Gravity Bone Review

Gravity Bone is an unexpected treasure released in 2009 by Blendo Games. The game wastes no time in plunging the viewer into the world. Without so much as a menu screen you are cruising in an elevator towards what looks to be a black tie event-taking place in a Minecraft version of the Swiss Alp’s. As the elevator doors slide open the player is inundated by cube headed strangers and a wave of garbled conversations. A card in your hand tells you where to go, a sign informs you of the basic controls. The most admirable thing about Gravity Bone is the economy of its design. The creators managed to create a cohesive experience and evoke a world with simple well-crafted elements. The low-fi esthetic is not just a visual style it is an effective way of getting shorthand across to the audience without getting weighted down in the details. The world of the game is a humorous amalgamation of Cold War era spy tropes and Noir films reminiscent of the Milkman Conspiracy segment in Phyconauts. The simplistic graphics serve to heighten the sense of absurdity and offer the player a clear indication of the path through the world.

For anyone who is already familiar with the language of first person videogames Gravity Bone will feel immediately familiar, comfortable even, as you navigate the world, find items and journey from A to B.  However, the creators actually use these assumptions to fuel the game’s narrative. Like Bioshock’s infamous twist, Gravity Bone confronts experienced player’s complacency to deliver a narrative kick. It some ways this strategy actually undermines the traditionally held assumptions of what game design should accomplish. Most games have the character progressing linearly and gaining in power with challenges growing accordingly. This is supposed to mirror the progression of the players themselves as they become empowered by mastering the game’s systems. Gravity Bone takes a decidedly non-linear approach more in line with its particular point of view. The game’s use of jump cuts and montage is a particularly good example of its non-linear approach to game progression. I wish more games would experiment with incorporating elements of filming storytelling into gameplay. Ultimately Gravity Bone does in half an hour what many games fail to accomplish in forty times the length not to mention the budget. Play it now it’s free.