Today’s roundup take us into three very different worlds, from a virtual reality murder investigation to a retro cyberpunk adventure and a Norse-inspired journey through the skies. Detective VR puts its focus firmly on methodical evidence gathering, Au Revoir delivers a short but atmospheric point-and-click mystery, while VORON: Raven’s Story builds its entire experience around the unusual sensation of playing as a flying raven. Each game has an intriguing central idea, but all three also show the limitations that can come with smaller-scale productions.
Detective VR review (PSVR2)
Detective VR takes a potentially great premise for virtual reality and turns it into a deliberately methodical investigation. As an unnamed detective, players investigate the disappearance of artist Richard Hue by visiting different points in the timeline, photographing evidence and then returning to their office to analyse it. The idea of reconstructing a case from fragmented events works well, particularly because the suspects’ testimonies cannot simply be taken at face value. The time-manipulation element also gives the investigation a nice twist, allowing previously visited scenes to reveal additional information. The problem is that the mystery does not always demand as much deduction from the player as it suggests. Much of the investigation involves finding predetermined objects and processing them through the same sequence of scanning and linking clues, making the experience increasingly repetitive as it progresses.
The evidence board is nevertheless one of the game’s better ideas. Moving photographs around, examining them for fingerprints, blood or other details and connecting those discoveries to suspects creates a convincing detective-work routine, while the video testimonies provide a satisfying way of advancing the story. There is a pleasant sense of progression as new scenes become available, and the non-linear structure encourages players to revisit earlier moments when something does not quite add up. Unfortunately, the actual puzzles are often too straightforward, with persistence generally being more important than genuine deduction. The final chronological puzzle can feel unnecessarily awkward, particularly when information has to be reconstructed after revisiting scenes.
Controls can be an issue with the PSVR2 version. Picking up evidence, taking photographs or manipulating the investigation board works well, but movement itself can be unreliable, with teleportation sometimes triggering when the player is trying to perform another action. An update has improved things, but teleportation remains overly sensitive. The absence of smooth turning is another unfortunate limitation. When the controls behave, the physicality of handling evidence makes Detective VR feel suitably immersive; when they don’t, the awkwardness becomes difficult to ignore, so we’re hoping for more updates that can take care of those rough edges.
Visually, Detective VR has a convincing atmosphere and the environments provide a suitably intimate setting for the investigation, while the performed character scenes help give the story more personality. The character animation is less consistent, however, with some stiff or unnatural movements undermining the otherwise strong presentation. The voice performances are generally one of the game’s strengths, although the audio mix can occasionally make dialogue compete with the music or other sounds. Ultimately, Detective VR is an ambitious experiment that gets a surprising amount right for a relatively small production, but its repetitive investigation loop and inconsistent controls prevent the concept from reaching its full potential. There is a genuinely interesting detective experience here, and when the evidence, timeline and virtual reality elements come together, it can be quite engaging; it just requires more patience with its rougher edges than the premise might suggest.
Au Revoir review (PS5)
Au Revoir is a small-scale point-and-click adventure from Invisible Studio that combines a dystopian story about synthetic consciousness with a deliberately retro presentation. Published by Nuntius Games and Vsoo Games, the game puts players in the role of Tristan, a Sentinel tasked with recovering the consciousness of wealthy clients whose bodies have died. Naturally, a routine assignment soon turns into something more complicated, bringing questions about identity, memory and the corporation behind the technology to the foreground. The premise is hardly unfamiliar territory for cyberpunk, drawing clear inspiration from the likes of Blade Runner and Altered Carbon, but the combination of those familiar ideas with a late-’90s PlayStation aesthetic gives Au Revoir a personality of its own. The problem is that the game is over almost as soon as its ideas have started to become really interesting, leaving some character relationships and larger narrative questions underdeveloped.
As a point-and-click adventure, Au Revoir keeps things relatively straightforward. Players move through fixed environments, investigate objects, collect useful items, talk to characters and combine clues to progress, while a handful of puzzles provide some welcome variety. The puzzles generally follow understandable logic rather than relying on the arbitrary item combinations that can make the genre frustrating, although this also means experienced adventure players are unlikely to be challenged very much. There is an enjoyable consciousness-recovery sequence and a few other diversions, but the game remains much more interested in telling its story than testing the player’s problem-solving abilities. That focus works reasonably well, although the limited interaction can make the world feel more like a series of beautifully constructed scenes than a place to genuinely explore. Controller support on console is straightforward and intuitive, though some busy screens can make selecting the correct hotspot or exit unnecessarily fiddly.
