Déraciné

Déraciné
Information
VR/AR	Virtual Reality
Developer	FromSoftware
Publisher	Sony Interactive Entertainment
Platform	PlayStation VR
Device	PlayStation VR
Operating System	PlayStation 4
Type	Game
Genre	Adventure
Input Device	PlayStation Move (two controllers required)
Game Mode	Single-player
Release Date	November 6, 2018 (North America); November 8, 2018 (Japan)
Price	US$29.99 (North America, launch MSRP); 3,000 yen plus tax (Japan, standard package)
App Store	PlayStation Store

See also: VR Apps and VR Games

Déraciné is a first-person virtual reality adventure game for PlayStation VR, developed by FromSoftware in collaboration with SIE Japan Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki and was FromSoftware's first PlayStation VR game. The player is an unseen faerie at an isolated boarding school where time is frozen, and pieces together the story of six children and their headmaster from fragments of memories, notes and objects.

The game was announced at Sony's E3 2018 media showcase on 11 June 2018 and released on 6 November 2018 in North America and on 8 November 2018 in Japan. It requires two PlayStation Move motion controllers. Critical reception was mixed: Metacritic lists a score of 68, and individual reviews ranged from a positive verdict at UploadVR to a score of 3 out of 10 at Road to VR.

Reviewed 4 October 2026. Release dates, prices, editions, ratings, developer and publisher checked against the US and Japanese PlayStation Blog and Famitsu; Miyazaki quotes against PlayStation Blog; review scores, quotes and playtimes against UploadVR, Road to VR, PlayStation LifeStyle, Metacritic and OpenCritic. About review dates.

Gameplay

The game is set in a secluded boarding school where six children live with an aging headmaster. The player takes the role of a faerie that exists in a world of frozen time and cannot be seen by the children. According to producer Masaaki Yamagiwa of SIE Japan Studio, the faerie can interact with the children only indirectly, and its powers include moving between different moments in time and adding time to the lives of objects. Players collect clues in the form of visions and memories as well as items such as written memos, old keys and instruments, and the story emerges as these fragments are connected. Japan Studio described the approach as "fragmented storytelling, where the user pieces events together from scattered story elements."

Players use two PlayStation Move controllers as their hands. Movement is not free locomotion: the player looks at nodes on the ground and pulls a trigger to teleport to them, as UploadVR described in its E3 2018 hands-on. Road to VR's review describes the movement as node-based teleportation with snap turning. In UploadVR's hands-on, the characters stood frozen, and interacting with things in the world could alert them to the faerie's presence, triggering a replay of an action or a voice-over. PlayStation LifeStyle described the faerie as equipped with rings that manipulate time in limited ways, and UploadVR's review described a mechanic of taking "time" from other beings.

The game is single-player. Reviewers' completion times varied: Road to VR reported about four hours, while UploadVR's reviewer finished it in roughly three hours in one sitting.

Development

Déraciné was developed by FromSoftware with SIE Japan Studio. The Japanese PlayStation Blog noted that it used the same development structure as Bloodborne, with director Hidetaka Miyazaki working with Japan Studio. Miyazaki said the intention was "to recreate the classic adventure game with its relaxed pace in virtual reality." In a 2018 interview he said that FromSoftware "knew that we needed to be up to speed with what was going on in the VR space" and that the studio "released a lot of adventure games prior to our more recent reputation for action titles."

According to Yamagiwa, when Miyazaki first tried VR he felt a strong sense of presence, with VR characters seeming to exist while also feeling absent and disconnected from the real world, and this shaped the game's concept. In a launch-week Q&A, Miyazaki said: "This title was an opportunity for me to explore the theme of existence versus non-existence as is only possible using VR." He also said that because of PS VR and the narrative, the team used natural faces and expressions as key visuals for the characters, "a rarity for FromSoftware titles", and that this was a new challenge for the studio. He described the team as people "who had made it through the development of frantic action games and who were ready to do something a little bit calmer and more peaceful."

Release

Sony revealed the game at its E3 2018 media showcase on 11 June 2018, and Japan Studio said it was scheduled to release exclusively for PlayStation VR in 2018. On 10 September 2018 Sony announced the release dates. In North America the game cost US$29.99 on the PlayStation Store, a disc version was sold exclusively through GameStop, and pre-orders included a Déraciné dynamic theme (Classroom) and six PSN avatars. In Japan, Sony offered a standard package, a first-production-limited Collector's Edition with an original soundtrack CD and a special storage case, and a download version. The game is rated CERO B (ages 12 and up) and requires PlayStation VR and two PlayStation Move controllers.

Region	Release date	Edition	Launch price
North America	November 6, 2018	Digital (PlayStation Store)	US$29.99
North America	November 6, 2018	Disc (GameStop exclusive)	Not stated
Japan	November 8, 2018	Standard package	3,000 yen plus tax
Japan	November 8, 2018	Collector's Edition	4,000 yen plus tax
Japan	November 8, 2018	Download	3,240 yen including tax

Reception

Metacritic lists a "mixed or average" score of 68 based on 54 critic reviews for the PlayStation 4 version. On OpenCritic the game has a Top Critic Average of 70, a "Fair" rating and 33% of critics recommending it.

Publication	Score
UploadVR	80 (Metacritic)
Push Square	80 (Metacritic)
PlayStation LifeStyle	6/10
Road to VR	3/10

UploadVR's Jamie Feltham wrote that the game's "initially dulcet tone certainly won't be for everyone" and that it creates emotional connections with its characters, while criticizing some "ham-fisted" dialogue and a confusing first hour. Push Square praised "a charming cast of characters" and the environment. Lucas White of PlayStation LifeStyle found the concepts intriguing but criticized the fractured storytelling and object-hunting, writing that the experience "feels like hours as you hop around the empty boarding house, hunting for hidden objects so you can advance the story."

Road to VR was more critical. Ben Lang called Déraciné "one of the finest examples yet of someone setting out to create a VR game before actually finding out what's fun or interesting to do" in a headset, and argued that it deprives the player of agency. He praised its detailed, well-lit environments and its comfort.