Thomas Was Alone

Thomas Was Alone

Steam - World - Title card.

Developer Mike Bithell Games, Plaything, Curve Studios, Carbon Games Publisher Curve Studios, Curve Digital Publishing, Bossa Studios Published 2012-06-30 Platforms Android, iOS, Linux, Macintosh, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PS Vita, Switch, Wii U, Windows, Xbox One Genres Passive puzzle, Platformer, Puzzle, Puzzle-platformer Themes Artificial intelligence, Science fiction Series Thomas Was Alone Distribution Commercial

Thomas Was Alone is a puzzle-platformer developed by Mike Bithell Games and published by and released for on 2012-06-30. It is the second game in the Thomas Was Alone series. The game was developed in Unity.

In the game, the player controls various rectangles and must move them to specific places on a map. Each rectangle has different abilities like higher jumping and floating in water, which the player must use to their advantage to navigate obstacles and avoid hazards, and, to really make progress, the player must find out ways to make the abilities work in harmony.

Personal

Own?	Yes. On Steam.
Won?	Yes. Main story and Benjamin's Flight expansion. 35/35 achievements.
Finished	2024-11-18 / Expansion: 2024-11-20.

I heard about this game not long after it came out. After buying it in a Humble Bundle, I tried it out, and, while I did initially enjoy it, I stopped playing pretty quickly into the game because I had so many other games on my list. Years later, I was more determined to beat it.

Review

5	6	5	5	3

Best Version: Windows

Good

• The narration is quite enjoyable and adds a lot of character to the otherwise dull shapes.
• I like the various special abilities possessed by the shapes. This helps makes things more interesting than just a bunch of jumping puzzles.
• The lighting effects and tilted camera paired with the minimalist art style is quite nice.

Bad

• I found the game to be far too easy. The majority of the puzzles were self-evident and required very little thought to solve them. Perhaps about a dozen of the levels actually made me pause for a moment to consider the solution. I would have preferred more difficult puzzles.
• Although I enjoyed the narration and liked the idea of applying a story to the game, I don't feel like it ever really resolved itself. The game just kept introducing new characters until it ended. What is the floating black pixel? What is the bright white light? Each section gives a bit of the story of humans trying to stop the artificial intelligences they created, but its pretty disjointed. The expansion only adds to the confusion.
• Having to hear the same narration several times after dying was a bit annoying.
• After you beat the main story, you aren't given any indication that there is additional content. You just sort of have to notice the new levels in the stage select menu.

Ugly

• Nothing.

Media

Covers

• 

  Steam - Title card.

• 

  Windows - Digital.

• 

  PlayStation Network - Title card.

• 

  Switch - Title card.

• 

  Android / iOS - Icon.

Videos

Longplay - Wii U.

Longplay - Windows.

Longplay - Windows - Benjamin's Flight.

Representation

Strong female character?	Pass	You play as a few women who, according to the narrator, are quite capable and overcome challenges.
Bechdel test?	Fail	None of the characters talk.
Strong person of color character?	Fail	There aren't any races.
Queer character?	Fail	As far as I can tell, there are no queer characters.

Expansion

Thomas Was Alone: Benjamin's Flight is an expansion released on 2013-04-23. It was initially released on the PlayStation Network as DLC, and later added to the Steam release for free. It serves as a prequel to the game and adds 20 new levels based around a jetpack mechanic.

Links