Tin Hearts – PS5 Review

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Tin Hearts is a puzzle platformer from developers Rogue Sun released on 16th May on all platforms. The game is the first official game released by Rogue Sun. They boast that some of the members of the dev team worked on Fable, a popular action adventure. Having seen the trailer I knew I had to take a closer look at this game which looked quirky, challenging, and had a good narrative. Let’s see what it is all about.

Get stuck into this Tin-spiring Tale

I always find myself drawn to puzzle, narrative-driven games. Something is compelling about working through this kind of game and uncovering an overreaching story. One that comes to mind is The Witness where you journey in solitude through the game solving puzzles and learning more about the story as you progress. This game looks to be similar. Are you a fan of these kind of games? If so, let us know below in the comments of your favorite puzzle games.

A line of toy soliders walk towards camera on a household table. A yellow shape is in the foreground
Rewind if you find yourself in a bind

Gameplay

The introduction finds you journeying to the light. “Don’t go into the light!” they say, but here you are helpless. As time moves on you find ghostly objects flying past you in the form of soldiers and shapes. As you enter the light I get my first look at the clockwork toy box and the toy soldier which climbs out of it, both of which will be a feature of the game going forward. You interact with these objects with a ghostly image of your hand which comes into view when you hover over them. As I advanced the game gave me a chance to learn the basics. In this tutorial, you are given the decorative toy box and triangle shapes that can be matched to holders, a house, and the exit. 

Your aim in each of these levels is to guide the autonomous toy soldiers to the door using the shapes. By strategically placing down the triangles you can have the toy soldiers rebound off them like a laser and a mirror. Again, I noticed our character’s ghostly arm reaching out and also notice you can see down the body to the feet. Strange. With the tutorial done, you progress onward. As I progressed onto the first level in the game I was given more shapes and the ability to fast forward time.

This reminded me of Lemmings where you could fast forward once you had the route to the goal finalised. Just like Lemmings, this game requires some advanced placement of items to direct the line of walking characters to the door. I soon got used to placing down the shapes and anticipating the routes and in no time, I was feeling confident 

A tabletop full of wooden toys and small toy soldiers
Becoming Geppetto – Where’s Pinocchio though?

Progression

As you progress through the prologue you unlock the ability to walk as if remembering how to. This allows you to travel over to the surfaces to fetch the shapes you need to complete the routes. With the Prologue completed you journey into Act 1, starting off in a much bigger room. The shapes you need here are hidden around the room, and the holders to place them on, multiple levels. A bit more finesse is needed to place the shapes with some being red herrings to give you more of a challenge and the game continues to challenge you further with every room.

The game eventually introduces me to free-standing blocks which can be rotated and placed wherever you see fit. With no holders to guide you, it’s a case of judging it by eye and using a trail showing the route the soldiers will take to get them home safely. Using the rewind ability I was required to rewind to a point where the tin soldiers were on another platform and navigate to the goal. I ended up relishing each challenge as it presented itself and was eager to advance the story and advance it did. As I progressed through the game onto Act II even more parts of the house and story opened up for exploration. 

A wide view of a room with light coming in through a small window. Tables are there with various toy parts on them.
Each room becomes your own land of adventure

Graphics & Audio

From the artistic intro to the detailed models and environments, Tin Hearts captivates you instantly. The towering first-person perspective over the tables adds to the sense of the size of each place you visit. Realistic lighting shines through the windows giving a dazzling colourful and detailed scene that you can’t help but explore. The animations of the tin soldiers is well-done and fun to watch. The movement of each one giving off character and action.

During my time playing through the first part of the game, it was evident this was no everyday emotional tale with its supernatural twist and knack for telling a story without words.  The score for the game is masterfully put together. It heightens the emotions the game makes you feel. It also bolsters your sense of awe every new location. Never once did I feel the music didn’t suit the game as I played through. The sound effects were expertly created too. Some were made to give a resonating echo like a click when putting items in place. It also gave a nice clockwork sound of the soldiers as they journeyed through the rooms. 

a ghostly father and daughter characters talking
Rose was tired of dads pun-tastic jokes

Longevity

Time, whilst you become a master of it in Tin Hearts, somehow escapes you as you sit there concentrating thoroughly on solving the increasingly challenging puzzles. The game promises many hours of working from room to room. You find yourself perfecting one particular skill only for there to be another one to perfect as you advance onwards. It’s easy to get lost in the expertly-crafted rooms. Each one is full of character and charm adding to the story it reveals itself.

Final Thoughts

I fell in love with this game not long after starting out in the game when playing on my PS5. The simplistic introduction showcased that games needn’t always offer up a lot of exposition. Instead, the freedom to explore and learn through actions was a creative touch. I for one welcomed this and fell in love exploring the game using my own initiative. Its wholesome and emotional feel coupled with its colourful and detailed look took the game to even higher heights. Definitely give this one a go if you love a simplistic emotional journey and challenging and clever puzzles. 

I give Tin Hearts  Thumb Culture’s prestigious Platnum Award!

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