Among Trees

I recently spent some time revisiting the Early Access build of Among Trees, and it is still one of the most aesthetically pleasing, Zen-inducing games I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing recently (especially during the height of a global pandemic).

My biggest issue, though, is that this is an Epic Games Store exclusive until at least September/October of 2021, with no real console ports lined up. That means I must play it on my PC with a mouse and keyboard, since there is currently no controller support — and it’s that last bit that really sticks in my craw.

Playing on PC isn’t my desired way to experience any game, though I do have an HDMI link to my TV so I can at least play PC games while chilling on my couch. But the fact that there isn’t currently controller support means I must balance a keyboard on my lap and use my mouse on the couch next to me — unless I get some sort of a tray to go over my lap, which sounds horrible. Let’s just say that with my current situation, the mouse-and-keyboard setup isn’t optimal.

If Among Trees enabled controller support, that would go a long way toward mitigating my biggest gripe about the game (and surely, I can’t be alone in this).

Among Trees

That being said, it is still a hassle to play my PC through the TV. It takes up the TV and PC at the same time, leaving my partner without any entertainment options. If I play PC games on my television, I’m basically monopolizing our household entertainment, and that ain’t right.

So the ideal solution — for me, at least — would be to simply port Among Trees over to the PS4/PS5 and bring this unnecessary injustice to an end.

Although I enjoy the option of playing some games on PC, Among Trees is just begging for a console port. I’ve gone on record to state that stating Among Trees could be a spiritual successor to my favorite survival game, The Long Dark. And for as beautiful as Among Trees might be — much like The Long Dark — it isn’t graphically taxing by any means. I can’t imagine it would put too much of a toll on current-gen or even last-gen consoles. I mean, The Long Dark runs on the Nintendo Switch, for crying in the snow!

And maybe I’m just biased, since I’ve primarily used controllers throughout my gaming career, but Among Trees seems like it’s just screaming to be linked to my DualSense controller. This type of atmospheric exploration feels somewhat at odds with the mechanical precision of a keyboard-and-mouse setup, especially considering there is no need to aim a gun, and the general feel of the game seems a little clunky when you’re forced to move using the WASD keyboard layout.

So please, FJRD Interactive, release the Snyder… err, um… Console Cut. Or port. Or whatever. Or at the very least, enable controller support so that I — and the controller-using community at large — can finally fall in love with Among Trees, just as nature intended.

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