Remember Skyworld? It’s that other VR app from Arizona Sunshine developer Vertigo Games, the one that didn’t quite enjoy the same level of critical success as its zombie-slaying brethren, at least on our part. Well it’s coming to PSVR early next year and, for what it’s worth, Vertigo seems to have done an ace job handling the port.
Skyworld is a blend of turn-based and real-time strategy. For the bulk of gameplay, you’ll be building out a town filled with the usual assortment of bases and units that will gather resources for you. You can move a General unit every turn and, when you’re satisfied your forces are robust enough, take on the enemy in card-based battles. Either that or the enemy will come hunting for you and you’ll find yourself on the back foot.
One of our favorite things about the game is the cutesy presentation, and that’s been retained in the PSVR port. Skyworld has an adorable action figure aesthetic that makes exploring its model-sized worlds an absolute delight. Better yet, the diorama levels are just as easy to navigate on PSVR as they were on PC; Skyworld is a 100% 180-degree experience and, during my demo, there were no awkward instances of losing tracking or wrestling with Move buttons. It all felt entirely natural, right down to the little interactions like grabbing and spinning the table to see more of the world.
I asked Vertigo if there were going to be any big changes to the PSVR version of the game and they told me this was pretty much a straight port. That means this edition isn’t likely to win around anyone that wasn’t sold on the original version. While Skyworld nails its presentation, it remains true that there isn’t a whole lot of depth to the game. In our review we said: “Skyworld has some good ideas, but ultimately its full potential is unrealized. I applaud Vertigo for trying something new, but when it comes down to it, VR doesn’t really enhance a board game and simple strategy experience like this, and it often became more tedious and convoluted than fun.”
That remains the case here. The game’s real-time battles don’t inspire much strategic gameplay so much as a hectic free-for-all of deploying units faster than your enemy can in order to win ground. You don’t feel like you have an overwhelming amount of control, more just hoping for the best.
Still, if you have a friend whom with you share an affinity for strategic gaming, Skyworld has enjoyable online multiplayer and if you’re craving this type of experience in VR you don’t have many other choices.
Skyworld hits PSVR in early 2019.
