Review - A story about my Uncle

Can narration get any better?

Steam recently had a few games on sale and after a bit of internet research I decided to invest in a copy of A story about my Uncle for about £2.50. I would soon realise how much of a steal this actually was. The plot is based around the Narrator telling a story to his daughter about his Inventor/Explorer Uncle. Whilst we do not know of the Narrators name or of his age during the tale, we find out that the man is very close with his Uncle and has been on many adventures with him before. 

The uncle has been away for many months and as we take control of the character we learn more and more about the adventures he had previously been on all around the world. Whilst wondering around our Uncle's house we find an exploration suit which we precede to don, upon further exploration a mysterious pad sends us to a new world where we believe our Uncle has disappeared to. From this point on we pursue more clues in which we use to locate our Uncle. The key feature of the game focuses around the use of our Exploration suit and it's grappling hook based in the palm of our hand. We use this to traverse the beautiful new world by swinging from floating rocks and trying to find ways of getting to the end of the level. This makes the game intriguing not just because of the way we can move to the finish of the level but also the many different ways we can get there. 

I can't use enough superlatives to explain how fun it is to launch yourself from one floating platform using a sprint jump and then proceeding to fling from a rock onto the next checkpoint. Unlike the previous game I reviewed (Knack the 2013 Beat em up) the checkpoint system in the game understands the challenge the game presents with the movement in the game by giving you a plentiful amount and well placed amount of them around the levels. Which makes the game feel much more enjoyable, nothing feels better than making strong headway in a level and knowing that even if you slip up you won't lose all your momentum by having to start a whole section of the level again. The traversing of the levels, whilst immensely addictive, is definitely challenging. Even though you want to be able to get a fast pace going with the game, in the first few levels it is much more worth your while studying the upcoming obstacles to lay out a sort of plan in how you're going to get from A to B. If that plan is successful, it gives you a huge jolt of satisfaction and even if you mess it up, it isn't frustrating enough to make you rush into it, you simply want to make a new plan. 

Onto the more technical parts of the game now. The graphics are gorgeous, and it does this magical place justice with how enticing they make it look which in turn helps the exploration aspect of the game by making the player want to explore the area. Using the infamous Unreal engine to run the game, it makes the gameplay and slingshotting smooth and fun to control. The idea of the grappling hook could have been easily ruined if the game engine had held it back from being easy to use and fluid too. The Voice acting of some of the main characters is a little bit funny. This is due to the game being developed by Swedish company Gone North, so the majority of the actors are also Swedish, this doesn't deter me at all but it does seem to let the game down slightly with the rigid voice work from one or two of the characters.

The Music is beautiful too, whilst it isn't to loud in the gameplay, at times you will barely realise the calming song playing as you study the world, but that is what is amazing about it. The fact that it doesn't draw your attention away from the area but instead brings you further in. Throughout the game it is the same situation in terms of music, but it also fits the whole game perfectly. For instance when we come across the village of the people of this world, the music makes you feel a sense of intrigue and curiosity at this native species. My serious let down of the game comes in the length of it, I couldn't quite believe I had completed it, but it has a hidden message to the shortness of the game.

Without giving anything away, the ending is based on the young boy having to return home and gave the player a feeling that story and adventure had truly ended before it had begun, but this relates to what you had been told by your Uncle. This isn't your adventure, it is your Uncles, and you must go and find your own, and as our character feels a sense of sorrow and loss that we have to return home, the player feels a similar feeling in that we must now leave this amazing world and return to our own after such a short space of time. Just as we began to believe we were becoming an adventurer like our Uncle and the slinging and flinging around felt like second nature to us, it was all over and this is supposedly what the developer wanted, for us to feel like the Narrator in that we were sent home from this adventure just as he had started to become confident in his abilities. Reverting back to the start of the game, we realise that we did end up on our own adventure, the adventure of being a father. This made me forget the abruptness of the ending and instead replaced that feeling of loss with one of pride and happiness that our character had gone on to become a father.

In conclusion, whilst this game is short, for the price you have to pay usually (£10.00) it is a worthwhile play. The Graphics, Music and Story all work together in unison to give the player an in depth, invigorating and eye opening adventure that ends before it truly begins. If the rumours of a sequel are true, I will be one of the first in line to experience that, and I have no doubts that if you all play it, you will feel the same. I would gladly spend more money on this game.

9/10

Only paused to sleep.