Flower (PlayStation 3)


Flower is a short and rather unique gaming experience in which you control the wind and a flower petal. The game has six levels plus a credits level. You start at the "main menu", which is a windowsill looking out over a city. As the game progresses there will be flowers beginning to bloom along the windowsill, and selecting one will bring you to that level. You start with one and more unlock as you finish the previous one. The scenery through the window will also change to reflect your progress.



Once in a level, you control the wind and the starting flower petal by moving your controller. you can turn and increase or decrease your elevation. Simply hold down a button, pretty much any button, in order to speed up. You'll go around collecting petals from other flowers. Doing so will activate little mini-scenes and checkpoints, generally by brightening up the environment and allowing you access further in to the level. Different flowers also generally represent different things or have different effects, such as illumination, an elevation boost, or simply by marking the path towards your destination. They also each have their own distinctive tone when passing through them, which adds to the music of the level.



The levels do follow a narrative as the player slowly approaches a big city. While the game begins already quite bright and cheerful, day soon turns to night, and an open field of grass and flowers becomes a city full of protruding metal contraptions. I don't want to spoil the progression too much as it is best to experience it, but slightly different gameplay is added as you go on, with former impassible barriers becoming one more thing to bring light and beauty to.



While short, I did rather enjoy my time with Flower. It's a game you can easily play in an evening and for me personally it's a great mood booster. At one point it evokes a mood of fear and helplessness for me, but then it's followed up by bringing hope and happiness. It makes me feel like things can be overcome after a rough patch. While it started out a bit "oh this is pretty", it's really in the second half that, for me, it started resonating much more. Because the game only has a loose narrative, no dialogue, and mostly conveys its story through visuals and music, I would say a lot of it is up to interpretation and the experience probably varies from individual to individual. The controls were a bit annoying to me as I'm not a motion control type of person, and it certainly isn't a heavy, action packed, or deeply involved game. But if you're looking for a neat little experience with some great visuals and have a few hours to spare, I would definitely give it a try!

Verdict:
LIKED IT A LOT