Mini Review: Proteus (PS3)

I’m convinced Proteus has a hidden brilliance to it. Yet perhaps I am not smart enough to find it. It’s one of those art house projects that tries to bend the very definition of what is a game. I’m just not sure it succeeds in that goal.

It starts by setting you down on a randomly generated island, with no instructions about what to do.  The natural instinct is to start exploring. You journey through rolling hills, forests, sandy beaches. You might encounter the occasional wild animal or sets of mysterious stones that play music when you get close to them. Seasons change and there is a day/night cycle. Beyond that, there is nothingness. No objectives, no story, nothing to interact with in world.

There’s certainly a serenity to it all, to contrast Proteus’s nihilism.  The minimalist, yet colourful environments are augmented by a great soundtrack that sets a peaceful mood.

Yet I quickly lost interest in the whole experience after wandering around for ten minutes. I suspect your average dude-bro gamer these days will have even less patience for it.

Now, I don’t hate art type games. I thoroughly enjoyed what ThatGameCompany did with Flower and Journey, as well as titles like To The Moon, The Stanley Parabola, and Gone Home. All of which are fairly minimalistic, but they draw you in because they have a story to tell. Proteus really doesn’t.

Creator Ed Key said in an interview with Kotaku that “encouraging a strict definition of ‘game’ does nothing but foster conservatism and defensiveness in a culture already notorious for both” Which is about as pretentious a statement as one could make. Simply put, Proteus is a game in the same way The Room is a black comedy. The artist can call his work whatever he wants, but he’s not the one interpreting it. The final decision is left to the viewer. Key would probably consider me a philistine for thinking that, but he’s not the only one who works in a creative field, or has told a story through a visual medium. 

In the end, Proteus is something any decent programmer could toss together in a weekend. Key is certainly on to something with the concept, but it still needs to be fleshed out more. There’s nothing really revolutionary about it, contrary to his own claims. After reading the development history of the game, seems like it’s creators really didn’t put that much effort into the project. They had originally envisioned it as an RPG but got in over the heads, so we got this. Guess they never heard of RPG Maker VX.

Did I enjoy it? I think so. There’s a lot of charm to Proteus when taken in the context of what it is, not what it claims to be. It’s a piece of interactive art that’s meant to be appreciated aesthetically, but it’s not a game.

It was certainly an odd choice for a PlayStation Plus game of the month. Especially when there’s so many other great works of art on the PS3. However, it’s worth checking out while it’s still free. Though I wouldn’t bother paying the $10 admittance fee to this gallery once that deal expires.

Score: 6 out of 10

What Works:

-Minimalistic, randomly generated graphics
-Beautiful, serene environments
-Great sound track sets the mood
-Great concept

What doesn’t work:

-Next to no actual gameplay
-Really pushes the limits of what is a game, but not in a revolutionary way
-Definitely needs a lot more fleshing out
-Price a bit too high if purchased outside of PlayStation Plus deal