The terrain is cold and unyielding here, the horizon sprinkled with the snapped struts of an industrial era gone by, resentful reminders of what used to be but is unceremoniously no more. As you journey onward – because that's all you do here; you just journey onward, forever rumbling towards the right of your screen – you'll see them again and again, poking out of the ground like a shattered rib cage, the cool steel bones of a now-dead age reaching up to pierce an angry red sky.
FAR: Lone Sails is a game that is both nothing and everything; a delicious stew of disparate ideas that come together in a way that shouldn't make sense, but somehow do. Part exploration, part platformer, puzzler, and resource management sim, FAR: Lone Sails almost defies description, and yet it is also indisputably one of the very best things we've had the pleasure of playing all year.
Whilst it's already debuted on PC and console, this delightful puzzler is one of those games so incredibly well suited to Nintendo Switch that it's a wonder it's taken so long to get here. Just like genre stalwarts Limbo and Inside, this is a 2.5D side-scroller that tasks you with forever moving towards the right of your screen, your character a bright drop of scarlet scurrying through an otherwise monochrome world. And just like those games, FAR: Lone Sails, too, is a bare-bones tale that tells you nothing and everything, conveying its pleasure and panic through stunning visuals and sublime score alone.
But where Inside and Limbo weave unsettling, dark tales, FAR: Lone Sails is an altogether more delicate, relaxed affair. You're alone, but not lonely, accompanied by… well, we're not sure, really. Part caravan, part truck, and part sailboat, this dilapidated vehicle is seemingly your only hope of getting away, and to keep the volatile machine running, you must collate as many items as possible – book stacks, abandoned luggage, children's toys, balls, crates, oil drums, lanterns; whatever discarded gems you see littering the road ahead of you – to recycle into energy to fuel the hungry engine.
It's occasionally a little hectic, especially as you get to grips with the fire hose and – eventually – welding torch, and there won't be enough handy hooks around the place to keep your treasured trash in place, but it's delightful; the process of exploring and gathering up the items discarded throughout the world and deciding what to sacrifice and what to keep, perhaps squirrelled away in your small, cosy sleeping quarters, never really loses its appeal.
There are no on-screen prompts. No tutorials or hints. Everything you do unravels organically through common sense and a healthy dollop of curiosity. You'll slip easily into a cycle of painstaking vehicle maintenance, learning when to feed the fuel, push the accelerator, and vent the steam. We'll admit it sounds a little humdrum on paper, but this repetitious loop is at once both mundane and marvellous, particularly as you watch your milometer tick away, quietly tracking the accomplishment of keeping this weird, wonderful machine running.
Later, once you grapple with some of the game's gentle (if occasionally opaque) puzzling, you'll happen across a vacuum which is oh-so-handy for sucking up those all-important fuel sources. Eventually, you'll add a sail, too, which helps conserve energy (a tattered red flag will flutter inconspicuously when it's time, so it's worth monitoring the top-deck for an opportunity to shut down the engine and coast for a little while). The more time you spend with this strange contraption the better you'll understand it, and the easier it becomes to monitor its quirks and mechanical meltdowns. Eventually, perhaps inevitably, it will feel every bit as much a part of you and your story as your small faceless, voiceless avatar.
Sandwiched between these busy sequences are periods of wondrous tranquillity, though, times when you're gliding along on wind power alone as the sun rises, pushing away the darkness and enveloping you in preternatural peace. Occasionally, you must jump out of the vehicle to clear a path through the snapped steel and rusting remains. Sometimes, these forays have you traipse through forgotten factories and their obsolete offices, revealing snippets of a bygone time. But as gorgeous as these careful vignettes are, you'll often itch to get back to your mobile home.
FAR: Lone Sails is not perfect. You can zoom out, and in, at will with ZL/ZR, but it's a shame you can't toggle the zoom on or off, especially if you're platforming and need a close-up view of where you're heading. An elevator helps you move between the different floors of your vehicle – there are four, including the top deck – but it's cumbersome getting on and off the thing. Hooking and unhooking your trashy treasure can also be a little clumsy, particularly if you're in a hurry (and there are times you definitely will be).
Having played this game initially on PC, we can report that most of these issues marred its original release too. It feels unnecessarily unwieldy to navigate the world with the Joy-Cons and the docked display wasn't quite as crisp as the visuals on the console's screen. If that all sounds a little bit nit-picky… well, that's because it is. FAR: Lone Sails is such a thoughtful, carefully-crafted experience that squeezes so much into its brief 4-ish hour runtime, it feels churlish to complain about much else. That runtime may be too slender for some players, but we enjoyed every single minute.
Conclusion
Without saying a word, FAR: Lone Sails conveys a poignant tale of hope and perseverance, masterfully balancing style with substance for an experience that feels every bit as sublime as it looks. Sure, you could grumble about the shortness of the experience, the occasionally obtuse puzzles and the very, very minor control issues, but these problems dissolve away once you're invested in the journey. We highly recommend that you give this a spin.
