Paper Dolls (PSVR) Review

Paper Dolls seeks to tell a story by combining traditional Chinese cultural with western style horror elements.  From the minute you start playing the game you are alone, but you never truly feel alone.  There is always the feeling that something or someone can jump out at you.  While jump scares are kept to a minimum throughout the experience, strange noises and the eerie environment does an amazing job at keeping you fully immersed.   The game does very little hand holding, you are expected to find your way around the temple – solving various puzzles and progressing the story-line.

Movement in the game is achieved either using the Dualshock 4 or the PS Move Controllers.  The developers have created what they call an “anti-motion sickness system”.  It attempts to allow full player locomotion and movement, without causing much discomfort.   Forward movements are done by pulling and releasing the triggers in a sequential fashion, almost like imitating walking using your fingers.  Left and right turning is done by double tapping the corresponding trigger for the direction you want to turn. 

 This method of movement will take some getting used, and even then it will never feel like second nature.  I had some problem adapting to it at first, but after a couple of minutes I was able get the hang of it.  I must admit however, for someone like me that is prone to motion sickness from full locomotion in VR games - this movement system gave some improvement in preventing motion sickness.  But it’s not perfect and can be very annoying to use at times.

Throughout the course of the game you will come across several ghosts, of which you are reminded to not fight them but instead run away with a chance to seal them away later on.  The story is very shallow and is lacking much depth.  

All in all, if you are interested in Horror games with a focus on Chinese culture and traditions, then this is worth a try.  However, be warned that with equal amounts of enjoyment from Paper Dolls, you also get equal amounts of frustrations. 

Downward Spiral: Horus Station Review

Downward Spiral: Horus Station is the debut title from developer 3^RD  Eye Studios described as a “mysterious and atmospheric zero gravity thriller.”

From the start you are put aboard the Horus Space Station, weightlessly floating with all systems in emergency mode.  There are no introductory cutscenes, no opening musical scores or narrative exposition from the start.  You are forced to get accustomed to the navigation mechanics hands on.  Using the dual shock 4, each analog stick represents an arm.  Movement is achieved by pushing the analog stick in a specific direction then pulling back to create movement momentum.   Whilst movement for move controllers allows you to use each hand while floating in zero gravity and propel yourself around.  The feeling of being able to propel yourself is one of the best parts of the game as it is enjoyable, if not a bit scary when you pull yourself forward with too much force go off hurdling out of control.

Downward Spiral can be played both in VR and Non-VR, with a normal campaign mode and an exploration mode.  The exploration mode allows you to wonder and explore around the Horus Station with having to worry about being attacked by enemies.   There is very minimal on story to almost none at all.  This is not a problem as the eerie atmosphere and haunting silence drive you to want to find out more about what happened to result in things being the way that they are.

Gameplay graphics are clean and visually pleasing in VR but nothing exceptional, but it does achieve the goal of making you feel like you are aboard a drifting space station.   Sound design is on point as the often lack of musical score at points in time allow for the monotonous hum and beeping of the machines to set the stage of believability that you are actually alone, drifting in outer space.

The greatest downside of the game is the sometimes overwhelming monotony that sets in at the half way point.  Rooms start to blur together as the feeling of “been there, done that” starts to set in.   Downward Spiral is not for persons looking for high action, space adventure with an intriguing narrative.  Instead, it should be viewed as a slower pace, “experience” aboard a space station in the midst of distress.   

We give Downward Spiral: Horus Station on the PSVR a 6 out of 10. For the point of view of being a Dead Space inspired walking simulator, there is fun to be had with tempered expectations.

 

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Blind (PSVR) Review

Blind is the latest game from Tiny Bell Studios.  In it you navigate through the darkness of a mysterious mansion, trying to get to your brother who you believe is also being held captive there as well.   The game begins with a cutscene of the main character and her younger brother driving along a road at night in the pouring rain before a sudden flash of lightning strikes and you get to see the image of a man standing in the middle of the roadway.

After you take control of the main character named Jane, she is told by a disembodied voice that she was involved in a car crash and has lost her vision.  It is from this point you are set free to roam the creepy mansion on your own.

The world you explore in Blind is high contrasted with most objects and figures only appearing as visible outlines.   The premise of blindness is used to great effect here in its presentation.  Sight is mainly achieved through echo location so sound is an important part in being able to reveal your surroundings for navigation.  Despite the well implemented visual aesthetic of the world, the navigation leaves a lot to be desired.  The game works best with the motion controllers for navigation.  With forward and back movements mapped to the left controller and rotational turning mapped to the right.   This unfortunately is not perfect, due to the fact that the button layout on the move controllers not being designed for such purposes.  In most cases you end up pausing the game unexpectedly by hitting the wrong button.

As you progress you are explore the mansion guided by the mystery man, you literally stumbled through the darkness slowly unraveling pieces of the story by completing various puzzles.  Despite the puzzles themselves not being very difficult, frustration can occur from a combination of trying to find the solution in the dark, and trying to make enough noise to trigger echos to see what you are doing at the same time.

The biggest shortfall of Blind however, lies in its lack of substance below the surface.  Once you get a hang of the basic mechanics of the game and begin to progress deep into the narrative you realize there is not much depth.  This becomes clearly obvious the more you progress beyond reaching the final conclusion.

All in all, Blind on the PSVR was implemented well, but with a few minor issues.  The visual style works well and it offers something we haven’t seen before in VR.  

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Unearthing Mars 2: The Ancient War PSVR Review

Unearthing Mars 2: The Ancient War is a futuristic first-person shooter developed by Winking Entertainment.  A sequel to the first Unearthing Mars released in 2017. 
This time around, all aspects of the original are improved, especially the graphics and many of the gameplay mechanics.   This is seen in the stunning visuals and highly detailed character models.  Sadly, for all of its positives - there are many shortfalls as well that keep Unearthing Mars 2 from reaching its full potential.

The large sense of scale, especially in boss battles and facing larger enemies is truly impressive.  Moments such as these can be very intimidating in your first encounter.  The game’s opening sequence is of particular note, as we are first greeted with some of the best character models even seen of any game on Playstation VR thus far.  Unfortunately, the visual design is very inconsistent as moments later you are greeted with some of the worst graphics right after. 

Combat is straight forward, with you simply taking out wave after wave of a handful variety of enemies, before progressing to the next level and doing the same all over again.  You get a handful of gun to use but generally all feel pretty much the same with minor changes to their rates of fire. 
There are 10 levels broken up in to chapters.  Each chapter taking approximately 10 – 20 minutes to complete. There is not much in the way of replay value as the story is highly forgettable and the voice acting is not the best.   

All in all, we give Unearthing Mars 2: The Ancient War a 5/10.  It’s great for an occasional quick pick up and play enjoyment so often but lacks any further depth that would make you want to replay multiple times.




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