Our hands-on impressions with Owlchemy’s latest VR title
Job Simulator was one of the earliest and best VR games around. Spread across all the major platforms, and delivering on nearly all features of the platform, many used Job Simulator as an intro to the tech, but it still holds up to this day. Still, VR gaming is evolving and so Owlchemy Labs has a follow up. And where do you go when you’re tired of working your every day, normal human job? You go on vacation of course, so that’s where Vacation Simulator comes in.
As in Job Simulator, players will take on Vacation Simulator by choosing from various episodes of sorts. The one on display at Oculus’ Game Days event outside of PAX East 2018 was the beach. I’m no fan of the beach in real life, but this virtual one was a ton of fun, as is expected out of Owlchemy at this point. The demo was brief, but I got to try out a few activities including building sandcastles, playing water polo, and of course taking an awesome selfie.
As was the case with Job Simulator, describing these activities might not evoke the fun and excitement that the game actually delivers. The strength of Vacation Simulator is in the writing and the humor, which is Owlchemy’s specialty and their true talent. As I built a sandcastle a nearby robotic character spouted hilarious lines, including the requisite Star Wars prequel reference. Tasks as simple as taking a selfie became fun adventures as I donned hats and glasses and found the perfect spot. The team even included a feature that prints the image you took, something that may or may not make it to the final build.
Vacation Simulator doesn’t break new ground like its predecessor did, but it expands on it. VR is growing and changing all the time and it’s clear that Owlchemy is paying attention to that. Moving around (yes, you can move this time), exploring the environment, and performing the vacation styled tasks was just as much fun as it was to explore the office environment of Job Simulator.
But like I said, it’s tough to actually explain since the fun is in how Owlchemy makes it happen. Thankfully, they can do the explaining themselves. Check out our interview with the crew and let them break it all down for you.
- This article was updated on April 17th, 2018
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Attack of the Fanboy / ORIGINAL ARTICLES / Vacation Simulator Preview – Taking a Break from Job Simulator
