Platforms: PS4 (reviewed), PC
Developer: David O'Reilly
Publisher: David O'Reilly, Double Fine Presents
MSRP: $14.99
Introduction:
As the argument against games being an art form continues to fade into obscurity, we find that more and more small-time developers are using the medium to create experiences that challenge our notions of what we expect from games. Everything is one such game, though frankly, I hesitate to call it one as there really isn’t much of a quantifiable outcome to define a real sense of “accomplishment.”
Everything is an interactive experience that lets its users take the form of literally anything and “everything” in its environment. There aren’t any objectives, waypoints, or markers or even an ending for that matter. You begin the game as a polar bear, with only thought bubbles hanging over certain denizens in the environment for you to click on. These denizens are anything from other animals, to rocks, trees, and even the grass beneath your feet. Clicking on thought bubbles prompts whoever or whatever you selected to offer up some insight or snippet of existential philosophy.
As usual, here are the things you need to know about Everything.
The volume of stuff that Everything has packed into it is quite impressive.
Eventually, you learn how to transfer yourself into these other animals or objects, and can move freely about the environment at your leisure. You also unlock the ability to Ascend or Descend, which freely lets you take control of bigger or smaller objects such as entire continents and galaxies or even tiny microbes and basic shapes. As you go through Everything, the game (experience) will log each new item or animal you inhabit. So if there’s any gamification to be had, finding all of the different objects, microbes, animals, etc. would be it.
All in all, there are six main layers for players to Ascend and Descend to, each of which contain varying degrees of sublayers based on the size of the object you choose to inhabit. Hydrogen molecules, dust particles, bacteria, pollen, fish, whales, alligators, elephants, Juniper trees, Sycamore trees, clouds, hot air balloons, ice continents, city continents, rock planets, ice planets, suns, nebulae, spiral galaxies, 2D and 3D shapes are just a small piece of what Everything lets you become. The idea it tries to convey is that no matter how small or large you are, everything in the universe is connected in some way.
As far as “being a game” goes, Everything relegates itself to having only find and collect mechanics.
OK, that might be a bit extreme. There’s basic movement, the ability to get companions to follow you by singing to them, then dancing with them to give birth to new objects. While that’s all well and good, the problem with it all, comes from a “now what” dilemma once you’ve done it. You perform this action the game suggests to you, and now you’ve got this extra companion that doesn’t really do much except follow you around.
It’s tough to call those things mechanics, as they don’t do much of anything beyond the action, so if anything they are relegated to being considered “features.”
The only things you have to quantify progress in Everything are its collectibles, which ultimately is its intention. The highlight of these collectibles comes in the form of discoverable audio logs from the renowned British philosopher, Alan Watts. His voice has a way of carrying you through the void that he almost becomes an elusive companion. Watts is just about the only thing that feels “alive” about Everything which is a bit ironic considering this is an interactive experience about figuring out your life’s place within the universe.
Verdict:
Considering its bargain bin price, you won’t lose much by investing in Everything; the only question is whether you will actually get something out of it. Everything is about as niche as niche gets, which is fine if that’s what you’re looking for, it’s just important to understand the kind of experience that the game is going for.
Everything is very genuine in being intentionally vague, which is something of a paradox considering today’s video game market. You won’t know what you are or why you’re doing it, which is by definition what Existential Philosophy tries to teach us. So in essence, Everything’s design is very much in perfect harmony with the ideas it tries to emulate.
If you’re looking for an alternative game experience, that’s exactly what Everything will give you. Just don’t expect much in the way of traditional satisfaction that we’ve come to expect from the medium of video games.
