Bernband Is basic gamebut its effectiveness cannot be overestimated. It’s basically just a walking game. A walking simulator that actually just walks. No puzzles, no goals, just walking.
What gives it meaning is its atmosphere. The action takes place in a compact part of a futuristic city. A shopping center full of bars and shops and narrow corridors and sidewalks. You cannot talk to anyone or interact with anything; you’re just wandering aimlessly. You might discover a loud bar and then wander the lonely, empty corridors looking for anything else that might be happening. Many rooms and corridors are empty, basic and gray. However, the apply of bright lighting and surreal, atmospheric sound made the alien seem familiar and strange. It tangibly reflected the balmy summer night after leaving the premises.
I’ve never heard of it Tiles until it was released. Somehow, after watching the initial trailer, I saw it Bernband including. Perhaps it was the strangely positioned hands of the characters or the glances of random strangers, but somehow I knew that it was the work of the same creator. And although it is a completely different beast than Bernband with a completely different approach, you can see where the lessons have been applied.
IN Tilesyou wake up on a bus in the countryside. After following the only path out, you will learn that you are a gardener. You have been hired to maintain the garden around your house, but you have been suspiciously told that you are not allowed to enter the house.
It quickly turns out that the only tool available is a hedge trimmer. Apparently the garden needs more work. The only solution is to go in search of more tools, but first you have to leave the yard, because a waist-high fence blocks your exit. It won’t be long before you realize you’re being watched. You’re only catching glimpses, but you’re definitely being followed. And although there are residents in the area with whom you can talk, you cannot understand a word they say.
The city is a perilous place. If you stay outside too long after midnight, the darkness will consume you. Touch something you shouldn’t and everything could end badly for you. And death is death; you will be sent back to the beginning of the game to try again, although each one counts as an “end”. Grunn keeps track of all the endings you find, so collecting them all is a goal if you think repeated failures are something worth pursuing. Otherwise, we will have a good ending.
Permadeath may sound quite harsh, especially when it means you’ll have to re-cut the grass every time, but Tiles takes place for three days only. Honestly, it’s a little annoying having to trim the same hedges every time the game kills my curiosity, but not enough to really ruin the experience. The loop takes about 45 minutes and it took me about 6 hours to get to the good ending. I simply became quite adept at performing my duties quickly. It reminds me of when I was a teenager.
The multi-day loop works Reason a favor because it forces you to look at the cause and effect of your actions. There aren’t many branches, but you may not recognize exactly what caused the mysterious portal in the garden to open and allow you to quickly make your way to the park. After a few laps of play, this will happen.
The overall goal of the game is unclear. In reality, it’s not just about making sure the yard is in tip-top shape when the owners return. You’re not trying to escape the city. The only way to figure out what you should be doing is to just keep poking at things until something happens. You’ll eventually learn to silence the spirits of the dead and maybe find out what the hell is going on with those kids on the ferry. Many of the objects you pick up don’t have an immediately apparent purpose, so most discoveries come from rubbing things against other things.
To support you learn what can and should be done, you come across many Polaroids scattered around the world. They don’t reveal what you should do with the topic presented, but at least they let you know to take a closer look.
It’s a strange formula that may seem mundane, and that’s why it is. You’re basically a stranger in a serene town. Strange things happen, but no one else really notices or cares. Not that you could ask them. There’s clearly something shadowy going on, but it rarely attacks you directly. Most scares come from catching brief glimpses of someone watching someone from outside their field of vision.
In a sense, you just exist in a snapshot of the world, trying to keep it as it is and drive the evil out of it. You know, while watering the flowers and trimming the hedges. This isn’t thrilling. It doesn’t have to be this way.
I’m not sure about that Tiles will remain in my memory in the same way Bernband Is. The goals here are much more modest and less bold. On the other hand, it is a pleasant experience. No matter how many times I woke up in that bus seat, I was always ready to face the game again. Gradually discovering its secrets while trimming the hedges kept me very engaged. Without thinking too long, Tiles it’s probably the most relaxing horror game I’ve ever played.
