Puzzle Bobble: Vacation Odyssey
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for Puzzle Bobble: Vacation Odyssey
Overall, Puzzle Bobble VR: Vacation Odyssey is a decent title and a fun time for a solid few hours of casual enjoyment. You can play it standing or sitting, which is a plus. But it’s got some annoyances that will get on your nerves after a while. Besides the finicky aiming mechanic, there isn’t really the mind-blowing immersion that we look for in a great VR game; this is an experience that would have been pretty much the same if it were in 2D: a casual, amusing little puzzler that you pick up for short periods and then put away. When you’re asking players to strap on a fairly heavy VR headset for longer periods, you really need to give them a more thrilling and unique experience than this.
Puzzle Bobble VR: Vacation Odyssey translates the franchise's beloved gameplay successfully into the VR space. With a ton of devious puzzles and a few different modes to play around with, there is plenty of content here to keep bubble poppers busy for a while. The slightly twitchy aiming can be difficult at times, but overall the game is exactly what fans might expect.
If you like casual, “time filler” games this could be a good choice. If you’re a fan of the franchise, I’d just about say it’s worth it just to feel like you are actually firing the bubbles yourself. A fun puzzler!
If you have fond memories of early Puzzle Bobble games, you’ll get a sweet nostalgia kick out of Puzzle Bobble 3D: Vacation Odyssey. It looks fantastic, and with 100 campaign levels alongside an infinite and duel mode, there’s a generous amount of content for its modest asking price. There’s a lot of fun to be had, no doubt – but you’ll not be able to shake the nagging feeling that it’s just not quite as enjoyable as its 2D counterparts.
It's amazing that there's a Puzzle Bobble VR game, never mind a 3D one so if you're a fan of the franchise then you definitely have to play it. With that in mind, Vacation Odyssey could have gone a bit further to make it a more well-rounded and intuitive experience.
If you’re looking for some casual puzzle fun on the PS5, you will get your fair share with this little game. With that being said, for as much as I commend the developers for trying to come up with brand new ideas for such a tried and true formula, I certainly do not think that this 3D gameplay is anywhere near as fun and addictive as the classic Puzzle Bobble/Bust-a-Move we all grew up playing and loving.
All in all, I had a bubble-blasting good time with Puzzle Bobble 3D Vacation Odyssey. It was fun to rethink my Bust-a-Move strategies in 3D, and while the third perspective does create some camera issues, I still really enjoyed this fresh new take on the classic series.
