Wayward Sky is probably one of the most surprising titles that were launched alongside the PlayStation VR platform: The game launched without much publicity and could very well be considered a sleeper hit, as it’s truly a gem that everyone puzzle and platform fan should discover: Wayward Sky is a cute top-down point and click adventure – completely in a virtual reality jacket, of course. You can read RebelHeart’s findings of WayWard Sky below.
Preface and storytelling
Wayward Sky can be best described as a sort of top-down adventure with the traditional point and click gameplay. From the very first moment, you’ll immediately have the sense of feeling that you’re in the midst of an animated movie and if that was the developers’ intention, they certainly succeeded. The main character of the game is Bess, who has to deal with an environment that is being controlled by robots. Bess is a young and ambitious pilot and crashed on this mysterious environment along with her father. Unfortunately, an unknown and mysterious antagonist manages to capture Bess’ father and has a whole army of evil robots at his disposal. The objective of the game is simple: save your father.
Narratively, the game has been built pretty well and there are a few great cutscenes with backstory presented in between the levels. And yeah, they’re fairly simple, but the presentation is certainly effective. These cutscenes are shown in a sort of pop-up figure book with mechanical elements that fit right in with the strange, mechanical, cyberpunk and somewhat cute atmosphere that Wayward Sky manages to create.
Gameplay
Visually, Wayward Sky is being presented as a sort of top-down looking adventure and the gameplay further reflects that. You can control Bess with a regular gamepad, even though a specialized virtual reality controller (such as the PlayStation Move) is recommended. You can use the controller to aim at certain elements in the gameplay world that can interact with Bess – a robot that you can control from a distance, a button for an elevator, switches, levers and other puzzle elements. Don’t expect hugely difficult or deep puzzles in Wayward Sky where you’ll spend hours on to find a solution, but some of them are pretty challenging nonetheless, yet it never becomes frustrating. The puzzle elements are pretty varied, however, which is great if you’re looking to complete the game in one sitting and to avoid repetitiveness.
At its core, the gameplay certainly isn’t new, but virtual reality adds a certain unique dimension to it. You can just look around in your environments and the game will also often play with your field of view – the level design of Wayward Sky is absolutely great. Every once in a while, you’ll try to look left and right to make sure if you didn’t miss a hidden collectible. You’ll also have to solve some of the puzzles in a first-person perspective and you’ll be able to grab things with the VR PlayStation Move controllers which is a nice and welcome change compared to the regular top-down view. Replacing a door switch, for example, can be completely done in first-person.
In short, Wayward Sky is an excellent VR experience and offers around two hours of gameplay. That may sound a bit disappointing at first, but not a single minute bores and the game certainly doesn’t have any ‘filler material’. The adventure is fun but doesn’t offer any replay value otherwise, there’s little reason to revisit the game after you’ve completed it once – even though you’ll probably want to soak in the great atmosphere again. Nonetheless, a somewhat longer story probably would have been preferable.
As I’ve mentioned above, the atmosphere and overall presentation of Wayward Sky is excellent. Narrative-wise, the game is shown in a very vivid and fun way, the level design is great and the characters are well-written and authentic. Graphically, Wayward Sky is quite sharp on PS4 and PS4 Pro, including the first-person sections. The art style is certainly great as well and the soundtrack is very fitting, further enhancing the atmosphere. Some of the dialogues of the voice actors may be a bit too overjoyed, but those are only minor details.
Conclusion Wayward Sky review
Wayward Sky is a beautiful virtual reality experience and definitely deserves to be at the top of virtual reality puzzle and platformer games. It’s a compelling adventure that could’ve lasted a bit longer but leaves a lasting impression nonetheless. Concluding, Wayward Sky is a hidden gem in the expanding market of virtual reality titles.
Wayward Sky is available on PS4 (PlayStation VR). Image sources: official Wayward Sky press kit.
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