The strongest aspect of Au Revoir is undoubtedly its presentation. Its chunky, low-resolution character models, vibrant neon lighting and dark city streets create an appealing throwback to the early PlayStation era, while the rain-soaked cyberpunk environments have enough small details to reward players who take their time looking around. The occasional fixed-camera travel sequences add even more retro charm, even if their intentionally dated appearance will not appeal to everyone. Audio is similarly restrained, with Portuguese voice acting supported by subtitles and long stretches where rain, machinery and other ambient sounds are allowed to carry the atmosphere. The relatively sparse use of music actually suits the noir-inspired mood, although those expecting a consistently prominent soundtrack may find the quieter approach unusual. There are also moments where the image can become rather dark or visually cluttered, which can make interaction less precise.
Ultimately, Au Revoir feels like a promising introduction to a world that could support a much larger adventure. Its two-to-three-hour runtime is enough to deliver a complete mystery, and the alternative endings provide some incentive to revisit the story, but it also highlights the game’s biggest weakness: there simply isn’t enough time to properly develop all of its characters and ideas. The linearity for most of the game further reduces the impact of the choices, with the major divergence arriving relatively late. Even so, the combination of coherent puzzles, distinctive retro visuals and a consistently atmospheric setting makes Au Revoir an enjoyable short adventure, particularly for players with an affection for classic point-and-click games and old-school cyberpunk aesthetics. It may leave players wanting more, but in this case that is as much a testament to the potential of Invisible Studio’s world as it is a criticism of the game’s brevity. We’re hoping “au revoir” is a sign that we’ll see more of this game in the future.
VORON: Raven’s Story review (PS5)
VORON: Raven’s Story is an unusual adventure in that its greatest strength is also its biggest limitation: almost everything revolves around being a raven and learning how to fly. Developed by Merk Games and published by Sometimes You on consoles, the game follows a young raven whose family is separated after an encounter with the ancient serpent Jormungandr. What follows is a journey through a Norse-inspired world in search of lost souls and the raven’s missing family. There is a pleasantly melancholic quality to the story, with some of the individual souls providing surprisingly touching little tales, while the mythology gives the journey an intriguing backdrop. At the same time, the central narrative remains fairly thin, with much of the wider lore relegated to optional tablets and environmental details. The result is a story with genuine heart, but one that occasionally feels as though it has more ideas than it has time to properly explore.
Thankfully, the actual flying is strong enough to carry much of the experience. Taking off, gaining altitude, diving and gliding across the landscapes feels satisfying once the unusual controls begin to make sense, and simply cruising over an island can be one of VORON’s most enjoyable activities. The stamina system adds an extra layer by forcing the player to decide when to flap and when to glide, although it can become more restrictive than interesting, particularly when exploring away from the main route. The problem is that the controls and camera do not always cooperate. Because the camera remains tied closely to the raven’s direction of travel, sharp turns and precision flying can be awkward, while occasional missed inputs can turn an otherwise enjoyable flight into an unintended collision with the scenery. Fortunately, the raven cannot truly die, so failed attempts generally result in an amusing ragdoll tumble rather than serious punishment.
Flying is also used as the foundation for VORON’s puzzles and trials. These range from carrying objects onto pressure plates to navigating sequences of rings against the clock, with the latter providing some of the better opportunities to put the flight mechanics through their paces. There is a satisfying progression as the player becomes more comfortable in the air, although the challenge rarely develops as far as it could. Some puzzles are enjoyable tests of coordination, while others feel repetitive or overly dependent on stamina and precise positioning. The open areas are more successful, giving the raven room to soar around, discover hidden upgrades and locate lost souls, but the worlds themselves can feel surprisingly sparse. VORON frequently hints at a much larger adventure without fully delivering on that potential, and its short runtime means that several ideas are introduced just as they begin becoming interesting.
Visually, VORON makes a good impression from the air, with colorful environments, distinct regions and some particularly attractive skies creating a dreamlike quality during longer flights. The scenery is at its best when viewed from a distance, as closer inspection reveals simpler textures, occasional technical roughness and some effects that can be excessively bright. The soundtrack and environmental audio fare better, helping give the journey an atmospheric quality. On PS5, these rough edges do not completely undermine the experience, but they are noticeable reminders of the game’s modest scope. Ultimately, VORON: Raven’s Story is an appealing little adventure built around an unusually effective flying mechanic. Its narrative has emotional moments, its world has an appealing Norse-mythological identity and soaring through its landscapes can be genuinely relaxing, but limited puzzles, awkward precision controls and an underdeveloped world prevent it from reaching the heights its central concept suggests.