Final Fantasy is one of the biggest gaming franchises ever made in our opinion. We thoroughly enjoy most of the games and lore in the franchise, although there have been some hits and misses as well. When the developers announced Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV for PlayStation VR, we were genuinely excited. After getting a hands-on approach with it over the past few hours, it is evident there are some things that just don’t feel right whatsoever.
Monster of the Deep is a Fan Service First and Foremost
As a fan of the Final Fantasy series, experiencing the game environment in virtual reality is certainly something to look forward to. It has to be said, the setting is absolutely amazing, and you will thoroughly enjoy taking care of the aquatic daemon problem. This does include you traveling to different fishing locations all over the map where you are tasked with catching fish to use as bait for the daemons. The fighting itself is done through a crossbow system, which seems to be work quite well. The enemies will also explode overhead, which is a pretty interesting turn of events.
To a lot of people, this may seem like a very cheesy premise. They wouldn’t be wrong in that assumption, though, as it is not something everyone will appreciate. The Final Fantasy XV crew is also present and they will task you with different missions to complete. Following these riders is just one approach, though, as you can just hang out and enjoy the environment as well. All of this is presented in a hilarious manner, which is something one would expect from a Final Fantasy game.
As one would expect, Monster of the Deep also has a few boss fights, all of which are entertaining and fun. None of them are either too easy or too difficult, which makes for a great experience. Sadly, these fights are the only times you feel the game is suited for VR. Everything else doesn’t benefit from this immersive technology per se, although fans of the genre will still appreciate it. It is a bit of a missed opportunity in this regard, though, as the game could certainly benefit from utilizing the VR technology at its disposal in different ways.
To make matters worse, the interface feels laggy at certain times. Moreover, dying in combat and loading a savegame has to be done through the title menu, which feels counterintuitive. The graphics are also pretty sub-par, which is rather disappointing. Plus, it doesn’t feel as if there is enough replay value unless you are a genuine fan of the Final Fantasy series. All things considered, the game scores pretty well in our book, but your mileage may vary quite a bit. A fair few things in this game could have been done a lot better, but overall, it’s a pretty decent package.
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