Papair

Exploration games can be wondrous if they’re built with creativity, passion, and dedication to detail. Papair is a great example of what can be achieved when you combine those three and more; it’s beautiful.

One thing I found particularly impressive, and I haven’t used that word in reviews more than three or four times, is the way the character is designed and animated.

In short, Papair is about a man who wants to explore the floating islands of his world and to be able to do so, he builds his own airplane. What seems to be a journey of dreams takes a turn for the unfortunate as his plane crashes, leaving him stranded on one of the islands he wanted to explore. Thirty years later, and several attempts at building a new flying contraption, he’s still stranded.

With a large head and a small body, the comical side of the pilot is obvious. His clothes look nice, and as he walks, the backpack’s lid ever so gently jumps up and down in perfect harmony with his movement. An image I can’t get out of my head, because it’s truly beautiful, is how the old man spreads his arms when he starts to run, as if he was twelve again, in love with flying and imagining himself above the clouds.

There’s a beautiful contradiction between how the main character looks and how he acts. You can’t but feel sad knowing that he’s been alone for thirty years, but when he spreads his ‘wings’, you see a young soul who’s still ready for adventure.

The world in Papair is entirely made of paper. It looks great, and it’s full of detail. The island is separated into multiple areas, each with a unique look. You will have to carefully search in each one to find the missing plane pieces so that you can complete the craft and hopefully leave that place.

As far as the gameplay is concerned, the camera might take a bit of getting used to. There are three viewing modes, and each one enables you to observe all the fine details of the world, making the entire experience more immersive. Last but not least, the soundtrack and sound effects are simply perfect for a game of this nature.

To end, Papair is a short but excellent experience. It’s kind of difficult to describe, you have to play it.