BinaryMessiah Torn Away Review

A lot of games tell the lives of soldiers during WWII, but not many talk about civilian life. Specifically, the lives of the Japanese and Russian civilians who were dragged into the war against their will, and many didn't support what their governments were doing. Torn Away tells the life of a Russian child whose village was destroyed and all residents were dragged into labor camps by the N(azis. Our protagonist, Ansya, wound up in a women's labor camp with her mother, and you follow her as she escapes and deals with loss after loss, trying to make it to more relatives in another village. The game starts inside a house, and you learn to interact with objects, complete small and simple mini-games, and gather various objects. Ansya likes to talk to her dolls, and she ends up having her inner dialogue narrated by her mitten, Comrade Mitten, through the journey. As most know, children like talking to dolls and objects that they get attached to. Sometimes this can be a coping or comfort measure, especially after severe trauma. The game changes the pace constantly, going from side-scrolling platforming sections to first-person walking sections and sections in which you are finding objects in small houses. It changes up the gameplay quite a bit, and the game never gets dull. The original Russian voice acting is great, and the overall tone nails the atmosphere of dread during the war. A lot of the sadness is portrayed by the visuals. A beautiful style of water colors and washed-out lines. It's almost like a child's blurry memory. There are a lot of foreground and background objects similar to other side scrollers like Limbo or Inside. This can give a sense of scale for a small child in a big adult world as well. Every area was different and felt unique, and there was always a sense of foreboding danger. The second Ansya felt safe, something would happen, and she would be on the run again. The story never gets gut-wrenchingly sad or depressing, as the story isn't long enough to portray this. There was a lot of focus on gameplay, unlike most walking simulators, so the story isn't the sole focus here. Gameplay-wise, the platforming is the worst part of the game. The animations and speed are slow and sluggish, and I constantly died trying to hop over objects. There's no momentum, and Ansya just kind of hops like you're picking her up and setting her down. There are occasions where you can solve a really simple puzzle, like dragging boxes around to climb up onto a ledge or gathering objects to create something in a certain order, but nothing that will strain your brain cells. There are stealth sections thrown in where you have to avoid spotlights and flashlights by running between boxes. It's nothing challenging, but the constant change in pace helps keep your interest in an otherwise bloated genre of boring walking simulators. With that said, Torn Away is a fun evening time killer, and the story is just sad enough to keep you hooked, but there is nothing memorable here in the end. This isn't something like Valiant Hearts that will sear its story and traumatic events into your brain. What's here is better than most walking simulators, as it offers some great gameplay and an entertainingly sad story with great visuals.