Tethered: Difference between revisions - VR & AR Wiki - Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality Wiki

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[[Tethered]] is a [[VR App]].

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==Review==

Remember a time, like the late 90’s to early 2000’s where god-sim games were all the rage? It’s one of those genres that people absolutely love, but unfortunately over recent years the genre has come pretty close to extinction. Up until the release of Tethered, that was almost the case, but it seems the developers don’t wish to see such a treasured idea sink into the ether and they’ve managed to make its revival rather successful, thanks to the use of virtual reality.

You start off the game as something called a “spirit guardian” and you’re expected to take care of the surrounding population of creatures to make sure that they expand and grow as a species. By the time it hits night, these night-dwelling creatures come out in droves and intend on harming your little underlings, so as the guardian you’re expected to keep them safe as best you can whenever night strikes.

The way you take control of this spirit guardian is that of a first-person perspective, but you look down at the world below you that you’re destined to take care of and keep safe. From here you can zoom in to get a closer look on what everyone is doing or to even send out a command or two for these little creatures known as “Peeps” to get a task done before nightfall hits. As a result of all of this, the overall control scheme can be played pretty much exclusively just by simply looking at something that you want dealt with: look at a Peep, look at the task you want them to deal with, and then off they go. This control scheme is incredibly simple, but it works so perfectly for the game and gives a brand new aspect to the god-sim genre that appears to have received a great revival in VR.

From a visual perspective, this game looks absolutely stunning; no matter how you look at it. All the characters and creatures in the game have a good level of detail implemented to them and as a result it creates the adorable, little Peeps that you can’t help but fall in love with. Not to mention that the surrounding environments have plenty of vibrant and bright colours that pop just that little bit more when you put on that headset. Nothing in this game looks out of place, no matter where you can find yourself looking and it’s one of the many reasons to keep playing the game over and over again.

To progress in the game you need to collect mana to fill up a totem that can be located on whichever you’re currently on. Mana appears whenever something positive happens to your little denizens and after you’ve amassed enough you will unlock one more island to look after, along with an upgrade that you can put to use however you see fit.

Looking a little deeper into the upgrade tree does put a damper on the game to some degree, I have to admit. Despite just how big of an upgrade tree this game has, the upgrades feel rather similar after 2-3 hours of gameplay and it doesn’t really feel like it “upgrades” anything. This isn’t a game killer in the slightest, but it is a little disappointing to see a lacklustre upgrade system, as it gives the impression that it didn’t need to be there in the first place.

Overall, though, the game may not be your typical FPS VR title that we’re all used to by now, but I think that only helps the game out that much more in the general VR market. While the upgrade system is rather unnecessary I feel, the rest of the game manages to compile itself nearly perfectly. The control scheme is great for this game and doesn’t take more than two seconds for anyone to typically get to grips with the game and enjoy the fun gameplay, along with the gorgeous aesthetics mixed with plenty of colour.

When you combine all of these into one, it makes a game that is next to impossible not to recommend for anyone who has access to VR!

==Description==