A Story About My Uncle

A Story About My Uncle
by Gone North Games - May, 2014

Available at:
GamersGate
GOG
Steam



A Story About My Uncle is a first person platforming adventure game about a boy who searches for his lost uncle, and ends up in a world he couldn’t imagine existed. Take help of your uncle’s mysterious inventions that let you jump incredibly high and far through beautiful scenery, uncover clues to your uncle’s whereabouts, and meet fantastical creatures that will help you on your journey.

The movement in A Story About My Uncle is a crucial part of its core gameplay – focusing on swinging through the world with a grappling hook that gives the player a wonderful sense of speed and freedom. Soar through a game world with a unique art style and a mysterious story that unravels before you.
Key features

• Grappling hook: An empowering mechanic that gives you a sensation of speed, flow and vertigo like you’ve never experienced before.
  
• Explore the world: Visit a wonderful and exciting world - from paradisal caves, to lost civilizations and harsh, mystical landscapes.
  
• Emphasis on story: While searching for your uncle you will meet creatures with stories and fates of their own. Take your time to explore the world to dig deeper into the narrative.
  
• Non-violent: A Story About My Uncle is a First Person game, but it is driven by non-violent gameplay and a heavy emphasis on story and atmosphere.
  

A Story About My Uncle
A proof that a great story doesn't need violence.

A Story About My Uncle, a beautiful non-violent story-driven first person-perspective platformer that will make your head spin, is available 10% off on GOG.com. That's $11.69 for the first week.

A Story About My Uncle is a first person platforming adventure game about a boy who searches for his lost uncle, and ends up in a world he couldn’t imagine existed. Take help of your uncle’s mysterious inventions that let you jump incredibly high and far through beautiful scenery, uncover clues to your uncle’s whereabouts, and meet fantastical creatures that will help you on your journey. The movement in this title is a crucial part of its core gameplay--focusing on swinging through the world with a grappling hook that gives the player a wonderful sense of speed and freedom. Soar through a game world with a unique art style and a mysterious story that unravels before you.

Some games exist in our universe to create for us gateways to other amazing worlds, that once visited imprint a lasting memory in the realms of our imagination. If you're in a mood for such a game, don't hesitate one moment to pick up A Story About My Uncle, for only $11.69 on GOG.com. The 10% off release discount will last until Wednesday, June 4, at 5:00PM GMT.

A Story About My Uncle (First-person Platforming Adventure)

The game is referred to as a platformer at every site that sells it, but calling it a platformer doesn't seem right... I guess it's because I've never played one in first-person before!  Let me explain the mechanics of the game:

Basic movement is done via the W-A-S-D keys, and the space bar to jump.
Hold down the Shift button while moving (W-A-S-D) to run.
Left-click to use your grappling hook (at the very beginning it's used to examine things -- that will change pretty quickly)
Right-click and hold to power up your super-jump; release the button to actually jump.
Look around the area using the mouse.

You have options for Audio, Video, Input, and Unlockables.  Under Input you will find a slider for mouse-sensitivity (which should help if you have problems with getting dizzy from the movement), controller options, and the ability to choose your own keys if you don't like the ones listed above.  I stuck with the original keys for my playthrough.  For the Video options, I chose to go with the max Field of View, as you can see more of your surroundings that way.  I can't remember if subtitles are the default or not -- might want to check that (under the Audio options) before you start!

You will use the basics, but movement relies heavily on your grappling hook.  As you move through the game you'll be able to grapple more than once before landing, and it becomes a question of puzzling out where to go and then actually being able to DO it!  Easier said than done sometimes!  Probably the most important thing to remember is that momentum is your friend.  If you touch the place that you've grappled, it will release your hold, and you'll start to fall (assuming that you're not already on level ground.)  The other thing that can happen if you hold the grapple for too long is that what you've attached to will get in your way (slowing down or blocking your progress,) so you have to time when to let go and reach out for the next hold.  You *can* control the direction you are falling via the W-A-S-D keys to a point, and that helps a bit.

***HINT***

You can grapple the ground, too!

***END HINT***

All of the glyphs glow, but the ones that seem to have a -- taller? -- glow to them are your save points.  Be sure to step on them before you grapple on to the next area unless you want to redo from the last save point!  It's sometimes confusing where you're supposed go. Most of the time you just follow the glyphs, but it's easy to get turned around in some of the areas.  Use your save points as a reference:  Whichever direction you're facing when you come back to your save point is the direction you're supposed to head next   When you're on level ground, take the time to explore a bit before moving on, as you might find something that is either collectible or will progress the story a bit.  The collectibles are interesting, as they unlock different capabilities in the game, from the color of your grappling beam to acrobat mode.

The voices are pretty good, though obviously not professionals. 

The gameplay as described above can be a little frustrating.  I had to stop playing many times because I simply could not move on to the next area.  Not rage-inducing, just frustrating.  The very best thing about the game is the visual effects. 

The graphics are at times breathtakingly beautiful, even awe-inspiring.  I have the GOG version, and I've been unsuccessful when trying to take screens, even when running the game through the Steam game manager.  Darn!  The one thing I don't like about the graphics is that when you look around, it kind of distorts around the edges (as games with full 360-degree visibility are wont to do,) and the effect is a little dizzying.  I got used to it pretty quickly, just mentioning it for those who have problems with that kind of thing.

I have not finished the game yet, as I'm working through it slowly.  The first-person platforming is a little difficult for me, but I'm enjoying the game nonetheless. It's beautiful, challenging, and different than anything I've played before, and that is definitely a plus.  If I could change just one thing about the game, it would be more interaction with our environment, as that would make it more immersive for me.  As it stands, this is a good game, and I recommend checking it out.