GNOG PSVR Preview
The GNOG PSVR preview was a fun, wacky puzzle game experience that I loved.
I had my doubts, but..
During Indiecade 2016, yours truly had a chance to go hands on with GNOG, a new Playstation VR puzzle game. As this was my first experience with PSVR or any new VR in general, I went in having my doubts. I have not been too overenthusiastic about anything related to virtual reality gaming. I think it’s cool, but I personally don’t see it going on to do much more than horror or puzzle games. After having this experience, while I am still a little iffy on it, I think VR may have potential.
GNOG
Let me tell you: GNOG is a trip. The game is just wacky, in a fun way. I put on the headset and headphones, and immediately it felt like I was on drugs or something. GNOG is a puzzle game that has you search for environmental clues in order to solve the puzzle. The loading screens for this game look as though you were jumping to hyperspace in Willy Wonka land. Strange little people inhabit the game’s puzzles and are often included in solving the actual puzzles themselves.
The puzzles are usually double sided, where you may have clues on one side and have to switch over to the other side in order to solve and move forward. One sequence that I played in particular was what appeared to be a candy shop. One side had a girl behind the counter and a wheel of some sorts behind her. If you spin the wheel, the other side of the puzzle would change into a different section of the puzzle. Solve each different puzzle and when you flip back to the candy shop side, children await you to feed them candy.
Now for me, if you have read my review of The Witness, then you will know that I have a love/hate relationship with puzzle games. On one hand, puzzle games make me feel stupid. Even if I’m really good at solving the puzzles, if I get to a point where I am stuck and after hours of searching I actually find the answer, it makes me want to break something. However, at the same time, finding the answer is so satisfying. GNOG left me with the same feelings.
GNOG is both visually pleasing and fun to play
As this was only a preview of the game, I didn’t play through it all but I got a pretty good sense of the game. I happened to stumble across a bug that the developer had no idea was there, so maybe there’s a career for game testing out there for me somewhere. But overall, GNOG seemed pretty well polished and it was a blast to play it. I am really glad that my first VR experience was with a game so visually out there and creative.
GNOG will released for Playstation VR, Steam, and IOS early 2017.