400 Years
Genre: Action, Story
Game Review
Humans have a life expectancy of 80 years in developed countries. Let us compare ourselves to the lifespan of a planetary object... In short, our time is a point if you were to plot down a timeline. The concept of time and whether it has an end has always been a question to me. 400 years is an awesome flash game from Scriptwelder about a glimpse into time.
In the game, you play as a stone statue (resembles a Moai statue) who senses a great calamity approaching the world. You embark a journey to stop it in 400 years. Time is basically both on your side and working against you. When you come up against an obstacle in your path you can't get past, all you can really do is just to wait. Holding the space bar will advance time through the seasons and years, the landscape around you changes too until your presents a solution. Like waiting till the winter for the lake to freeze or wait a few years for a chestnut tree to grow tall enough and then climb over the cliff.
The farther you go, you find yourself playing a more active role in shaping the world around you such as feeding a village and wait until they build bridges across the lake. It's rare to find discover new game concepts, and the implementation of "waiting for time" as a solution is pretty original and beautiful. Really a bowl of fresh air to play such games, especially the slow pace, slow music, easy graphics made it a joy to wander around. Then, ended with no great meaning made obvious to the reader.
I loved every bit of this little game. Patience is a virtue that really sums up the game and also meaningful although short; I wish it was longer, at least twice as long. Perhaps, this might be the reason why we survive 2012. He saved us all... Let’s play again and spare no one now. >:)
400 Years Guide
Solution to 400 Years
- Stand up and head to the right. Don't be afraid of water... stone can't breathe, so just walk right through it!
- When you encounter the second pond with no slope to climb out the other side on, press and hold [spacebar] to advance time to winter so it freezes over.
- Continue heading right.
- Climb the first tree at the cliff.
- On top of the ledge, press and hold [spacebar] to advance time to wait for the second tree to grow large enough to climb... about ten years!
- Once you've climbed up, advance the time to fall.
- Head to the right and press [E] to pick up one of the chesnuts. Be careful not to advance time while carrying it since it will crumble to dust! (Don't worry, you can always advance to fall again and pick up another if this happens.)
- Continue to the right until you hit a wall, and press [E] again while standing close to it to plant the chestnut.
- Advance time until the newly planted tree is tall enough to climb. (Around ten to thirteen years or so.)
- Climb the tree, and once atop the cliff, advance the time to winter.
- Head to the right, crossing over the frozen water, and continue on.
- When you get to the cliff, just step off. Don't be scared, you're very sturdy.
- Making sure the season is still set to winter, continue to the right past the village and cross the frozen water.
- On the other side of the water, advance the time to fall.
- Press [E] while standing in it to pick some of the grain you find growing there. Once again, don't advance time or the grain will crumble to dust and you'll have to come back for more.
- Head to the left back towards the village and fall into the water you had just crossed.
- Walk along under the water to the left, through the tunnel, until you reach a tree.
- Climb the tree and head to the right until you fall back to the village.
- Press [E] when prompted to plant the grain, right at the spot you fell in.
- Head to the right and stand beside the water.
- Advance time for... a long time. Over the span of several decades, you will notice the village begin to improve, and eventually they will start building a bridge.
- When the bridge is completed (you can stop advancing time whenever you like to check on its progress) head to the right and cross it.
- Where you originally found the grain, you should now find a new settlement of villagers.
- Keep heading to the right until you encounter a small pond of water. If there is no bridge across it yet, advance time more years until the villagers build a bridge across that gap as well.
- Proceed to the right until you encounter another big body of water.
- Advance time while standing on the shore until it is winter and the water has frozen over.
- Head across the water while it's iced over, but stop roughly in the middle of the lake and advance time so the ice melts.
- If done correctly, you should fall through the ice and down a long, long tunnel underwater. If you missed, just climb out and try again.
- Walk all the way to the right, climbing the slope, until you reach a wall with stalactites and stalagmites growing from the ceiling and floor.
- Once more, advance time until the stalactites have grown up from the ground enough for you to climb over the wall. This will take a LONG TIME, easily over 70 years, so be patient.
- Climb over the wall and proceed to the right down into the water.
- Advance time to summer and continue walking through the water to the right. Eventually, you should encounter a net dangling from the surface. Use this to climb up to land. (The boat only both has its net down and is close to the left side of the screen where you want it in the summer.)
- Head to the left through the village until you encounter a wall.
- Advance time once more until the tree there grows tall enough to climb... don't worry if you can't see it right away, it's there.
- At the top of the wall once you can climb, advance time to fall.
- Pick up one of the chestnuts lying on the ground.
- Head back to the right.
- Keep walking right until you fall into the water you climbed up out of.
- The boat should now be parked on the right side of the shore opposite the village. Use its net to climb up and out.
- Walk up to the wall and plant your chestnut against it.
- Once more, advance time until your newly planted tree is tall enough to climb.
- Climb the tree and continue walking to the right.
- At the top of the tall, sooty mountain, you should find a hole. Climb all the way down it.
- When prompted, press [E] to block the lava, and then advance time to see the results.
