Flower
(PS3; $9.99; Rated E; thatgamecompany.com/games/flower)
A lot of talk happens in the industry about “games as art.” The industry as a whole wants games to be recognized as an art form, whereas detractors- like film-critic Roger Ebert- are outspoken that video games cannot be seen as art on par with film or literature. Where the dissent in the “games as art” debate comes from confuses me; when experiencing a game such as “Flower,” such a dissent is down-right ludicrous.
“Flower” is a game, for certain; but it is not a game in the traditional sense: there is no enemy or opposition, there is no formal score to achieve, there is no “winning.” Players can complete the game, but like completing a book or a film, the sense of accomplishment is really only in completing it- not how it was completed or how well it was completed.
“Flower” is also a sensory experience. Each “stage” is an environment where players begin as a single flower pedal caught in a breeze. Controlling the breeze by using the PS3 controller’s motion sensor, players will fly through the environment looking for other flowers to pick up other pedals. As more flowers appear and more pedals are collected, the landscape begins to fill with more color, sounds, and flowers.
This is where the “gameness” of “Flower” ends. Players can either choose to obsessively collect every flower in the environment to make the pedal-filled breeze flow colorfully throughout the environment, fly through the environment to the end of the stage, or just stay in the environment and experience the world.
Choosing to “experience” “Flower” by “playing” “Flower” is the greatest treat- its images and sounds are relaxing while the flying through the environment is still engaging. For the first time, I played a video game before heading to bed, and it soothed me. “Flower” is a tranquil game. Unquestionably, it is also an artistic experience.
A game for everyone? Well, like any work of art, it can be experienced by anyone but not appreciated by everyone. “Flower” isn’t going to find favor with 13-17 year old boys who just want to use their PS3s to shoot aliens or cause virtual destruction; others outside that demographic may just not “get it.”
For those who want to appreciate how the medium of video games, and interactive entertainment in general, are an evolving art form- look no further.
“Flower” is both a game and not a game; an experience, but more than an experience; something that you play, and something you just control. My existential approach to this review is now over. I’m only too glad that this review was written, for fear that I would have been punched in the face for making “quotes” with my fingers too much if required to explain “Flower” verbally.