Indie games are already quite affordable compared to the large AAA offerings from some of the industry’s biggest studios, but during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday season, you can get them for even lower prices. Such is currently the case for FAR: Lone Sails and FAR: Changing Tides, which are on sale for $3 at GMG and $6.72 at GMG, respectively (the codes are for Steam). These two titles are, hands down, some of the best indie games I’ve ever played — and thanks to these incredible deals, you can get both of them for just shy of $10.
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Don’t miss these beautiful masterpieces
Most post-apocalyptic games have a dynamic world, and emphasize the survival aspect — find water, hunt food, build shelter, etc. But the two games in the FAR series are different in that they present you with a linear and structured adventure to go on, with one simple goal: keep moving forward, and search for something better than the remains of the past.
That journey is possible thanks to the vehicles you get to control — a part-train, part-boat in Lone Sails, and a submarine-type craft in Changing Tides — and in each game, you form a symbiotic relationship with them. They give you an
effective method of transportation and protect you from the dangers of the elements as you push further and further into the wasteland, and you ensure they’re kept fueled and in good repair, and will sometimes even need to do some puzzle-solving to clear large obstacles they can’t smash through. This dependency on one another leads to something of a friendship with your ship, and in both games, I grew to care about it in the same way I’d worry about a companion NPC.
For the most part, the voyages are peaceful, even with threats like hazardous weather adding tension to the mix. However, they’re also distinctly melancholy, due in large part to their phenomenal environmental storytelling that hints at what happened to the civilization that came before. Throughout your odyssey across land and sea, there’s just enough visible to give you a rough idea of past events, but what’s presented also often leaves you with even more questions for the game to answer later. Both games had me absolutely captivated with this drip feed approach, and it only strengthened my resolve to press on.
Then there are the absolutely beautiful musical scores from composer Joel Schoch. Like the games themselves, they’re notably pensive and sorrowful, though occasionally broken up with moments of excitement and wonder. In-game, the tracks shift dynamically to match what’s happening to the player and their vessel, ensuring that everything you’re hearing as you play is a perfect fit for the gameplay. FAR’s paint-like art direction is striking, too, and its subdued color palettes do an excellent job of selling FAR’s post-apocalypse.
Both Lone Sails and Changing Tides are some of the best PC games and best Xbox games I’ve ever played, and despite their short length — Lone Sails is about three hours long, and Changing Tides is around six or seven — I found them to be incredibly moving. I still think about them all the time, and when they’re this affordable thanks to Cyber Monday, there’s no reason not to pick them up. I promise you won’t regret it.
