SHAPE OF THE WORLD Review for PlayStation 4

Shape of the World, developer Hollow Tree Games’ initial foray into the gaming industry, is a walking simulator that begs to be played slowly. The game aims to help players relax by evoking in them feelings of serenity and peacefulness. Overall, Hollow Tree Games manages to achieve its goal through imbuing Shape of the World with simple game mechanics, beautiful aesthetics, and soulful music.

So much of Shape of the World relies on the level of immersion that players feel. The game begins in a valley of white nothingness, in which players maneuver an off-screen first person protagonist. As players begin to move through the whiteness, they see the faint silhouette of a triangle in the background. The triangle grows clearer and clearer the more players walk towards it, and then the world completely shifts after players pass through it.

Exiting the barren white first level through walking through the first triangle and emerging into a colorful and vibrant shore teeming with life comprises an almost baptismal moment. It induces in players an initial shock, as what had previously been stark and barren is now lush and detailed.

The brief, introductory valley area serves as a fitting example of what the type of gameplay that players will engage in while delving into Shape of the World. In other words, players will spend all of their time in the game world just walking and exploring. The landscapes react to players as they move, as different creatures, trees, mountains, and more pop up as they make their way through the levels. To progress, players have to keep on searching until they find and walk through triangles. Players can’t have their protagonists dash through the levels, which encourages them to really immerse themselves in the world.

The landscapes in Shape of the World are breathtaking. Despite the differences between the nine areas in Shape of the World, they are similar in that they are all exquisite. Hollow Tree Games highlights the beauty of each individual area in Shape of the World by enabling players to interact with the in-game world. Tapping on trees, throwing seeds to grow trees, and engaging in other activities boost the sense of immersion that players feel when indulging in the game.

The best form of interaction that players can have with the game’s world occurs when they figure out how to generate and ascend staircases. Traversing these staircases enables players to see from above the areas they just explored, which naturally leads to some truly picturesque moments. Walking across these stairs really precipitates some of the best and most memorable instances that Shape of the World has to offer.

However, there is a glaring downside to fashioning a game such that the only options available to players are to walk towards triangles and interact with the environment in a set of predetermined and limited manners. While the game’s core gameplay feels fresh and innovative for the first hour or so, it quickly grows repetitive. Even the existence of unique and beautiful terrains does not fully compensate for the monotony.

Music plays a key role in Shape of the World. From their first steps in the introductory level, players will be accompanied by atmospheric music during their journey through Shape of the World. The music drowns out most other sounds, such as the noise that the protagonist should make as he or she trudges through Shape of the World’s many areas.

The music augments players’ experiences mostly in a positive manner, but it also manages to be a hindrance at times. The music never does stop once it begins, and can even be headache inducing occasionally. It is often repetitive in nature, and players can’t even take a break from it by pausing the game since it continues to play uninterrupted in the game’s pause menu.

Shape of the World manages to do extremely well with its environments, but the lack of much to do in the worlds can be seen as a positive or negative depending on the moment. The game’s music contributes to the players’ experiences in a variety of ways, but can prove to be irritating at times. Hollow Tree Games does a lot right with Shape of the World, but the facets that the developer did not execute to perfection really hamper the game.

Rating: 6.5/10

Here is the Shape of the World Trailer:

Shape of the World is available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC.

Jori Grossman

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I'm a recent graduate of Columbia University. Gaming has been a passion of mine my entire life; I enjoy everything from RPGs and FPSs to stealth and narrative-driven games. I love the deeply immersive quality that good video games inherently possess, and am looking forward to highlighting games worthy of acclaim. When I'm not studying or reading, you can catch me playing games like Uncharted, Dishonored, The Witcher 3, and Far Cry.

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