Tearaway Reviews
Is Media Molecule's Tearaway an art project worthy of the refrigerator door, or is it just one long paper cut after another? Read our review to find out.
Tearaway is the perfect launch title, though it missed the launch by two years.
That said, Tearaway has every right to be a playful, buoyant romp through a paper candyland, and few titles, if any, have integrated the Vita's features as well as it does. Though Tearaway could have extended its final levels to explore creation and identity, its depth isn't paper-thin, and the originality of its presentation alone is unique enough that Vita owners should consider ripping through the game once... but no more than that, or you might give the game its walking papers.
Media Molecule's shift to the third-person has resulted in a mixed bag - the eye-popping visual style and the story's characteristic earnestness are tempered by clumsy platforming and thematic overcomplication. Tearaway is a very good platformer, but greatness is just out of reach.
How do you follow up one of the most successful debut games of all times? Well, by making a sequel of course. But what about after that? How does messing around as a co-developer on a few spin-offs strike you? Hardly taxing though, is it? Regardless at the rising sense of apprehension you may feel, sooner or later you're going to have to strike out and make something new, become innovative again, create rather than repeat. Developers Media Molecule have only just reached this final phase, having spent the last five years playing around with LittleBigPlanet iterations and derivatives. Their first steps with a new intellectual property have been brave ones, leading them onto the Vita and into the paper world of Tearaway.
It’s cheerful, colourful. charming and incredibly inventive, making the best use of the Vita’s unique features since the system’s release. It’s a showcase, not just for the Vita but for the creative minds at Media Molecule.
Tearaway is an excellent 3D platformer that takes full advantage of everything that Sony’s Vita has to offer. It is amazing what results when a developer, such as Media Molecule, truly “gets” the system that they are working with. This is easily going to be one of the marquee titles for the Vita this holiday season and possibly for the system’s entire lifespan.
Younger gamers and those with a flare for design will get the most out of it, but Media Molecule's latest offering will certainly provide pleasure for everyone.
It is so rare to see a virtual world realised with such brio and charm that it’s hard to hold the game’s old-fashioned mechanics against it.
Media Molecule makes a strong case for the Vita, with a deeply charming game that thoughtfully uses everything the hardware has to offer.
Tearaway's blend of the real and virtual worlds makes it a rare and charming treat.
A charming vindication of the PS Vita, that uses the console’s many abilities to the fullest – even if that does mean you’re left wanting more.
Tearaway really is the game Vita has been crying out for. It feels like a bridge between indie and traditional, super-polished AAA game design, something reinforced by both the length of the story and the price. There’s genuine charm and ingenuity here, and my only real criticism is that I want more of it. So will you, when you put yourself in the centre of Tearaway’s magical world.
The story begins as a terrifyingly handsome (or sexy, if you prefer) face appears on the sun and iota begins his quest to deliver a message to you, the sun.
Tearaway isn't the best platformer ever made, but it's quite possibly the happiest one, with a bright paper craft world that brings you in and a narrative that pulls at the heart strings.
That alone is quite magical.
This is the game the PS Vita has been waiting for. A truly unique platformer crammed with so much creativity, innovation and personalisation. Use all of the PS Vita's functions and make your own mark on Tearaway's rich and colourful, paper-crafted world.
Media Molecule have set the bar for Vita games; Tearaway is a clever, compelling and charming adventure that plays to the unique strengths of the console, leaving other games looking washed out, outdated and thoughtless. If Tearaway was the only game you played on the Vita, it would be well worth it.
Tearaway is a showcase in what the Vita can do, as it’s a game that can only work on that system, merging the hardware with gameplay into a wonderful package that makes for a truly unique experience that is also a fantastic one.
Tearaway is a handheld masterpiece, and a shining example of how unique hardware features should be handled. Its short running time is mostly overshadowed by its compelling mix of platforming, combat, and personalisation – a brilliantly crafted gameplay combination that'll keep you glued to the wonderful world that Media Molecule has created. This papercraft adventure is easily one of the best that you'll unfold on Sony's portable system.