In one way, Everybody's Gone To The Rapture tests the boundaries of what it means to be an indie game. Due to the game's high budget, developers The Chinese Room (Dear Esther, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs) struck a publishing deal with Sony, and released the game as a PS4 exclusive (though now we know it's also coming to PC). With the big money of Sony behind it, does it really deserve to call itself an indie? Damn right it does. Ultimately, the developers made the decision to work with Sony, and the game itself embodies the indie ethos brilliantly. Rapture offers gamers a unique narrative experience that's unlike anything you'd find in the mainstream. In it, you wander around an idyllic fictional village in Shropshire after an apocalyptic scenario in which everyone simply vanished. You piece together what happened by listening in on the echoes of conversations that happened before the apocalypse, and by exploring the stunningly realised environments of the game. The game is very slow-moving (the 'sprint' button was infamously hidden from the controls menu of the game), and is designed to be absorbed in much the same way as a story being read aloud, or an art exhibition. The game's atmosphere is incredible thanks to its gorgeous graphics (that'll fill anyone brought up in rural England with tear-jerking nostalgia) and stunning soundtrack. It's a moving, touching experience that should be played by anyone keen to explore the frontiers of video games as a powerful storytelling medium.
Gamer, Researcher of strange things.
I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.
