Fairy Tale Spotlight: The Room VR: A Dark Matter

[Some small spoilers ahead.]

I recently wrote a rave review of The Room video game series. I called them the best games you can possibly get on a mobile device. My only gripe was that I could not play the fifth game in the series because it was exclusively a VR title.

With the help of a friend, I was recently able to play The Room VR: A Dark Matter in its entirety. It's a bit of a mixed bag, and many of its so called "problems" are not really the fault of the developer. So let's begin.

A friend of mine let me borrow his PS4 VR system. I still had to pay the $30 for the game, but I just really wanted to finish the series. I just loved The Room so much that I went through a lot of silly trouble to play the game. And much of the trouble really was silly.

I think that the way PS4 does VR is extremely lazy. Although some motion control is there, a lot of it is based on how close a light on the controller/helmet is from a camera. It seems horribly inefficient and proved exactly that. Of course, the PS4 VR system will cost you from $200 to $400. A really good one that doesn't rely on something as primitive as cameras and light would knock $800 out of your wallet at base!

The problems with the PS4 VR system ended up causing the image I was seeing to wobble every time I would move one of the controllers in front of the helmet. There was also a problem where I could not extend my arm out very far before it would just give up on reading where the light was at all. All this proved to be a constant frustration, but none of the problems seemed to be the fault of the game as much as it was with PS4 VR. And so... I pressed on.

The meat of the game is juicy indeed. It was a true-blue game in the series. It had everything I ever loved but from a more personal and up close perspective. I felt like I was in these rooms and solving those puzzles. I felt immersed in the plot. I felt like I was really doing something important.

The lore of this game built upon everything that has happened in prior games. I followed in the footsteps of evil men and women. I watched as these persons strove so hard to find ultimate power. Interestingly, you play a detective in this one who has his eyes open to the true evils of the world.

In every game of the series, you are always following someone. You never really get to meet them, but it always feels like they are just ahead of you. Weirdly, you sometimes forget who you are and think you are the person you are following... and that's probably a good thing... from a profiling perspective.

I do not want to spoil too much about this game. I will say, however, that there is a strong Egyptian bent to the dark magic in this one. I have researched a lot of Egyptian magic, and I must say that the fellows at Fireproof games have done their research. It is fiction, but there's a truth to it that resonates remarkably well in this game.

Yes, I do recommend this game. I recommend all of the games in the series, in fact. But is it worth playing on PS4? Sure, if you are willing to put up with some possible problems. It may work well enough for you. But the best way to play it is likely on a really good, quality VR system for a PC. It's too bad I never got to play it that way, but I am still very satisfied with what I experienced.

One last little tidbit--a warning, if you will: The Room games on mobile will generally run you about $5. The Room VR: A Dark matter is $30 and is about as long as the later mobile games in the series. You aren't getting more content. It's all just a bit more immersive because of the VR experience. But use your best judgement to decide if it is worth the price for you. Cheers.

Thank you for reading my blog! Did you enjoy it? Either way, you can comment below, or you can email me at tkwadeauthor@gmail.com. You can also visit my website at www.tkwade.com. Check out my books! Thanks!