For people subscribing to PS-Plus Extra or higher categories, you have a real winner and a different style of game that comes along with your subscription this month. It was one that I was quite excited to try out but when it came out at release for $30 I wasn't going to pay that much for it and if you are familiar with Journey (the game, not the band) or Abzu maybe you can understand why some or most people would not be willing to pay $30 for a game that while immensely beautiful and engaging, is over in 2-3 hours.
Officially described as an "adventure video game," this one is another absolutely beautiful work of art game that is such a different experience from other games. As far as I can tell the game is meant to be an experience, and I don't think it is possible to lose. While this idea might bore some people for me it is a nice break from games that are quite difficult to the point of frustration. In "Sword" you take control of a mysterious Wraith and go about a mission of sorts that just like their previous games, is very loosely defined and filing in the missing pieces of the story (of which there are many) is left up the the player to make up in their own head.
Who are you? Why are you there? What is your mission? Who are you helping? and others. These are left up to you to decide and in the end the whimsical and beautiful world that all of your adventures take place in are not meant to be taken seriously but instead is meant to play like a work of art rather than a "go beat that boss, open up the next area, go buy stuff to progress" sort of game.
in that regard "Sword" is quite unique and will provide players with a few hours to relax and simply enjoy the lush surroundings that are not difficult or frustrating at all.
It's pretty evident right away that this is some sort of game based on fond memories of early snowboarding games and for me at least, this was a very welcome throwback. I enjoyed those games when consoles were first becoming capable of producing them graphically, but then they all just kind of went away for like, jeez, it seems like 20 years or more.
So suffice to say that it was welcome to return to this and there is a lot more to it than just running around and getting points for sick rail slides This isn't that sort of game. While tricks are part of what you can do if you choose, it is not required of you at all.
There are some parts where you are surrounded by friends from the ocean (as it does seem that is your "team") and then other parts where you are definitely out of your element such as when you find yourself in a snow-filled tundra surrounded by mist and ominous statues of giants forever frozen in time from a battle that took place long ago.
Very little is given to you about what the heck is actually going on here even though there are some poems here and there that give some insight if you want them. You do not need to know any of this for the game to be entertaining though.
There is no spoken dialogue and very little in the way of words to be read about the story - even that is easily dismissed if you simply want to take in the world around you, which I did, for around 3 hours that it took me to go from star-to-finish.
There's platforming, some very simple puzzles, and even a couple of halfpipes that are thrown in for good measure. There are also "upgrades" that you can purchase with the little gold things you find throughout the world but these again, are not at all necessary in order to complete the game.
if you wanted to you could simply ignore all of these and just progress through the most-of-the-time very obvious checkpoints to progress through the visual masterpiece of game that has an accompanying soundtrack that changes all the way through the game and has a very creative way of ramping up the tension or ambiance based on where it is that you are at the time.
All in all, this is not a game, this is a work of art
All that being said, there are going to be some gamers out there that are not going to enjoy this because there is very little in the way of challenge here. I really think it isn't possible for you to lose, even at the last boss battle. The one time I did "lose" it was because that portion of the game was one of those things that is common in RPG's in particular, where you are supposed to lose and getting defeated is an eventuality and you struggling to not lose is an exercise in futility. It is all part of the story and if you play this game, you know exactly what I am talking about when the difficulty suddenly ramps up to a level never before seen at any other point in the game.
I wouldn't normally include trailers but this does such a good job to give you a preview of what the overall experience is like. The music and art is on full display there as well.
This is a game that is so well done that there's a reason why not many studios even attempt it because there seems to be only a few people in the world that are capable of releasing a game that is over in a few hours, isn't at all difficult, has not much in the way of replay value, yet long-term gamers like myself feel compelled to write about how exceptionally good it is.
What a treat it was to get this one for free this month and if you have a PS-Plus subscription do NOT skip this. It is very rare that I will play any game for hours in a row but I did with this one and I was actually a bit disappointed when it was over. Even watched all the credits and man, that is something I almost never do.