FAR: Changing Tides Review

pczone.co.uk:

FAR: Changing Tides by developer Okomotive is the sequel to FAR: Lone Sails. 

FAR: Changing Tides continues the story from the first game. The player is on a versatile vessel that can travel in many different ways on their way to a specific destination. Blocking the path are many puzzles that must be solved to progress. 

The first thing is that the colour palette is different. There is no longer a tacky bright red highlighting interactive objects on a monochrome background. 

Now, the colour palette is brown and blue. This is much more organic and soft on the eye, allowing for better immersion.

There are also many subtle differences to the vessel itself. The travel counter, telling the player how many metres have been travelled, has been removed. And now there are bellows to jump on to propel the vessel forward. 

Like every game element, the changes to gameplay are thoughtfully considered and have pragmatism at their core. 

This sounds utterly tiresome, but the gameplay loop never gets stale due to many aspects of the meticulously crafted world in which actions are carried out. 

Firstly, the scarcity of supply, much in the vein of games like TLOU and other post-apocalyptic titles, makes finding supplies exhilarating. 

In addition, the world is so beautifully crafted that the player will get excited every time supplies are found because it means more of the world will be seen and enjoyed. 

Finally, the collection of supplies is meditative. There is strength and even mindfulness in the repetition. Befitting the pacing of this game, collecting supplies is slow and steady, which makes the player reflect on what they are doing and why. 

The other aspect of gameplay is maintaining direction speed and reducing damage to the ship. This is