Arca’s Path VR felt familiar in a comforting way, yet new all at the same time. Remember the game Labyrinth? No, it wasn’t a video game. Labyrinth was a little wooden box filled with a maze controlled by levers on both sides. You would drop a marble or ball bearing into the one end and have to tilt the maze in order to land the ball safely on the other side. The trick was this – the board was full of holes, quite literally. You had to keep the ball from falling into the holes in order to reach the finish line. Arca’s Path feels just like that – only now it’s been updated for the 21st Century.
2018 has been the year that VR has given us titles that truly would not have been possible otherwise. Arca’s Path VR falls directly onto this increasing list of great games.
Story
The story is thin and basically told without words. Arca finds a mask that transforms her into an interestingly shaped ball that you must lead through each level safely to the end. Your path is spread out over twenty-five levels throughout four beautiful worlds.
Gameplay
This may be the best game you’ll ever play with your head. Once the game is booted up that is just about all that you’ll ever need. In order to start story mode you simply look at the menu long enough and the game will begin. The only time that you need to use the controller is when you basically pause the game, allowing you to look around freely to plan out your next move.
Levels start out easy and straightforward before gradually ramping up their length and difficulty as you progress.
While not hard, the controls require pinpoint accuracy in order to make it safely through each level and reach the end. To move through the level, simply look where you want to roll and an arrow will appear that will guide you on your path. The further that you look ahead the faster you will go. Want to come to a complete stop? Look behind the direction you are rolling until you eventually do so and, in time, even begin to roll backwards. The initial levels take it easy on you and have the equivalent of bumpers on a bowling alley. This allows you to get through the levels fairly easily as you practice the mechanics. With only one difficulty this helps you learn as you go and perfect the controls with the walls guiding you along.
After the first couple of levels the difficulty grows, and it will take a lot of patience to navigate to the end. You’ll find a variety of level design here that will have you rolling down hills, knocking down bridges in order to cross huge ravines, and flipping switches in order to lower a platform or clear a path for you in some way. All of this is accomplished by just turning your head.
As you go through the levels, you’ll find many have multiple paths that you can take in order to arrive at your destination. The main reason for this is to collect crystals that have been spread throughout each level. Finding all the crystals on a level will unlock a time trial for you to attack on that level.
The most important thing about the controls is that they work. You’re not bogged down by some of the Move issues that other games on PSVR have since you only use your head to steer. Though frustrating at times due to the difficulty of the levels you never feel like you’ve failed a section because of the controls. There are plenty of checkpoints throughout each level which helps keep your frustration to a minimum.
Visuals and Sound
Both the visuals and sound are entrancing. The color pallet is vast and the music ranges from hypnotizing to techno and always fits the mood of what your doing at any particular moment. Both are reminiscent of Shape of the World – released earlier this year on all platforms. While not in VR, both games have the same calming nature about them.
Since each level is basically suspended in the air traveling through the levels makes you feel like a Lost Boy exploring one of the tree houses that you’ve built in Never Never Land. That wide-eyed sense of innocence and wonder is present here and doesn’t get old from beginning to end. The game is an incredibly beautiful piece of art.
Recommendation
We’ve said it multiple times this year and we’ll say it again; games like Arca’s Path VR are why we bought VR to begin with. Games and experiences that could not have been possible are now a reality and for this reason. If you own PSVR, this is a no brainer. Fans of both relaxing and challenging games will all find something to love here so there really is something for everyone.
*Arca’s Path VR was provided to the reviewer by the publishing company but this fact did not alter the reviewer’s opinion*
Check out our Review Guide to see what we criteria we use to score games.
