FAR Lone Sails – Journey to the center of solitude

Lto loneliness it is one of the most difficult and complex conditions to define, having a real different meaning for each of us. Remain silent, on a solo journey that allows you to reflect on who we really are and where we are going. In short, a series of typical existential issues that crowd our mind when we have no one around and no distractions, if not to think about ourselves and our survival.

In a world characterized by few and soft colors, wastelands à la The Walking Dead alternating with sparse traces of the passage of human beings, Far Lone Sails already clarifies in the title what awaits us. An almost endless horizontal scrolling journey characterizes this new indie that has appeared on the videogame scene thanks to the work of Okomotive and Mixtvision, the new vehicle adventure game available from May 17 for Steam and on GOG.com and the Humble Store.

We are dealing with a mixture of influences that have generated an indie apparently flat and without any stimulus, but which on the contrary invites reflection on what a little red man must do, Lonewhich in the graceful jumps from high distances is somewhat reminiscent of the beloved character of Journey. We are thus in an initial a condition of poverty and difficulty, determined by the total absence of elements in the natural landscape in which the story is set. Even the soundtrack is almost completely absent, being accompanied practically only by the noise of the wheeled ship we drive, some sound effects and a radio that will send the repeated notes of a song, picked up by who knows what frequency.

This is a vehicle that is for us means of transport and housing together; it proceeds with water and steam, powered thanks to the various-sized tanks that we will find along the way and that we will have to carry on board whenever there will be on our way. We will also have to sip the “fuel” we use to cross the wastelands, as there is a risk that water will be scarce and that we will run out of water supplies. We will not be able to count on the help of any passerby or be of any possible species: we will be in the complete solitude, but on the bright side, we won’t even have to deal with enemies to fight. The real challenge is that with ourselves, with our ability to keep our means of transport active and in good condition, so that we can continue along the path in this post-apocalyptic world.

Our hybrid vehicle is the only certainty we have, thus designating the aim of the game: to complete the entire path that awaits us, solving short puzzles and puzzles to free the path from any obstacles that the vehicle is unable to cross or destroy with its weight. We will also have to take care of the “ship-train”, make sure that it does not catch fire and fix one short-circuit after another, thanks to the increasingly large equipment that we will get in our adventure. We will also go beyond small inhabited centers, but without seeing a soul, we will cross totally desolate lands and in the darkness of the night, under threatening storms or at the first glare of dawn. Delicate views and give them lovely hand drawings which make the atmosphere even more suggestive, poetic and poignant.

In a gameplay from the rather poor longevity and not complicated at all, Lone Sails stands out for the perfect representation of what it means to spend a life in solitude, dependent only on oneself and on the management of the resources available. Will we make logical and correct choices? We will be rewarded for our efforts and rewarded with new equipment to improve our conditions. Will we abandon ourselves to instinct without using our heads? We will run the risk of running into danger and permanently ruining our vehicle.

Every choice and behavior we take will only concern us and the consequences will fall only on us. Thus FAR Lone Sails is configured as one metaphor of life individual of each of us, of our ability to adapt to different conditions and to survive in an austere, sterile and extreme world. A game that does not require any particular skill to solve the different cases to be faced, it being understood that the difficulty of the puzzles tends to increase, albeit remaining affordable for anyone and without any trace of splatter or tragic elements. Time will show us the goal towards which we have been led by our steps, thus understanding that “life is a journey, not a destination”, as RW Emerson puts it.

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FAR: Lone Sails

Developer:
Okomotive

Price:
€ 14.99