Jordan Devore
Simply put, Pokémon has never felt more alive to me than it does in Sun, and while I did have high expectations coming in, I can't say I saw that coming. This series is catching up with our imaginations.
As a lower-key alternative to the high-octane flying games in the VR space, How We Soar has found its niche, and it'll serve those players well. It strikes a good balance between letting you unwind and also making sure you're adequately challenged and engaged. The story doesn't quite do enough to draw you into the author's plight and keep you hooked, but the flying alone carries this game far.
As it stands, you should absolutely hold off on Surgeon Simulator: Experience Reality for PlayStation VR until the controls are overhauled in the planned update. I ended up having some fun once I learned how to work around those glaring issues to a certain extent, but even in the best of times, it was a struggle. It's a shame the launch went this way, because there's an entertaining VR experience buried in here.
Even though I didn't connect with either character, I think Scarif comes out strong with its vibrant setting and stellar maps. The new multi-part Infiltration mode is uneven, yes, but it's also Battlefront at its best. In fact, if it weren't for Bespin, this final expansion would be my favorite. Now we just need DICE to hurry up and consolidate the fragmented player base. Battlefront 2 isn't that far off.
Whether it's worth playing at that price depends on how into Psychonauts you are and/or how desperate you are for a delightful, well-crafted PSVR game. I'll say this much: as someone who is by no means a superfan, Rhombus of Ruin left me feeling proper excited for Psychonauts 2.
Dexed is the kind of thing you might play a few times, in short sittings, and never return to again. There's not enough here to earn your continued interest, and while the on-rails shooting works well and seems promising at first, the game it's attached to fails to build on that initial seed of an idea.
Snipperclips is a terrifically charming package. It's one of those rare games I can flat-out recommend to everyone because odds are you'll have a blast with it, and so will anyone you share it with. If you're a Nintendo Switch owner, this deserves to be your next game after Zelda.
If you're new to World of Goo, there's no shortage of people who will plead its case or platforms to play on. I'm right there with them. After all these years, it remains a delight from damn near top to bottom.
There's hope for Drawn to Death to grow into something more, and my fingers are crossed that it does. After not quite a week, I've just about had my fill and don't feel compelled to stick around for cosmetic unlocks earned from drawn-out blind boxes. With new modes and characters, another pass at balancing, and some matchmaking options, I could see myself coming back. Until then, I'm good.
All told, Shiness is an uneven adventure, but one I'm glad I undertook. While it's too ambitious for its own good, deep down, and despite some hard-to-overlook faults, you can just sense that this was a passion project. I'm not sure if Enigami will get to make a sequel, but if it does, I'd be up for it.
Most everything is well-thought-out, polished, and delightful
It's a testament to Statik's inventive puzzle design and clever complementary use of the DualShock 4 and PlayStation VR that even though I didn't care much for its story or aesthetic, it still won me over big time. If you're a PlayStation VR owner, you owe it to yourself to look into this game further.
Even though certain design elements aren't as streamlined, fleshed-out, or user-friendly as they could have been, part of me is just thankful Birthdays even got greenlit. Niche as it might be, I've wanted something like this for years, and despite my admittedly high expectations, I still came away impressed. I hope the game is able to find an audience, because it so clearly deserves one.
Even though it ended on a sour note for me with a few too many elements snowballing into an avalanche of hair-pulling frustration, on the whole, Polybius had me in a trance. I'm happy just thinking about it. PlayStation VR owners, Jeff Minter fans, and arcade enthusiasts need to get in on this.
All told, this is a content-rich collection, one that is especially worth investing in for WipEout newcomers. Longtime players might feel fatigue from tracks that have seen repeated use over the years, but even then, I'd argue the audio and visual polish present in Omega Collection makes it worthwhile -- with or without a 4K-ready setup. The dream of the '90s is alive at PlayStation.
It takes a special type of high-score game for me to want to actually stick with it and start rivalries on the leaderboards. Pac-Man Championship Edition was one such game. Trials HD was another. Now, Nex Machina is my new obsession.
Really though, if you're playing this, you're doing so for the satisfying shooting and VR immersion (and because you probably sorely need something new for your PlayStation VR). It is what it is. If you've got the setup needed to make the most of this game, you could do a whole lot worse.
Fantastic Contraption isn't something I'll ever aspire to master or completely finish. Some people will, and they'll get a lot of mileage out of solving all 50 levels and pushing the basic toolset to its limits. For me, though, it's far more enjoyable as a laid-back, revisit-it-every-so-often toybox. Get in, narrowly clear a puzzle with a cobbled-together monstrosity, get out. That's how I roll, and while it's not exactly what I hoped and expected from this game, I can't complain too much. It's fun in spurts.
Theseus feels like a small-team effort, and a middle-of-the-road one at that. The myth-turned-game concept is smart, but the execution and scope aren't where they need to be.
With a longer run time and more complexity, Dino Frontier could've been the next great PlayStation VR game. As is, though, it's still high up there as one of my favorites for the headset. If you have Move controllers and want a light city-building sim to chill out with, jump on this right away.