We transform into a creature from the deepest sea that lives in partnership with humans to perform the analysis of Tentacular on PlayStation VR2.
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The virtual reality It is a technology that allows the user to get closer than ever to the content that is seen behind the screen, since with the glasses placed on the head, you are the direct protagonist of what is happening. With the arrival of PSVR2, there are many games that are being adapted to the Sony deviceallowing its players to discover proposals that have reached other platforms dedicated to PC in recent years.
Tentacular enters this scenario, coming to PlayStation VR2 to delight all those who love puzzle games with a humor that only a few can achieve. And it is that the title of Devolver Digital has a wonderful time with its different levels that, although they are short, have fantastic fun and intensityas we are going to tell you in our analysis.
+ Pros
Very funny and original. Outstanding humor. Good progression system in the puzzles. Very beautiful on an artistic level.
– Contras
The physics of the tentacles is not well defined at times. There are certain errors with the positioning of the camera. It is chaotic in the final bars.
Tentacular: price, release date, platforms and where to buy
TentacularPlatformPSVR2, PCRelease DateFebruary 22, 2023DeveloperDevolver DigitalGenrePuzzlesLanguageTexts in Spanish
Tentacular is an exclusive virtual reality video game that lands on PSVR2 fully adapted to the technology of the Sony helmet dedicated to PS5, with its launch on February 22, 2023. It is a puzzle proposal in which you control a gigantic octopus that must be introduced into the human society that surrounds it. It has texts in Spanish and is edited by Devolver Digital.
A tentacle blow to the age of majority
Imagine that you live in society, but you are completely different from the rest. Yes, these words can be identified with any human being who feels out of place, but in the case of the protagonist of Tentacular it is much more striking. And it is that is forced to live with humans being a terrifying marine creature that does not stand out for its social skills and, much less, for its abilities with its tentacles. And that, obviously, generates various conflicts between its neighbors.
To try to make up for it, on the birthday of his coming of age in La Kalma, the age of 16, seeks work to fulfill a purpose with the society in which they live and that its enormous size and clumsiness make their way to carry out tasks that citizens require. This is when Tentacular puts you at the controls to generate the most absurd and extravagant situations.
Variety of puzzles for all tastes
Tentacular lets you launch rockets into space like Elon Musk.
From the first bars it is clear that Tentacular wants to hit you with laughter, so the dialogues that occur between the human characters and the octopus or whatever we are, are hilarious. Is one of the strengths of a game with a very nice aesthetic and that invites you to know its ins and outs. But the thing does not stop there, since its main mechanics, the puzzles, also fulfill like a charm what is expected of a title of these characteristics.
Because once you get past the tutorials that explain in a simple but effective way the effect you have on the world and on the objects you can manipulate, start a festival of originality that leads you to launch rockets into space, destroy different structures and join objects using magnets and other types of gadgets. Although it is not a very extensive game and in total we can enjoy a few 50 puzzlesfun is guaranteed thanks to the versatility of its creators to provide completely new and interesting ideas.
Throwing and picking up objects is one of the main mechanics of Tentacular.
Nevertheless, the clumsy handling of the creature on many occasions leaves a lot to be desired. It’s not that it’s a problem with the design or the operation of the device, it’s just that simply having two tentacles to manipulate objects isn’t the most comfortable thing in the world. This causes certain frustrating moments when carrying out and completing the missionsbecause although the predominant note is the laughter and the humor of the puzzle itself, not being able to complete it due to the clumsiness of the tools that are given to you is not gratifying at all.
Despite this, the title tries to be faithful to what you would expect from tentacles, so the surface with which the objects are grasped also matters in this case, causing its weight or the suction effect to vary from one area to another. Something unexpected at first, but that can be key in many moments of the gameplay, so this is a complete success in the approach of the main tool.
A superb progression system to suit your mechanics
There are different instructions that tell you how to use the new mechanics.
Something that Tentacular does very well is that it does not overwhelm you with a lot of options and mechanics that it puts on the table from the first moment so that you look for life. Here everything is progressive, so you will not be launching rockets into space at the first opportunity, but first you will have to learn how to stack structures correctly, understand how weight differences work and other functions.
Once enough progress is made, the magnets are introduced quite slowly, to give you time to get used to their usefulness and, between jokes, you can progress in that progression of complexity in the puzzles. It is not that it is a very difficult or very technical game, but virtual reality is always a somewhat clumsier environment to which we are accustomed simply with a controller in our hands, so this constant learning process in a fun way is something that must be valued very positively from Tentacular.
In fact, even when introducing the magnets, it takes shape through puzzles that invite reduce or increase the size of objects, rotate them or join them in different ways. This, of course, is also accompanied by increased complexity in the puzzles. If in the first bars they can be resolved in just a few seconds, in the last few puzzles it is easy to get stuck for several minutes trying to find the right solution so that the structure does not collapse. Full-blown architectural work.
Very visually plastic with certain technical adaptation problems
Tentacular is a very attractive and colorful video game.
Many virtual reality games opt for a very plastic visual aspect, where cartoon colors and designs stand out so as not to lose performance in a realistic environment, something that is intended for very few games like Horizon: Call of the Mountain. Thus, Tentacular offers a really cozy look, where the showiness of the creature’s tentacles blends perfectly with that Playmobil model look that the human characters have and the city in which the proposal takes place.
However, if visually it stands out with great success, in the technical part it gives the occasional slip with the awkwardness of the physics of the tentacles, something that I have already mentioned before. There is also certain camera movements on PSVR2 that cause really annoying image jumps and that promote even greater eye strain, so they are details that should be polished in a title that requires constant action with movements and having a good spatial vision to check the result of the structures that are created by throughout the different puzzles that make up Tentacular.
Finally, in reference to the sound effects, yes, there is a great job so that all the gadgets sound as you would expect in reality and even haptic feedback from PSVR2 controllers They produce that metallic or plastic effect depending on the material that we are handling with the tentacles. A great job in this regard.
Final rating of Tentacular on PSVR2
tentacular is a good game to test the virtues of virtual reality, but little else. It’s entertaining if you like puzzles, although its nice proposal is sometimes clumsy and ineffective. The final mechanics can be somewhat chaotic and break the good management of the game in its early stageswhere the dialogues will make you smile and you’ll be able to have fun while checking the different physics of the objects and your interaction with the environment to be able to perform all kinds of tricks, as if you were an octopus in a garage.
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