Review for Ghost Giant. Game for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation VR, the video game was released on 16/04/2019
One of the few unavoidable truths of the human Being is its fragility: the death of a relative, the breaking up of s with a childhood friend, the depression of a loved one, are all occurrences in anyone's existence, nevertheless the their inevitability does not make living them less painful.
As the adage goes, however, "before making you happy I will make you strong”, So there is - nor should there be - shame in realizing that every failure, every fall, every ounce of that pain, are necessary to make us stronger and even just a little more ready for the next curveball. Pain is the agony of an instant, indulging in pain is the mistake of a lifetime, and Ghost Giant, behind the apparent superficiality of an Unravel-esque title, displays a brave heart, adept at unraveling a story of pain without indulging too much in it or its consequences.
After the melodic narrative of Fe and the irreverence of Stick it to the Man and Flipping Death, the Swedes of Zoink they left behind the Hic Sunt Leones waiting for them just beyond their comfort zone, uncharted territory both in terms of mechanics and emotional power.
Ghost Giant is today one of the titles that perhaps makes the most sense to exist in theVR ecosystem, so much so as to succeed in the mission impossible that many had set themselves up until now, that is, making PlayStation VR part of the narrative itself and not mere support on which to stick the title of the moment; PSVR is a necessary and sufficient medium for the emotional adventure that Zoink aims to give us, simultaneously binoculars aimed at the horizon of a world with fantastic connotations and a microscope focused on the personal spaces of the protagonist and of those who gravitate around it.
Louis he is a young cat in a world full of talking and anthropomorphic animals, and we find ourselves meeting him in a moment of great despair: he is in tears, on the shore of a small lake, when we appear. The phantom giant of the title appears in this instant come to life from sadness of Louis, as if it were a manifestation of it, a sort of creature brought into the world by the unsettling sense of loneliness in the pain in which Louis finds himself.
If the golem of the legend bore the word "Truth" on his forehead and it was that to give him life and purpose, our mission seems to be immediately that of accompanying the protagonist through the tribulations in which he will find himself, all in the nobler than intentions: to make the mother smile, hit by a strong depression that is slowly transforming her into the faded shadow of what she once was.
The narrative plot is rather simple, but for every extraordinary story told in an ordinary way there is a daily one capable of being told in a unique way. We will be both narrator and Deus Ex Machina, recipient of the narrated message but still in charge of breaking down every obstacle that Louis will find on his path, all in the form of environmental enigmas: it is precisely in the interaction with the environment that Ghost Giant shines with its own light. , very implicitly pushing us to experiment with every inch of the game world.
The visual aspect of Zoink's title is a child of handmade charm of titles such as Little Big Planet and, if you dwell, you can only be delighted by the vibrant feel that each element of the level returns: a hill built from pieces of wood colored green and held together by paper clips, a sky whose clearly two-dimensional stars hang from the ceiling with fabric threads, soft clouds of cotonfioc, are all fascinating pieces of a level design so realistic in its manufacture that it looks like a diorama that came to life.
Being able to freely reach out and touch every object could easily become one of the most impactful experiences that VR has been able to offer so far, also thanks to the fire of curiosity that keeps burning me alive for all 4-5 hours of play.
Ghost Giant fully embraces this status quo of semi-literal playground making almost the entire level interactive, managing to give the player the power to get lost in it without hesitation, thanks to a soft soundtrack and fascinating supporting characters in their eccentric uniqueness. Each dialogue and NPC immerses us more in the magical world of Louis, as absurd in the use of animal characters as protagonists, as it is real and ordinary in the themes it hides under the obvious preterition of the dialogues.
With the progress of history, our role in the events is stripped of its subtle paratactic garments to fulfill itself, and resolve itself, in the hypothesis of the between Louis and the protector he himself created; the Ghost Giant is nothing else, as hypothesized in the incipit, which mise en abyme by Louis himself, trapped and then strengthened in and by the concentric matryoshka of pain and resilience through which we accompanied him. In Louis's awareness of the by now past emotional storm that had overwhelmed him shortly before, we lose function, and it is in our disappearance that the actual growth of Louis takes place.
A different title would hardly have been able to make us feel so essential for so long, and then deprive us of our necessity in the final moments without making this amputation feel illegitimate; Honest praise goes to Zoink for the ability to create a story of depth thanks to - and despite - us.
Ghost Giant is perhaps the most magical title you will ever experience, at least on PlayStation VR: the delicious cocktail made from the simplest ingredients, skillfully concocted by the Swedish Zoink, knows how to bewitch and bewitch, creating an unprecedented sense of immersion for the virtual platform of Sony. The story manages to capture attention and empathy while walking on emotional paths that have already been tried, without relying on forced rollercoasters or unmotivated tearjerking moments. Ghost Giant's soundtrack and level design only increase the sense of jubilation and amazement in front of every moment and inch of the game world, thanks to the almost total interactivity of the environments and its undeniable magical genotype.
► Ghost Giant is an Adventure-Puzzle type game developed and published by Zoink for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation VR, the video game was released on 16/04/2019
