By Nathan Grayson on April 16th, 2012 at 10:22 pm.
That’s Steam, just so you know – not a clumsily abbreviated form of “swim team.” I’m not sure what a highly acclaimed iOS indie adventure would be doing on a swim team, but I have a number of overly elaborate theories. At any rate, the world’s most gorgeous excuse for massive mountains of tiresome tweet spam has officially achieved its vague release date of ”soon” by hitting Steam. Better still, it’s on sale for £3.74 until next week, and a free soundtrack rounds out the pixelated package. We will probably write Some Words about it in the future. Until then, I confess that I’ve played it on an unholy Apple rune tablet, and I found it to be quite delightful. I hope, however, that it doesn’t include the iOS version’s tilt mechanics, because my PC weighs more than an iPad factory.
16/04/2012 at 22:26 Anton says:
Downloading right now!!!!!!!! =D
16/04/2012 at 22:28 matnym says:
Me tooooo…ooo.
16/04/2012 at 22:27 zach says:
For once, I actually bought a game on Steam before I saw the relevant RPS post.
Indeed.
16/04/2012 at 23:06 Teovald says:
I am waiting for a review. I don’t have a lot of faith in those guys.
16/04/2012 at 23:34 zach says:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=sword+%26+sworcery+review :)
17/04/2012 at 00:17 Hoaxfish says:
yes, but those are for the iPad version… for anyone that’s suffered a bad console-to-PC port, I think it’s a good idea to see what the reviews for the PC version, with PC controls taken into account. Especially when touch-devices have some interface differences which do not exactly translate to mouse-controls freely (e.g. swiping is generally more fluid for touch-screens than mice) .
17/04/2012 at 00:34 zach says:
A valid point. I stand corrected.
17/04/2012 at 09:54 Teovald says:
This, you just have to look at what ergonomists think of windows 8 previews to see that interface conceived for touchscreens don’t translate well with a mouse.
Swiping for example is not a something you want to do with a mouse, not at all.
It also seem that this game relies on tilting, how have they translated this in this pc version ?
So, yep, still waiting for a pc review :)
17/04/2012 at 02:29 opawqsa says:
Since used games prop up retail shops and subsidize the consumption of more games, I think efforts to limit them will do more harm than good for publishers.
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17/04/2012 at 00:54 Karl says:
For what it’s worth the conversion was done by CAPY and they did a good job with M&M: Clash of Heroes. Solid post release support is pretty much guaranteed and they’re very active on (support) forums.
17/04/2012 at 00:48 President Weasel says:
Yep. Bought it for the soundtrack, which I am listening to now instead of sleeping.
Game a bonus, or in the event of terribad PC port (unlikely, given the acclaim the ios version got, but I suppose you never know) an irrelevance.
The music is lovely, people.
17/04/2012 at 19:49 KieranFurie says:
Same here. Paid for the soundtrack, got a free game.
16/04/2012 at 22:37 AmateurScience says:
This was always one of those games that made me either a) wish I had an iOS device or b) curse the very concept of platform specificity. Now I can stop cursing :)
16/04/2012 at 23:51 Symmetric says:
Too true. Now if Fez would just hurry up and be released for PC, my port wishlist would be pretty much empty.
17/04/2012 at 00:26 trjp says:
Fez is MS exclusive – that means there’s a rock-solid chance you won’t see it on PC, at least not anytime soon.
Shame really – tried the demo on the 360 and whilst I like the idea, I just don’t think it suits the 360 – I can see loads of people being bemused by it…
17/04/2012 at 00:30 vivlo says:
iirc, MS exclusivity contract was to last 1 year or 2. So, just be patient :p
17/04/2012 at 00:51 Karl says:
The developer of FEZ flat out denied there could be a PC port. He didn’t even say “no comment” and pulled out the stupid “comfy couch” argument.
17/04/2012 at 01:10 Slinky MCPunchfist says:
So did Remedy about Alan Wake look what happened there…
17/04/2012 at 01:19 RedViv says:
Actually that was just a MS representative in Remedy’s case. They haven’t outright defied that one back then, but still.
Fez seems to be in somewhat buggy state from what I read. Not painting too good of a picture on the dev side either.
17/04/2012 at 01:39 liquidsoap89 says:
I think Limbo was too, as well as Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet.
It might take forever but there’s a pretty likely chance that SOME DAY it will come to the pc.
17/04/2012 at 01:42 InternetBatman says:
Did the other two sign exclusivity contracts?
17/04/2012 at 01:43 InternetBatman says:
My port wishlist is pretty much Xenoblade and Brutal Legend.
17/04/2012 at 02:31 trjp says:
Brutal Legend – hmmmmmm – it’s at least 35% pure fried briliance BUT it throws these RTS things at you which is a bit like using a waterslide which has turds on it – you really don’t want to be there.
