PixlBit

I have a small collection of games for the Vita, most of which are indie platformers. That genre fits my mindset when it comes to gaming on the go. I am trying to rid myself of that idea by playing Jeanne D'Arc on the handheld, though. Among those short platforming games was Thomas Was Alone, which I purchased during one of Sony's sales late last year.

I let it sit on the memory card, though, as I felt some trepidation at playing a game that involved quadrilaterals. Squares and rectangles? How could that be interesting?

Easy: by using simple platforming puzzles to frame a sweet story about consciousness.

In Thomas Was Alone, you start as Thomas, an insecure red square that can jump across the 2D landscape. As you complete the first of the 100 levels, you are acclimated to the game's goals and gameplay. The jumping puzzles get slightly more complicated, in time for Thomas' partners in the strange world to show up. 

The player must navigate more and more of the rectangles across the levels, finding ways to use their special abilities (high-jumping, double-jumping, floating, etc) to get the group to the goal of the level. 

As mentioned before, the levels are simple, with most taking about a minute to play through, once you've figured out how to complete them. Granted, the later levels involve some backtracking to get the characters in position, but it was never difficult.

The shining light of Thomas Was Alone is the story. Each character has a unique personality, from Thomas's insecurity to Claire, the large blue square who believes she's a superhero. These are icons of various artificial intelligences that try to escape from the mainframe they are housed in.

I want to write more about this game, but there's not much more reason to do so. It's a simple game, with a story that could be considered saccharine by someone as negative and bitter as I normally am. But even I chuckled and aww'd at moments and I felt a soaring glee as I finished.

I can't recommend this game enough. I'd most definitely give it to someone who doesn't game as an example of what can be done with merely some simple images and names.