Tearaway (video game)

Tearaway is a platform adventure video game developed by developer Media Molecule for the PlayStation Vita.[2] It was announced at Gamescom on 15 August 2012 and released on 20 November 2013 in Australia, on 22 November in Europe, North America and India, and 5 December 2013 in Japan.[3] The game is inspired by papercraft and Rex Crowle's drawings and doodles left around Media Molecule's office.[4]

Tearaway
The game includes reversible box art featuring the male character on one side (shown above) and the female character on the other.
Developer(s)Media Molecule
Publisher(s)Sony Computer Entertainment
Designer(s)Rex Crowle
David Smith
Swann Martin-Raget
Christophe Villedieu
John Beech
Victor Agren
Daniel Leaver
Artist(s)Rex Crowle
Jon Eckersley
Lluis Danti
Stefan Kamoda
Mike Pang
Composer(s)Kenneth C M Young
Brian D'Oliveira
Platform(s)PlayStation Vita
Release
  • AU: 20 November 2013
  • EU: 22 November 2013[1]
  • NA: 22 November 2013
Genre(s)Platformer, adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

An expanded remake of the game, titled Tearaway Unfolded, was released for the PlayStation 4 on 8 September 2015.

Gameplay
Players use the rear touch panel to give the effect of pushing their fingers through the game world.

Tearaway is a third-person platform game which utilises almost all of the PlayStation Vita's features in some way. In one example demonstrated in the game's announce trailer, the player encounters an elk who needs a new skin. The player is able to take a picture using the PS Vita's camera and have it applied to the papercraft animal. In a gameplay demo at Gamescom, Media Molecule demonstrated how the player is also able to use the PS Vita's rear touch panel to effectively push their fingers up through the ground to interact with enemies and the environment. The player is also capable of customizing Iota or Atoi by drawing designs on virtual paper, cutting them out, and applying them to their character. In another part of the demo, the player draws on the touchscreen with their finger to cut-out a paper crown for a character in the game.[5] The player can use an in-game camera to collect various papercraft designs, and can assist non-player characters in exchange for confetti, the game's currency.

Plot

Tearaway is about a messenger on a mission to deliver a unique message to the player, referred to by characters in-game as "the You".[2] At the beginning of the game players can choose whether to play as the male character, Iota, or the female, Atoi, and navigate through a world constructed from paper to deliver the message. The player uses many of the Vita's features to guide Iota or Atoi, and must battle with scraps, small enemies that try to prevent the delivery.

Development

During the early stages of development, Tearaway was called Sandpit and was open world. As such, most of the game's code still refers to itself as Sandpit. Additionally, the male protagonist Iota was originally named Oola and looked different to the female protagonist Atoi.[6]

Reception
Reception
Aggregate scores
AggregatorScore
GameRankings87.52%[7]
Metacritic87/100[8]
Review scores
PublicationScore
CVG9/10[9]
Destructoid10/10[10]
Edge9/10[11]
Eurogamer8/10[12]
GameSpot8/10[13]
Giant Bomb4/5[14]
IGN9.3/10[15]
Hardcore Gamer3.5/5[16]
Awards
PublicationAward
BAFTABest Family Game
BAFTABest Mobile & Handheld
BAFTABest Artistic Achievement

Tearaway was well received by critics, who praised its art style, creativity and inventive use of the PlayStation Vita's numerous inputs and sensors. The Sixth Axis said, "The PS Vita's various input devices are put to quite fantastic use throughout," and gave the game 9/10.[17] Scoring the game 9.3/10, IGN's Daniel Krupa described Tearaway as "a simple story, told in a wonderful way", and called it "the best game I've played on the PlayStation Vita".[15] Grant E. Gaines of Hardcore Gamer was slightly less positive, giving the game a 3.5/5 and praising it for its unique gamely mechanics and beautiful art style but criticizing its length.[16] GameZone's Joe Donato gave it a 9.5/10, stating "The game is so intrinsically designed with the Vita platform in mind that it's such a success ... if you have a Vita you need to play it."[18] In Japan, Famitsu gave the game a review score of 36/40.[19]

