Grab your box of tissues Overclockers, you’re going to need them. This time we played the hard-hitting Torn Away developed by perelesoq.
Torn Away — Official Launch Trailer
Simon’s Gaming Specs
I experienced this heart wrenching tale on my custom gaming PC with the following specs:
| Component | Details |
|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 5600X |
| GPU | AMD Radeon RX 6800 |
| RAM | 32GB DDR4 3600MHz |
| Storage | NVMe and SATA storage |
Previous Reviews
Torn Away Story
Torn Away has you play as Aysa, a 10-year-old Russian girl, who is living through the horrors of World War 2. You will experience key events that Aysa had to endure in the four years the USSR was at war with Germany. You follow her from the opening days from where her father is called up leaving Aysa and her mother at home, through her journey back to her ancestral village in the wars closing days.
But, as I said, you’re going to need a box of tissues to get through this. Torn Away is not a long game, I managed to complete it in under four hours. In this time, you will be hit with repeated heartbreaks, as Aysa experiences a great many traumatic experiences. I won’t go into too much depth, as I believe this is a game you must experience yourself, to fully appreciate the horrors innocent people suffer during war. One early example I will share is Aysa’s home being bombed, from where she is then captured and taken to a German work camp.
Through all the difficulties Aysa must endure, she has her imaginary friend Comrade Mitten to help her through it. This is a patched mitten from her father, upon which Aysa sews a pair of button eyes. After which Aysa can then imagine this new friend to be a grizzled war veteran. Comrade Mitten won’t let Aysa give in to despair and is full of encouragement helping her to push on no matter what.
Gameplay
The majority of Torn Away is a 2D platformer, where you must travel through the wintery depths of eastern Germany as she attempts to return to her homeland. Within these sections, you perform standard platforming actions such as running, jumping, pushing obstacles, and crawling through tight spaces. Additionally, you can find short stealth sections during these levels, where you must duck between spots of cover when a guard isn’t looking.
In addition to the 2D platforming, there are moments of relative peace where you must help Aysa carry out tasks. In fact, this is the first type of gameplay that you will experience. At the start of the game, you help Aysa prepare for her mother’s birthday before she returns home, by making a present, putting on some music, and fixing up a mitten.
Lastly, there are some stages that take place in first person. During these moments, you must guide Aysa through a variety of situations. This can include walking through a raging blizzard looking for shelter, to following a Soviet plane that is flying overhead.
Our Thoughts
As I’ve said Torn Away is a heavy hitting game, which it needs to be. This makes it, at points, difficult to get through, but I think it is an important game to be played. It examines an aspect of WW2 that often gets overlooked, the impact on children.
I liken Torn Away to the deeply moving film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, which examines the relationship between a young German boy and a Jewish child held in a concentration camp. Both shine a light on how we must do better to protect those who are truly innocent in a conflict. Something perelosoq brings up as soon as you start the game.
Torn Away is an impactful game which is easy to experience, for the most part, as there are a couple of jumps which require pixel perfect timing. It isn’t a long game, but it will stick with you for a long time.
How Can I Play Torn Away?
Torn Away is available on PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, as well as PlayStation 5. If you wish to play this haunting title, the recommended specs are:
| Component | Minimum Specs |
|---|---|
| Operating System | Windows 7 (64-bit) |
| Processor | Intel Core2 Duo E6750 (2 2660) / AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 5000+ (2 2600) |
| Memory | 4GB |
| Graphics | GeForce GT 430 (1024MB) / Radeon HD 5570 (1024MB) |
| Storage | 5GB Available Space |
Our Recommended PCs to Play Torn Away
Torn Away is not a demanding game to play, but you’ll probably want to play something a little less emotionally intense, after you take a moment once you complete it. With the top-notch selection of gaming PCs from Overclockers UK, you can do both.
Refract Gaming Crimson
- Pre-Built Gaming PC
- AMD Ryzen 7 8700G APU
- 32GB 5600MHz Dual-Channel DDR5 RAM
- 1TB 3.5″ HDD and 250GB 2.5″ SSD
- Three-year parts and labour warranty
Medion Erazer Crawler E50i Gaming Laptop
- 15.6″ Gaming Laptop
- 144Hz FHD Display
- Intel Core i7-13620H CPU
- NVIDIA RTX 4050 GPU
- 512GB NVMe storage with option to upgrade
OcUK Gaming Oxygen
- Configurable gaming PC
- AMD Ryzen 5 7500F CPU
- NVIDIA RTX 4060Ti GPU
- 500GB NVMe SSD plus 1TB 2.5″ SATA SSD
- Three-year parts and labour warranty
A Medium to Show Impactful Stories
Torn Away tells the story of a forgotten casualty of war, which shows why gaming is so important. It provides a platform for creators to tell these important stories. We’ve explored many other games that each have such an impactful story to tell.
Are you Ready for Heartbreak?
Does the sound of this amazing game intrigue you? I hope so. If you do decide to pick it up, please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
PC specs are subject to change.
- 6 min read
Simon Procter
Author
Having been a gaming nut for longer than he cares to think, Simon landed his dream job over a year ago at Overclockers UK. Since then, he has written many product pages and category texts. He even gets released from the basement to write the odd cheeky blog post. When not working, you can often find him entrenched in World of Warcraft, visiting friends to have his butt whooped in a board game, or with his nose buried in a book.
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