I had never played Rime before and I had gotten it among my free games on PS4. I told myself that I was going to play it, but set it aside as I was busy with other things. I decided finally that I would make some time to play it during one of my Twitch streams and explore the game with my community. There are some spoilers at the end, so if you do not wish to be spoiled play the game first. Let's get started about why I loved this game.
Right from the start Rime hooks you in with the beautiful artwork and music. You play as a young boy washed ashore on an abandoned island. The controls for the game are easy to navigate and it is easy to figure out where your destination is because the game focuses on a tower in the distance that the boy is supposed to get to. In order to do this the boy must solve various puzzles in the area. You can have the boy shout or sing at certain statues or objects for the puzzles. There is a cute little fox that guides the boy by barking whenever he is near a puzzle or to show him where the next path is.
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| The boy and the fox guide meet. |
The main staple of the game is the boy climbing the tower and exploring five different areas, solving puzzles and figuring out how to get to the next area with the fox helping him on his journey. Each area has its own unique and pretty design. I enjoyed trying to figure out each puzzle and seeing where the story would take us. The artwork in Rime has a lovely whimsical aspect to it with an emotional feel. The music in the game captures the essence of each area perfectly. I felt great each time I was able to solve a puzzle and move on when you solved the puzzle the animation for it evoked this heartwarming feeling with the animations for it.
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| The boy and fox celebrate solving a puzzle. |
During the game the boy has flashbacks of how he came to be on the island. Rime tells this story without words flawlessly using the art and music to convey the emotions in this tale. I found myself invested in the story and wanting to know what happened next. I loved every single area and kept going because I wanted to see how the story ended. That's how much Rime captured my heart. I love story based games and Rime managed to grab me in right from the start and kept me interested with the marvelous detail in each area and puzzle.
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| Rime has so many beautiful areas like this one. |
Rime is not a very long game, but it is an incredible one. When I got to the end of the game and the end of the story I was not ready for all the emotions it would cause me to feel with some of the revelations about the boy's journey and understanding that each of the five areas was a representation of the five stages of grief and that the perspective has been from the boy's father who lost his son imaging his child coming back to him as he came to terms with his grief. It makes the story in Rime all the more heartbreaking and even more wonderful as you see the moment in the story where the father lets go and accepts the loss of his son. I admit I cried at this point in the game. It hit so close to home losing someone you love and how we process that loss while trying to heal and accept it. It hurt my heart and yet, I love this game. It captured the essence of those emotions so powerfully and really proved that it is an amazing story told without a single word spoken. Rime became a favorite game for me because of how well it did this and I am glad I made the time to play this incredible game.
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| This moment with the father broke my heart, but it's beautiful. |
*Rime is available to play on the following platforms: PC, Playstation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch
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