Tearaway won Edge's 2013 award for best visual design in a game.[20] The game received eight nominations in the categories of "Best Game", "Best British Game", "Best Family Game", "Best Mobile & Handheld Game", "Best Original Music", "Artistic Achievement", "Game Design" and "Game Innovation" for the 2014 BAFTA Video Games Awards;[21] of these nominations, Tearaway won the awards for Best Mobile & Handheld Game,[22] Best Artistic Achievement,[23] and best Family game.[24]

Tearaway Unfolded
Main article: Tearaway Unfolded

On 12 August 2014, a PlayStation 4 version, titled Tearaway Unfolded, was announced at Gamescom 2014.[25] The game includes an extended storyline and enhanced gameplay using the features of the DualShock 4 controller.[26] Tearaway Unfolded was released worldwide on 8 September 2015.[27]

References
  1. "Tearaway Release Date... - Media Molecule - We make games". Media Molecule. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  2. "Media Molecule Presents Tearaway – PlayStation.Blog.Europe". Blog.eu.playstation.com. 14 August 2012. Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  3. "Tearaway Release Date Update – PlayStation.Blog". Blog.us.playstation.com. 29 July 2013. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  4. Crecente, Brian (18 August 2012). "You can papercraft all of Tearaway in the real world | Polygon". Theverge.com. Archived from the original on 22 August 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  5. "Tearaway - The new game from Media Molecule, coming to PS Vita". Tearaway.mediamolecule.com. Archived from the original on 4 April 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  6. Lawrence, Jenny (6 October 2015). "17 Weird Things You Didn't Know about Tearaway" Archived 22 December 2015 at the Wayback Machine. PlayStation.Blog. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  7. "Tearaway on Game Rankings". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  8. "Tearaway on Metacritic". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 8 December 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  9. Schilling, Chris (20 November 2013). "Review: Tearaway is 2013's craftiest adventure". ComputerAndVideoGames.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  10. "Review: Tearaway". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  11. "Tearaway Review". Edge. Future. 20 November 2013. Archived from the original on 21 November 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  12. Whitehead, Dan (20 November 2013). "Tearaway review • Reviews • PlayStation Vita •". Eurogamer.net. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  13. "Tearaway Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  14. Klepek, Patrick (27 November 2013). "Tearaway Review". Giant Bomb. Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
  15. Krupa, Daniel (20 November 2013). "Tearaway Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  16. Gaines, Grant (20 November 2013). "Review: Tearaway". Hardcore Gamer. Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on 25 November 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
  17. "Tearaway Review". Thesixthaxis.com. Archived from the original on 25 November 2013. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  18. Donato, Joe (26 November 2013). "Tearaway Review: Papercraft wonder". GZ. Archived from the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  19. 2013-11-26, Famitsu Review Scores: Issue 1304 Archived 25 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Gematsu
  20. "The Edge awards 2013: best visual design". Edge. Future. 27 December 2013. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  21. "BAFTA Video Game Awards - Nominations" (PDF). BAFTA. 12 February 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  22. Tylwalk, Nick. "2014 BAFTA Game Awards: Tearaway Wins Best Mobile and Handheld - GameSided - A Video Game news, rumors, and gamer/gaming site". GameSided. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  23. Formoso, Thomas. "2014 BAFTA Game Awards: Tearaway Wins Best Artistic Achievement". Gamesided.com. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  24. Lee, Dave. "BBC News - Bafta games: The Last of Us clears up at awards". Bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  25. Cavalli, Earnest (12 August 2014). "Tearaway Unfolded coming to Playstation 4". joystiq.com. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  26. Spafford, James (12 August 2014). "Tearaway Unfolded Coming to PS4". Playstation.com. Archived from the original on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  27. Farokhmanesh, Megan (12 June 2015). "Tearaway Unfolded is coming to PS4 Sept. 8". Polygon. Archived from the original on 13 June 2015. Retrieved 12 June 2015.
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