Puzzle game The Tiny Bang Story was Colibri Games’ first release back in April 2011. Its creative setting and storybook visuals may make it seem like a title for children, but is it something that adult gamers can enjoy too?
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We usually start our reviews by giving some information about the developer, but the guys at Colibri Games seem to be a pretty mysterious bunch! All we’ve managed to find out is that the studio was formed in 2010 by a team of two, and they describe themselves as a ‘small but awesome development studio’ who focus on hand-drawn titles for the whole family. In this case we’ll just have to let their game do the talking.
P-Diddy suggested I try their first release, The Tiny Bang Story, after we ended up completing Machinarium one weekend but I completely forgot about his recommendation. I was reminded of his comment when the game appeared in the summer sale on Steam this year and thought I’d give it a go. When I was very young I had this children’s book called Each Peach Pear Plum and I was instantly transported back to that; the characters featured in the title have a similar appearance to those in Janet Ahlberg’s illustrations and, as with the book, the longer you stare at the environments the more hidden details you’ll see.
The aim of the game is to put Tiny Planet back together again.
That probably makes The Tiny Bang Story sound like a game for younger players and it’s not a totally inaccurate assessment: it’s all very child-friendly in both visuals and plot. The story takes place on Tiny Planet, a picturesque steampunk-inspired world sadly devastated by a recent asteroid strike. The disaster has shattered the world into a collection of jigsaw parts and your mission is to help rebuild this beautiful idyll by collecting all of the pieces. These can be found hiding in the backgrounds, in treasure chests, between machinery parts, floating in a lake – anywhere that the creative artists could think to put them.
However, it’s not that simple as you’ll also need to solve puzzles along the way in order for certain pieces to become available. But to gain access to these challenges, it’s usually first necessary to find other items such as gears or lightbulbs to put some kind of machinery back together. W1ngman loved this element of the game and I couldn’t get rid of him, so he ended up completing most of The Tiny Bang Story with me! Unfortunately though, I can see two potential issues here for some gamers. Firstly, the type of object and quantity you’re looking for are displayed on the right-hand side; but each location is made up of several different screens and there’s no way to tell if there are more items concealed in the one you’re currently in. And secondly, those who like a bit of action won’t enjoy this slower-paced gameplay mechanic at all.
There are times when the puzzles are nicely integrated into their surroundings, such as the need to shut off valves in a maze of pipes to drain a fountain or find equipment to reassemble a train that will take you to your next location. But all too often it’s never made clear why you need to solve them or what the overall goal is. Most of the puzzles are enjoyable to complete, providing a small challenge but not one so hard that you’re swearing at the screen in rage, although a couple had us searching the internet for a hint. A Venn diagram rotation puzzle requires players to correctly arrange hemispheres – a straightforward concept that becomes difficult when you need to juggle thirteen different segments with limited control over their movement.
The Tiny Bang Story does contain an inbuilt hint system but this tends to be helpful only in the right circumstance. Blue mosquito-type insects can be seen calmly buzzing around every screen and clicking on these will recharge a gauge, and a clue becomes available once it’s complete. This is an excellent way of encouraging players to figure out solutions for themselves and slow down to fully experience the game. However, the hints themselves are great for telling you where you’ve missed a hidden jigsaw piece; but if you’re looking for the answer to a puzzle that’s got you in a bind, forget it. Google will be your friend here.
The Venn diagram puzzle is probably the most challenging in the game.
As mentioned above, during your journey around Tiny Planet you’ll encounter several characters all reminiscent of Janet Ahlberg’s illustrations, from a retired sailor who lives in a teapot to a curvy store clerk who sells apples. They offer limited communication and hint at puzzle solutions through speech bubbles. This may remind some players of Machinarium but sadly they don’t give away much personality; there’s nothing to explain who they are or what connection they have to the protagonist. The characters also don’t seem too bothered by the fact that their world has just been shattered by a recent asteroid shower but hey, I guess we all deal with grief in our own way.
Although some of the gameplay elements may let The Tiny Bang Story down, two of the things that make it worth playing are the beautiful graphics and sounds. Tiny Planet is a part-natural, part-mechanical world full of houses made of boots, elevators in giant trees and a lighthouse situated inside a kettle. This artistic blend of nature and common household items is very imaginative and results in an environment packed with unique character; the longer you look at the scenes, the more creative little details you’ll come across. Surprisingly however, none of the locations you visit seem impacted by the asteroid strike but then that probably explains why the characters don’t appear to be all that worried.
Although not be bothered by the asteroids, she does have the best sound effect.
Although the music tracks tend to repeat quite a lot, they’re so pleasant and understated that they never get boring. Instead, they pull you into Tiny Planet’s tranquil world and make for an extremely relaxing experience. The ambient sounds, such as the chirping of birds and turning of gears, add to the atmosphere of the game, and the blue mosquitoes droning lazily around the screen provide a nice background touch.
You’re able to replay some of the puzzles once the game is completed but there isn’t really much incentive to do so as the original solutions are still the same. The one thing I would have liked is the ability to go back through the locations and find the jigsaw pieces I’d overlooked the first time around, but sadly this isn’t presented as an option. Alongside this, missing some of the parts doesn’t seem to affect The Tiny Bang Story’s outcome in any way and it would have been nice to have seen some kind of consequence to your actions. But whether this would this have fitted in with the relaxed gameplay style and Colibri Games’ aim to make titles for the whole family is doubtable.
Not challenging enough for some gamers, but a relaxing experience nonetheless.
Overall, The Tiny Bang Story makes for a nice after-a-busy-day-at-work escape or a child-friendly way to keep the kids amused for a while. But it’s probably not the right title for gamers who like a bit of a challenge, a sense of progression or a storyline that leads somewhere other than just a new location. I doubt it’s a game that I’d ever go back to but the several hours I spent on Tiny Planet were some of the most calming I’ve had from a video game in a while.
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