The Tiny Bang Story
Game Review

Tiny Planet was a beautiful quirky world. There were only a few buildings on the planet, and they weren't ordinary buildings either. There's a tower that looks like a shoe and a row of homes made from giant bottles. However, this world was about to come tumbling down. As the game begins, you see a meteor hurtling towards Tiny Planet's soccer-ball-moon. The resulting collision tears the world apart into little pieces (jigsaw pieces to be exact). And thus begins your adventure in trying to piece the world back together.

The Tiny Bang Story is a unique game, in that the story isn't portrayed by characters the way it's done in other hidden object games. There's no brave protagonist wondering aloud about their surroundings or tasks, and there are no conversations or even text dialogs in the game. In fact, the only text in the game is found within its many puzzles. The few characters in the game don't even talk to you, but communicate via thought bubbles, gasps and grunts. It is a style that is very different from standard fare and may take some getting used to, but it does open up the world and let you explore every part of it yourself without telling you what you need to look at.

Since there's no textual story to guide you, you need to figure out the problems and puzzles yourself. In that sense, it is reminiscent of the pioneering adventure puzzle game Myst. The overall goal is pretty straightforward though: fix everything and put the world back together! In each chapter (there are 5 in total), you need to find some of the missing jigsaw pieces that the world broke into as well as put everything in the current location back in order. So you could be helping an old lady restore her painting or repairing a broken elevator. You will also need to find or fix a mode of transportation that will take you to the next location/chapter.

There are no specific hidden object scenes in the game. When you click on an object that can be interacted with, a box will pop up on the right of the screen telling you what tools or items need to be found in order to be able to use that object. You will then need to hunt for these items throughout the various locations accessible to you. These items are very cleverly hidden, and while some are just sitting there in plain sight, they look like they actually belong where they are, and can be easily missed. This is a testament to the fantastic design and art of the game.

Some of the problems you encounter can't be fixed by just finding the right tool or items. These are more complex, and will take you to separate puzzle minigames. Some of these are fairly easy, such as the ones where you need to find missing pieces of a machine and put it together, or the ones that are homages to old arcade games. There are others though that are devilishly hard, such as a much more complex version of the classic "pipes" puzzle. If you get stuck, there is a hint button that will tell you what you are supposed to do, but won't give you the actual answer.

The hint system in the game is also unique. There is a hint button, but it won't recharge on its own. If you want to use it, you have to fill it by capturing mosquitoes that are flying around the place. Catch enough of them and you can use the hint button, which then empties again after you use it. It is a pretty good system that provides you with hints when you need it, but doesn't make it so tempting that you'd want to click it every couple of minutes.

The Tiny Bang Story's setting is also quirky and non-conventional. The world bears a resemblance to that of Little Big Planet and the you have characters such as the little old lady that lives in a (big) shoe and a gnome living underground beneath his machines made of giant drink bottles. However, all that quirkiness is executed very well thanks to the exceptional artwork. The world is very beautifully drawn in a painterly style that conveys a mix of steampunk and fantasy themes. Also exceptional is the fact that the world is one huge seamless picture rather than several discrete environments.

The Tiny Bang Story is a great hidden object game that has successfully managed to turn the conventions of this game genre upside-down and produce something that is a true work of art. Some people may not be able to get used to this seemingly-impersonal style of story-telling. But once you get past that, you will find this game and its setting very endearing and a fun experience. You will like the The Tiny Bang Story PC game if you like other grand puzzle adventure games such as the Empress of the Deep or Drawn game series. Or get the Mac version.

Related PC Games at Big Fish Games:

The Tiny Bang Story

Empress of the Deep 2: Song of the Blue Whale

Drawn: Dark Flight

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