It’s hard to describe it really – it’s like that had a rock-solid idea and then decided to pour crap on it just to finish it off – like a nice pudding and they added engine oil instead of custard.
I’d guess a port is possible tho – they seem to have rediscovered the PC but I image there will be a metric tonne-and-a-half of licensing issues to sort out.
16/04/2012 at 22:44 MichaelPalin says:
Can’t wait for the DRM-free version.
16/04/2012 at 22:45 trjp says:
Someone on the forums here is concerned the min specs exclude Netbooks – I don’t read them that way but if anyone can confirm what sort of PCs this does/might not work on, I’m sure they’d appreciate it in the forum thread!!
16/04/2012 at 22:49 Arca says:
I have this for my iPhone and just purchased it on steam. If I end up getting an iPad I will likely buy that version too. That should be a testament to how good I think the game is.
16/04/2012 at 22:52 Nevard says:
I watched the trailer for this game several times and still have no idea what it is meant to be
16/04/2012 at 23:02 Alec Meer says:
A stoner take on the old Delphine adventures, kinda. But far more charming than that sounds.
17/04/2012 at 01:18 Slinky MCPunchfist says:
So as a non stoner would I still like it?
17/04/2012 at 01:21 RedViv says:
If you’re into somewhat psychedelic post-rock and prog rock, yes, definitely. Because that’s really the stoner aspect. Well, and some very fantastic visuals.
16/04/2012 at 23:02 VelvetFistIronGlove says:
It is an adventure game, which makes up in style what it lacks in depth. It has a great soundtrack which is delightfully intertwined with the gameplay. It is hip and trendy, but enjoyable despite that. The tweet-spam is entirely optional, and not recommended.
16/04/2012 at 22:57 Hoaxfish says:
Oh god, better get it quick! … full price is £4.99. I can actually wait until I’ve done my backlog.
I’ll still get it eventually though.
16/04/2012 at 22:58 Nero says:
I just went to Steam and noticed it. I’ve been wanting this for PC for a while so yeah, I bwought it!
16/04/2012 at 23:31 Author X says:
So you know that old Harry Partridge animation in reaction to just the Skyrim trailer? Where he takes a long gasp as his mouth and eyes widen in realization?
That is the very face I made when I casually opened the Steam store ten minutes ago and saw this was on sale. Been jealous of this on the iPad for a long time. Pulled out my phone immediately to buy it (since I’m not on my home PC anyway).
Yes, yes, so happy!
16/04/2012 at 23:33 mwoody says:
A question for those “in the know”: if I have equal access to both an iPad 2 and Steam on a powerful PC, which would you recommend? I know next to nothing about the game other than it’s highly recommended (and would like for it to stay that way, please). Do the touch/tilt controls add much? Is there any reason to expect it would benefit from a PC interface/graphics?
16/04/2012 at 23:37 trjp says:
It’s a lot cheaper on iOS if that’s a factor you care about :)
16/04/2012 at 23:50 jameskond says:
I could see someone making the case that the touchscreen is essential for this game. I played it on an ipod touch myself and found it very engrossing with the touchscreen. An iPad would be even better I guess.
17/04/2012 at 01:03 cqdemal says:
I played it first on an iPad and found the tilt-to-fight thing a little annoying. Otherwise the touch controls fit perfectly. Downloading PC version as I speak…
17/04/2012 at 04:48 field_studies says:
I’m not sure that this game actually benefits much from touch controls. But I would recommend the iOS because I do think it benefits from the sort of intimacy that the ipad provides. I played it with headphones, curled up in bed, and somehow that felt just right.
16/04/2012 at 23:47 Alexander Norris says:
So I bought it full-price for iPad, bought the soundtrack, then bought it again on PC.
Really, it’s nice having it portable, and touchscreen is more immediate to control than a mouse, but it’s so gorgeous you’d really want it on a 24″+ >1080p monitor.
16/04/2012 at 23:50 felisc says:
is it cheap of me to say i find it a bit “expensive” ? i mean, relatively to the ios version : a friend of mine told me he got this for 0.80 euros on his iphone.
17/04/2012 at 00:20 ulix says:
Regular price is 3,99€ (so probably 4,99$).
But just like Steam the Appstore often has incredible sales with incredible prices.
17/04/2012 at 00:27 trjp says:
Different markets competing with different products and with different costs and support issues to consider.
If you own an iOS device you’ll already have bought it and played it – if you don’t, the little extra cash is a LOT cheaper than an iPad – so I’m still thinking you’re winning :)
17/04/2012 at 00:45 aurorajorealis says:
I agree with trjp’s points about costs and support issues. The soundtrack is included in the Steam release to balance the cost difference out a bit. The soundtrack sells for $8.99 on iTunes, so for less than the cost of the soundtrack alone, you get the game AND the soundtrack.
