Flower has mostly been called experimental and as typical and cliché as it may be, I would have to agree with those people. It’s unlike anything I’ve played before, and just so hard to put into words. The basic premise of Flower is pretty simple: you control the wind with the PS3 sixaxis, and your objective is to fly through the environments picking up flower petals as you go. After obtaining so many of a certain type, you bring beauty back to the area and new paths open up. As you progress, the levels slowly evolve from dying nature to being littered with man-made obstructions that require some crafty maneuvering or else. There’s definitely an underlining commentary that can be drawn from the way the story progresses (which it does amazingly without words), but it’s open to interpretation, and personally, I think it should stay that way.
The music in Flower is fantastic, and the way it progresses is completely dependant on how you gather petals. Beautiful acoustic and orchestral pieces fill the player’s speakers with peace, tranquility and an overall calmness that compliments being able to fly freely anywhere within a level, gathering at your own pace. As the game progresses and introduces dangerous obstructions, the tone of music definitely drops, furthering the immersion and sense of dread coming. As the tone picks up however, the final moments of Flower are rewarding and uplifting in an indescribable manner.
It’s not a very long game. In fact, you could probably beat all the levels in one sitting, but Flower is not a game to be played just to beat. The gathering of all the petals in a level, experimenting with the wind and just flying around the beautiful environments to the amazing soundtrack is a wonderful relief of stress, especially after a long day at work. The nature of Flower’s concept is simple yet so well executed that it shows games don’t need blockbuster-budgets to create something amazing. It’s truly a work of art and I’m glad the developers, thatgamecompany are getting some well-deserved recognition for their efforts. If you’re looking for something new in your games, Flower may be just what you’re looking for.