Vane Reviews
Vane’s arresting visual design, inventive mechanics, compelling environmental storytelling, and tense, viscous atmosphere converge to create a truly exceptional experience and PS4’s first essential exclusive of the year.
There's only so much to say about Vane, an exploratory experience one can get through in a single sitting, without veering into spoiler territory. Vane is a game that feels like it wears its thematic elements on its sleeve, all without a single spoken or written word. Those themes include “instinct” and “exploration” at the ground level, and from there are likely up to how the individual player perceives the story as it develops. In its refusal to hold your hand or even guide you a little, Vane feels like it stands out among its peers as a vehicle to deliver narrative agency for players, not because they have a list of choices to sift through, but because they are presented with an environment and scenario that is so freely open to interpretation. With Vane, you get out what you put in, and while you may not come back to it multiple times, that first one is a doozy.
This game won't be for everyone. A short playtime and lack of instruction of what to do or where to go, coupled with a range of annoying little glitches, may cause many to get frustrated. However the overall look and atmosphere is incredible. You'll want to explore each location in order to enjoy the game because the pleasure we get from a journey is perhaps more dependent on the mind-set that we travel with, than on the destination we travel to.
Like so much fine art, this piece loses its luster when you start to dissect and interpret it. So don't. Because it's fucking dope
Aside from occasional camera troubles, Vane stands out as one of the most immersive titles of 2019. Whether exploring the world as a child or a bird, the visuals masterfully blend together in a beautiful environment worthy of exploration. In relying on visuals instead of dialogue, players can form a deeper appreciation for the world around them - one open to interpretation. Vane is not a particularly long adventure, but it's one that'll leave audiences reflecting long after the credits have rolled.
When all was said and done, I had only spent five to six hours in total with the game (perhaps seven if you count the first hour of lost progress). While some may take issue with this, keep in mind that with a price tag of just $24.99, buying this game is comparable to seeing one or two really good movies. Or if you prefer, think of it as taking five or six hours to stroll through a special art exhibit. I can say that in my experience with it, it certainly strengthened my opinions about video games and the art world. Had the game been slightly longer and had it been free from some of the technical issues with its gameplay, I could easily have seen myself giving this a 5/5. Keeping in mind that those bugs can be addressed with future patches and updates, I’m happy to settle with a 4 instead (though it really deserves a 4.25). Vane is currently available for digital download on the PlayStation Store. If you enjoy artistic puzzle games and you’ve been looking for something new and unique, you will enjoy this game.
Vane is an experience filled with intrigue and mystery, but it’s held back by some technical issues. One can’t help but feel that it could’ve used some more time in the oven. That said, despite its issues, it’s better than the sum of its parts and worth checking out by fans of Team ICO’s past work.
Vane's atmosphere, music, world, and abstract story are affecting and strange, but the bugs and design lead to unnecessary frustration
Vane is a different game. It does not present an interesting story, but it ends up delivering a unique experience of seeing the world from above through the view of a crow. Even though it has some serious technical problems and gets the player lost in some moments, Vane manages to make the player have some fun while solving some puzzles and trying to understand what happens to that world.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Vane exists in an enormously stressed and jagged world of puzzle-platforming. Simply moving around feels rough and unfinished, and that's not always on purpose. If only Friend & Foe had more time to incubate its creation.
Despite the magnificent aesthetic inspiration and the stunning overall atmosphere, Friend & Foe is unfortunately no Team ICO (especially concerning some of the key aspects that make a video game worth playing): as a result Vane is an imperfect, uneven and at times even excruciating adventure. But also one that, along with its lows, is still capable of memorable, evocative highs.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Like the pearlescent shimmer across its desert surface, Vane is difficult to observe and define with precise clarity. Its world presents either an invitation to wonder or a provocation to explore and it's often seized by the tension pulling in opposing directions. Vane can be brilliant and subversive or confusing and frustrating and it's impossible to separate its intentions from its misfortunes.
Vane is an enjoyable journey through a desolate world with the occasional issue with camera controls and glitches that cause you to lose minutes of progress. Despite, its flaws there is something to discover within the game. But at less than two hours worth of content, one can’t justify the twenty-five dollar price tag.
Vane is an enigmatic game about the force of union and the silent sacrifice of living beings. It looks like an Early Access game, with bugs, glitches and an unnerving slow pace. Sometimes presents a wonderful world where the sense of solitude is the key to understand what Friends & Foe wanted to tell in their obscure and strange story.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Vane has a nice art style but with boring gameplay and tons of bugs.
Review in Chinese | Read full review
An atmospheric and often perplexing exploration game that suffers from bugs, uneven level design, and an unwavering dedication to leaving you to your own devices.
A missed opportunity. Vane had a lot of potential, but finally it wasn't used in terms of creating a compeling game.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Vane lets players shift from the form of a bird to a child as they explore a strange, hallucinatory world set to a fantastic synth soundtrack. But what starts as a liberating flight through a vast desert eventually devolves into a linear trek through cramped corridors. Vane is a strange, haunting game that deserves attention, but it abandons its most interesting ideas too early on.
Six months later, Vane got rid of critical errors, but did not become a good game. A dark story about the fall of civilization, sometimes nice puzzles, beautiful landscapes of the desert world and a powerful atmosphere can not pull boring gameplay, terrible controls, empty locations, indistinct ending and the lack of adequate navigation. And this is sad.
Review in Russian | Read full review