Far: Changing Tides Review
Bigger isn’t always better. In the case of Far: Changing Tides, a sequel to 2018’s lovely and underappreciated Far: Lone Sails, bigger certainly means more to do and see, but it doesn’t necessarily mean those things are any more interesting. It’s still an absolutely gorgeous and at times almost meditative roadtrip across a world full of stunning vistas and clever puzzles – but developer Okomotive’s efforts to make it a more mechanically varied journey, while successful, also inadvertently tip the balance of the original’s formula from peaceful to tedious at times.
Far: Changing Tides puts you in control of an almost comically small person, at least compared to the large sailing vessel they are piloting all on their own. Like its predecessor, it tells a story with little-to-no words, communicating information through visuals to generally strong effect. Most of the time you may not know exactly what you’re doing in this apparently post-apocalyptic world, but you’ll never feel lost either, and never lose motivation to keep sailing toward the right in search of some salvation or another.
Propelling your ship is either done by unfurling a sail on top of it or by hopping around its innards to manually fuel and fan a giant engine. It’s a fun little dance to do, asking you to scavenge resources to burn from beneath the waves as you travel, make sure the engine doesn’t overheat, and perform other little tasks in order to keep you sailing smoothly – not to mention you’ll occasionally have to hop out entirely in order to address larger obstacles blocking your way, like massive closed gates or abandoned buildings. Once you get a specific upgrade, your ship even has the ability to dive below the water itself and basically become a
Read more on ign.com
