If there’s one thing we know and love Media Molecule for, it’s pushing creativity and experimentation within its game design. The studio burst onto the scene with PS3 hit LittleBigPlanet, before taking the concept of in-game creation to new heights with Dreams, but nestled between those projects was something a little smaller, something that you could fit in your pocket. I am, of course, talking about the paper-folded platforming adventure of Tearaway.
Tearaway is certainly a more conventional game that the rest of what Media Molecule has made. Sure, LittleBigPlanet had its Mm created story and was a side-scrolling platformer, but those were an introduction to the potential that the level-creation tools could offer, and had the unique quirk of multiple planes. By contrast, Tearaway is a rather traditional 3D platformer.
But that meant that the team could go all-in with using the PS Vita’s additional features, perhaps most distinctively the rear touchpad. This was used for all sorts of gameplay mechanics, from piercing through the game world to move platforms and flick away enemies, to drumming on platforms to help Iota/Atoi jump higher to reach higher locations in the world. The touchscreen, meanwhile, is used for the game’s crafting where you can trace designs on pieces of paper that are then cut out, as well as place accessories on different characters.
The PS Vita’s camera has a central part to Tearaway too, as your face is in the game’s sun, basically turning you into the baby from Teletubbies. You are watching over the world at all times. The camera also brings parts of the world back to life where the Scraps, the enemies, have stripped all colour from different items and characters. Take a photo of them and you will bring back their features. Finally, the microphone lets you record little messages and sound effects, when prompted, to add your voice to Iota/Atoi’s world.
Sure, they’re all gimmicks, but they tie in with the overall charm and whimsy of the story that the game is telling, bringing you into the game and casting you as a You.
This part is as integral to Tearaway’s plot as Iota/Atoi’s journey in, because these characters are letters that are on a quest to deliver themselves to you. Not that they know that at first, and in fact are properly terrified when your face suddenly appears in the Sun so try to hide. It is only when they speak to other characters that they realise that you are an ally.
11 years on from its initial release. Tearaway’s level designs really hold up, as do the little side characters that act as guides and quest givers. The artistic vision of the development team took the main character from woods to labs, harbour towns to tears in reality. Each location is unique, and the way each location is fully made to look like it is made from paper really makes Tearaway stand out even now. The Scraps are fun designed enemies too, even if they do appear to be cardboard boxes with legs or wings. They are a danger to Iota/Atoi but they can be easily defeated with your help.
For me, Tearaway is also a window back to an era where Sony really let its developers explore fun and exciting ideas in its smaller games, while still investing well in its triple AAA space. The game space has changed in the last decade, and the Sony that released the PS Vita has become the Sony that’s had the success of the PS4 and PS5, the hits of Horizon, God of War and Spider-Man. There’s the odd PlayStation Studios game that stands out in this quirky manner, most recently Astro Bot, but it feels like we’re unlikely to see a new Tearaway game or a similarly offbeat effort any time soon, and that’s a real shame.
