Sometimes a bad experience is still worth having.
Vane, a highly hyped indie release from developer Friend & Foe, hit gaming platforms last week only to be met with a resounding and less-than-complimentary "pass" from players. Although Vanedelivered many of the stunning visuals promised in the 2016 demo that first gained the attention of gamers, its glitchy mechanics, frustrating design, and tedious gameplay made the experience for many (myself included) pretty awful.
So of course, I'm recommending you play it anyway. Hear me out.
SEE ALSO: 'Resident Evil 2' almost broke meI agree with Vaneplayers' complaints about the game's playability—or rather lack thereof. I began the Vaneexperience eager to soar through its advertised expanse of mystery and wonder only to be met with an entangled mess of half-baked mechanical concepts wrapped into a fundamentally underwhelming narrative. The game's protagonist, a young boy who can (inexplicably) morph into a bird, intrigued me at first. But after less than 20 minutes of Vane, I'd had enough of him and his antics.
Sure, the landscape was very, very pretty and the story occasionally hit on some novel concepts, but overall I was having a terrible time. When I wasn't stumbling through the desert completely lost on the ground, I was fighting with my controller to keep the whole game level enough for me to be lost from the sky. In the first half, Vaneand its sloppy flight mechanics left me repeatedly diving into the sand, beak-first. In the second, its boring pseudo platform style left my boy avatar shuffling from rock face to rock face while I longed for credits.
Ultimately, I pushed through the end of the roughly three-hour experience, uninstalled Vane, and moved on with my evening. Ready to forget the disappointing play-through entirely, I popped in one of my go-to indie games. The comparison, while arguably unfair to Vane, was instant.
My tried-and-true favorite wasn't nearly as aesthetically appealing as Vane, but the gameplay worked and for that I was immeasurably thankful. As I played through beats I had experienced many times before, I found myself more and more grateful for its well-executed functionality. When I wanted to jump, I jumped. When I needed to look at a map, I had one. When I wanted to start a section over, I actually could. Comparatively, it was a delight.
As a gamer wading through an increasingly diverse array of purchase options, I have recently found myself more and more fixated on games' flashier selling points. The disappointing reality of Vane's final form, however, allowed me to truly appreciate the too-often unsung heroes of clean and effective game design. While Vanealone may not be worth its $25 price tag, the lesson it can teach about the art form of game creation and its essential ingredients absolutely is.
Here's hoping Vane's clearly talented creators had similar takeaways, and that their next release will merit a beaming review all its own.
Vaneis available on PlayStation 4.
Topics Gaming Reviews
Ryzen 5 1600X vs. 1600: Which should you buy?
The Prescience of Aldous Huxley
H.G. Wells to Joyce: “You Have Turned Your Back on Common Men”
Here’s Some Timeless Wisdom About Cheetahs
Q&A with tendercare founder and CEO Shauna Sweeney
Dipping Into the Nieve and Innen Zine Library
#ReadEverywhere, Even When You Can’t Breathe
Flooded Penthouse
Operation Mensch
David Searcy: “My First Dirty Joke”
The Sound and the “Furious”
My Twinkie Poem: On “Goldacre”
The Case of the Shrinking Mannequins: Fashion Week and Body Image
In Which Stéphane Mallarmé Confronts the Void
Q&A with tendercare founder and CEO Shauna Sweeney
Having Trouble Sleeping? Read This.
Ann Beattie: “Upon Knowing I Must Soon Depart”
Netanyahu’s Ready for More Puzzling?
Robin Triumphant
Let’s Try Something New: Strophic Prose
Jewish Comedy Is Serious BusinessThe Objects of Paul Cézanne, CapturedSaturn's 'Death Star' moon has been keeping a big secretRedux: Maya Angelou, Denis Johnson, and James Schuyler by The Paris ReviewCooking with Ivan DoigThe Electrifying Dreamworld of ‘The Green Hand’What Once Was Lost: Unfinding and Refinding Music HistoryWith a Bang: An Interview with Eleanor AntinWith a Bang: An Interview with Eleanor AntinThe Case for Seasonal Sentimentality by Mary Laura PhilpottThorn Vine on the WallJonathan Franzen Says NoCarrie Mae Weems on Her Favorite BooksDear Lynda: Fickle Secret Admirers and Knowing the Ending by Lynda BarryTime Marches On: An Interview with Jon McGregorCooking with Barbara PymEvil, “Venerable,” and Otherwise: An Interview with Barbet SchroederWhen Someone You Know is GayCooking with Barbara PymOn Unread Books by Umberto Eco 'The Mandalorian' Season 2 will premiere October 2020 Uber gets California permit to restart self Watch Peyton Manning pay tribute to Kobe Bryant at the NFL Honors show Man says he caused fake traffic jams on Google Maps with 99 phones Going electric has more perks than you might think (beyond saving the planet and gas money) Coronavirus outbreak pushes LG out of Mobile World Congress Katy Perry Googles hot pictures of herself to boost her confidence There's a new Poco phone out, but it's kinda boring Elon Musk's latest song is a hit on SoundCloud 'Hamilton' with the original cast is coming to movie theaters in 2021 Pictures of an airborne Harry Styles ignite a Photoshop battle for the ages Barnes and Noble suspends 'diverse editions' collection amid backlash 'Mythic Quest' review: Something truly special comes to Apple TV+ Cadillac crams 38 inches of screen in the new Escalade WhatsApp bug let hackers access computers with an iOS app and a text Lyft will offer free rides for voters during the 2020 primaries A different giraffe gave birth, in case you need your giraffe birth fix Housemates reach new levels of petty with a note for their Amazon deliveryman Gmail's dark mode goes missing, forcing our eyes to endure unbearable whiteness Hackers can hijack Philips Hue smart bulbs to take over your home