BOKURA

If you ever wanted to know how far ‘far away’ is then you should be playing BOKURA. A fantastic two-player puzzle adventure game, you take control of two young boys who run away from their respective homes and travel out in to the world in search of something other than the lives they currently lead. It’s a touching story that tugs on the heart strings while providing some interesting and unique puzzles that will keep you engaged from start to finish. I(f you are planning on playing this game, make sure your second player is someone you trust to see things through as you wont want to miss a second of this story. If this game sounds like something you would be interested in, keep reading as we get into it.

Gameplay

This 2-D puzzle game gives a similar vibe to the player that Night in the Woods provided. The gameplay itself is not that expansive, with the majority of your time in the game being spent in side-scrolling exploration, speaking to people and solving puzzles, social or otherwise. That being said, BOKURA has a much greater importance placed on multiplayer, to the point where you cannot play it alone.

Throughout this four-hour game, you are required to make several choices in key moments that will define your experience. Communication with your gaming partner is key, as you must discuss important decisions and how to solve problems if you want to make it very far. It has a similar gameplay ideal to that of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. There is also important information that is only imparted to one of you at a time, meaning you need to talk to understand what is going on. I found this to be a truly brilliant way of delivering the narrative to the players, in a unique way that I haven’t seen before.

Visuals

The visuals in BOKURA are brilliant and sit your little behind down while I tell you about it. There is one major thing that you may notice and that is that there are two distinct visuals. Depending on what character you play as, you may see the world in two separate ways; with everything comprised of mechanical parts and the characters as robots, or as a delightful woodland where everything is a lush forest.

Both players will have a drastically differing visual experience but will remain as part of the same story. It’s really cool!

Story

The story follows two boys who run away from home. Along the way, they encounter a dead deer and black out from the sight. When they wake up, the world is different for both of them. Where are they? Is this a new reality or a figment of their stressed imaginations? Will things ever return to normal? Only by moving through this world, and experiencing what it has to show you will reveal that answer. It’s a truly brilliantly written game that offers a lot to players looking for a gently emotional story.

Pros

• Brilliantly designed visuals with striking differences for each player.
• Excellent story that tugs on the heartstrings.

Cons

• Forcibly being two player is a bit difficult for people who may want to experience the game by themselves