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Geek Review – Gibbon: Beyond The Trees (Apple Arcade)

If you don’t have an Apple Arcade subscription, then this is likely the right time to get it. Apple has been dishing out quality games one after another, and the latest indie game Gibbon: Beyond The Trees from Broken Rules, is a game that’s less of a time-waster, and something simple, educational and hauntingly beautiful. 

Gibbon: Beyond The Trees takes players on a journey of discovering humanity’s footprints on the environment and how we are a major threat to the species. Players play as a family of Gibbons swinging from tree to tree through the forest, as the setting and the world around them begins to change and evolve. 

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Dense forests become barer and barer, and instead of swinging high up closer to the clouds, you’ll find yourself swinging lower and lower each time humans cut down trees to construct a completely new environment. Soon what first seem like a freeing game, is torn down by the pains of separation and the associated dangers that come with human settlements – fires, and lots of it. 

gibbon: beyond the trees

The storyline of the game is simple. It doesn’t have dialogue or texts to tell a grand story, because it doesn’t need it. Gibbon: Beyond The Trees is an interactive reminder of what humanity has done to nature and how it affects animals. A soothing and relaxing experience transforms into a dark reminder – all packaged in a beautiful but brief experience. 

So how beautiful are we talking here? Broken Rules are no strangers to putting out stunning games. The developer’s recent Old Man’s Journey was lauded by indie fans and Gibbon: Beyond The Trees will be no different. The developer has done a masterful job with the 2D artwork, and quite frankly, it features some of the most beautifully painted backgrounds on any mobile phone game.

Its choice of colours and backgrounds go from romantic sunsets to a hellish fiery pit and then back to the calm dead of the night. Light effects such as shadows and soft glares come into effect too, creating somewhat realistic and incredibly immersive backgrounds. The family of gibbons are also beautifully animated. Its movements are either smooth and fast, or sluggish and slow depending on your performance in the game. Apart from swinging, it can slide, it can leap, it can perform playful acrobatics. The art and animation capture what life in the forest as a family of monkeys could be, and what inevitably happens when its home gets threatened. 

gibbon: beyond the trees

The games’ graphics set the atmosphere and moves the narrative along in a simple and efficient way – after all, there’s no grand plot, dialogue or text to signpost what’s going to happen next to this family of gibbons. Sound plays a huge role in making this game atmospheric and immersive too. 

Gibbon: Beyond The Trees’ sound design include the gibbon’s call, the sound of leaves rustling, the whirr of machinery and the racket of a crowd. The details in sound design is striking throughout. For example, when the gibbon grabs onto a tree branch to swing, there’s the sound of rustling leaves. In the forest, that’s likely what you hear most – leaves rustling and knocks on wood. But when you enter the city, you hear that and the clink of metal or the rubbing of fabric and everything in-between. 

Now that we’ve got aesthetics and storyline out of the way, how does it actually play? Gibbon: Beyond The Trees is a 2D tap game where your timing plays a key role in navigating obstacles. The game relies on your ability to judge trajectory and your swinging abilities. Once you get into the groove of the swinging mechanics, you can better control how fast or how slow you’d like to go.

gibbon: beyond the trees

Knowing how to pick up speed is important, especially when there are large pits and gaps between the trees. Fall into the pit, you die and respawn at the nearest checkpoint. Slow down and you’ll be able to fully enjoy the breathtaking backgrounds. It is a relatively easy game to play that is suitable for all ages and doesn’t demand too much of your time or effort. Despite it being an educational game focused on ecocide, Gibbon: Beyond The Trees can be a very relaxing experience. It’s a great game to play when calming your nerves before an interview or when you’re stressed out from work and want to escape to a hauntingly beautiful world. 

Easy gameplay, beautiful graphics and atmospheric sounds – the lessons one receives from this game is just an additional bonus, even though that’s likely Broken Rules’ main intention. There’s so much care and attention that’s gone into every inch of the game and it becomes most apparent when it ends. 

After giving you so much enjoyment and emotion, Broken Rules ends the game with a list of organisations actively helping the endangered species and makes clear of the danger that gibbons face today. It is done so naturally and personally, that you feel deeply connected to the developer and the cause it aims to support. The game doesn’t tell you “Hey you’re a shit human, look at what you’ve done” or shove “SUPPORT WILDLIFE” down your throat. Instead, it whisks you away using stunning imagery and other elements to create emotions and have you invested in the lives of this little family of gibbons – and have you experience the lesson it aims to tell on your own.

gibbon: beyond the trees

Perhaps, our one little issue we have is that this game isn’t one you’ll turn to if you’re looking for adventure and exciting action. There’s no evil you have to escape from and/or defeat. There’s no chest or coins to collect. No cool swag to purchase and show off to your friends. In fact, there’s very little motivation to return to or continue playing the game for an extended period of time. There are also limited chances of community building and bonding – something that has become so key to the gaming experience these days. But that’s okay. It’s understandable why Gibbon: Beyond The Trees is made the way it is, and how this “lack” can easily be countered by the deeply personal experience of being a gibbon, as well as the ability to truly learn something deep and meaningful about wildlife conservation. 

Gibbon: Beyond The Trees takes players on a deeply personal journey full of striking images, immersive sound design and an important message that lets you contribute to the world around you in meaningful ways. It’s less of a game and more of a calming distraction to turn to when you need to be whisked away from the everyday stressors of your life. 

Gibbon: Beyond The Trees is now available on Apple Arcade.

GEEK REVIEW SCORE

Summary

Apple Arcade’s latest indie game Gibbon: Beyond The Trees is a hauntingly beautiful game with a short and important lesson to learn

Overall
9/10
9/10
  • Gameplay - 8/10
    8/10
  • Story - 9/10
    9/10
  • Presentation - 10/10
    10/10
  • Value - 9/10
    9/10