The French gaming company Ubisoft announced a new title late November: Ode, a musical exploration adventure,
is the latest game from the experimental incubator at Ubisoft Reflections,
producer of Grow Home, Grow Up and Atomega.
The main idea of the game is to provide an
environment with many musical possibilities - as you progress in the game, you
explore new possible notes and create a composition in each level.
Producer Anne Langourieux describes it as a
“musical exploration where you gradually bring a world to life through music
and light.” It’s a game where you figure things out for yourself in a fluid,
organic way - it’s all about exploring and experiencing the game’s beautiful
worlds and sounds.
When you start the game, you’re dropped into
the first of Ode’s worlds and left
to find your own way. You take on the role of a special fallen star named Joy –
a small squishy-looking character inside a ball that allows her to travel about
freely and turn the environment into a musical lightshow.
Joy rolls through the world gathering fallen
stars. These spherical orbs tag along behind Joy and can be drawn in or
released with the mouse buttons or controller triggers. Everything Joy or the
fallen stars touch plays a musical note and comes to life through light and
color.
With almost total freedom to explore, the
combination of light, movement and music creates a sense of true exploration,
transformation and pure harmony.
Worlds of Emotions
In the game, players ascend through fantasy
worlds, revealing melodic landscapes to which they add layer upon layer of
music to create a crescendo of sound and light. Once you’ve brought life to a
whole world, audio cues will lead you to a point where you can leap to the next
level.
The game features four main worlds, and the
genesis of each came from a distinct emotion – a particular aspect of joy.
This first world is based on the emotion of
Naivety.
Naivety World
Past this, players will discover three larger
worlds based on Excitement, Desire and Pure Joy – each bringing their own
unique styles and soundtracks, and each evolving the game’s mechanics.
Excitement World
Desire World
Pure Joy World
Hardcore
Gamer review:
“With
four worlds that are unlocked through linear game progression, there is a clear
end to the game, but this is one of those titles that is more about
experiencing and enjoying the journey instead of reaching the endpoint.”
“As a unique mix of platforming, exploration and music, Ode could be marketed as being ideal
for young children due to its safe subject matter and sensory stimuli, but it
can be enjoyed by anyone.”