GNOG (PSVR)

Details: Category: Virtual Reality; By Cheryl Gress; 04.Aug; Hits: 5453

Game Info:

GNOG
Developed by: Ko-op Mode
Published by: Double Fine Productions
Release date: May 2, 2017
Available on: PSVR
Genre: Puzzle
Number of players: Single-player
ESRB Rating: E10+ for crude humor
Price: $14.99

Thank you Double Fine Productions for sending us this game to review!

GNOG is a very unique musical puzzle game with colorful visuals and a mesmerizing art style. Playing in VR is optional, but highly recommended. At the time of this review this title is only available on PS4, but it’s set to come out on iOS and Steam later this year.

There are nine puzzles that gradually unlock as you solve them. Each puzzle has a theme like the color purple, a candy store, a log, a rocket ship and so on. There are two sides to each puzzle and you can rotate them with the trigger buttons. There is a bit of a story to each one and you’ll uncover your goal by pulling levers, pushing buttons, plugging things in, flipping switches, and solving combination locks. There is no text so all of the combination locks use symbols.

Highlights:

Strong Points: Unique art style and soundtrack
Weak Points: Only nine puzzles which can be solved quickly if you’re good at them
Moral Warnings: One of the levels shows you a bird regurgitating its food for its young, another level has you assisting a robber in stealing from an apartment

The puzzles are reasonably challenging and I was able to solve most of them on my own. For the couple that did stump me, I found some YouTube walkthrough videos to point me in the right direction. One of the combination puzzles had a 6 character password that I needed to jot down on paper the old fashioned way.

When entering into a puzzle and solving it you feel like you’re traveling through a mystical portal. The visuals are vibrant and I like the art style. The music is exceptional as well and it's quite relaxing to listen to while exercising your brain.

Score Breakdown:
Higher is better
(10/10 is perfect)

Game Score - 90%
Gameplay - 17/20
Graphics - 10/10
Sound - 9/10
Stability - 4/5
Controls - 4/5 Morality Score - 93%
Violence - 10/10
Language - 10/10
Sexual Content - 10/10
Occult/Supernatural - 10/10
Cultural/Moral/Ethical - 6.5/10

While this game is safe for children to play there are a couple of things worth mentioning. One of the levels requires helping a bird feed its young by aiming its color vomit into the mouth of its hatchlings. Another has you helping out a thief stealing money and valuables from residents of a multi-level apartment.

Like many PSVR games, I struggled getting my camera properly positioned as it would often move out of place. Even with my camera properly positioned I would sometimes get the “out of play area” error displayed. Both of these issues are not the developer’s fault but are part of the PSVR experience.

All in all, GNOG is a neat PSVR title that I recommend checking out. Though the game is short, it’s worth the $14.99 entry fee for the mesmerizing experience it provides. The puzzles are just right in difficulty and you feel smarter for each one you complete on your own. If you like puzzles and VR, GNOG is a must-buy.