FAR: Changing Tides

Genre: Puzzle-Platformer

Players: 1

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Review:

FAR: Changing Tides, released in 2022 on PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, is a Puzzle-Platformer and successor to 2018/2019’s FAR: Lone Sails. Like Lone Sails, this game’s take on the genre has players moving on, in, and around a large vehicle to try to ensure it can get them across a long distance, with this game’s vehicle being a strange sea vessel with sails and various other mechanisms they need to learn to operate.

While this game naturally features a lot of waterlogged environments, the presentation doesn’t feel too far removed from what we saw in the first game, once again using 3D visuals to depict some very interesting machines, as well as to depict a wider post-apocalyptic landscape, the the former being fascinating and latter of which provides decent enough spectacle that these are both a large part of the driving force to keep moving forward to see more of them both (though oddly, for a game where water is such a huge focus, this game’s water isn’t very impressive-looking). These visuals are once again backed by a mostly-subdued soundtrack that emphasizes the emotional tone of the scenes as you pass through them.

The gameplay also follows the formula set in the first game – your character can only jump, climb ladders, grab and drop objects, and now swim. The puzzles in this game largely come in the form of trying to figure out how to operate the game’s machines, both your main vehicle as well as those you’ll need to use to clear a path for that vehicle.

I do have a few complaints about Changing Tides that I didn’t have with Lone Sails, though. First, the platforming is pretty terrible. You character’s movements are a bit erratic, and there’s an input lag that’s really noticeable when jumping. It’s not a huge deal-breaker because precision jumping isn’t integral to the gameplay, but it’s still noticeable and frustrating.

The other problem is the nature of the machines themselves, or more accurately your vehicle. Being a watercraft, it’s not something that stops on a dime, and even when you zoom out the screen, you may not see it in time to stop when you’re about to run into an obstacle that can damage your vessel. This leads to numerous times where you have to deal with said damage when it doesn’t really feel like it’s your fault.

On the bright side, this game does address an issue I had with the first game – at 5-6 hours, it’s roughly twice the length of the first game. That extended length comes with a slightly higher price tag, but I think on balance it’s worth it.

Still, even with this improvement, in the end I still think I preferred FAR: Lone Sails over its successor. The clunky Platforming and the irritating lack of responsiveness of your vessel both lead to a fair amount of frustration that wasn’t a huge problem with the first game. However, despite these issues, I still think that FAR: Changing Tides is a worthy successor, and well worth playing for anyone who finished the previous game and craves more. This game still offers much of the same excellent experience as its predecessor, providing more of its fascinating world to explore and more interesting machines to figure out. Just do yourself a favor and if you haven’t done so already, check out the first game before playing this.

tl;dr – FAR: Changing Tides is a Puzzle-Platformer and successor to FAR: Lone Sails with a similar premise of moving in and around a large vehicle to try to operate it to get you across a large distance, with this game’s vehicle being a watercraft. This is still much the same great experience, and thankfully a longer one as well, though I think the platforming is clunky and your main vehicle isn’t as responsive as I would like. Even with these flaws I still think this is a solid sequel, though on balance I prefer the first game.

Grade: B

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