It has always struck us as a bit odd to play a video game inside the video game we are playing. In some cases, this works surprisingly well. In virtual reality, it remains to be seen if there is merit to such a business model. Pierhead Arcade for the PlayStation VR is an interesting game in this regard. For the price of $14.99, you get access to a very large room filled with all kinds of arcade games. It is a lot more fun than we expected, but there are some frustrating elements as well.
Pierhead Arcade is fun Most of the Time
This is by far one of the games most people would gladly pass up on. Even so, there is a lot of merit to this concept as well. Pierhead Arcade spans one giant room where you can play different arcade games. We are not just talking about Pac-man and the likes here, but also basketball, whack-a-mole-, et cetera. Walking around this large room is done by teleportation, which doesn’t work as well as we would have liked to see at this point in time.
All of the different games work surprisingly well, even though most of them do feel a bit similar after a while. Anything related to throwing or bouncing balls works quite well, but it feels a bit repetitive after the second hour. The whack-a-mole and boxing games are enjoyable, but not necessarily games most people would effectively play more than a handful of times either. There are also two shooters, which are well done, in our opinion. There is a little something for everyone, which is always nice to see.
Graphically, Pierhead Arcade is forgettable in many different ways. Absolutely nothing looks great, but it’s not horrible either. The colors are bright and vivid, and the games also have some lights or animations to look at. It all blends together nicely, but there is nothing that screams “replay value” all that much unless you are really into playing these types of games. In our case, we do enjoy revisiting this game every now and then, especially when friends come over. When you have others to play with, Pierhead Arcade is a close second to visiting a carnival or fair.
The biggest downside is how there is no active multiplayer option for this game. It is possible such a feature may be implemented later on, but nothing has been confirmed as of right now. If this feature were to be implemented, the game would be even more enjoyable than it is right now. Although the game collection in Pierhead Arcade may leave something to be desired, but it’s not a bad game overall.
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