17/04/2012 at 09:36 MattM says:
The OST was part of the second Game Music Bundle. With all the bonus albums they added I ended up paying less than $1 per album for some pretty great music. The s&s was probably the best of the bunch.
17/04/2012 at 01:41 Skabooga says:
This game is pretty as a picture, perhaps several of them, but I don’t know . . . I remember hearing about this game ages ago, while it was still in development, but then hearing that it was exclusive to a platform I didn’t own made me resign myself to this fate and harden my heart. Whatever flame there was between us has long sputtered out. Come to think of it, I feel the same way about Fez.
But I was totally cool with getting Bastion because I didn’t even realize it existed until it had already been brought over to the PC. Weird.
17/04/2012 at 06:31 Urthman says:
This phenomenon of people’s enjoyment of or interest in a game being so dependent on stuff happening before you ever play the game — how it’s marketed, how long you have to wait for it, which platform it comes to first — is really bizarre to me and I have a hard time understanding it.
I’m not picking on you — lots of people say stuff like that — but it doesn’t make any sense to me. How would this game have been any more or less fun if you could have played it on PC back at the same time it was released for iOS? Have your tastes changed? Have you played a dozen riffs on the same concept and are tired of it? Have you had most of the game spoiled by friends or YouTube videos?
17/04/2012 at 11:23 LennyLeonardo says:
Urthman: Yeah, I totally agree with you in principle, but I think what Skabooga is talking about is the psychological effect of the situation. Like, he was all excited once upon a time, but after hearing about the iOS exclusivity he felt the need to quash any feelings he had for the game for the sake of self preservation. Now, even though it’s on a platform he owns, he has a hard time undoing the emotional lockbox, as it were.
I just made it sound really melodramatic, but, like, marketing does do stuff to people’s emotions, not just their minds.
17/04/2012 at 15:39 Skabooga says:
Indeed, LennyLeonardo expressed it most eloquently, and Urthman is correct as well in how absurd it all is. However much I would like to think I’m immune to marketing and buzz and whatnot, it apparently still affects me. That I once wanted to play these games and now do not is ridiculous, and even though I recognize this ridiculousness, it still isn’t enough to sway my emotional response. And I’m left not playing games I would otherwise like to play. :(
17/04/2012 at 01:46 PeopleLikeFrank says:
I like the visuals. Reminds me of Andy Helms’ stuff…
17/04/2012 at 02:13 Hoaxfish says:
I think it’s one of those “convergences” where people try to take simple styles (stick-men, pixel art, etc) but try to plump up the detail (muscled/longer limbs).
17/04/2012 at 03:53 Gabe McGrath says:
Nathan,
I’m so glad you mentioned the “massive mountains of tiresome tweet spam”.
This game looks beautiful. I’m a big supporter of indie games but I will never buy it, thanks to their ‘Facebook-esque tweet-spam marketing’. For weeks on end…. my Twitter feed was clogged up by tiresome update after timesome update*.
The game looks great- it would have done well simply by doing normal indie PR…. not this Tweetspam rubbish. It makes me think of them in the same light as Zygna, which is rather unfortunate.
Protip: Make your game good, promote it using non-spam means, and you’ll do well. Try to push too hard, and you risk bad feelings.
*Yes, I could have probably worked out some sort of filter, but why should I have to? They invaded my friends tweets.
17/04/2012 at 15:28 aurorajorealis says:
The Twitter spam is 100% up to the player, so the tweets didn’t “invade” your friends tweets, your friends chose to tweet them.
The developers have stated on several occasions that they did not expect the feature to be used so excessively, and that they did not design it as a marketing ploy.
18/04/2012 at 18:02 aurorajorealis says:
Actually, the twitter stuff is 100% optional, and the game never auto-tweets. The tweets are not invading your friends’ twitter, your friends are actually choosing to post them.
17/04/2012 at 09:44 13tales says:
Bah. Not available to those of us in Japan. Superbrothers and Capy, I shake my fist at you!
I thought only major publishers were prone to this kind of idiocy.
17/04/2012 at 10:12 Lemming says:
Surprised no one has mentioned the obvious Zelda-homages in this.
17/04/2012 at 11:50 yhancik says:
And for those wondering – that’s only after a quick try though – the controls can feel a bit weird at first. Clicking on the screen will either pan the view OR move your character, depending on.. I’m not sure.. whether you keep clicking or move the mouse after clicking? Something like that. And you seem to need to click again on every new screen.
And the cursor is a big black spot I suppose the size of a finger on those cyberpads, which looks unecessary large (and distracting) under a tiny mouse cursor on a 23″ screen.
Beside that it’s ok, it’s playable, but it feels a bit like a minimal port in terms of controls/gui
17/04/2012 at 23:24 wcanyon says:
“because my PC weighs more than an iPad factory” — and kills just as many Chinese people.