Parents' Guide to Vane

Those in search of action and answers won't find them in this artsy indie game, but they'll find a haunting atmosphere, beautiful visuals, and a sense that change is, for better or worse, inevitable. Vane is about exploration, discovery, and interpreting the things you find. What does it mean that the bird you control seems to have more agency than those it encounters? Is there significance in the fact that the children appear to be born from gold leaves, and that parts of their bodies retain a golden glow? Who once lived in the urban ruins we explore? Is the change that we create restoring the world to the past, moving it toward the future, or doing something altogether different? What's the end goal for the mysterious few who inhabit this world? Clear answers are few and far between (though you might find some hints in the text describing each of the game's trophies as you unlock them). The joy of playing comes largely from exploring this beautifully odd but not altogether alien world -- elements of which change right before your eyes in an almost painterly fashion -- and trying to make sense of what you see.

But the fun is slightly hampered by some noticeable glitches. The camera sometimes moves behind pieces of the environment, making it difficult to see what's going on. Players can also expect to occasionally fall through and become "trapped" inside objects in the environment. This is likely because of the game's unusual design, which sees important pieces of architecture transform, creating walls and floors where seconds ago there were none. But understanding why this happens won't necessarily make players any more forgiving should they need to restart the game and lose progress due to a glitch. Keeping this in mind, those willing to overlook the occasional technical hiccup will find a highly artistic and even poetic interactive experience in Vane.