There are instant classic VR games like Half Life Alyx, Boneworks and Walking Dead Saints & Sinners. Now Wanderer VR takes its place among those great VR games. Watching the trailers for Wanderer VR game, I was cautiously optimistic the game would match my expectations. Well much like the surprise hit Walking Dead Saints and Sinners was, Wanderer VR surpassed my expectations.
Traveling Through Time and Space
Seems like the past year revolved around time travel games. Great games like Returnal, Deathloop, 12 Minutes, Outer Wilds, The Forgotten City and the Medium, all gifted us with a journey through time. Now the Wanderer VR game is the latest of great time traveling games.
From the trailers, it appeared the game was set for an adventure across time and many locations. I was so happy that, in my opinion, it delivered on that promise. Sure I’d like larger environments to explore, but the smaller locations provide tighter control on interactivity.
The game sets off with a Sci Fi heavy theme and apocalyptic future. After a short trek through a flooded and vine covered city of Boston 2061, the main character, Ashe, finds his grandfather’s apartment. It’s the central hub of the game.
That apartment alone, includes so many items to interact with: spray cleaner bottles, sponges, fishing poles, cordless tools (drill, blower, cutter, etc.), radio controlled car, nerf blaster and more. Those items were important to the story and puzzles in both the apartment and in other places/times.
Going Places and See Things
Once my time travels began, I visited the Moon in 1969, a Mayan temple in 379/1525, Wardencliffe Tower 1906, Bleicherode 1945 and Woodstock in 1969, so far. Each time and place was a little bit off, like something changed from the history we know. Turn outs out, someone is responsible and the story revolves around find them, while fixing their changes.
The talking pocket/wristwatch is a big highlight of the game. It helps advance the Wanderer VR game story and it’s fun to watch it fly around in helicopter mode. The hints it provides and its personality enhance the storytelling. I’m a big fan.
Even the simple interaction of loading and playing VHS tapes or projector reels help tell parts of the story of Project Phoenix and what happened to Ashe’s grandfather. It’s a nice immersive bit of story telling.
Wanderer VR Gameplay and Puzzles
The staple locomotion options are available from teleport to smooth motion. Plenty of variation to choose from for anyone’s personal preference. I actually started with smooth locomotion set to slow, but bumped that up to normal.
Wanderer VR Game Interactions Enhance the Puzzle Solving Fun
The interactions are great. Hands carry weight and have physics, so I moved items without an interact button or grab action. They were still “floaty” hands with no arms attached, but the large number of interactions negates that little weakness.
Grabbing items is not as polished as HL Alyx and can be a little fickle at times. That improves with practice and I’m sure with patches. Not everything is available to interact with, but there are plenty and a yellow highlight to help distinguish the nearest item. Like HL Alyx, you can grab at a bit of a distance.
I really enjoyed playing with the different cordless power tools. There was a puzzle to find the battery, another to get to the battery charger and then multiple puzzles that required the various tools. When I first found them in the apartment, I thought the tools were just for fun. Turns out puzzles use a drill to unscrew bolts, cutter to slice through certain things up and blower to clean things up.
Writing on chalk boards is there and actually helpful for solving some Wanderer VR game puzzles. Cleaning supplies come in handy to literally wipe away dirt to unveil clues. It’s intuitive and great puzzle solving fun. It’s not about clicking buttons, but rather using everyday items as intended.
Moving Items Through Time and Space to Solve Puzzles
Traveling to different places and times did not just serve the story, but also the gameplay and puzzles. Once I reached the 3rd or 4th time and location, puzzles required items from different parts of the apartment and from different times.
An example without completely ruining a puzzle for you, is taking a common household item from 1906 to the distant past as protection for another item and puzzle. Changes earlier in the timeline also change later locations. I look forward to experimenting with advanced weapons in the distant past.
Samuel the Talking Pocket Wristwatch
With a push of a button on the wrist, Samuel the watch pops off and flies around like a helicopter. It’s fun to watch, but also useful. While flying around, it gives me helpful hints on what I should do next. Again, the immersive storytelling and tips are great.
There are also available upgrades to the watch. Along my adventures, I find time crystals to store in the watch to spend on those upgrades. My choices include changing the appearance of the watch or increasing the storage capacity.
Carrying tools and items across Wanderer VR game timelines can be cumbersome, so storing them within the watch is convenient. For that reason, I’ve only upgraded storage.
The watch is also the main method of time travel. After finding various time totems during time travels, combining them with the watch counterpart transports my character to another time and place. Releasing the totem from that counterpart returns me to the Boston apartment. It’s a useful mechanic to bounce between time points.
Based on the hours played so far, this is a proper length game and I’m looking forward to see what’s next. After meeting two surprising historical figures, it looks like the story has a time bending twist ahead for me. Do yourself a favor and play the Wanderer VR game now.