Tearaway Unfolded (PlayStation 4)

Tearaway: Unfolded is a reworked and expanded version of the 2013 PS Vita game Tearaway. It is an action platformer set in a world where everything is made out of paper. Many of the original game’s distinct features incorporated the microphone, the touch pads and both cameras of the Vita. This experience is carried over to the PS4 version, but the features depend on the peripherals available to the player. For instance, for the player to appear as the face of the sun in many segments of the game the PlayStation Camera is needed, but it is not required in order to play the game. The camera can also be used to capture elements in the real world and use them as textures in the game.

Another feature was using the rear touch pad to virtually poke your fingers through the surfaces into the game world. This is impossible on the PS4, but the DualShock 4 controller contains a front touch pad that makes the other elements possible, for instance for the platforming sections, to create gusts of wind with swipes (replacing the microphone) and the built-in SIXAXIS motion sensor is used for a specific type of platforms. There are also new elements, such as the Guiding Light ability using the DualShock 4 light bar to shine on the screen to make plants grow or to light up areas, and a new section that pretends the enemies are brought inside the controller. This is tied to a new, minor plotline where the Scraps attempt to build their own DualShock controller. Also new is the ability to throw an item such as a rock at yourself through the screen, catch it using the controller, and then throw it back into another location in the game world, for instance to solve puzzles. Drawing and creating new items using the touch pad is still present.

This version introduces a companion app, available through the PlayStation App application (iOS / Android / PS Vita). It provides a second screen ability with a larger canvas to draw and create items on a phone or a tablet, rather than using the DualShock 4’s touch pad. Players design new items, customize characters and capture new textures that can be used in the main game right away. New creations are stored on the tearaway.me website. It also offers real-life papercraft that is unlocked in the game and can then be printed. The second screen can also be used by a second player to manipulate the environment with new items and textures while the first player goes through the game. Entire new to the game is a roll attack. The game runs in a higher resolution, with a denser population, and there are entirely new areas, quests and puzzles in the game.