A Fold Apart – Review (PC)

By Dave Lambden Last updated Apr 17, 2020

Not since Gris has an indie puzzle game had the ability to evoke such a strong emotional impact. While that game was somewhat ambiguous in its interpretation, this game is much more forthcoming in its meaning. A Fold Apart tells the story of two lovers separated by professional ambition. An architect leaves their partner for a project and they are forced to carry on their relationship from a long distance. Packaged in creative and accessible paper craft based puzzle mechanics, your journey sees you bridge the gap between our star crossed lovers both physically and emotionally.

At its core, A Fold Apart is a traversal based side-scrolling puzzle game. Players will use a unique set of paper craft based mechanics to move characters to an end goal. Each stage is set on the 2D plane of a sheet of paper that can be folded, flipped, turned, and curled to manipulate obstacles into and out of the environment. The mechanics are simple yet exceptional in their ingenuity. As the game progresses through its six chapters, new manipulation tools are introduced. Simple horizontal folds quickly turn into complex controlling of gravity and objects to bridge gaps to victory.

Unlike other puzzle games, these tools don’t combine and ask that the player incorporates all of them in later levels. Rather, each chapter focuses on a smaller set of two or three puzzle solving tools. This may seem too simple, but stages were complex enough to keep the challenge relatively high. If you do get stuck, a hint system can be leaned on to show you the way forward, one step at a time.

Advertisements

Gameplay aside, what really makes A Fold Apart a lasting experience is its touching and relatable story. Conversations between our two main characters take place primarily via text message where players have the option to select from a limited set of responses in some cases. These conversations carry on amicably until some sort of emotional road block is hit. This generally results from one partner saying something that upsets or is misinterpreted by the other.

This leads to a complete tonal shift and into a new set of puzzles. It expertly demonstrates the developer’s ability to draw parallels between the story’s subject matter and the obstacles in the games’ puzzles. As the game progresses, the relationship between the two becomes increasingly fragile and their future together falls further in doubt. This is signified by increasing difficulty in the puzzles and decreasing stability in the game’s environments. Further to this, the game’s simple string and piano soundtrack perfectly fits somewhere between endearing and emotional. It sets the tone and skillfully evolves with the increasingly somber subject matter.

The game isn’t perfect, however. Lightning quick and precise controls certainly aren’t a necessity in a game like this. However there were times when we wished our character could move a little more swiftly, specifically when interacting with blocks. It’s also a bit frustrating that there is no chapter select from the main menu – making it difficult to revisit your favorite puzzles. You’re forced to awkwardly manage separate save files, or replay through entire levels to get to your desired section. We did experience a few freezes during our playthrough that booted us out to the main game screen. Luckily, none of these issues were enough to break the immersion between the player, the story, and the puzzles.

Recommendation: A Fold Apart did things we weren’t expecting it to. A fresh and creative puzzle game wrapped in an endearing art style, soundtrack, and touching story were all aspects we knew were already there. What surprised us about the game was its willingness to trudge into the uglier side of trying to make love work. Self doubt, guilt, anger, resentment, and misinterpretation all have a strong presence throughout the game’s six chapters… and this is what we will remember the game for. Minor technical and control issues aside, A Fold Apart is a game we won’t soon forget and comes easy to recommend.