A Story About My Uncle: First Thoughts

(The start of a great journey)

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A Story About My Uncle is a puzzle/adventure game that was released on May 28th, 2014. It is experienced through the perspective of a narrator telling a bedtime story to his child about his quest to find his missing uncle. I find it a truly incredible game that began as simply an adventure where you were trying to find your uncle. However, as you progress through the game, you realize that there is a lot more to it than that. I personally am a sucker for games that have great emotions and try to have a deeper meaning than simply to just win, or get from point A to B. When I went to play A Story About My Uncle, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. But I was truly surprised, and honestly I loved the experience I had playing it.

(Deposit of crystals)

After the start of the game, you end up going to a far off world with a suit that your uncle had made for you. The suit enables you to run faster, jump higher, and gives you the ability to use a grappling hook made entirely of energy. After figuring out how to use these abilities, and falling to my death several times, unfortunate lots, I began my adventure through a vast and beautiful landscape. As I ran, grappled, and leapt my way across countless floating rocks, I took in the scenery of the game, which was absolutely breathtaking. I felt like I was really in this magical place, in search of my lost uncle. I was very impressed with the quality of the visuals, which really enhanced the game experience for me.

(Grappling through the ice cavern)

There is a great story to this game lying underneath the the checkpoints you have to reach, and the puzzles you must solve in order to get to your next destination. I found myself questioning the objective of the game, thinking that maybe there was something bigger than simply completing my goal of finding my uncle. As the game unfolded before me, and I learned more and more about this world I had traveled to, it was apparent that I was right. This new world had a rich tone that gave me the impression that I, as well as the character I was playing, would grow from the experience. I was still zipping across the sky from formation to formation in search of my uncle. However, as I moved further into the game and encountered various characters, hearing the stories that they had from their own world, I felt a sense of great meaning lying somewhere within this game, and I had to find out what it was.

(A new world) As I continued to play I realized that there was more to this game than meets the eye. There are underlying themes that really struck home for me. For example, the premise of living life to the fullest and enjoying it, as well as to explore the world. I believe that A Story About My Uncle centers around finding your own path, and paving the way to the to future. For myself, it was the 2900 miles across country road trip I took to from Vermont to Arizona to start school at ASU, a place I had never been before. I believe that this game speaks to the explorer we have latent within us and the adventurer in all of us. Whether you were only that way as a child, or still are to this day, it will appeal to that part deep within you. I think that aspect of discovery is a brilliant way to tell a story, and it piques our curiosity as human beings. I absolutely loved the journey that A Story About My Uncle took me on, and it is certainly a game a will not soon forget.