A Story about my Uncle came out last year by Gone North Games and is a good example of developing a strong base mechanic for your game and then building everything around it. While it may be on the short side, it’s an exciting journey while it lasts.
Finding Fred:
The story is told through flashback as you are telling your son about the day you went looking for Uncle Fred who mysteriously disappeared one day. After entering his house and messed with some of his machines, you find yourself teleported to another world inside a custom made adventure suit.
Gameplay of a Story about My Uncle is all about momentum; your suit comes with enhanced jumping capabilities and a grapple beam with both recharging whenever you hit the ground. Each area is full of markers from Fred that clue you into where you need to be going at any given point with checkpoints on the ground at key positions.
Once you are swinging in the air, you need to pay attention to your momentum in order to avoid colliding with anything that will stop you while making sure to grapple to the next point. At the start you can only grapple once in the air but this will become upgraded as you go through the game. Besides the story, there are hidden collectibles scattered throughout each level with your only clue is the sound they make when you get close.
While the game is based on a simple set of mechanics, the controls are fine tuned and the game is very challenging
And that’s really it for the game; it’s a short experience built around this core mechanic of physics based swinging and it works.
As with games like Portal, the challenge is figuring out how to use your unique hook to get through the environment and the use of swinging is sure to give advanced players a lot of ways to get through the game.
While the mechanic is integrated well, the game isn’t without its sore spots.
Face Plant:
A Story About my Uncle is the classic example of a one trick game — Where there is one and only one mechanic that the entire experience is about. While you do get some upgrades to your grapple and jump, you’re still doing the same thing from start to finish. This isn’t a horrible thing as many games can get by with one mechanic and A Story About my Uncle is short enough that the game doesn’t wear out its welcome.
The environments at the start take place in very dark areas that makes it hard to see where the proper ground is and I was hoping for more open areas. The use of markers help, but there is sameness in each environment that can make it easy to get turned around.
Hidden story objects and collectibles give the player a reason to swing off the beaten path
As you get further into the game, the number of checkpoints lessens as the different segments get a little longer. This can be a little frustrating as there were times where the grapple points had to be searched while in mid air.
The game features plenty of challenging achievements and a time trial mode but these are meant for the hardcore fans of the genre and there really isn’t anything for casual fans after beating the game.
High in the Air:
A Story About my Uncle is a great use of a single mechanic; I would really love to see another game in the series and more specifically an open ended version where the player can explore to their heart’s content. It’s one of the few great first person platformers and something worth spending an afternoon or so playing.
