Developed by France-based Swing Swing Submarine and published by Focus Home Interactive, Seasons after Fall is a visually beautiful platform adventure indie game released today on Steam. The game follows a little fox as it explores its surroundings. The Fox has been possessed by a friendly "seed"-- a being who is able to control and manipulate the seasons.
Come rain or shine
Seasons after Fall is all based on the seasons and the influence they have on the nature around them. Your little fox has been possessed by an elemental seed which is on a quest to find all the seasons, and absorb their power in order to protect the wild surrounds and restore order to the forest.
Each season has been protected by a Guardian, and the seed needs to use the fox as a vessel to get to them. Once the seed as absorbed the powers of one of the seasons, it can activate them as and when is needed. As with nature in the real world, the seasons in the game have certain effects on geological surroundings. For example, activating winter will freeze water making it possible to walk around areas of water instead of having to swim.
To progress through the levels, players will have to use a combination of the surroundings and the seasonal effects to activate platforms and manipulate other wildlife.
I don't particularly want to talk in depth about the storyline because it is so endearing in itself that you really have to play the game to fully appreciate it.
Sometimes I wish it was snowing
Seasons after Fall uses the normal controls associated with a PC platformer game but they needed to come up with a game mechanic which would allow players to change the seasons. This is where it came up with the idea of using a mouse swiping mechanic. I've not come across another game which uses this kind of method to activate special abilities so, for me, it makes it kind of unique. Other games would normally have all the controls on the keyboard, but I really do like this touch of breaking away from the monotony of button pushing.
There is no combat in the game, the enjoyment purely comes from completely the puzzles associated with the season changes, and making it through the story. This is one of the aspects of the game that I really liked. I'm not a massive fan of games, particularly platformers, which involve a lot of combat. As you are controlling the seasons and manipulating the environment to get through the levels, there is no need to have an added combat system in an already full game.
Through the eyes of a fox
The visuals of the game are nothing short of beautiful. There is a really raw quality about them. On the close-up scenes, you can see big bold brushstrokes but during the normal gameplay, the artwork is fine and detailed, but it still maintains a "painted" look about it. The art style doesn't use dark outlines, but that doesn't mean that things disappear into the background, the main character still pops out on the screen.
The soundtrack of Seasons after Fall is very soothing and does well to keep with the natural theme of the game. This is exactly what I would have expected given that the soundtrack was made by a string quartet. As part of the audio gems that the game has, there is a narrator who is talking directly to you. You, as in the elemental seed currently riding inside a fox. I'm not particularly sure whether she is supposed to be a deity, another Guardian of sorts or something completely different but she guides you through the landscape and drops subtle hints about where to go and what you need to be doing.
All in all, Seasons after Fall is a delightful game to play with a good storyline, unique game mechanics, and an art style to rival any painting hanging in a gallery. As stated previously, it is out today so if this review hasn't given you an idea of the game then check out these other images and launch trailer below and let us know what you think!
Copy provided by publisher, Focus Home Interactive.
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