PSVR Review Code Provided by Charm Games
It’s not often that we see indie games from years back get a port onto other devices, but that didn’t stop this team from bringing their 2017 virtual reality title on Steam to the PSVR platform. Charm Games created FORM back when VR was still in its early stages and developers were still working out the best way to utilize the new opportunities the VR gaming device provides. Even without giving players a way to move, the Charm team developed a unique experience.
Story
As a physicist working within a secluded Alaskan laboratory, your research on a strange object. Just as you were on the brink of uncovering the meaning behind a mysterious signal coming from the object, known as The Obelisk, you find yourself on a strange journey through your own mind. This new path could lead you to a new existence…or it could leave you trapped in your past forever.
Gameplay
For the most part, you are just standing in one spot and interacting with things around you. You will be reaching in all directions, so make sure you have plenty of space in all directions. I do not recommend you play the game sitting down as most of the things you need to interact with would end up being eye level. You can adjust the floor level in the menu if needed.
Mechanically speaking, the game is all about just grabbing the items you need around you and putting them where they go. All of the puzzles are variations of this mechanic, but that doesn’t mean they will be easy. They did a great job keeping the puzzles difficult by having them be hard to understand due to either being in an unfamiliar situation or just clearly being unsure what to do. There is still plenty of little things to play with while looking for the objective move, specifically at the starting desk, so be sure to have fun before you get to solve puzzles.
Once you get to the intricacies of the game, a new mechanic is added which really just helps you grab objects that are far away. You will be given a light beam in your hand and that can be used to pull objects towards you. This doesn’t work on things like levers nor do they help with pushing an object where it goes, so once you have what you need you still need to reach out to put it in place.
Pretty much all the puzzles are variations of moving something into the right position or placing something in the right location. Don’t expect it to be easy though as this will include aspects like light orbs with no variations that all have designated locations or big objects having to be in the correct position before it will connect to the marker.
Visuals
I just have to say that this, being a semi-old VR game, has amazing visuals! While they kept the general style of the area either small or simplistic, you could really feel like you were in all the strange locations. The graphical designs they went with give a very sci-fi feeling to the surroundings.
Audio
There isn’t a lot of sounds in the game other than the sound effects. Music is used only for key moments and even in one puzzle. Everything seemed to match pretty well with what was going on and when events were happening, the sound effects used amplified that sci-fi feeling the surroundings gave off.
Replayability
Unfortunately, like most puzzle games this one is a one-time run. All the puzzles are the same when you go back in and there isn’t anything new to expect from a second playthrough. There is a musical score section called the “Cortex” however and here you can experience the soundtrack in a pretty unique way.
What It Could Have Done Better
I have never used the PC VR, but there must be a better movement tracker for it because there were times that interacting with the puzzles was a bit of a hassle. While trying to solve some intricate puzzles, I also had to fight the lack of tracking for my hands when I had to reach up on the higher areas. I can’t really blame this on a port error, but more of an issue that you have to deal with when using the PSVR. Something I didn’t consider until I already beat the game was that you can adjust the floor in the menu at any point in the game, so perhaps just lowering the floor will make it easier to reach the necessary areas, but still an inconvenience no matter how you look at it.
When loading into an area you get an actual loading circle on the screen to let you know the game didn’t freeze. I understand that you wanted it there for that reason alone, but I would rather look into a white or black abyss than let something so technically obvious take away the immersion that VR is supposed to provide. I highly suggest the developers update the game to have that removed completely and just have long abyss moments without the loading circle spinning in my face.
Other than the reaching issue with tracking, there were times that my hands simply wouldn’t cooperate with what I was trying to do. It was a small issue and one that was easy to fix, but it goes back to the fact that watching my hand drift away while holding a puzzle piece breaks the immersion. I would blame the PSVR tracking on this one if it weren’t for it happening in random moments, even when I know the tracking was not lost.
Verdict
FORM is a memorable VR game that I am very happy to see ported to the PSVR. It has a unique experience and interesting puzzles that left me wanting the game to last much longer. Other than a few quirks that could be from old VR development or the porting job itself, this is a game worth having if you are a fan of puzzle games. I definitely recommend it and hope to see Charm Games port over their other VR puzzle title, Twilight Path, next!
