Imagine a world made entirely of paper. Get Paper Mario out of your head, and imagine a vivid, beautiful land of trees, sculptures and animals, all hand made. That is Tearaway. It's a 3D platformer based on papercrafts and origami, in fact, you can make every item in the game with your own hands. Because of it's Little Big Planet connections, you best believe it's a magical and inventive game. The PS Vita is a land mine of hidden potential, and this game makes use of so much of it.

Graphics
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Tearaway is Papercraft. Even if it was on a system that didn't have much detail, it would still look nice, but we're talking about the Playstation Vita, a handheld console more powerful than the PS2. The HD resolution, hand in hand with the beautiful screen that everybody loves from the Vita, make the game look incredibly clear, and make the colors and textures of the paper pop out. The detail and beauty in this game are so inviting that it draws you into playing. The graphics are spectacular, they're definitely among the best on the Vita.

Paper is great. Cardboard is fantastic, and so are the graphics.

10/10

Sound
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If you can ever think about what paper sounds like, you got it. From paper tearing, from paper turning, folding, and tapping. There's drum sounds for back touching, and a soundtrack that seems very fitting and mischievous for your journey through the paper world. The trumpet sounds and the booming percussion make the world seem more adventurous and wonderful. The characters even have that classic Banjo Kazooie gibberish.

The only drawbacks are the camera sound, which goes off loud when you take a photo, unless you have headphones in. It's not a problem overall, but it isn't good for discreet gaming, especially if you're in public, people will likely think you're creeping up on them.

Trumpets are cool. Potential stalking charges? Not so much.

8/10

Addictiveness
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This is a game of simple pleasures. Simple pleasures that aren't found with any other system. The tap of a finger on the back of the system can mean a drum beat. The combat is cool and the way things can move in the game are all wondrous, and you'd be hooked to find more.

The game is intensely addictive while you play through it, but there isn't much to do but collect everything when you finish. It becomes a dull wonder, a reminder of the fun you had, unless you start the game over altogether, which feels like less of a journey, because you've already discovered everything, you'd feel like it's missing the charm it had the first time around. The stages just seem to drag, and it's rather inexplicable how dull the game becomes when you return to it.

It's hooking, but wears off, and makes you want more, leaving disappointment.

6/10

Story
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Tearaway's story has deep meaning behind it, or not. It's rather hard to tell if there's symbolism to the story or not. The envelope, or Iota and/or Atoi is on its way to deliver a message to the face in the sun (Teletubbies), a godly being from another world. A question you'd never ask, who is sun? You are, and the citizens of that world will praise you for existing, as a god, whether they're good or evil. The message you deliver is the story of your journey. The point of the story is to deliver a story to yourself, in a commentary on stories. While an interesting inception story, you hardly notice it, the game doesn't cling to the story, yet the story is very much present. It feels loose.

The story is awesome, but it feels distant. Torn away, if you will.

9/10

Depth
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The game is pretty short, it takes 7-10 hours to beat the game, with the 10 having everything in the game collected. You'd be likely to spend more time with the game's special Papercrafts that are on tearaway.me, the game's art site. There's quite a bit to do in the game, it feels like a full experience while you're playing, but it'll feel really short when you look back at it.

It's a game you'd only really play once, but it's reasonable enough in length. Not exactly worth the $40, but wait for the price to drop.

4/10

Difficulty
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The game is literally designed for all ages. Anybody can pick it up and play it with ease. There's challenges should you look for a 100% completion, which you should if you want a full experience.

3/10 (7 in grading, flipped from 3 because ease is positive)

Total Grading for Tearaway
Graphics - 10% (10% of 10 is 1)
Sound - 10% (10% of 8 is .8)
Addictiveness - 35% (35% of 6 is 2.1)
Story - 25% (25% of 8 is 2)
Depth - 15% (15% of 4 is 0.6)
Difficulty - 5% (5% of 7 is 0.4)
Total - 7

Overall, Tearaway is a game that'll keep you happy throughout the time you play it. There's amazing graphics, awesome sound, interesting story, and easy to grasp.

Though it has a slightly detached story, a camera sound that sets off red flags, and a one playthrough lifespan, it's a game you should definitely try, but not to buy brand new. Borrow it from somebody that has it for sure.

I loved this game, but it is flawed, and while it does deserve a lot of the praise it gets, it simply isn't as good as it's made out to be.

Edit: The main point to this game seems to be gameplay. I don't think I can score it fairly without gameplay being a part of it. It truly is a good game, but it relies heavily on gameplay. Expect an update should gameplay become a criteria.

Nice review. You covered everything and made some good points, without repeating yourself or dragging the review out. Nicely done.

I have heard the same thing about the story. This game looks interesting but I was a little bit iffy about if I wanted the game or not. Thanks for the great review though, it helped me a bit.