First, a quick note. This review was originally written for the now-dead indietheory.com before the game was released on Steam, thus the low play time on Steam for the game.

Thomas was alone. Wow. A weird first thought to have.

Something has gone wrong and the AI have become self-aware in the system. It's now your role to take these AI to a life they've never known; one up, and to the left.

Although the game has a very simple design to it, with every playable character just a different sized square or rectangle of a different colour, and the platforms just blackness in front of the background, it manages to create its own unique art style that is a pleasure to look at. The characters also always stand out from the background vividly, with the platforms also standing out well against the background. Thus meaning there is never any confusion of what is a platform and what isn't.

Although the graphical style creates some of the mood, it has to be said that the sound is a very large part of it. Firstly, there is David Housden's soundtrack. Just classical enough to add some emotion to the game, while also adding in enough electronic elements to fit in with the plot of AI escaping a system. Although one track is looped throughout each stage of ten levels, this is hardly noticeable with the music managing to stay on-theme.

Then there is also the narration throughout from Danny Wallace, which creates a voice for each character. It means the game is given a plot and each character a personality, resulting in that you start to care for each little square and rectangle. Without this narration, the game would just be a decent looking platformer with a good soundtrack. It'd still be a fine game, but this manages to take it that one step further and develops a story in which you want to know what happens next.

As for the platforming action itself, it's hardly the most advanced you'll find in a game, but it works and it works well. You can control one character on the screen at a time, with each character slightly different from each other. One might be taller and thus be able to jump higher, another will be smaller and be able to fit in small spaces, while a couple even float in water and allow others to bounce on top of them. This means that each one's strengths have to be used to get others to the finish. Two could form steps to help a smaller character to a higher place it can't reach through jumping, for example.

This is one of the finest all-round games I have played in quite some time and as such can not recommended enough by me. The platforming works perfectly, the different characters add variety to the gameplay, and the soundtrack and narration sets the mood for the game, managing to make you care for what are after all "just" quadrilateral shapes. The lack of replayability may put some people off, as might the shortness of the game, but I personally feel that the game didn't overstay its welcome and its great storytelling more than makes up for the lack of replay value.

Thomas Was Alone was provided for review by Indie City