Flower PS4 review thread

So the small, exclusive indie games are saving the PS4's launch in terms of critical review.

It's weird to me that the games I considered filler software (abbreviated gaming experiences) are the games to anticipate the most now.
 
Paskil said:
If I own the physical collectors edition of Journey (includes flow and Flower), is there something I would need to do to get my PS4 to recognize that I should get Flower as a crossbuy? I still haven't played Flower and once I heard they were bringing it to PS4, I held off on purchasing.
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Sorry, but there's no way to link the CE to a single PSN account, preventing the disc from being played on other accounts, so Sony's currently unable to extend the Cross-Buy of flOw and Flower over to CE purchases. The CE was made before there was any discussion of porting flOw or Flower over to the PS4 or Vita.

Aaron Grommesh
Community Manager
thatgamecompany
 
If there's any negative about Flower being a launch game, it's that all the ignorant comments in the review sections come back. People who judge the game simply by its subject matter. Then again, maybe it'll get a renewed sense of hype behind it. Just as it garnered so many years ago.
 
thatgamecompany said:
Sorry, but there's no way to link the CE to a single PSN account, preventing the disc from being played on other accounts, so Sony's currently unable to extend the Cross-Buy of flOw and Flower over to CE purchases. The CE was made before there was any discussion of porting flOw or Flower over to the PS4 or Vita.

Aaron Grommesh
Community Manager
thatgamecompany
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Will flOw or Journey be ported to the Vita/PS4?
 
Stumpokapow said:
I'm glad that the Unfinished Swan is one of the titles they plan to port. It is an excellent game and Sony clearly loves it, but it hasn't gotten the attention it deserves yet and since it's not available on any other platform it'd have disappeared if Sony did not port it forward.
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I can't imagine it looking any better on PS4. Probably the best IQ I've ever seen on PS3, it,s pristine
 
astroturfing said:
i'm genuinely surprised that it's free if you own the PS3 version.. very nice. i'll definitely check it out. do you get the trophies again btw?
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Last I heard was- yes. PS4 versions of fl0w, Flower, Escape Plan, and... whichever other one I'm missing... will allow you to get the trophies again.

Flower will be the first thing I DL from the PS4 Store. Love the PS3 version. :}
 
Man said:
Probably my favorite download-only title from the PS3 generation. Can't recommend it enough.
Better than Journey.
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You know what, in retrospective, even when I liked Journey a lot, I connected with this game more, I think I am with you here, I'd put this one over Journey.
 
Crazy how a sixaxis tech demo can get reviews like this. Just further cements reviews as being useless for a gameplay person like myself.
 
SmashN'Grab said:
Will flOw or Journey be ported to the Vita/PS4?
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Flow is coming at launch, together with Flower, yes. They were confirmed together. We don't know about Journey yet, but many expect it to follow to make the TGC collection complete on the PS4.

stfuppercut said:
Crazy how a sixaxis tech demo can get reviews like this. Just further cements reviews as being useless for a gameplay person like myself.
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Tech demo? I think not.
 
I absolutely hate artsy games. This game truly impressed me though. It had a point and was entertaining while relaxing.
 
stfuppercut said:
Crazy how a sixaxis tech demo can get reviews like this. Just further cements reviews as being useless for a gameplay person like myself.
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You've clearly not played Flower. Or apparently even know what it's about. Or how it was developed. Whatever.

The Vita version is great to play if you guys have it. It even has Star Wars Racer controls for the touchscreen.
 
coolasj19 said:
If there's any negative about Flower being a launch game, it's that all the ignorant comments in the review sections come back. People who judge the game simply by its subject matter. Then again, maybe it'll get a renewed sense of hype behind it. Just as it garnered so many years ago.
Click to expand...

As an experience, its poignancy is lowered by virtue of the fact that the creation-is-destruction destruction-is-creation metaphor is maybe a little too overt. I thought it was an interesting little title, and certainly it is visually spectacular the first time you see it in motion, but I'm not sure I'd go much beyond that. The bumper crop of experience games that have popped up since then have largely been more memorable and affecting. On that list I'd include, for example, both Journey and The Unfinished Swan (the latter also contains far more of a game and so is more stimulating in that regard as well).
 
