Owlchemy Labs who are better known for their Job Simulator game released Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality for VR users (Rift & Vive) in a two hour assault on the senses. Let’s get one thing clear. The game at present is going to set you back £22.99 via Steam so if you do the maths it’s around £10 per hour – that’s if you want to look at it in those terms. The reality is the fun you get from the experience is perhaps worth a lot more and there’s choice to replay sections over and over to discover more secrets and things you might have missed the first time round. That said, it’s a story driven toy box experience that has you sample the delights of characters Rick and Morty who as you might have gathered are loosely based on the Doc and Marty McFly duo from the Back to the Future movies. Ultimately, is the game worth your time and money?
You begin the game as a clone of Marty which means Rick can do what he likes with you. It’s an excuse to be beaten into submission with regards to how dumb of a clone you are. So the wryness makes itself known from the offset and never really lets up. There’s a spot of adult humor thrown in for good measure but aside from the amusing delivery via Rick and Morty, the real meat of the game is simply being let loose in Rick’s garage solving a number of puzzles. Sure, if this was a 2D game then it might come across quite basic and somewhat unfulfilling but in VR you’re there man!
The game opts to use a teleportation method to move your character into set zones which is rather limited and room scale with 2m x 1.5m being the minimum space requirement so you’ve got a bit of space to look around and stretch out a little. There is an option for seated players which works surprisingly well (until a snag at the ending involving a high five) which makes for a playable game all round. You might find it hard to reach items up high or low down depending on your set up but for the most part a smaller seated area can and does work.
The puzzles come in a variety of flavours with plenty of clues as to what to do which are often quite obvious even if you’re left wondering what to do next on occasion. You can clearly see the “Job Simulator” influence here but due to the massive personality of the two stars means it just feels like a much more engaging game. You’ll help aliens poo in the toilet (even unblock it). Grab fuses from Satellites orbiting the Earth and collect and listen to crazy cassette tapes. There’s a lot of interactions here which in VR combined with Touch controls or the Vive Wands really shows off the strengths of VR gaming despite the obvious limitations of the tech. Due to the fact the visuals are quite simple by artistic design, and objects are up close with very little in the way of distance, you can forget about blurry images and screen door effect.
The one thing that perhaps is a little disappointing is a lack of options to tailor the experience. Whilst the Rick and Morty animated series might have a teen rating, the game style would be perfectly fine for younger audiences in small doses. However, there’s a few moments of profanity which might catch the unsuspecting off guard which is a shame there’s no option to disable it making the game open to a wider audience.
Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality is a humorous, fun and well designed game, there’s no denying that. However, it sits in the realms of an expensive release with a limited amount of content. You can replay levels or just mess around with the toy box on offer, perhaps rack up some high scores shooting aliens in space, but the reality is once you’ve bested the game the first time there’s little reason to jump back in again aside from a few changes here and there. If you’re on a budget then as with all new releases wait for a price drop. However, this is a fun game and well worth checking out if you can drop the £23/$29 asking price without batting an eyelid. It’s also another great game to showcase the immersive qualities of VR gaming.
Score – 8/10
