Awaking alone to a flooded world, Toe sets sail out into the ocean in search of a new home. The world he once knew is gone, and now rests deep below the surface of the sea. Commandeering a make-shift vessel, he must navigate the waters to find a place to begin anew. From submerged basins to sunken villages, players will explore a hand-painted world in search of the unknown.
While captaining and maintaining a salvaged ship in a desolate landscape was interesting on its own, the vapid and empty environments rarely ever became exciting.
Beginning my journey, I was alone in a broken world that had been drowned out, as houses and buildings cracked and crumbled into the still waters below me. However, after the discovery of a seafaring boat, I would always have the ship as my companion. I spent most of my time with the vessel, maintaining the various engine parts, sails and structures. As I progressed further, I also was able to install upgrades such as a submersible tank that allowed me to convert the boat into a submarine. These were always exciting to unlock, but I couldn’t help but feel like operating the boat was busy work to distract me from how empty the world was.
A large majority of “FAR: Changing Tides” is spent traveling from place to place, with not much going on in between. I could change the direction of the sails to increase speed, or stoke the engine to keep the flames running, but there really isn’t anything else happening during these travel periods. Many of the environmental puzzles or encounters also take place off the vessel, meaning that while it was interesting to interact with new pieces of my ship, it often became little more than a boring transit vehicle.
Most of the exploration in this game is linear, but I was also able to disembark and delve deeper into the somber ruins beneath the surface of the sea. Unfortunately, there isn’t much to see beyond scarred buildings from the past or the occasional passing of whales, fish and other various aquatic creatures. It’s a shame, because the environments are quite beautiful, but the game does little to incorporate them in any meaningful way besides being set pieces to pass by.
It’s not all smooth sailing though, as I encountered numerous roadblocks in the water that tasked me with finding a way through. At one point in my journey, I needed to find a way to open a massive locked seagate that was preventing me from sailing. It was fun to explore these areas outside of the water, and gave me a glimpse into the lives of those who came before the disaster. The puzzles were never too challenging, and more often than not involved simply pushing or pulling machine parts into working order. This was still the most engaging part of the game, so while they were simple, it was certainly welcome against the monotony of sailing.
There is certainly a peaceful and meditative aspect to this game, but in my experience it becomes a bit boring after a while. Breathtaking environments were always nice to look at, but that is all they were. The only notable thing to find during exploration is more fuel for the ship, which was kind of a bummer. If you’re looking for a short and easy game to spend a few hours with, I think “FAR: Changing Tides” is a visually interesting option; just don’t expect too much in terms of depth.
