Review: Arca’s Path VR
- Platforms: PSVR (Reviewed),Oculus, HTC Vive, Samsung Gear, Windows Mixed Reality
- Developer: Dream Reality Interactive
- Publisher: Rebellion
- Release Date: December 4th, 2018
The platform of virtual reality really hit its stride in 2018, with several new releases that brought players to breathtaking new worlds and introduced new mechanics that make the games just that much more immersive. Arca’s Path VR from Dream Reality Interactive and Rebellion was one of those very titles, providing an addicting, yet very relaxing VR experience with an innovative control scheme.
Arca’s Path VR is the story of a young girl who comes across a strange visor while wandering in a scrapyard. Putting on the visor, she is transported to the virtual world of Arca, where she must navigate through a series of labyrinths in order to escape. Arca’s Path VR‘s story is told without any dialogue or text, but with a series of beautifully done still images laid out almost like panels in a graphic novel.
If you’re familiar with the classic Marble Madness games you’ll have no problem getting acclimated to Arca’s Path VR. The goal of the game is simple, navigating a sphere from point A to point B. What’s not so simple is traversing all of the obstacles, tight-roping across narrow pathways, and managing to collect all of the crystals that are strategically placed along the way.
Arca’s Path VR does something quite unique in that you can play the game in its entirety without ever touching a Dualshock or Move controller. Using your PSVR headset you’ll control a cursor on the screen that will dictate the path for a sphere to roll through each level. The further you aim the cursor away from the sphere, the faster it will roll. You can also grind the sphere to a halt by staring directly at it (which is much more difficult than it sounds).
This control mechanic works surprisingly well, with very little hiccups until you reach the later levels of the game. Once the labyrinths get to the point where there are multiple tiers and pathways that criss-cross and weave the cursor becomes a bit of an issue, as you’re likely to accidentally aim at the wrong pathway and send your sphere off the edge as a result. With some practice and patience this doesn’t effect progressing through the game too much.
Arguably the best feature in Arca’s Path VR is the game’s use of colour. Each labyrinth level starts out typically with hues of purple and blue rock formations and a blank slate of green grass, but as you travel through each section vibrant coloured trees, shrubs, and plants sprout out of the ground and cover the areas you begin to discover.
The 25 levels of Arca’s Path VR will give you about 3-4 hours worth of gameplay, which is ample time to enjoy the game’s “control with your gaze” mechanic without it ever feeling stale and overstaying its welcome. There’s also an additional hour or two added if you’re a completionist and want to collect all of the crystals, which will unlock time trials for each of the levels with 100% completion.
Overall Arca’s Path VR is one of the most innovative PSVR titles to be released on the platform. With its stunning visuals and modern take on the addicting Marble Madness formula, Arca’s Path VR is another great addition to the Playstation VR library.
A Playstation VR review code for Arca’s Path VR was provided by Rebellion