Nice I had no idea this was coming for the PS4. And free if you have the PS3 version. Going to try it out in one hour.
 
Flower is the game that ensure I never buy digital again. Beat it in under an hour and was stuck with a game I couldn't sell and never wanted to play again.

I want to add though that Journey on the other hand deserves all the praise it got.
 
gamerforever said:
So, another Launch game to play - I don't think I have even completed it on PS3 rather embarrassingly. Same goes for Journey though!
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Flower, like Journey, should be played through in one sitting. It's short enough for that, and seeing it all it in one go makes it a much more powerful experience. Chopping it up into several play sessions definitely lessens the impact.
 
I played it last night on my PS4. I am the wind! Make things pretty, the city is evil. Oh man my first flower lost a leaf and I have no idea why.

Very relaxing.
 
Stumpokapow said:
I'm glad that the Unfinished Swan is one of the titles they plan to port. It is an excellent game and Sony clearly loves it, but it hasn't gotten the attention it deserves yet and since it's not available on any other platform it'd have disappeared if Sony did not port it forward.
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Ditto. I didn't think Unfinished Swan was perfect, and it certainly wasn't a life-changing experience for me like Journey, but it left a profound impression that still lingers and I seem to grow fonder of it the further from it I get.
 
RoadHazard said:
Flower, like Journey, should be played through in one sitting. It's short enough for that, and seeing it all it in one go makes it a much more powerful experience. Chopping it up into several play sessions definitely lessens the impact.
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Listen to this man. That's the only way to experience these gems.
 
Flower is the best game thatgamecompany has made so far. Journey is spectacular, but seeing as both games rely heavily on emotional resonance, Flower just spoke to me more.
 
Stumpokapow said:
As an experience, its poignancy is lowered by virtue of the fact that the creation-is-destruction destruction-is-creation metaphor is maybe a little too overt. I thought it was an interesting little title, and certainly it is visually spectacular the first time you see it in motion, but I'm not sure I'd go much beyond that. The bumper crop of experience games that have popped up since then have largely been more memorable and affecting. On that list I'd include, for example, both Journey and The Unfinished Swan (the latter also contains far more of a game and so is more stimulating in that regard as well).
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I'd argue it's themes are laid on pretty lightly. You have to consider that lots of people lack the will to analyze or notice underlying messages or leads inside of a game. For example, my buddy (a senior engineering student) was playing Journey and wandered around the starting area for 4 minutes instead of heading towards the obvious objective, the sand dunes with the mountains poking behind it. And even when considering those people, Flower still makes an effort not to spell it out for you. Especially impressive considering there's no text or epilogue and they're told completely by colors and stages and music.

And on the contrary, I disagree completely with the notion that "experience games" have been done much better than Flower since 2009. Thatgamecompany has always done the best job when it comes to these and nobody has quite been able to match them. I found Unfinished Swan too heavy handed and Proteus to be... too specific. Limbo was too obtuse and Minecraft only has the messages you assign to it.

When it comes to having a better game combined with a message, yes, it has been done better. But if you were to strip all that away and ask me what game I get the most return on investment from, I have to constantly go back to flOw, Flower, and Journey. Thatgamecompany really mastered wrapping their message and themes in art style, environments, and gameplay.

But, I can pull a positive out of this. I want to see what the ratio from '09 to now is. It's not a 1:1 comparison sense the indie games of '09 and now are radically different but, I wonder if the attitude around "experience games" has changed. I guess we'll really see when flOw launches... I'm not excited for that.
 
Man said:
Probably my favorite download-only title from the PS3 generation. Can't recommend it enough.
Better than Journey.
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Definitely, probably the single most affecting game I've played this generation. I felt that moved by it.
 
Didn't know this was a launch title! I really loved Flower, I'll definitely replay it when I get my PS4.

It'll probably take a couple of years though :P
 
SmashN'Grab said:
Will flOw or Journey be ported to the Vita/PS4?
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flOw has already been announced for a port, and will be released on Nov. 29th on both consoles, but there have been no announcements for Journey. It's a possibility, but it's all up to Sony.
It would be awesome for all of our PS3 games to be ported to the PS4, though. :D

Aaron Grommesh
Community Manager
thatgamecompany
 
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