Everybody's Gone to the Rapture (PlayStation 4) review "They don't have rifles in the Rough Ramblers."

I was playing Everybody Goes to the Rapture when a friend came over. He watched me patiently for about five minutes before asking whether you actually do anything: like, you know, shoot someone, or something like that. When I explained that you can’t even run, he looked baffled.

You can imagine his reaction when I went on to say that it’s the first PS4 game since Bloodborne that has kept me hooked from beginning to end.

The idea that a game might reduce the player to the role of a passive observer is anathema to some. Most games strive to increase our interaction with the virtual world and the prospect of one that prevents us from exerting any true influence over our surroundings can seem a little odd. Whether you’re going to enjoy these so-called ‘walking simulators’ is entirely dependent on whether you think you’re going to enjoy exploring a world and uncovering a story that you’re unable to impact in any way.

At this point I feel I should mention that my personal experience of the genre has been negative. The games I’ve tried have bored me with their slow pace, big empty worlds and simple puzzles. So why is Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture so different?

The mystery at the heart of the narrative is established in the opening moments of the game. You begin outside a locked observatory and head down a road into the English village of Yaughton. It’s soon evident that the inhabitants of this village are all missing. The only clues to their whereabouts are snippets of past conversations that are revealed by orbs of energy that drift around the landscape and the physical clues that have been left in homes, petrol stations, village halls, abandoned cars and wherever else you care to explore.

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture belongs to a tradition of British post-apocalyptic fiction that explores our relationship with the natural world. There are no zombies, scorched wastelands or deadly machines, just a beautiful slice of rural England and a engrossing question that becomes deeper and more intriguing with every little revelation. Just where has everyone gone?

The mystery compels you to walk into every corner of the map because maybe there’ll be a hint: a dead bird or some strange graffiti or something that doesn’t quite belong in the picture postcard setting. As you wander around the orbs take human form to reveal conversations and events in the lives of the missing villagers. You learn about their relationships, their fears and secrets. You watch them in moments of despair without being able to help or intervene. Gradually, the personal stories of the people that once lived in this environment become as interesting as the mystery itself. New characters and tensions are skillfully introduced as the game constructs a picture of the tangled lives of these troubled villagers. It’s clear that the picturesque beauty of Yaughton was superficial and that everyone who lived there had their flaws.

If it veers into melodrama at times with the emotive use of visual and aural effects to dramatise the subplots then it’s rescued by the believable script and solid voice acting. Most of the cast have worked in British TV and the parralels to an episodic TV series are obvious.

I’m sure Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture isn’t the first walking simulator to tell a cracking story, but it is the first set in rural 1980s England. Where previous titles have preferred cold, abstract, empty environments for their thought-provoking wonderings, this game immerses you in the quaint tranquility of the English countryside. Yaughton and its surroundings provide a wonderful environment for exploration. The village is fictional, but it could well be real, with a pub that proudly boasts of a pint for 50p, the new-build medical centre and scattered houses that conceal a wealth of arresting details such as the little ‘Bittern’ books in people’s homes (modelled on Penguin Classics). Out in the valley you’ll jump over fences and stroll down muddy lanes before trekking across fields waist high in grain that sways gently in the wind.

It looks stunning, as you can see in any decent screenshot. What you can’t tell from a still image is how beautiful and realistic it looks in motion, as shadows move across the valley and the weather slowly changes. Half-way through the game your explorations take you to a nostalgic caravan park down on the banks of the lake with tennis courts, football pitches and a hall for the yearly amateur play. As soon as you walk through the main gates the rain starts to fall. The clouds darken as paths become muddy puddles and tents start to look soggy and pathetic. Look out across the valley from the side of the lake and you can see lightning strike the hills in the murky distance. It’s a fitting tribute to the English summer.

I didn’t really expect to enjoy Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture. I thought I would find the slow pace annoying and the game boring. Instead I was drawn into the mystery and the story-telling and the detail and spectacle of the little Shropshire village that has been constructed for us. If you’re unable to look past the slow pace and lack of interactivity then you’ll never warm to this game, but if you don’t mind the walking then you’ll reap the rewards as the narrative carefully unfolds and builds towards a climax. It doesn’t require you to take an active role in anything, but Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is far more unique, creative and engrossing than whatever version of Call of Duty is coming out this year.

Community review by JANUS2 (August 17, 2015) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.