Comments 24
Everything about this seems really, really dull. Even the review. It's well written but I find it dreary. The least interesting 9 I've ever set eyes on.
I haven't gotten to play it yet, but after watching a little bit of a couple videos of gameplay I know I'll like it. The music was amazing, and the gameplay looked like a perfect mix of intuitive tasks, beautiful relaxation (maybe along the lines of moments in Gris and Breath of the Wild), and problem solving. It doesn't look like it runs at 60fps, and I sure wish it did, but I'm going to play this probably sooner than later.
This is one of those games that seems to be love it or hate it. Kinda reminds me of those "walking simulators" that get the same kind of reception.
It actually looks pretty interesting. I might wait for a sale.
Far + Cry would be a buy for me...
(Ubisoft, please take note what we have here instead of real games.. But if The Witcher III is doable on the Switch, anything is. So please port your bests for us!)
Limmy liked it and that's good enough for me.
@JayJ
Walking simulators are entirely dependend on the content, like a book. If the content appeals to you it is very enjoyable, if the content is not the kind of thing that grabs your attention it is just a dull pointless waste of time.
@JayJ Agreed. It reminds me of Gone Home. That game was received well by so many people, and yet I thought it was boring and dull. There were a few things I liked but I found the game to be over-hyped.
Oh dear, another game I'm now going to feel a constant need to try, because it got a 9 and because it'll be very divisive (and I must have a stake in the debate, mustn't I?), but I will simultaneously feel the need to avoid buying until it's £2 because it sounds like a very short airy-fairy one-and-done 'experience' rather than a game. And because I don't think I've seen anything else reviewed by this reviewer yet.
We'll see. I'll file it alongside GRIS for now.
@JayJ Love me some walking simulators like Firewatch so I'll probably get FAR sooner or later
Loved the look of the trailers, but if there is not much storyline and you have to figure it out yourself, maybe its not for me.
I think I'll like this, though the colour palette is a bit sombre. "Thoughtful and carefully-crafted" is so tempting. I'm very grateful for the review.
I will wait for a sale because it's not screaming out as a must-have purchase and there is so much to play, that I'm waiting for a sale on most games before I bite. So different from the WiiU era.
@TempOr Why is that ?
Beautifully written review, thanks @Vikki-Blake
@Bondi_Surfer Thank you!
@Nerdfather1 I can see how this game could be similar to Gone Home. I love Gone Home, partly because it references bands I've listened to and loved. Maybe it's a type of genre, Mood games. I love the mood of Gone Home, Far Lone Sails, Kingdom New Lands, Kingdom Two Crowns, Journey, etc. Journey is the queen of this type of game, I think, but lots of games are good in this way.
@Vepra Yeah, I didn't think of Firewatch, mainly because that game is so dialog driven while this one isn't. But I do love both games! I guess I do enjoy the atmosphere of each game in a similar way. They both present beauty in a unique and enjoyable manner.
So I got this game and love it. It's a totally unique experience with painterly visuals and extremely good music, sound design, sound effects, easy puzzle solving, and many satisfying moments. I highly recommend it if you're wanting something beautiful and low stress. I experience it like Kingdom New Lands, Kingdom Two Crowns, Journey, Gris (some similar visuals, like watercolor), and Super Chariot. Actually, Super Chariot is perhaps the most similar in gameplay, except Far lone sails is more about enjoying a journey than platforming and puzzle solving. Also, I really wish Far ran at 60fps on Switch like Super Chariot, Limbo, and Inside. I also think of Yoku's Island Express (which also runs at 60fps!) because it is in the same league in terms of uniqueness and enjoyability of play. I also want to mention there is a variety of music in the game, all excellent. Also, thanks for the great review! I hope people play this one. I also don't think there should be a demo. During the first 5 to 10 minutes I thought about turning the game off, and who knows if I would've resumed playing it. Now I'm really glad I kept the big tractor beast sail machine truck going!
Purchased it because of this review. 2 hours in and I'm loving it. Thanks NL!
@TempOr I mean that could be interested in that game, so when someone doesn't seem to like it, i'm interested to know why. That helps me decide whether or no i'm spending my money/time. Thank you for answering.
Took a shot on this yesterday (this review helped, thanks!) and finished it this morning and I have to say it is one of my favorite games of the year, if not the very top.
I loved it from the start. The atmosphere, the mystery and the feel of maintaining your vehicle is precisely my kind of stuff.
What a beautiful and lovely experience.
@Sakura This game is £2 now! 😅 (well £2.69, although I have 69p worth of gold points, so for me it literally is £2.00)
@Shinnos Thanks! Went ahead and purchased.
@Sakura No worries. I was just reading the review before I went ahead and bought it and saw your previous comment so thought I'd give you a heads up!
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