Tengami Review (Wii U eShop)

There is a need for all manner of games on the eShop, different genres and styles to please all those that seek the finer forms of entertainment – in other words not Call of Duty. Tengami is definitely one of the more refined and very different to what the vast majority of other games offer on most platforms. It is not so much a game as an interactive Japanese style pop-up book and there is nothing about this concept that should be changed at all. If ever there was a case for video games as art (of course they are!) this should be exhibit A as proof of their power.

The story is simple but effective, you guide a silent character through a Feudal Japan era setting in an effort to revive a dying cherry blossom tree that is introduced at the start of the game. There is not much more than that in that it is all about the atmosphere and the wonderful world you are dropped into, to drive it all along in a swift yet calming pace as this is very much about the journey not the destination.
The entire game plays out as an interactive pop-up book that you control entirely with the GamePad and stylus, this is an entirely touch based experience (it is also available on iOS because of this). Normally I don’t go for simple touch based games but in this case it fits the package perfectly. The closest the controls could be considered would be a traditional point-and-click adventure title but without the word puzzles. This is not an action game in any sense, if that is what you are after then this will have no place in your library.

You turn the pages, fold out buildings and stairways, solve puzzles by changing the level’s shapes and patterns to progress and it is all handled with the utmost class. It all simply flows. From changing the seasons with the hit of a bell to folding down a river/mountain to make a new pathway, all the challenges you are given are simple in execution, provide ample challenge to keep you entertained and yet not too hard to create significant road blocks. It is the same attitude and extensive play testing that made Portal such a winning game but done in an entirely different genre.

With me using words like Journey, Flow and Flowers you would think that this would be the work of ‘That Game Company’ that turned out all those glorious respective titles on Sony’s platforms but no this is a first time development from Nyan Yam, comprising solely of three people – all ex-Rare developers – and it shows that such pedigree is at play.

The entire world is rendered to perfection, it is simply stunning see everything have its place and feel ‘right’, the concept of the pop-up book is handled with care even letting you occasionally see the room that the book is in as a glimpse to the reality of the title. Colour styling is excellent, it is bright and colourful while simultaneously using pastel like paper tones in a subtle ways. This minimalist styling does allow the game to made in a simpler fashion and it runs without a single hiccup on the Wii U at all times. Keeping it simple to keep it smooth is always a good ethic to have in game development.

To back up the video is a traditional Japanese styled sound track, it yet again is a brilliant piece of work that should be given high praise throughout as the game. It sweeps and sways with the environments to give a laid back and layered tempo to the environment while not being over bearing on the player.
From the gameplay, to the presentation this is a winner on the highest level and Nyamyam should be commended for all that they have achieved. But it does have one very big flaw and it is the same flaw I have with ‘Attack of the Friday Monsters’ – the game can be as refined and as brilliant as it wants but if the length and the price you pay for that length is too short then it does end up working against the title as a whole.

To put it simply this game is short, very short. It can be finished first time through in about 2 hours and replay ability is little to none other than to re-experience it like a book or abstract film. I have no problem with this myself as it can be considered almost as an interactive meditation similar to lesser known films like Baraka (an entirely audio/visual experience – check it out) but for someone looking for a game a little more dense and twitch like gameplay will be left wanting.

If this sounds like the kind of game for you then I would highly recommend it, this is stunning work from start to finish no matter how close that finish line may be. If this is just the beginning for Nyam Nam then I have very high hopes for their future projects as they need to know that they produced something very different and very special… I suppose you can feel special too knowing that Wii U got this title before the PC did as well.