Hmm, I don't know why the original game was rated PEGI-3 and the PS4 version is PEGI-7, since they are both essentially the same game. (Though slightly different.) Anyway...
It's a joy watching Seb play it now - last time we played he couldn't really read. Now (apart from some tricky words) he's pretty much reading all the text himself.
The game was made by Media Molecule, who were the geniuses behind Little Big Planet. They're currently working on Dreams, which is hard to describe, though bound to be awesome. :-)
The Vita version, which came out in 2013, is the only game I've come across that uses all the Vita's strange functions - the rear touchpad, the touch screen, camera, etc. It doesn't use them in a stupid "oh this exists so we might as well add a slightly pointless thing to use it" way, but instead a way that gives them purpose for perhaps the only time in the history of the Vita. (Especially that odd rear touchpad.)
The game looks amazing - it looks like it's made out of paper! What makes this even more exciting is that you can collect papercraft models in the game then go to the Tearaway website, print templates, and make the things in real life out of card. The instructions are easy and we've made some great models that really replicate what's in the game.
Two of our creations!
Then there's the amazing music, such as 'The Orchards' (below) by Kenneth Young. The game has a wonderful soundtrack that we've sat down and listened to on more than one occasion. It totally goes with the folksy and eccentric feel of the game.
The game is telling a story - the story of a messenger (his head is an envelope!!) called Iota or Atoi, whose adventures lead him/her to the You (that's you, in case you were wondering). There is a hole in the sky and the villainous 'scraps' are falling into their world. There are so many fun adventures in the game - it's anything but a typical platformer. The crows are super sinister. Then there are times when you'll just want to stop and look at the world. The level with the lighthouse was beautiful. And I'll always fondly remember decorating the pig and riding it afterwards. :-)
The PS4 game was released in 2015. It's still a great game, but it loses something without the integrated Vita stuff like the rear touchpad (which you could use to rip through the paper of the world with your finger). It does use the PS4 controller's abilities though, like the light, which you shine like a torch onto the screen to hypnotise scraps. It also uses the touchpad to do things like cut out shapes in paper, though this is oddly fiddly.
Both games are atmospheric, quirky, original, brilliant fun, and you'll want to replay them. If only to collect some of the papercraft plans you missed...
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