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Congratulations, you have been invited to ULTRAWORLD. Drop by and take in the sights and sounds of this lush First-Person Explorer. It's not all rest and relaxation, though, as you'll need to help a lonely video game character face its problems. It'll present you with some curious questions and then ask you to respond. It's up to you to decide what answers to provide, if any at all. Will you change its outlook, or will it change yours? It features exploring, relaxing, and thinking and not featuring jumping, shooting, crafting, survival, Nazis, zombies, space marines, fetch quests, high scores, co-op, multiplayer, microtransactions, DLC, or DRM. The developer is a former AAA game industry veteran (Crytek, Sony, Silicon Knights) who left his job so that he could pursue his artistic ambitions. The first result of this is ULTRAWORLD: a work intended to help define video games as an artistic medium. Its story was written in a way that could only exist in this format, and none other. This could never be a book, a movie, or a play; it could only be a video game. Some people may not classify ULTRAWORLD as such, especially those who cling to the word "game" in the literal sense. It lets you loose to explore a series of diverse and abstract environments. Massive, alien structures tower into a fluorescent sky, pools of crystalline water reflect a rainbow of colors in different pockets of the world, while spiraling ramps and stairs lead you across the mysterious expanses in search of a higher truth. It's a gorgeous looking game with an equally nice soundtrack. It's comparable to Kairo for its use of beautiful, yet ominous environments to weave an obscure tale that only delving deeper can possibly solve. Ultraworld Exodus was a free addition, a highly revised redux of the original ULTRAWORLD story. Ponder Exoplanets and Artificial Intelligence while trying to assist a self-aware NPC in the midst of an existential crisis. A new continuation of the unusual sci-fi meta-narrative that could only be told in the medium of video games. A year has passed and ULTRAWORLD has changed. Your old pal is dismayed by your inaction, but this gives way to a new friend with an impossible plan. Embrace the hivemind. VACATION MODE: A greatly expanded free-roaming mode where you're the Artist. Change the colors, filters, particles, and rendering modes for infinite visual variety (and I do mean infinite). Then soar above the landscape, camera in hand, looking for the perfect picture. Every shot is a unique abstract painting, created by you, and fit to hang on your walls. There are now double the songs to the highly praised original soundtrack. Vacation Mode can be setup to use VR devices (although you'll need a steel stomach, not meant for humans). The game was made freeware in 2016 as well. |
