The control schemes for VR games have come a leaps and bounds since the launch of the PSVR in 2016. Hell, just a couple of days ago I was praising the Rift exclusive, Stormland for pushing boundaries and creating a unique feeling of freedom with its smooth and speedy locomotion.
This is probably why I found Golem to be so intensely disappointing. Going from flinging myself around a huge virtual world like a sci-fi Spider-Man to what felt like wading through treacle using a bizarre, unnatural and imprecise method of locomotion was something that gave me serious Kinect flashbacks.
You can watch me swear my way through the first 90 minutes of Golem in this week’s Ian’s VR Corner, which you’ll find just below these words. In it you’ll be able to watch my disbelief as I experience the ‘lean your body to move’ locomotion method for the first time, something that made me feel sick in VR for the first time since July of 2018 when I experienced the pitch and yaw of Detached.
Golem on PSVR Equals Backaches and Boredom – Ians VR Corner Watch on YouTube
After I finished recording and editing this week’s episode, I pushed on for a good 3 or four hours and I’m happy to report that things in Golem do get a bit more interesting after its incredibly slow opening.
Following the Dark Souls formula of exploration, the further you go, the more shortcuts you open. That means on new runs you won’t need to retread as much ground. This is great news because movement remains sluggish throughout the game, making lengthy backtracking or exploration feel like a chore.