Paper Beast is a VR adventure game. If you don’t know what to expect then the game will feel like an oddity when you first start it. The opening scene is futuristic, and you feel like you need to double check that you are in the right game. After that, you’re placed in this world where beasts, that look like they are made of paper, roam around. This is supposed to be a peaceful and chill game, so you can’t really die, and the gameplay revolves around walking to the next destination and solving some puzzles.
There isn’t really a story as such but will encounter some weird things or messages are you progress. You’re not going to be really sure what the context is and this, coupled with the lack of handholding, can be confusing in the earlier parts of the game as you try and figure out what you need to do. The game lets you loose with nothing to say on how to progress the game. It doesn’t help that the opening sequence locks you into place, so you can only look around and fiddle with things.
You’ll soon learn the controls though. The game is played in first person and you can use either two Move controllers or the standard DualShock 4 controller. If you’re using the Move controllers, the left stick regulates your turning and teleportation, while the right is what you use to aim and grab things to pull it closer or push it farther. The game uses the teleportation mode of movement to minimize motion sickness and it works well here.
The simplistic graphics of the environments helps emphasis the beasts themselves. Their designs are intriguing and has a sense of elegance to them since they are similar to the complexities of origami. The puzzles can be abstract and you solve them by observing the current situation and the behaviors of the beasts. Then, you can use those beheaviors to your advantage to free up the way forward. There are some puzzles which you will have no idea what to do though.
The game is really designed for you to take it slow and take in your surroundings, enjoying the experience. The puzzles in the second half of the game were more obtuse at first glance, but once you realise what you needed to do, it felt so simple. Unfortunately, the control scheme does let it down somewhat as even if you know what to do, actually wrestling with the controls to do it is another matter, and makes it slightly more frustrating than it should be.
One of the more enjoyable part of the game in the beginning was finding out how you can actually grab those beasts and swing them around. Yes, it’s cruel in the context of the game, but it’s still fun as you test out your capabilities and how far you can go. It’s also fun interacting with the beasts to see how they react, and of course, eventually use that to your advantage to progress forward.
One of the strongest aspects of the game is its atmosphere. Even though the graphics are simple, it utilizes the sound to its advantage, creating an immersive experience. It can be serene or creepy or tense, getting you into that exact moment. There will be several times where you’ll be impressed at what the game is showing you. There will be plenty more times where you have absolutely no idea why what is happening is happening. It can feel like that someone was on drugs when they designed this as it makes no sense whatsoever, and you end up progressing without having a clue why or how.
The game focuses on the “art”, therefore the game suffers. More than a few times you will have to wait for the game to progress itself. Yes, while you shouldn’t rush a game, this is really pretentious. It feels like it deliberately wastes your time because the developers knows better than you do on how you should spend your time. The last part of the game gets worse in terms of its slow pace and annoying “puzzles”. As a part of the puzzle, you will actually fight against the controls and it’s frustrating. They’re not fun, it’s boring, and even if you are supposed to drink in the sights and the atmosphere, it’s not for everyone.
The bulk of the game, which is its single player mode, can be finished in two to five hours. The former if you already know the solutions and speedrun through the game, the latter if you play it for the first time and explore. Nonetheless, it continues the trend of short-ish VR games which isn’t a bad thing. By the end of it, you probably still don’t really know what the story or concept is since the plot elements are so vague. You’re encouraged to explore and think about it in your mind instead.
The only other piece of content is the sandbox mode. As its name suggests, this gives you a sandbox to play around in. The collectibles you find in the single player will unlock more items in this mode. You can then place the plants and paper beasts you’ve seen in the game in this mode, and they’ll interact with each other. It’s pretty cool. Furthermore, you can influence the setting by adding in weather effects, modify the terrain, change the time of the day and objects with special effects like weakening gravity or emitting light. It’s fun for a short amount of time although it depends on your interests if it entertains you for longer.
Overall, Paper Beast is an “artsy” game. It is actually perfect as a VR experience given the atmosphere and slow pacing. As a game however, it is not that great. The pacing is sluggish and the puzzles can be obtuse. Even if you know the answer to a puzzle, you can end up fighting the controls to get past it. That’s not to say a game can’t focus on both the art and the gameplay, since we’ve gotten amazing games like Journey and Shadow of the Colossus, but Paper Beast will speak out to some, while others will not enjoy it.
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