Far: Lone Sails Explained

FAR: Lone Sails
Developer:Okomotive
Publisher:Mixtvision
Engine:Unity
Released:macOS, Windows
May 17, 2018
PlayStation 4, Xbox One
April 2, 2019
Nintendo Switch
August 18, 2019
Android, iOS
October 22, 2020
Genre:Adventure
Modes:Single-player

Far: Lone Sails (stylized as FAR: Lone Sails) is an exploration adventure videogame developed by the Swiss development company Okomotive. The game was released for Windows and macOS in May 2018, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in April 2019, for Nintendo Switch in August 2019, and for Android and iOS in October 2020. A sequel, , was released in March 2022.

Gameplay

In FAR, the player controls the driver of a large vehicle as they search through a post-apocalypse setting.[1] [2] The game's vehicle has been modified a number of times.[3] The game is played from a side-scrolling perspective, with the vehicle interior seen as a cross-section. To control the vehicle the player must move around inside it, operating stations and pressing buttons to perform various functions that keep the vehicle moving, such as engaging the engine or filling the boiler with fuel sources found over the course of the player's journey.[4] The various parts of the vehicle can take damage, requiring the player to stop and extinguish fires and repair damaged systems. They are also required to solve puzzles in the world to allow the vehicle to pass and collect upgrades for it.[5] [6] The game has no enemies, though the player-character can die due to environmental hazards, and will restart at the last checkpoint.[7]

While the game starts with a burial scene, the rest of the background story is intentionally vague, with the developers intending for the player's curiosity to motivate them to explore. The landscapes passed during the game show the ruins of a technologically-advanced civilization, and a world where the oceans have dried up, leaving massive ships scuttled on dry beds and bouts of extremely hazardous weather.

Development and release

FAR began in 2015 as the Bachelor's degree student project of lead developer Don Schmocker at the Zurich University of the Arts. During his master's degree he continued the development together with his fellow student Goran Saric. They founded the game studio Okomotive in February 2017 and expanded the team with other students and friends from University.[8] Schmocker was inspired by Strandbeests, the book Stephen Biesty's Incredible Cross-Sections, The Straight Story, and games such as Journey and LittleBigPlanet when designing FAR. Looking to take a new approach to the use of vehicles in video games, the developers aimed to create a game where the player was dependent on their vehicle, forming an emotional attachment to it over the course of the game. The game is developed in Unity, and the developers use Blender and Adobe Photoshop for the 3D and 2D graphics respectively.

FAR was released for macOS and Windows on May 17, 2018,[9] for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on April 2, 2019,[10] for Nintendo Switch on August 18, 2019,[11] and for Android and iOS on October 22, 2020.[12]

Reception

FAR received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.

Writing for Mashable, Anna Washenko named the game as one of her favorites from E3 2016, calling it a "simple but lovely game". After playing the game at GDC 2017, Chris Livingston of PC Gamer described FAR as "one of the most intuitive games" he had played, also praising the visual design and music.[13] On Polygon, Charlie Hall described the game as having "more meaning, conveyed silently, than many major AAA games released so far this year". Kyle Hilliard of Game Informer praised the game's ability to connect the player to their vehicle, the world building, and the puzzles.

GameSpot scored the game 8/10, praising the visual style and ease of play. Edwin Evans-Thirlwell of Eurogamer recommended the game, describing it as an "enormously warm-hearted adventure" and commenting positively on the game's pace and environments. Writing for IGN, Tom Marks described the game's music as "stunning" and "incredible". He noted that Lone Sails was a "gorgeous little game" and "a journey packed full of both stressful and serene moments alike".

The game was a finalist in the Best Student Game category at the 2017 Independent Games Festival.[14] [15] It was also nominated for "Best Visual Design" at the 2018 Golden Joystick Awards,[16] [17] and for "Game, Puzzle" at the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards.[18]

