Jupiter & Mars

Growing up in West Coast Canada, the ocean has always had a special place in my heart. I've loved the sights and smells the ocean brings me, even though i'm oddly enough to afraid too actually step foot in it. Games like Jupiter and Mars allow me to explore the ocean from the safety of my own living room, and as an extra bonus I get to play as one of my favourite groups of animal (cetacean). So let's start with the good things. Right off the bat, I get to play as a dolphin. This may not seem like much of a selling point, but for me it really is. The brightly coloured art design really pops out at you, and makes a memorable visual experience. I loved the eerie ruins of human civilization strewn everywhere, and would often stop to explore them. The soundtrack is absolutely top notch, and is a joy to listen to both in and out of game. The gameplay included a blend of relaxing swims through brightly coloured seas, and slightly more frustrating (but still entertaining) puzzles revolving around mostly sonar based enemies. The story, though simplistic at times, was more then enough to leave me feeling invested in these dolphins, and their quest. I also liked the echolocation mechanic. The ability to ping the area and receive a sort of real time framework of the surrounding ocean was something I personally found kind of neat. Now for the cons. Though I loved the art style, I do wish the game had been brighter at times. In some areas you have to rely on your echolocation almost exclusively to see what's going on, and I would have enjoyed just being able to swim around and see more of the environmental detail without it at times. I would also have loved a way to bring up a sort of map as I often found myself lost at times, even with the helpful shining star on the interface. It would have been nice to have something like your echolocation bring up a vague map of the area if you held down the button rather than pressed it quickly. I would have liked something I could have earned to increase my swim speed. Perhaps not all the time, but maybe an ability to accelerate in small bursts. I also would have loved the ability to jump out of the water and leap through the air, but that's a purely fun based thing based on my own preferences. My final thoughts. Jupiter and Mars is a beautiful game, with a beautiful message. And though it is not without flaws, is a worthy first offering from Tigertron. I would recommend that anyone with a love of the environment or the ocean buy it. I really look forward to seeing what this company does in the future, and and thankful to them for giving me the chance to play this brilliant game.

Out of the gate Jupiter & Mars does a lot of things right - sprawling, vast areas to explore with often stunning art design especially when seen through the immersive lens of PlayStation VR. In fact the opening moments set the right tone with zero time limits, tons of collectibles to find, and the remnants of our civilization strewn throughout the ocean floor. But much too quickly levels start to feel repetitive, the collect-a-thon gets excessive, and just finding the next objective starts to feel like work instead of the next step **** tranquil adventure. Jarring transitions (or lack there of) between gameplay, level select screens, and cinematics (not to mention the low-res graphics in the PSVR headset) make Jupiter & Mars come across as more of the foundation for a great game instead of an actual final product. That's not to say there's nothing to enjoy here. In the same vein as Tetris Effect, XING, or Mind Labyrinth, if you're looking for some relaxing environments and a soothing soundtrack Jupiter & Mars gives you a good excuse to search every crevice of every stage - and when you inevitably make it to the final stage, the otherwise stagnant gameplay gets a much needed shot in the leg with some pretty fun stealth elements. It's a long way to go for a relatively small payoff, but it makes you wonder where else the developers could have taken this game given enough time. Bryan Paul, PSVR Without Parole ****/h1pXGPNjnXQ