High Dynamic Range Lying

With the release of Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, Gran Turismo HD, and a wealth of PSone legacy content, the Playstation Network is starting to take off. As Sony’s Download Initiative goes into full swing, more and more titles flood the online service every day. Retro games like Q*Bert and Lemmings are available for download, along with a host of Playstation favorites, like R-Type Delta and Dino Crisis. One of Sony’s flagship title for the new service is a quirky and unique title that takes abstract shapes, and builds a relaxing and euphoric ecosystem simulator, called flOw.

Based on a flash game by Jenova Chen, flOw is a game that becomes increasingly difficult to describe, depending on how much knowledge of the title the other person has. Many people are hesitant to call it a game, and others are hesitant to even say it has a goal of any sort. Those who understand and enjoy the game swear that it must be absorbed and enjoyed at a slow pace. Rushing through the title as quickly as possible tends to waste the game’s enjoyment.

flOw begins with the player as a small aquatic creature. Players control their new bodies with the SixAxis motion control. While it takes a little getting used to, the motion control is actually quite incredible. By tilting in any direction, players swim in that direction. Depending on the form the player is using (more on that in a bit), the R2 trigger performs a different function. That’s all the player needs to know to start playing flOw. The simple but inspired controls are a bit cumbersome when the player first tries them, but their sneaky intuitive nature means players will be swimming and eating in no time, and soon, might even forget there’s a controller in their hands at all.

flOw is home to hosts of different small and large creatures. The objective of the game, is to reach the bottom of a given system. Players do this by eating small circular creatures with a red crosshair to dive to the next level, while eating creatures with a blue crosshair will allow the player to rise to the previous level. Along the way, digesting organisms (which can be done merely by running into them) will help not only to increase the size of your organism, but recharge its health if it gets low. As your organism increases in size, it will gain new appendages, and begins to evolve.

As the player begins the game, the only other organisms in a given system will be food to evolve their creature. As players delve deeper, they’ll come face to face with competing creatures. flOw does an excellent job of using minimalistic design, eliminating the use of a HUD and health bars. Players judge their own health by how many glowing red circles they have on their creature. Enemy creature health can be judged in the same way. By eating the circles before enemies attack or run away, players can wear down, and eventually destroy and eat the creature, even if it is considerably larger than your own. If the player’s health is completely depleted, the game doesn’t end. Instead, the player is ejected to the prior level, and is allowed to increase their creature’s size before attempting the next level again.

flOw does a remarkable job of showing mood as well. When creatures are aggressive or ready to attack, they turn red, while creatures that fear you will turn blue and run.

When players finally reach the bottom of the system they’re currently traversing, they’ll encounter an orb crowded by organisms. Touching the orb will unlock a new form. Players will start with the form available in the original flash game, which resembles a luminescent eel with pincers. Other forms include a jellyfish that spins to attack, a fast and maneuverable fish creature, and a green and white fish creature that is able to turn invisible to avoid enemy detection.

Graphically, flOw for Playstation 3 has received an incredible facelift over the original flash game. Completely redesigned using a polygonal engine and a slightly tilted camera, flOw fully utilizes HD, rendering wire thin shapes and tiny particles in perfect clarity. I noticed a tiny amount of slowdown in parts, but it never took me out of the experience.

flOw is an audiophile’s dream. While an ambient hum mumbles in the background, much of the instruments and percussion in the game’s soundtrack is produced by your own actions. Eating creatures, provoking enemy organisms, evolving and even diving to the next level all create a tone that, when mixed together, create a tightly woven tapestry that could pass for a recorded soundtrack.

flOw is a game without points, without objectives, and without a game over screen. In the conventional sense of the word, it’s not a video game, yet it continues to entertain me, and will likely remain as one of the most relaxing game experiences in recent memory. With all the frenetic action and number cruching RPG calculations gamers have to deal with these days, it’s nice to know that a subdued and euphoric experience like flOw exists, and for the low price of $7.99.