Thomas Was Alone was a game that I had heard very little about through official sources, but simply one people had mentioned in passing as being a pretty good game. I knew nothing of it and had no need to find out. However, I found myself in possession of it, as it was included in a weekly Humble Bundle, where you can pay whatever you want for a set of games. This Humble Bundle also had some other games in it that were of interest to me for the same sort of reasons as Thomas Was Alone, and at a cost of about £3, I thought “why not?” and purchased it.
As with most Humble Bundles I am playing this game on Steam, but is also available on Windows, Mac, PlayStation 3, Vita and Linux. It is an indie puzzle platformer that is the creation of Mike Bithell. One of the first things that need be said about this game is that it is narrated by British comedian Danny Wallace: writer of Yes Man, and the recognisable voice of Shaun Hastings from the Assassin’s Creed series. And now rather notably, winner of a BATFA Game Award for his performance in Thomas Was Alone; this by itself being a good way to judge the game.
Now, when it comes to the plot of the game, you play as a rectangle called Thomas, and if you hadn’t guessed yet, he is alone. Thomas has the ability to move left and right, navigating the landscape he is in, and if the situation calls for it, he is able to jump. The story is told to us by Danny Wallace; as we get to certain points in the game were we hear Thomas’ third person point of view on his situation and the things he observes. As the game goes on you learn that Thomas is an artificial intelligence who has (as A.Is do) become self-aware.
As you progress in the game, you encounter other self-aware A.Is who have different abilities to Thomas; some are able to jump higher, and one can even swim so believes herself to be a superhero because of this remarkable ability. You are able to switch the playable character on the fly, and with a great need as the characters often have to work together to reach various goals. These goals normally involve each of the characters working together to allow others to reach platforms or travel across water to reach the portals at the end of the level to teleport to the next stage.
The game holds your metaphorical hand for a lot of the gameplay. This can become annoying at times as the games mechanics are not that difficult to grasp. I think it is to do with the introduction of a new character every so often, so the player may need to be told how this new character acts and reacts to the environment they are in. With the introduction of each new character Danny Wallace will give you some back-story to them, allowing you to get to grips with this characters personality and how they interact with others.
In all this isn’t just a story about A.Is going rogue trying to find their way out, but rather a story of friendship. It’s about Thomas and his friends coming to terms with each other and learning how they need one another to survive in the world. No matter how different everyone else seems to be, they are all unique for an individual purpose and helpful in their own way.
Thomas Was Alone is one of the best indie games I have come to play in a long time. It is simple but has such a great message. About halfway into the game the name took on a new meaning to me, Thomas WAS Alone, as now he has friends to share his adventure with.
Spyro
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