A Fisherman’s Tale is one of the bigger brain teasers inside of virtual reality. It is not an escape game that his going to make you think too hard, but it is a mystery puzzle that is story-driven. The clues that you have to solve mixed with the laws of physics you will be breaking in this game will remind you why Vertigo Games is one of the best developers and publishers you can get inside and out of virtual reality right now.
In our in-depth game reviews, we look to cover everything you will need to know about any virtual reality game before you go out and buy or try one of these titles. A Fisherman’s tale had a lot of hype building up around this game, but the adoption wasn’t necessarily a good indication of how well the game was made. This is a great game, but there are reasons it is already on the Viveport Infinity subscription and not being sold for full price. We are excited to jump into this review!
Getting Up and Running
This game isn’t the smallest download in virtual reality, but it definitely isn’t the biggest. Coming in at 10 GB, this game is slightly bigger than the average we have found around the community. If you are connected to some fast internet, this game will be downloaded and installed in just a short few minutes. If you are dealing with some lackluster internet connections, then this game might be a true headset to get downloaded and installed.
You can find this title on all virtual reality storefronts for the same price of $14.99. The Steam store is going to have this game for a while, as well as the PSN store, and of course, the Oculus Store. Viveport also carries this game and it can be found on the Viveport Infinity Subscription. This will give you the ability to download this game for no extra cost, and it is important to note that Steam puts this game on sale often, as well as inside of virtual reality game pack bundles.
Type of Game
This isn’t the typical first-person shooter than you will find us reviewing, but instead, this is a mystery adventure game that puts you in hundreds of different scenarios. A Fisherman’s Tale is going to puzzle you and your surroundings often, so keeping a close eye on everything throughout this game is going to be imperative throughout this game, and important to do if you have any aspirations of being this game.
It may seem like the lighthouse is never-ending in this game, and that’s because it is. This game is going to be putting you in a spin cycle while you try to solve this never-ending puzzle. It often will feel like groundhogs day more than anything else, but solving it won’t be the same as anything else you have done in this game. There aren’t different game modes, but the one puzzling storyline is enough to satisfy all of your needs inside of whichever headset you decide to use for this game.
Player Perspective
A Fisherman’s Perspective is played at the first-person perspective, although you won’t be seeing much other than your cute hands int his game. You won’t want to see much more than that, as you are trying to gather as much information as possible, and your arms, legs, body, ad beard would only be getting in the way in a game like this. Ifs you are looking for a game that shows you every single virtual body part, you won’t be satisfied here. If you are looking for something to challenge what you think is normal, you are at the right game review.
Theme and Story – Score: 9/10
Without trying to spoil this section, as it is the main selling point of the game, we will keep it short and to the point. This is the best part of the game. Other sections are going to get a high score here, but nothing else the developers did was as impressive as the story we experienced here. The only knock we have on it is length. We would’ve loved to be in this game a little longer, and maybe even see some extra levels. We would not be surprised to see a perfect score here later on after an update with some extra DLC.
Controls – Score: 8/10
Unlike most story and puzzle games, this game did a great job of letting you what you could and couldn’t interact with. The game was perfectly done for the new Valve controllers, and the interactions felt crisp. A little more accessible options would’ve carried this score to the promised land, but finding a score higher than this for controllers will be rare. A good job by the developers on this part of the game.
Music and Sound – Score: 8/10
It is easy to add too much audio to a game, and it is easy to leave too much out. InnerspaceVR and Vertigo Games did a fantastic job of balancing out the audio all game. The narration wasn’t too constant or annoying, and the music and sound itself found its groove very early on in this game. It’s not easy to find a game like this, and were happy we had a good audio experience inside of A Fisherman’s Tale.
Player Movement – Score: 8/10
Something we have been looking for is a game that uses teleportation while still letting you interact with objects close to you. Bonus points if you are able to interact with objects just out of your reach without having to teleport. This game does all of it. The only reason the player movement isn’t leaving the award ceremonies with 10 is the inconsistencies we found with where we could go inside of the game. The stretchy arm in this game was well adopted by us and hope to see more games use it soon. It is an elite way to interact with the objects close to you.
Kinetosis – Score: 7/10
Anytime that you are going to teleport in virtual reality, you are going to run the risk of getting motion sick. This game was cautious of not letting you get too motion sick while you went through the game, but it did still sue teleportation as the main source of movement. If you are new to VR, this game is going to be a bit challenging to stay into. If you have your metaphorical VR legs under you, this game won’t pose much of a threat to your second-coming of lunch.
Environment and Immersion – Score: 9/10
Everything about this game immerses you. From the perfect sound and narrations to the above-average cartoon graphics, this game is going to be easy for you to get lost in. Because there are so many dimensions inside of the game too, you won’t have any problem getting lost inside of the story and forgetting that there is a whole life waiting for you right outside of your virtual reality headset.
Overall – Score: 8.1/10
This is the second-highest score we have ever given out to any game we have done an in-depth review on. This number isn’t misleading either, as we truly had a great time solving the tales of the fisherman. There is one glaring problem in this game, and it is that there aren’t more levels. We could’ve lost ourselves in this game for hours had there been more, and we will be doing everything we can to get the devs to release some DLC. Whether you have Viveport Infinity or not, we recommend getting this game. $15 for a great experience is nothing, and getting it for free is cool too.
