Tearaway Unfolded Review

The original Tearaway wowed PS Vita’s dedicated fanbase with its unrivaled charm and creative use of the handheld’s features. In 2015, Media Molecule attempted to translate that magic over to the television with the remake Tearaway Unfolded.

For the most part, this paper craft platformer understands the strengths of the original by bringing the unique playstyle over to the DualShock 4 controller. However, the game doesn’t always benefit from enlargement. And perhaps, the journey of Iota and Atoi was best experienced on an envelope-sized screen.

Story

The story of Tearaway Unfolded doesn’t stray too far from its first iteration. You control either a male or female messenger as they traverse a world made of paper in the hope of delivering a message to you, the player. The devious Scraps have also invaded this world and are infecting it with their depressing newspaper clippings. I guess that could mean the game is presenting a thoughtful commentary on the oversaturation of uninspired media. But in reality, the plot is more interested in providing charming, very British-style humor. While I enjoyed this tone, the voices of the two commentators could be a little overbearing.

Visuals

Fortunately, the story of Tearaway Unfolded is not a huge focus. Instead, the visually-striking world is where the developer’s effort clearly went. Every element of the levels integrates the papercraft art style. And I mean every. Water is a light blue strip of cardboard that trickles when walked over. Grass is thin cuts of paper that shudder in the breeze. And, buildings are engineered from multiple tactile components. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Nintendo got their Labo idea after peering at some screenshots of this game.