A Fold Apart brings you into a personal and deep story. It’s a story that invites you into a deep and meaningful relationship between two characters. It’s a game that’s real, and that’s why I love it.
Never in my life, I thought that I would end up playing a game about folding paper. I mean sure, fourth grade Ben did it in the back of the class when he was bored, but playing a game about it? Turns out though, you can actually learn and quite enjoy it.
‘A Fold Apart’ is a puzzle game from Lightning Rod Games. Ah yes, puzzles the one thorn in my side my entire life. You play as a couple (of your choice) and are tasked with what has always seemed to be an issue for every relationship. Long Distance. One half of your couple (male or female depending on your choice) gets an amazing chance to go be an architect in the big city while your other half (again male or female) has to stay being and continue to live back in the countryside.
You start to dive into the emotions and feelings of both characters. Reading their texts and beginning to peak into their lives apart. Then, one will say something to the other that will hurt or possibly upset them, not intentional mind you, but something that can be taken in a different manner then meant. This comment sends you down a rabbit hole of emotions and inner dialogue. All the while, the player controls the environment around them. Solving the puzzles by folding and flipping the landscape around the character.
You are in control of how these characters respond with each other and how they are able to get through these emotions and feelings. Looking back on it, it speaks heavily to feelings of isolation, anxiety, and communication breakdowns between people. While I could continue to look deeper into that, I’ll just leave that aspect to the COM class I had in college (shout out to Prof. Roberson, you were super cool).
I’ve always loved music in anything. I was the kid that if I heard a song in a commercial, movie, or show I would have to go and find it because I loved it. This is how I feel about this entire score for A Fold Apart. While it’s all a smooth and quiet score it really is wonderful to listen to. It’s calming and fitting for the game.
The character design and art style are also beautifully made and the background level art style is something that is really amazing to look at. Now I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the best when it comes to puzzles by any means. That being said, I really enjoyed this game and the thinking I had to do. It gives you unlimited attempts and you have the ability to backtrack. So if fold the paper wrong, you’re able to go back and fix what you’ve done. Some of the later puzzles could be a bit challenging, but the game does give you tips to figure out if you need it. While the tips are good, they can be a bit frustrating cause they just move the game forward. It’s like it does the step for you, not just guiding you but doing it for you. I did find myself needing this later on in the game as I spent some time on a few of the later puzzles.
Controls on the PC are a bit frustrating at times as my mouse kept going funky, not working at times, and releasing the paper too early and making a mistake while folding. The mapping for the keyboard was also a bit confusing at first with just us A and D to move (it’s kinda like a side scroller) but it’s easy to pick up on. It is also a shorter game. I was able to finish in about three or four-hour sessions. The full game is only six chapters overall. This though did leave me feeling like I wanted more, but the end (no, this isn’t a spoiler) itself was good and the game was well-paced.
Overall, A Fold Apart is a really good game. It hits on a personal note for those who have struggled with long-distance, or even if you’ve struggled with anxiety and the feeling of loneliness. The story (based on true events mind you) is a personal one that shows the personal struggle of handling a modern relationship and the communication barriers it can give you. It’s a great balancing act between the lovely, uplifting art and music, to the heaviness and at times the personability of the themes.
This is a game that I personally put into the ‘games are art’ category. Yes, all games are art. However, I’ve had to explain to people what is so enticing about gaming and why I feel games are art. Games are interactive media as to a painting, a book, or a movie. All of these types of media create emotion for the viewer, games allow you to participate and move into a character’s life. Games tell a story that brings you into it. A Fold Apart brings you into a personal and deep story. It’s a story that invites you into a deep and meaningful relationship between two characters. It’s a game that’s real, and that’s why I love it.
