Vane game Review - In Vain
Vane: A successful artistic direction, a failure in game designExclusive to the PlayStation 4, Vane was developed by the new studio Friend & Foe as a kind of spiritual thread in the games of Fumito Ueda. But if Ico or Shadow of the Colossus have captivated the crowds and are considered masterpieces, Vane will have a hard time finding a place in the sun.
A few images are enough to confirm Vane's inspiration. Undoubtedly possible, the horny adventures of Team Ico's games have been there. A young boy lost in desolate lands, ruined architectures which nevertheless retain an impression of gigantism, there is no doubt that we are in front of a work with an artistic fiber. One of the artists present at the start of the Vane project had himself worked on The Last Guardian. But since the announcement of their game in 2014, the small independent team of Friend & Foe has struggled to get to the end of the adventure, a complicated development which is unfortunately felt in the final work.
Everything however starts under the best auspices, with a powerful intro, our little character struggling tirelessly to advance during a purple storm in threatening places and empty of life. The cubic (or rather, triangular) design of the environments and visual effects is a singular paw that marks the difference with the subject of inspiration, with a synthwave OST that supports the strangeness of the universe. After a dark figure blocks the entrance to a refuge, our character takes off, carried away by a tornado, signifying the end of the intro. O joy, we look forward to continuing the adventure ...
Ellipse. We control a black crow in a desert landscape. It initially feels like an open world, although it’s not clear which way to fly. But immediately, one of Vane's biggest problems splashes on our faces. By wanting to stay clean, he forgets one of the fundamentals of video games: the player must know what to do. It doesn't matter if he can't figure it out right away, no matter if he wants to wander for hours, he must quickly understand what is being asked of him. However, in Vane, we constantly find ourselves in large areas, without any idea of the direction to take. The triggering of a cutscene ensures that you have advanced the schmilblick, but behind, no clear path opens, other than the immensity of the place. A disturbing phenomenon, especially since the speed of movement of the main character, whether in the form of a crow or in human form, is very slow. So just walking through a room can take a minute, which is frustrating when you do it regularly for nothing.
In principle, Vane is a puzzle adventure game that often revolves around a switch system. Some interesting ideas, like this ball that can be pushed and which, on its way, transforms the ruins into their version of yesteryear, thus forming bridges and paths. Think of the Lanelle Desert globe from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword if you don't see the principle. This play with the environment is further supported by the singular artistic direction of the title, which regularly hits the bull's eye. Unfortunately, the level design is so chaotic that it becomes very complicated to take pleasure in traveling. It's tedious, frustrating, and in the end, the experience is bad.
Frustration is undoubtedly the main feeling that came out of our game session on Vane. It must be said that the random level design, the wobbly game design and the extremely difficult displacements are not the only faults of the game of Friend & Foe. Bugs are also part of the adventure, to the point beyond comprehension. Passing through walls, getting stuck in elements of the decor or even staying frozen for no reason, your wanderings are riddled with problems the result of which can sometimes be dramatic. Being forced to restart your game is already shocking, but the worst thing is to realize that you have lost more than half an hour because the only way to save is the presence of checkpoints which are performed automatically at the beginning of each of the four chapters, some of which may take more than an hour. The kind of experience that makes us uninstall an illico game. To be honest, this happened to us twice during our testing phase, not counting the times that we did not go far from the soft lock. The lack of finishing is simply incredible, and if we understand that the studio's means are limited, it is the players who pay the final bill. It didn't take much to make Vane a huge disappointment.
The notes
+ Positive points
A singular artistic direction
One or two good gameplay ideas
-Negative points
Level design that totally lacks logic
Basic puzzles
Very short lifespan (five hours, counting the numerous errors)
Critical bugs
Ubuesque backup system
Vane is one of those games we wish we had liked. Its particular artistic direction could, in good conditions, characterize a small pearl. Unfortunately, the wanderings of game design and level design coupled with a chaotic finish make the first game from Friend & Foe studio a painful and frustrating experience. It is impossible for us to recommend a title in which it is so hard to take pleasure ...
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