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Everybody's Gone to the Rapture

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Everybody's Gone to the Rapture
Developer(s)The Chinese Room
Publisher(s)Sony Computer Entertainment
Director(s)Jessica Curry
Designer(s)Andrew Crawshaw
Writer(s)Dan Pinchbeck
Composer(s)Jessica Curry
EngineCryEngine
Platform(s)PlayStation 4
Windows
Release
  • PlayStation 4
  • 11 August 2015[1]
  • Windows
  • 14 April 2016
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Everybody's Gone to the Rapture is a 2015 adventure game developed by The Chinese Room and published by Sony Computer Entertainment.[2] The game takes place in a small English village whose inhabitants have mysteriously disappeared. It is considered a spiritual successor to Dear Esther (2012), also by The Chinese Room.[3] It was released for PlayStation 4 on 11 August 2015 and for Windows on 14 April 2016. It received positive reviews from critics.

Gameplay

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In Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, the player explores a small English village whose inhabitants have mysteriously disappeared. The player can interact with floating lights throughout the world, most of which can reveal parts of the story. The player can interact with objects such as doors, radios, phones, fences, and power switches.[4]

Plot

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The game takes place in 1984 in a fictional Shropshire village named Yaughton. The player's objective is to explore and try to discover how and why everyone in the village has disappeared. Mysterious floating orbs of light swim around the air and lead the player to scenes made up of other human-shaped lights, which re-enact various previously occurring events. Following the orbs' evidence from scene-to-scene across the valley, as well as finding telephones and radios that replay conversations, recordings, and broadcasts, eventually provide all of the puzzle pieces to the game's main event, the "rapture".

There are five areas in the game, each of which revolve around a different character, with the main protagonists being Dr Katherine "Kate" Collins and her husband, Stephen Appleton, both scientists at the observatory. During their work, Kate and Stephen encounter a strange pattern of lights in the night sky which they believe is an unknown form of life. They observe the pattern infecting and sometimes killing other lifeforms such as birds and cows, before spreading to humans. Kate concludes that the pattern is attempting to communicate with humans, ignorant to the harm that it is causing them.

After confronting Stephen about his ongoing affair with his former fiancé Lizzie Graves, Kate locks herself in the observatory and spends the vast majority of the story attempting to communicate with the pattern. During this time, Stephen becomes convinced that the pattern is a deadly threat capable of destroying the human race.

Most of the valley's inhabitants begin to succumb to symptoms of unexplained hemorrhaging; pressure in the brain that is normally consistent with a brain tumor, as the doctor notes in a left-behind recording. Other people disappear, leaving behind a room full of odd specks of light and the lingering scent of unidentifiable ash. Convinced that this is connected to the pattern and that it will spread beyond the village if not contained, Stephen urges the local government to quarantine the area, blocking the roads and cutting the telephone lines. The locals are told that it is due to an outbreak of Spanish flu, though many are skeptical of this and become even more so when the corpses of the dead begin to disappear into thin air.

As the town's population rapidly dwindles, Stephen realizes that the quarantine has failed and that the 'pattern', or 'It' as it is often referred to, has learned to adapt. He believes that it has learned to travel not just through direct human contact, but through the telephone lines, radio waves, and television sets. In light of this, he desperately insists to the local government that they must gas the valley.

In the penultimate chapter of the game, the player is led to a bunker where Stephen waited out the nerve gas bombings with the intention of killing himself once he ensured that every other infected person in the valley is dead. When he is unable to reach anyone at all outside the valley via telephone, he realizes that he has failed and that the pattern has spread, presumably to the entire planet. The pattern comes for him and he confronts It. He tells It that he has decided to set fire to himself, having doused himself in petrol to prevent being taken by It. Moments before he ignites the fuel, an image of Kate appears in the pattern of the light. Stephen stands in awe, reaching out to her. The scene fades out as Stephen's lighter slips out of his hand and hits the ground, igniting the petrol.

In the final part of the game the player is transported to the inside of the observatory's locked entrance gate. The player makes their way up the hill to the top-most observatory and upon entering, sees the human light shape of Kate inside in the darkness, making the last of the recordings heard. She states that she is the last one left, and it is revealed that she did achieve communication with It. Kate explains that when she told the pattern that what it did to everyone in the valley - the people, the birds, the insects, the cows - was wrong; It countered that it was not wrong, because now everyone that wanted to be together was together, and that everyone had found their counterpart and was no longer alone. Kate explains how she finally understands and says that she has accepted her fate, and that she and 'the pattern' will soon join the others. She states that humanity can finally 'slip away, unafraid.' Kate turns and appears to reach out to the pattern coming down from above as it reaches out to meet her, her last words being her belief that the pattern was her own counterpart.

Development

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During the development of Dear Esther, the team wanted to introduce interactive elements. When this proved to be impractical, the concept of Everybody's Gone to the Rapture was born.[3] The developers were inspired by "the very British apocalyptic sci-fi of the 60s and 70s", like John Christopher's The Death of Grass and Charles Eric Maine's The Tide Went Out.[5] The voice cast includes Merle Dandridge, Oliver Dimsdale, Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Susan Brown, and Jonathan Bailey.

The team made the decision to partner with Sony as they felt they could not raise enough money for the project through crowdfunding sources or through sales of alpha versions.[6][7] A Windows version of the game was released on 14 April 2016.[8] The game's soundtrack composed by Jessica Curry was published by Sony Classical as a 28-track album in the UK.

