With Galactic Catch, Mindset and Zombies Noir: Mixed Reality we return to the realm of VR with a trio of reviews for new titles on the Meta Quest 2.
Galactic Catch review (Quest)
Galactic Catch, developed by Baobab Studios (known mostly for their VR films), offers a nice new virtual reality fishing experience on Meta Quest 2. The game introduces a unique twist to the genre, blending casual fishing mechanics you might already recognize with sci-fi elements, crafting, and captivating visuals. While it may not appeal to fans seeking a realistic fishing simulation (like Real VR Fishing), Galactic Catch manages to deliver an enjoyable and addictive gameplay experience suitable for all ages.
Set in a sci-fi universe, Galactic Catch tasks players with the mission of rescuing their friends, Mac and Cheez, by using their fishing skills to capture 60 distinctive alien fish across multiple exotic planets. The inclusion of resource gathering and crafting adds depth, allowing players to unlock new gear and enhance their chances of capturing rare and larger fish. This progression system adds a layer of strategy and excitement to the gameplay.
The fishing mechanics in Galactic Catch are familiar yet engaging, with visual cues guiding players on when and how to interact with the fishing rod. Timing is crucial, as players must swish, flick, pull, or let go at the right moment to prevent the fishing line from snapping. The tension mechanics create a satisfying level of challenge, ensuring players remain invested in each catch. The game’s animation, gameplay mechanics, and sound effects contribute to the overall immersive experience, making it enjoyable for both casual gamers and VR enthusiasts – though they’re less impressive than Boabab’s films were, were interactivity was of course limited.
Visually, Galactic Catch shines with its charming animation and colorful environments. While the fish design could have been more diverse and captivating, the alien planets and water areas still manage to create an appealing backdrop. The game’s customization feature allows players to create their own unique space aquariums, showcasing their collection of fish and decorative items. The casual nature and relative simplicity of the game make it ideal for quick gameplay sessions too, although it also contains story campaign that showcases some of the developer’s storytelling expertise. This makes Galactic Catch is a lovely title for anyone seeking a delightful and immersive VR fishing escapade.
Mindset review (Quest)
Mindset, developed by Carbon Studio (known for Tempestfall and The Wizards), is an awe-inspiring virtual reality puzzle game that pushes the boundaries of immersion and interactivity. Set in the depths of the human subconscious, the game seamlessly incorporates players’ hand movements, making this a great showcase for the hand tracking technology of the Meta Quest 2. By using their own hands, players can activate, connect, and shift an array of combinations, which does wonders for the immersion factor.
At its core, Mindset offers a combination of challenging logic puzzles, captivating visuals, and an intriguing storyline. As players navigate through cube-shaped puzzles, they must put their intelligence, dexterity, and deduction skills to the test. Each puzzle presents a unique challenge, gradually unraveling the protagonist’s past and immersing players in a rich and atmospheric narrative. The inclusion of intricate mechanisms and triggers based on momentum, gravity, and general physics adds depth and complexity to the puzzles, requiring careful thought and consideration to work in tandem with the hand tracking controls.
Visually, Mindset mixes its relaxing gameplay formula with vibrant, ever-changing environments filled with captivating colors. The game’s visual aesthetics contribute to a soothing and immersive experience, allowing players to fully engage with the world and the puzzles it presents. Additionally, the Challenge Mode provides an opportunity for players to showcase their puzzle-solving skills, offering a diverse set of cube-shaped puzzles with multiple solutions, encouraging experimentation and unique approaches that give the game replay value.
While Mindset excels in its puzzle design and immersive experience, there are some areas that could be improved. Small control issues can briefly break the immersion, like when you have to fiddle around to interact with the puzzle box in the way you want to. But despite these minor flaws, Mindset delivers an engaging VR gaming experience that stands out due to its use of hand tracking technology in combination with its challenging puzzles and storyline. With a bit more polish, Mindset will be a must-play for VR puzzle enthusiasts looking for a unique experience.
Zombies Noir: Mixed Reality review (Quest)
Zombies Noir: Mixed Reality, published by Synodic Arc, is a new VR game that combines the often-seen action formula of zombie combat with something rarely encountered in VR: mixed reality. Available exclusively on Meta Quest right now, this game allows players to defend their actual homes from hordes of undead creatures in a rather unique and interactive simulation.
In Zombies Noir: Mixed Reality, players take on the role of survivors battling a zombie apocalypse. The game blends real and virtual objects through mixed reality technology, making for a fun and interesting experience even though there are a few rough edges in terms of how things can appear glitchy when playing in a visually busy environment. Players are tasked with completing case files that involve eliminating zombies, gathering evidence, and uncovering the mysteries behind the outbreak. Each case file then concludes with a challenging boss battle that puts players’ skills and strategies to the test.
As you’d expect from the title alone, the big standout feature of Zombies Noir: Mixed Reality is its integration with the players’ real-life surroundings. This lets players interact with elements of their actual house within the game, such as walls, doors, and desks. This blurs the line between the virtual and real worlds, delivering an incredibly immersive experience as soon as it works, and with some tinkering (in terms of our own position and objects in the room) we got it to work very well and it was a blast.
The game offers a diverse array of weapons, ranging from traditional firearms to quirky options like explosive cheeseburgers that show that this isn’t too serious a game and is meant to be fun rather than nerve-inducing. Players can upgrade their weapons and make purchases at an in-game shop, ensuring they stay well-equipped to face the undead threat, while also having the opportunity to unlock rewards by completing challenges. These rewards include special abilities and weapon skins, allowing for a degree of customization to your zombie-fighting experience.
Zombies Noir: Mixed Reality provides a relatively unique experience thanks to the mixed reality tech that uses your own living environment as the stage for a zombie-fighting adventure. It’s relatively bare bones in terms of gameplay (you can’t freely walk around your house and fight zombies everywhere), but even when stationary it’s an engaging concept by Synodic Arc – fusing the virtual and real worlds together. At its budget price point, it should entice plenty of players who are curious about the concept. And while the novelty wears off after a while, it’s fun and memorable to play VR in a different way for once.
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