The French Swing Swing Submarine are the creators of this indie jewel that was released in 2015 on Windows, OS X and Linux. This study, founded
in 2009, is defined as a small team of lovers of video games, whose purpose is to create unique games for the entire planet. Besides Seasons After Fall, they are the parents of Blocks That Matter, another adventure of puzzles and platforms in which Tetrobot, the robot-drill, must collect blocks of matter to recycle them and turn them
into new blocks. As a sequel, the French studio launched Tetrobot and Co., another game of the same genre in which the diminutive Psychobot will be i
ntroduced into the circuits of Tetrobot to repair it. Swing Swing Submarine, in addition, have a mini-catalog of games that they call “small” and
that can be played on their website: Tetro Mario Bros (which combines Tetris and Mario Bros); Greek & Wicked, a parody of God of War Game & Watch style; and Meet Me at the Banana Disco, a very simple adventure that reflects the difficulties of communicating in a nightclub.
A beautiful fairy tale and platforms
Seasons After Fall is the latest creation of Swing Swing Submarine, distributed by Focus Home Interactive. In it we will control a red fox in
a magical forest that must gather the Guardians of the Four Seasons, incarnated by four animals of more size than usual in their species – the Autumn Guardian is a crane, the Summer Cicada, a cicada ; that of winter, a bear and that of Primavera, an eel- to solve a mystery that looms in the order of nature. The game begins with a spirit known a
s Seed, which fuses another similar spirit, whom he calls Little Seed, with the body of a red fox and entrusts him with the mission of stealing the powers of the Guardians of the sleeping Four Seasons in order to perform a mysterious ritual. The fox will ac
quire these powers with which he can manipulate the environment at will to turn it into winter, autumn, spring and summer. During the second part of the game, the Winter Guardian will request help from the Zorro Seed, which will have reached a more ethereal state, to solve the mystery that looms over the forest.
In this fairytale in videogame format we will move through the different scenarios of a fantastic forest whose elements we can alter through the power of the four seasons. For example, when invoking autumn, mushrooms will flourish that will act as platform
s and the wind will float fallen leaves that we can climb; with spring we can make some water flowers water seeds that will become trees and raise th
e water level of the lakes; with the winter we will freeze the water and the geysers to be able to move on them and with the summer we will wake up some plants and dry the lakes. We can also bark pla
nts, insects and spiritual beings to get them going. In addition to moving around platforms, we will have to solve puzzles that require observation and ingenuity to combine different seasons and alter the landscape in order to continue advancing. The controls
are very simple; in the version for PlayStation 4, which is what we tested, we will use the left analog to move, X button to jump, Square button to bark and with R1 and we use the power of the stati
ons, which we will choose with the left analog stick. The learning curve is very smooth; In the first stages we will learn to manage the fox and, one by on
e, we will know the powers of the Four Seasons and the possibilities they offer. Square button to bark and with R1 and we use the power of the stations, which we will choose with the left analog stick. The learning curve is very smooth; In the first stages we will learn to manage the fox and, one by on
e, we will know the powers of the Four Seasons and the possibilities they offer. Square button to bark and with R1 and we use the power of the station
s, which we will choose with the left analog stick. The learning curve is very smooth; In the first stages we will learn to manage the fox and, one by one, we will know the powers of the Four Seasons and the possibilities they offer.
The world in which Seasons After Fall develops is made up of different areas. The Sanctuary is a clearing located in the heart of the forest, and from which we go to the kingdoms of the four seasons, composed of three scenarios each. Throughout the game we revisit these scenarios several times, it does not become repetitive despite this, since in each area we will discover new co
rners in each phase of the game. As an added bonus, in each area there are secrets that, upon discovering them, the fox will lie down to sleep and during his dreams he will hear fragments of the relationship between the Seed of the Sanctuary and the Winter Guardian. If we do not find these secrets, after the credit screen we will be suggested as extras to continue exploring.
Throughout the game we were captivated by the magical atmosphere and full of peace that transmits Seasons After Fall, composed of the beautiful a
udiovisual section and the calm with which the adventure takes place. There are no enemies, no possibility of dying (if the fox falls towards one of the few chasms that there are, it returns to the same point by which it was precipitated), nor record time in which to fulfill the missions.
The highlight of Seasons After Fall is its sublime audiovisual beauty. The scenarios and characters are hand painted and the soundtrack is composed of delicate songs based on violin and guitar that cradles us as we devise ways to solve puzzles and fill us with peace even in
the most frustrating moments. The movements are very fluid and elegant, despite the pull that occurs in the early stages, the result of the porta consoles. The voices of the characters have the warm and mysterious character of a fairy tale, and fill them with life and personality.
