Review of Ghost Town Rating *****
This game was up for best VR title of the year, and I can see why. It has stunning graphics, a great soundtrack, and multiple environments to explore. I would rank it right up there with other puzzle games like Myst, Wanderer, and The Seventh Guest. In fact, I put this game above those great VR titles for one reason, it included a hint system.
When it comes to puzzle games, I want puzzles that don’t require me to read the minds of the developers. Having played a dozen or so puzzle games, I’ve gotten a lot better at solving them. I know that if I solve a puzzle and the reward is a key, I can be fairly certain that my next step is to find what door or lock that key opens. A hint system allows you to proceed through the game without getting stuck for hours. You don’t have to go online to figure things out. For this game, I actually only used the hint system two or three times, and the hints only reinforced that I was already heading in the right direction.
As for the puzzles, there weren’t any that I found impossible, like I did with one or two puzzles in Wanderer. My favorite sequence in the game used light from either a crystal or your flashlight (torch) to move from one scene to the next. I also liked that a number of puzzles repeated with small variations, so that once you solved it the first time the next puzzle was solved fairly quickly.
I play VR games for the escape from reality that they offer. For several hours each weekend I visit strange environments that require me to be a participant in a story. In the case of Ghost Town, the goal is to find the main character’s brother, who has been caught in an in-between world.
Ghost Town also offers character interaction, something that games like The House of DaVinci VR and The Atlas Mystery VR did not have.
When it comes to VR games in general, I appreciate it when developers use both inside and outside environments. I know it might be easier to create environments consisting of tunnels and closed spaces, but allowing players to venture outside gives a game dimension and atmosphere. It’s not all about solving puzzles; it’s the overall experience that matters. This game excels at every turn, especially when you ventured outside and had a view of things like a London cityscape.
Lastly, the ending of the game sets things up for a follow-up. I’ll be first in line when that game comes out. I played the game using a Pimax Crystal Light. It took me 11 hours to complete.