Tearaway features an extremely charming protagonist which you can't help but adore. The unique design and aesthetics of the game makes it stand out. I love how it's basically a paper world, with the paper theme resonating throughout the game (from the paper rustling to the scraps fluttering about). The environments have a "flat" and origami-like look to them. The graphics are excellent and continues to showcase the Vita's power. You, as the player, can also interact with the environment in ways that makes sense if the world was just made of paper. Tearaway is a platformer at heart and plays very well.
Some nagging thing is that in the beginning you can't jump (you have to earn that ability in a later chapter) and that there are areas where the camera angles are fixed. This makes it weird when you try to move and camera and can't. Like a lot of Vita games, it ultilizes all of the Vita's extra controls such as the touch screen/pad, camera and motion control. Tearaway uses the camera in a very novel and clever way. The front camera is used to get the player's picture, you regularly see it in the game as the sun and plastered around other objects. You can also see the rear camera used when in the game, in sections of the game where you "push" your fingers from the rear touch into the game, you can see what's "underneath" the Vita. This is unobtrusive and fits the theme well. Speaking of which, the central theme is the protagonist, Iota (or Atoi, depending on which gender you choose), reading into the player's world.
You, as the player, has godlike powers, looking down into the world and do things that amazes the population. Other touch mechanics also don't annoy you. Not to say that they are awesome cause you do have to get your hands off the controls to use the touch gestures but they're not in your face. One of the most entertaining and amazing features is that throughout the course of the story, you can pieces of paper, draw something on it and it automatically gets cut by scissors. You can get multiple pieces with different colours to make your creations more sophisticated that the game effortlessly brings to life! For example, you create snowflakes, oh, maybe you would like yellow ones with blue dots? No problem! You create it and then throughout the rest of the level, yellow snowflakes rain down!
Or maybe you like your pumpkin head for the scarecrow to have three freaky eyes and vampire teeth? Just place those there and it'll automatically be animated. It's fantastic and gives the game your own personal touch. The game is immersive, the blending of Iota's world and yours is perfect. It's always a pleasant surprise when you see something you've created earlier pop back up later in the game. The game also has some of the best motion control levels I've played. It doesn't feel forced and it's not your typical tilt the ball through the maze by tilting the Vita type of minigame either. It's moving platforms which plays better than it sounds. The game's difficulty feels just right. It has generous checkpoints so you'll never be stuck at a section for too long.
The levels progressively gets better, which, when considering that the first levels were pretty solid, is just icing on the cake. The final couple of levels have an ethereal feel to it, which is perfect. Coupled with some great music and it's a blast to play. I keep getting pleasant surprises throughout the whole game at each new thing that was introduced. While Tearaway can be considered having a slow start and not really having a real hook in the gameplay, I realised I had unknowingly became addicted to the game when I kept telling myself, "just past this part and I'll put it down" again and again. The story revolves around interactivity of the player's world and the in-game world.
It's clever and witty, with humour interspersed throughout. It's entertaining and captures your attention. Iota is just so charismatic, as is all the NPCs you come across. Tearaway has a fantastic story. By the time the ending comes, it is very emotional. You are literally one of the main characters in the game, journeying with and guiding Iota. You two have experienced so many things and when it comes to say goodbye, with Iota's message being delivered and reading the contents (which I won't spoil here, but it's worthwhile), you feel... happy, contented and it's like a blossoming friendship. You feel like you've had an adventure yourself, journeying through a fantasy or fairy tale.
You would have developed a bond with Iota and it compels you to actually make the papercraft characters (instructions of which you collect throughout the game) in real life to "bring" them into your world as reciprocal for visiting theirs. The only possible negative is that Tearaway can be easily finished in 5-6 hours and that's not rushing it either. Tearaway is hands down, one of the best games around. It's imaginative and has great implementation of Vita's extra controls, solid platforming action and a heartwarming story. This game connects with you, I highly recommend giving Tearaway a try.
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