Theseus review for PSVR

It?s been quite some time since I donned the old PlayStation VR headset. More than half a year has gone by and I?ve had very little interest in most of what the PSVR has had to offer. That was until I came across developer Forge Reply?s Theseus. What at first glance seemed to be just another PSVR game that would get lost in the PSN store, became much more when I tried it.

The most important thing to note about Theseus is that it feels much more like a VR experience than a full-fledged game. That comment alone usually ends up with mixed reactions. To me, I thoroughly enjoy an immersive VR experience as well as a top-notch mechanic based VR game sans the immersion.

That?s where Theseus breaks the normal structure for a VR game.  The visuals give me the feel of a God of War style mixed with some old school Resident Evil style pacing and fixed camera angles. The true appreciation of Theseus? art style is when these camera angles are exploited by the simple turn of your head.

You feel like a god, looking over Theseus? shoulder?s as he traverses through a dark labyrinth filled with mythological architectures, creepy spiders and a 33ft tall Minotaur that you need to defeat. Only equipped with a sword, shield and a torch at certain moments, a clear majority of the game you are simply guiding Theseus through each area with the occasional combat that consists of simple button presses.

This is one of those games that I would enjoy having friends come over and experience VR for the first time with it. Since you are completely seeing your character in a third-person, there is a minimal risk of motion sickness. Most of the time, you are simply moving Theseus forward and at other times, you need to really look around your surroundings to see where to go.

That?s when you really get a sense of appreciation for the way Forge Reply designed the game. The only real shortcoming, is the overall length of the game. At the same time, there’s some replayability with item collection which in turn will give you a different ending. Other than that, the biggest challenge will be justifying the price to the majority of PSVR players. I think $20 is a fair price and would recommend checking it out and blowing the dust off your PSVR like I did.