Sequel

See main article: Far: Changing Tides. A sequel, titled was announced in June 2021 and released 1 March 2022.[19] [20]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Sail the literal open ocean in solitary adventure game Far: Lone Sails. Foxall. Sam. 5 February 2017. PCGamesN. 22 March 2017. 28 October 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201028204046/https://www.pcgamesn.com/far-lone-sails/far-lone-sails-gameplay. live.
  2. News: Take a weirdly charming roadtrip through the post-apocalypse in Far. Lahti. Evan. 16 June 2016. PC Gamer. 22 March 2017. 8 March 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170308061536/http://www.pcgamer.com/take-a-weirdly-charming-roadtrip-through-the-post-apocalypse-in-far/. live.
  3. News: Road to the IGF: Student project FAR: Lone Sails. Couture. Joel. 15 February 2017. Gamasutra. 21 March 2017. 16 February 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170216101423/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/291303/Road_to_the_IGF_Student_project_FAR_Lone_Sails.php. live.
  4. News: Far: Lone Sails is a poem disguised as a video game. Hall. Charlie. 16 May 2018. Polygon. 17 May 2018. 16 May 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180516172335/https://www.polygon.com/2018/5/16/17357762/far-lone-sails-game-pc-mac. live.
  5. News: The 10 best independent games at E3 2016. Washenko. Anna. 20 June 2016. Mashable. 22 March 2017. 3 May 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170503110751/http://mashable.com/2016/06/20/e3-best-indies-2016/#1B_RNDE_skqn. live.
  6. Far: Lone Sails. https://web.archive.org/web/20180520075536/http://www.gameinformer.com/games/far_lone_sails/b/pc/archive/2018/05/18/far-lone-sails-game-informer-review.aspx. dead. May 20, 2018. Hilliard. Kyle. 18 May 2018. Game Informer. 19 May 2018.
  7. News: The 11 best games at Gamescom: Mario Odyssey, new Assassin's Creed and more. Nielsen. Holly. 2017-08-25. The Guardian. 2017-09-04. en-GB. 0261-3077. 2017-09-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20170904044434/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/aug/25/gamescom-best-games-mario-odyssey-assassins-creed-cuphead-monster-hunter-video-games-event. live.
  8. Web site: Okomotive wins prize at Swiss game awards . Switzerland Global Enterprise . 19 February 2019 . 24 June 2023 . 29 January 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200129205210/https://www.s-ge.com/en/article/news/20191-games-okomotive . live .
  9. Web site: Hall . Charlie . 2018-05-16 . Far: Lone Sails is a poem disguised as a video game . 2024-01-26 . Polygon . en-US.
  10. Web site: Anstadt . Nathan . 2018-05-17 . Far: Lone Sails Gets Some Company With Console Release . https://web.archive.org/web/20190807202936/https://www.gameinformer.com/2019/03/18/far-lone-sails-gets-some-company-with-console-release . dead . August 7, 2019 . 2024-01-26 . Game Informer . en.
  11. Web site: Juba . Joe . 2018-05-17 . Far: Lone Sails Coming To Switch This Month . https://web.archive.org/web/20190813163307/https://www.gameinformer.com/2019/08/05/far-lone-sails-coming-to-switch-this-month . dead . August 13, 2019 . 2024-01-26 . Game Informer . en.
  12. Web site: Smith . Olly . 2020-10-20 . FAR: Lone Sails out on mobile this week . 2024-01-26 . www.pocketgamer.com . en.
  13. News: This week's highs and lows in PC gaming. Livingston. Chris. 4 March 2017. PC Gamer. 22 March 2017. 8 March 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170308151938/http://www.pcgamer.com/this-weeks-highs-and-lows-in-pc-gaming-march-3rd-2017/. live.
  14. Web site: Finalists and Winners. Independent Games Festival. 22 September 2016. 21 March 2017. 9 January 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180109165419/http://www.igf.com/finalists-and-winners. live.
  15. Web site: Independent Games Festival Awards finalists announced. Chalk. Andy. 9 January 2017. PC Gamer. 22 March 2017. 14 March 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170314134836/http://www.pcgamer.com/independent-games-festival-awards-finalists-announced/. live.
  16. News: Golden Joysticks 2018 nominees announced, voting open now. Hoggins. Tom. 24 September 2018. The Daily Telegraph. 6 October 2018. 11 January 2022. https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gaming/news/golden-joysticks-2018-nominees-announced-voting-open-now/. live.
  17. Web site: Golden Joystick Awards 2018 winners: God of War wins big but Fortnite gets Victory Royale. Sheridan. Connor. 16 November 2018. GamesRadar+. 17 November 2018. 16 November 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181116215904/https://www.gamesradar.com/golden-joystick-awards-2018-winners/. live.
  18. Web site: Nominee List for 2018. 11 February 2019. National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. 19 February 2019. https://archive.today/20190213220549/http://navgtr.org/archives/3566/. 13 February 2019. dead.
  19. News: Watts. Rachel. 13 June 2021. Far: Changing Tides is a lonely post-apocalyptic voyage, coming late 2021. PC Gamer. 14 June 2021. 14 June 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210614003002/https://www.pcgamer.com/far-changing-tides-is-a-lonely-post-apocalyptic-voyage-coming-late-2021/. live.
  20. Web site: Nightingale. Ed. 2022-01-11. Far: Changing Tides now has a release date. 2022-01-11. Eurogamer. en. 2022-03-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20220317081413/https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2022-01-10-far-changing-tides-now-has-a-release-date. live.

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