FAR: Lone Sails is a stylish adventure game from the Swiss developer Okomotive that sees you traversing a post-apocalyptic wasteland. You’ll control a large vehicle that uses wind, steam, petrol and wheels to navigate through the world.
Much of your time in Far will be spent managing the systems on board your landship, loading fuel, igniting an engine, raising and lowering sails and regulating steam pressure. However, some puzzle platforming sections are also present.
Gameplay
Taking place in a barren post-apocalyptic wasteland, FAR: Lone Sails sets the player on a journey across a dried seabed littered with the relics of a long-lost civilization. Maintain and upgrade your unique vessel to overcome numerous obstacles and hazardous weather conditions.
The game’s core gameplay is a 2D side-scroller that mixes physics and button-based puzzles with some minor platforming elements. It’s easy to pick up and play, though a few bugs can keep the experience from feeling as polished as it should.
After your initial introductory sequence, you’ll come into possession of a hulking, yet aged hybrid vehicle that’s part ship and part locomotive train. You’ll need to learn how to navigate its many rooms, manage its various systems and keep it running in tip-top condition for the entirety of your journey.
There are plenty of ways to keep your ship moving and explore the world around you, from micromanaging resources to exploring ruins for items. The latter is especially rewarding, as it allows you to see the lore of this secluded landscape unfold gradually.
Graphics
FAR: Lone Sails is a side-scrolling adventure game in which you play as a nameless, featureless character who floats across a bleak landscape in a dilapidated vehicle. This ‘okomotive’ is the only means of completing the journey; you’ll need to maintain and upgrade it to traverse hundreds of miles of deserted land, and it’s up to you to keep it going through various roadblocks and natural hazards.
The hulking, rusted machine is a central element to the gameplay; you can upgrade it by collecting various contraptions like book stacks, children’s toys, oil drums and lanterns to generate energy. It’s up to you to care for this ship; it’s almost an extension of your own personality, and that’s something that makes the journey all the more rewarding.
The graphics in Far: Lone Sails are impressive, and the art style works well with the bleak and desolate environment. Its 2D side-scrolling format gives the game a simple yet engrossing feel.
Soundtrack
FAR: Lone Sails is the kind of game that stokes your appetite with a steady stream of new content. As you explore an ocean-turned-desert and the tracks that once nourished a thriving civilization, you’ll find yourself tasked with keeping your vessel on the move in the face of hail and hurricanes, fires and shortages of fuel. It’s a tall order, but Swiss developer Okomotive makes it seem manageable thanks to their cleverly designed soundtrack.
The most impressive touch is the awe-inspiring array of sound effects that make your vehicle and its passengers seem more at home in the wilds of space. The most impressive feat is the way in which they’re arranged and how they play into the narrative of a ship at sea.
If you’re not a fan of digital downloads, you can also get your paws on a limited edition two-lp vinyl set that features the soundtrack to Far: Lone Sails on its sleeve.
Story
FAR: Lone Sails is a very beautiful game. It has been created by Swiss developers Okomotive, and it tries to communicate something very important through its graphics, sounds, and music.
The game begins with a very sad scene: an unnamed protagonist standing over a grave and directing a red-painted vehicle to its final resting place. After the burial, the player sets out in search of a mysterious adventure across an apocalyptic landscape that has been drained of water.
After a few minutes of exploring the world, players find themselves in an enormous ship that’s driven by petrol, steam, wind, and giant wheels and sails. You use these power sources to chuggle along the dried seabed, overcome numerous roadblocks and withstand dangerous weather conditions.
There are also plenty of puzzles that are simple to understand, mainly involving pressing buttons and pulling boxes in the right order to move your ship. These set-pieces often end in the player getting a nice upgrade to their massive ship, which is always a pleasant reward.