Reception

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Everybody's Gone to the Rapture received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[11]

GamesRadar called the game "brave, [...] challenging, and [...] essential",[12] while IGN talked about "a beautiful, heart-breaking journey into the end of the world".[13] Everybody's Gone to the Rapture was featured on several "Best games of the year" lists, such as Kirk Hamilton's from Kotaku,[14] Alexa Ray Corriea's from GameSpot[15] or Kill Screen's "Best Videogames of 2015" list.[16]

Some reviewers criticized what was perceived as too little interactivity from the player. Jim Sterling, while analysing games often derided as "walking simulators", said that Everybody's Gone to the Rapture is a model of what not to do in this genre, such as by not shifting the tone of the game as it progresses, and by making the back-story more interesting than the game itself. They unfavorably compared it to Gone Home and The Stanley Parable.[17]

Accolades

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Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
2015 TIGA Games Industry Awards 2015 Creative UK Gameplay Award Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Won [18]
Casual Game - Large Studio Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Nominated [18]
Diversity Award Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Nominated [18]
Original Game Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Nominated [18]
TIGA Audio Design Award Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Nominated [18]
TIGA Visual Design Award Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Nominated [18]
2016 19th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Nominated [19]
2016 12th British Academy Games Awards Audio Achievement Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Won [20]
Music Jessica Curry Won [20]
Performer Merle Dandridge Won [20]
Artistic Achievement Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Nominated [20]
Best Game Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Nominated [20]
British Game Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Nominated [20]
Original Property Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Nominated [20]
Performer Oliver Dimsdale Nominated [20]
Game Innovation Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Nominated [20]
Story Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Nominated [20]
2016 Game Audio Network Guild Awards 2016 Best Original Soundtrack Album Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Won [21]
Best Dialogue Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Won [21]
Best Original Song: Choral "The Light We Cast" by Jessica Curry Won [21]
Best Original Song: Pop "The Mourning Tree" by Jessica Curry Won [21]
Audio of the Year Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Nominated [21]
Music of the Year Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Nominated [21]
Sound Design of the Year Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Nominated [21]
Best Mix Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Nominated [21]
Best Interactive Score Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Nominated [21]
2016 British Writers' Guild Awards 2016 Best Writing in a Video Game Everybody's Gone to the Rapture by Dan Pinchbeck Won [22]
2016 Develop Awards 2016 Audio Accomplishment Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Won [23]
New Games IP – PC/console Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Nominated [23]
Visual Arts Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Nominated [23]
Use of Narrative Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Nominated [23]
Independent Studio The Chinese Room Nominated [23]
2016 Emotional Games Awards 2016 Best Emotional Artistic Game Achievement Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Won [24]
Best Emotional Music Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Won [24]
Best Emotional Game Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Nominated [24]

References

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  1. ^ Pinchbeck, Dan (11 June 2015). "Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Comes to PS4 August 11th, 2015". PlayStation. Archived from the original on 12 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Everybody's Gone to the Rapture". thechineseroom.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  3. ^ a b Matulef, Jeffery (30 July 2012). "Dear Esther's spiritual successor Everybody's Gone to the Rapture detailed". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  4. ^ "Everybody's Gone to the Rapture review: a beautiful test of patience". the Guardian. 13 August 2015. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  5. ^ McMullan, Thomas (27 July 2014). "Where literature and gaming collide". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  6. ^ Grayson, Nathan (22 August 2013). "Dear Esther Dev's Rapture No Longer Coming To PC". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
  7. ^ Carmichael, Stephanie (3 July 2012). "Interview: Everybody's Gone to the Rapture and Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs". GameZone. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  8. ^ Morrison, Angus (1 April 2016). "Everybody's Gone To The Rapture confirmed for PC". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  9. ^ "Everybody's Gone to the Rapture for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  10. ^ "Everybody's Gone to the Rapture". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  11. ^ "Everybody's Gone to the Rapture". www.metacritic.com. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  12. ^ Sakuroaka-Gilman, Matthew (10 August 2015). "Everybody's Gone to the Rapture review". GamesRadar. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  13. ^ Sliva, Martin (10 August 2015). "Everybody's Gone to the Rapture Review". IGN. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  14. ^ Hamilton, Kirk. "Kirk Hamilton's Top 10 Games Of 2015". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 3 January 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  15. ^ Corriea, Alexa Ray. "Alexa Ray Corriea's Top 5 Games of 2015". Gamespot. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  16. ^ "High Scores: The Best Videogames of 2015". Kill Screen. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  17. ^ Sterling, Jim (17 August 2015). Walking Simulators (The Jimquisition). YouTube.
  18. ^ a b c d e f "2015 TIGA Winners". TIGA. Archived from the original on 29 May 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  19. ^ "D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details Everybody's Gone to the Rapture". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Games in 2016". BAFTA. Archived from the original on 11 April 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i "2016 G.A.N.G. Awards Winners". G.A.N.G. Archived from the original on 14 May 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  22. ^ "Writers' Guild Award winners 2016". 18 January 2016. Archived from the original on 24 July 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  23. ^ a b c d e "2016 Develop Awards". Develop. Archived from the original on 17 December 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  24. ^ a b c "Emotional Games Awards 2016". Archived from the original on 28 October 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
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