It’s really special when a game provokes us into having some intense feeling or emotion. Making this even more special is the fact that we tend to see this more from independent developers. Pine: A Story of Loss is yet another indie game that brings players down this path, but there unfortunately is not enough substance or variety in its simple gameplay that’ll keep people invested despite its short length.
Pine: A Story of Loss guides you through the daily motions of a farmer as he goes about his business maintaining his home and crops. From gardening, to chopping wood for fire, to fetching water, to patching his roof lined with straw, it’s a simple life this man lives. As you do this busy work, you’ll come across instances of his life in the past where he not only took care of his farm, but he also took loving care of his sweetheart.
The protagonist has a penchant for sculpting memories of his wife and suffering as he does them.
Actual gameplay in Pine is beyond simple, but the developers could’ve easily done a better job walking players through it. The overwhelming majority of gameplay is command-based, with players either tapping a button to move forward or dragging something with the assistance of an on-screen prompt to its proper place. There are occasional puzzles, and the most notable of which has players fitting various plants into specific places at the garden. There’s nothing difficult here; in fact the most difficult thing is understanding how to do something. When I got to the point of the farmer creating his first sculpture, for example, I didn’t know when I’d be done with that task, and the game doesn’t really make it obvious. Despite mostly being command-based, the game doesn’t mention what buttons need to be pressed in order to do something, which makes the gameplay a tad frustrating.
The end result is a game that feels like it was made for mobile, with console and PC platforms being an afterthought. In fact, if this were just a mobile game, it might be easier to feel invested. Music in the game is subtle and almost unnoticeable, so it doesn’t do much to enhance the experience, and while a lot of the animated cutscenes are beautiful, the watercolor look doesn’t do much to vibrantly stand out. You just go through the motions, and after a little less than two hours, it ends. When it did, while I did nod my head and show some remorse for the farmer, I didn’t feel accomplished, nor did I feel like I did anything useful with my time. If I played this on PlayStation with trophy support, would it have enhanced the experience? Absolutely, but there’s no confirmation on whether the game will make it to PlayStation, or Xbox for that matter.
The game is beautifully animated, but these moments are few and far between.
Strangely enough, the game was designed to be finished in one sitting, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that because I just felt bored by it. In fact, the majority of my time playing was spent on a flight from Florida to California, so I’d say the fact that I couldn’t finish it during that trip says a lot about how enjoyable it was.
If you want a simple game that’ll allow you to feel, Pine: A Story of Loss does that at the barest of minimums, so I can’t fully recommend it for $10. You’re better off with a game like Florence which does the same thing with much more variety and likely more enjoyment.
It’s really special when a game provokes us into having some intense feeling or emotion. Making this even more special is the fact that we tend to see this more from independent developers. Pine: A Story of Loss is yet…
It’s really special when a game provokes us into having some intense feeling or emotion. Making this even more special is the fact that we tend to see this more from independent developers. Pine: A Story of Loss is yet another indie game that brings players down this path, but there unfortunately is not enough substance or variety in its simple gameplay that’ll keep people invested despite its short length.
Pine: A Story of Loss guides you through the daily motions of a farmer as he goes about his business maintaining his home and crops. From gardening, to chopping wood for fire, to fetching water, to patching his roof lined with straw, it’s a simple life this man lives. As you do this busy work, you’ll come across instances of his life in the past where he not only took care of his farm, but he also took loving care of his sweetheart.
The protagonist has a penchant for sculpting memories of his wife and suffering as he does them.
Actual gameplay in Pine is beyond simple, but the developers could’ve easily done a better job walking players through it. The overwhelming majority of gameplay is command-based, with players either tapping a button to move forward or dragging something with the assistance of an on-screen prompt to its proper place. There are occasional puzzles, and the most notable of which has players fitting various plants into specific places at the garden. There’s nothing difficult here; in fact the most difficult thing is understanding how to do something. When I got to the point of the farmer creating his first sculpture, for example, I didn’t know when I’d be done with that task, and the game doesn’t really make it obvious. Despite mostly being command-based, the game doesn’t mention what buttons need to be pressed in order to do something, which makes the gameplay a tad frustrating.
The end result is a game that feels like it was made for mobile, with console and PC platforms being an afterthought. In fact, if this were just a mobile game, it might be easier to feel invested. Music in the game is subtle and almost unnoticeable, so it doesn’t do much to enhance the experience, and while a lot of the animated cutscenes are beautiful, the watercolor look doesn’t do much to vibrantly stand out. You just go through the motions, and after a little less than two hours, it ends. When it did, while I did nod my head and show some remorse for the farmer, I didn’t feel accomplished, nor did I feel like I did anything useful with my time. If I played this on PlayStation with trophy support, would it have enhanced the experience? Absolutely, but there’s no confirmation on whether the game will make it to PlayStation, or Xbox for that matter.
The game is beautifully animated, but these moments are few and far between.
Strangely enough, the game was designed to be finished in one sitting, but I couldn’t bring myself to do that because I just felt bored by it. In fact, the majority of my time playing was spent on a flight from Florida to California, so I’d say the fact that I couldn’t finish it during that trip says a lot about how enjoyable it was.
If you want a simple game that’ll allow you to feel, Pine: A Story of Loss does that at the barest of minimums, so I can’t fully recommend it for $10. You’re better off with a game like Florence which does the same thing with much more variety and likely more enjoyment.
by Danreb Victorio
