While I love a traditional shooter in VR as much as the next person, my favourite genre on the device is no doubt a good old puzzle game. I just find the experience so much more immersive as you flip switching, turn nobs and interact with your environment in order to solve a mystery or uncover the truth behind a supernatural presence. FORM is as out there as could possibly be with the game taking place in your mind. Well, that is what I gathered. At times I thought I was in a massive alien space ship but it is one of those game where you just interpret things the way you want to. FORM has been available for some time now on PC but it just recently released on PlayStation VR.
FORM does not hold your hand in any way. Instead, you need to find ways to solve the range of puzzles it throws at you as you perform actions with your hands and while holding various objects that help aid you throughout the game. There was never a dull moment in the game as the puzzle-solving mechanics kept me thinking and interacting with the alien-like mechanisms. Slotting shapes which have been strung together on an elastic band-like into holes and even making loud music with a giant laser orchestra.
The best part of it all is how cool FORM makes you feel while completing all these puzzles. My arms were waving in the air as I pulled apart these strung objects, pulled and pushed levers in front of me and even grabbed objects in the distance and gravitated them towards me. Every challenge presented a fun and interesting obstacle to complete using a new form of technology or puzzle method. Every puzzle revolved around an alien object which I used to either view the world from a different perspective or even arrange objects in a specific order.
None of the puzzles left me scratching my head as I tried to solve them but they all flowed into one another as I mastered the game’s mechanics. It also helps that the game does not ask you to move anywhere. You just stand in one spot and solve the challenge in front of you. The true magic of FORM is in the game’s presentation. It all feels and looks so surreal. Almost as if you are standing in a massive alien spaceship which you are slowing turning on. Light beams flashed in front of me, lasers shot across the sky and all the mechanics revolve around using this futuristic technology that feels like it has come from another dimension.
Sure, the game might be set in what claims to be an Alaskan research facility and you play as Dr Devvin Eli, but it takes you to places out of this world. The only downside to this all is the game’s length. FORM is over very quickly with a playthrough lasting just over an hour. With that being said, it felt right as it never outstays its welcome. Instead, it manages to deliver a fun and immersive VR experience in the short time you play it.
Verdict
FORM may not last too long but it manages to deliver a satisfying puzzle experience that will stay with me for years to come. It may be hard to comprehend the story at times but the fun and engaging mechanics kept me going throughout the short campaign.
This FORM PlayStation review conducted with a code sent to us by Charm Games Inc.
Available On: PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift | Reviewed On: PS VR | Release Date: 7 April 2020 | Price: R239
