Disclosure: I managed to obtain The Tiny Bang Story during a giveaway however I don’t do biased reviews.
The Tiny Bang Story is a puzzle game. In The Tiny Bang Story you have to fathom out how to leave each area of the game. You do this by going through the area solving puzzles that are located in each level, before moving onto the next area.
One thing I will say about the title of the game is that it is a bit misleading. Given that the game lacks an actual plot. I was expecting at least some story in the game. Even if it was a basic story based upon the (scientific) big bang theory. I did feel a bit let down as I was expecting a story based puzzle game. Taking this from the description found on the Steam store. The description states that there is a story in the game. One that involves rebuilding a planet that has been hit by a meteor and your job is to rebuild it.
However I didn’t find any mention of a story in the game. There is no written or spoken dialogue so you never really interact with the characters in the game. But in some instances when they want provide you with advice. Such as telling you that you need to find a battery to fix an elevator. The game will show you pictures in a speech bubble of what to do.
I will compliment the game itself on the art style. Which is a hand drawn cartoon style inspired by Dutch classic art that is of high quality. I also like the general setting and aesthetic style of the game. The games style is a steam punk inspired theme. However it isn’t like your traditional steam punk universe and it has its own quirks that make it unique. The game also uses the surroundings and items found in the game as a back drop. Such as a tower that is located within an apple tree trunk that acts as airport for those who live in the planet the game is set in. The airport even features a landing strip on branches.
On a technical level the game itself I think is a bit of a mixed bag. Although some of the issues I found are based on how the game operates which is flawed in some aspects. Technically I think that the game is basic. Even though the game works ok the game doesn’t support modern monitors and its highest screen resolution is 1024X768. Even when the game loads it isn’t in a full screen. When the game is put into full screen it puts a black border around the screen. I don’t like how when you complete the game there is no reward for playing it. There are no new modes or any extra content such as easier/harder difficulties.
Gameplay wise the puzzles are decent and generally work well. I particularly liked the jigsaw based puzzles in which you have to build devices. I also liked puzzles that require some thinking. Such as an elevator puzzle which you have to reorder the beads based on their colours. However I didn’t really like the hidden objects based game play. Given that many items you will be looking for a little too well hidden. I also found out that you can only click on them under certain conditions. As you cannot click on them before the puzzle that you need them to collect them for is initiated.
The game will not allow you to pick them up. I also think that some puzzles would be quite difficult for some audiences, particularly children and anyone who is new to puzzle games. Since the game doesn’t provide hints that often. If you want more hints you have to click on a set amount of mosquitoes. Even then hints will only circle where an item is located.
Some of the puzzles are inaccessible to some particularly those that involve colour. I also think puzzles can be difficult. One puzzle in question tasks players to put colours of in an order. The shades are to be arranged from strongest to weakest. To add to this the shades must be in each respective colour. The puzzle itself is difficult for some who have colour blindness. I also feel that the puzzle itself doesn’t make it clear in what to do. At I first tried to place the colours in order of weakest to strongest. Then after realising it didn’t work I then put it in strongest to weakest.
I think that this puzzle is very likely to confuse some particularly children and those new to puzzle games. Unless, that is, you look up the answer online. In which case, playing a puzzle game is pointless. Although some puzzles which are much simpler (as seen above) that involve colours can also be difficult. Another puzzle I did early on was a Simon says style game. If you cannot see what the correct colour is you will not be able to progress in the game.
Overall I feel that The Tiny Bang Story is a mixed bag of offerings. On the one hand you have a charmingly drawn puzzle game. That at times does well at providing simple and yet occasionally complex puzzles. But on the other hand I think that the cartoon art style will deter some. As on a first look impression some could deem the game to be childish. Even though, some of the puzzles sometimes can be too difficult for some to complete.
However I generally recommend this game to puzzle game fans. Especially if you get past the style of how the game is. This game is a charming adventure and it is a good family friendly game. Additionally, younger players will occasionally require help in playing through this game. However I would only recommend getting the game on sale. Due to the fact it is short and can be in completed in a few hours.
