though I replay this game regularly, I can never remember and waltz through the more difficult puzzles, even when I remember what the solution looks like.
So the Tiny Bang Story is a decent hidden object game that really makes you hunt and explore every nook and cranny. It's also a challenging puzzle game, with a number of increasingly difficult puzzles that could potentially stump you for hours on end. However, none of that is why I love the game so much, as my everlasting obsession with this game is driven entirely by its presentation.
Let's start with the music, as it has as much presence in the game as anything else. You're bound to spend a lot of time staring at your screen in a game like the Tiny Bang Story, so it helps to have a soundtrack that keeps time moving. Of course, this is exactly what you get without it ever becoming an annoyance or too repetitive. There are few game soundtracks that I choose to listen to regularly, but this is one that's easily welcome in any playlist. It's mix of ambient instrumental tracks are a good compromise between subtle environmental texturing, and detailed background audio. It's one of those soundtracks that doesn't bother you by being repetitive, as it takes you on a meandering journey as you explore the world it underpins.
Bringing us to the world itself, which accounts for something like ninety percent of my love for the Tiny Bang Story. In fact, when I was studying Illustration a few years ago, one of my teachers used a screenshot of the Tiny Bang Story as an example of brilliant characterisation and illustrative expression. The only other game used in the lesson was Machinarium, which is perhaps better known and a bigger indie darling, so it was nice to see one of my favourites vindicated.
Thankfully though, it doesn't take an art teacher telling you for anyone to see that the Tiny Bang Story is a gorgeous example of art in games. I suppose it's a strength of working with a game that consists of static scenes, but play any of the dime-a-dozen hidden object games available to see how generic it can get. While those carbon copies of each other are full of the same generic art, this is a game where its identity has been created with colour and detail.
I mentioned before that this is an abstract story that doesn't have much of a linear plot, but the world certainly has stories to tell. As we travel through each scene, we are presented with trinkets and toys that make up the landscape. Pictures of a young boy, grow into pictures of a young man. The characters we meet along the way are happy in their odd locations, and seem like they'll go with the flow. There are buildings made of empty drink bottles, buildings that look like tea pots, and any number of cobbled together bits and bobs. It serves the story of a world that's been scrambled, but gently put back together to house its inhabitants.
There's something incredibly zen about the tale, as each character fits in with their odd environment easily. They're all happy to help out with lost items, and they all seem content with where they have ended up. By the very end of the game, we learn that this eclectic mix of characters are living harmoniously in their environment. It doesn't seem to matter if you helped put it back together or not, as they're cheery enough to drink some tea and live their lives either way.
The creativity in the Tiny Bang Story is astounding and the entire game is full of tiny details and quirky ideas. Instead of a plane taking you from one location to another, you hop on a plane that’s attached to a wire like a cable car. At a couple of points you're tasked with playing and completing a simple video game, within the game. The first is about navigating a boat through dangerous waters, while the second has you flying a plane to safety. The first time I finished the boat game, only to find that there was now an actual boat waiting beside me in the world, it blew my mind… just a little bit.
There are so many little creative flourishes in the Tiny Bang Story, that I could never do them justice here. Suffice to say that a lot of thought and care has been put into this game, as its beautiful world shows.
This isn't a game for everyone, because it's essentially a hidden object/puzzle game. However there's so much more on offer here than decent puzzles and object finding. Although I love and adore the presentation of the Tiny Bang Story, I actually think that its puzzles are what really makes it special. When I played Dreamcage Escape (a similar type of game), I was disappointed that the puzzles and exploration was so simplistic and easy. The art was still nice and detailed, but it felt like a mere shadow of the Tiny Bang Story. So it surprises me to think of it now and realise that it's not the art that makes Dreamcage Escape worse, it's actually the gameplay. For a game with minimal gameplay elements, it stands to reason that the Tiny Bang Story actually has some compelling puzzling and object finding involved.
Thus, I have to conclude that not only is this game one of the most beautifully illustrated games around, but it's been designed with subtle compelling trickery. Thankfully the tasks the game asks you to perform are interesting and varied enough to help it stand out from the competition. Although, I maintain that what keeps me coming back is the impeccable art and the stirring soundtrack.
It seems like every year I find my way back into the world of the Tiny Bang Story to be inspired, rewarded, and content. On many levels this is a unique and niche little game, but it deserves every inch of praise it receives and remains in my top ten games of all time.