Welcome to the village of Yaughton in Shropshire, England
circa 1984. Something isn’t right here, though. The streets are littered with
dead birds. Houses have been left open. Cars filled with hastily packed
possessions sit empty on the roadways. And there are no people to be found, not
even bodies. In the latest walking simulator from developer The Chinese Room (Dear Esther) it
is up to you to explore the village and piece together with happened. Continue
reading our Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture PS4 review for all of the details.
Game Details
- Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
- Developer: The Chinese Room
- ESRB Rating: “M” for Mature
- Genre: Walking Simulator
- Pros: Fantastic premise; gorgeous graphics; amazing soundtrack
- Cons: Slow movement speed; too long
- MSRP: $20
As mentioned above, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture takes
place in a quaint English valley in 1984. Something has happened to the people
there, however, which you discover by exploring and piecing together the story
through phone messages as well as brief glimpses into life before the event
presented as glowing strands of light. You not only get information on what
happened, but you also take a deep dive into the interconnected lives of the
people living in the small community. There was drama in this village. Lots of
it.
You don’t just get a huge dose of the drama in the seemingly
sleepy village before the event, however, as you also get heart-wrenching
descriptions of what happened during the event as well. The symptoms started
with a headache, then turned into a bloody nose, and eventually people just up
and disappeared into pure light. What caused it? Some new weapon? Aliens? Or
some higher power?
The fascinating thing about Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
is that nothing is ever made completely clear and it is up to you to come to
your own conclusions. Even when you reach the end of the game, it still isn’t
entirely clear what actually happened. A lot of the story important
conversations you can overhear are out of order, too, so piecing everything
together and connecting the dots is key to getting the most out of the game.
The way you actually play Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is
pretty straightforward walking simulator fare. It isn’t clear who or what
you’re actually playing as, but you move around in a first person perspective
and just look at stuff and stumble upon audio logs and conversations. You can
interact with phones, light switches, and doors. And that’s it. You just walk
around and automatically trigger memory flashbacks presented as glowing balls
and lines of light in order to hear the story of the people of the village. The
main story important / progress important conversations aren’t triggered
automatically, however, and instead make you tilt the PS4 controller to the
right angle to tune into that message’s frequency. When you get “lost” a flying
ball of light will show up to lead you around to the next story spot.
It takes anywhere from 4-5 hours to “finish” Everybody’s
Gone to the Rapture – that is, you’ve seen all of the story important main
conversations. You can miss some stuff, however, and there are actually quite a
few hidden things scattered around connected to trophies that you can find if
you’re thorough. It is a walking simulator through and through, so if you find
them boring you obviously won’t like it.
Even as someone that loves walking simulators, I do have
some complaints about Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture. Your movement speed is
very, very, very, insanely slow even if you hold the right trigger for several
seconds to activate a “run”. It’s slow and methodical and plodding. I also feel
like it goes on for too long. There is no sense of progression or satisfaction
as you’re just listening to conversations with no input whatsoever. By the
second half of the game I was begging for it to just get it over with. It
really could have used some editing to make it flow better.
I also have to say I wish the event actually had a more
conclusive explanation and was more of the focus. I get it, the point of this
game is the villagers and their story and not necessarily the details of the
event, but it kind of gives you blue balls. I was far more interested in the
science behind what was happening than the drama between a bunch of stuffy old
Brits but the game never pays off in that way. It’s still a fantastic
experience and worthwhile, but not quite on par with my favorite walking sims
like ABZU or Firewatch.
Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture more than delivers when it
comes to the presentation, however, and looking at beautiful stuff is half of
the appeal of a good walking sim. The little English village and surrounding
countryside is absolutely beautiful, thanks to using Cryengine. Special effects
for weather and light are also fantastically well done. The game sounds
amazing, too, with believable voice acting and a spectacular orchestral and
vocal choir soundtrack.
All in all, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is another solid
narrative driven exploration game – walking simulator – that fans of the genre
will really enjoy. I do feel it is a little too long and too dry in terms of
both mechanics and story compared to the best the genre has to offer, but it is
a worthwhile experience nonetheless. If you enjoy complex storytelling and
beautiful scenery, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is well worth a look.
