Sometimes in life, we are presented with problems that we must face in order to move forward, and finding our way can come in many forms. Some of us confront the issues head-on, while others simply process them in our dreams. Winner of VR Game of The Year 2019, A Fisherman’s Tale, developed by Innerspace VR, and published by Vertigo Games, is one of these stories.

Meet Bob, a tiny fisherman puppet, who lives alone in his tiny cabin, oblivious to the outside world. When his radio broadcasts a storm alert, he must get to the top of the lighthouse and turn on the light, but as he tries to leave his cabin, with the help of some uncanny sidekicks, he realises that what’s waiting outside is not at all what he expected. Unravelling Bob’s story is quite an adventure, and it plays out like an interactive short film. The story made me reflect pretty heavily on how I handled some of my own life changes in a similar way.

Playing as Bob, players will explore and solve puzzles in order to reach his goal of getting to the top of the lighthouse and firing up the light. Seems simple enough right? Well, what makes this such a unique experience is the extremely clever use of the rather confined space.

Let me explain; you’ve been placed inside of a model inside of a model, inside of another model, very much like a Russian nesting doll. In order to solve the puzzles, players will need to explore and interact with the game world in a way that I’ve never seen done before.

The puzzles themselves are relatively simple to solve and usually, the solution is right in front of you, however, to keep you always thinking is this very clever use of the spaces within spaces. Setting up each of the 6 chapters is our great cast of uncanny friends who can seem at times a little pushy, just like our real-life friends, screaming at us to hurry up and deal with the problem already. I enjoyed the lighthearted way that these characters urged you to keep pushing forward, and it made this a perfect introduction to new users of VR.

I love how much care and detail have gone into crafting the game world. Interacting with the game world to build such wonderfully crafted models, to then seamlessly transition into incredibly stunning cut scenes that tell this wondrous tale brought everything together nicely. This made me feel as if I was in an interactive short film, with the added bonus of the entire game just flowing together so smoothly.

Before I knew it, I was done and left wanting more. I would have loved to have spent a little more time with the cast of uncanny friends that helped us along the way, and thankfully, this is explored much further in Another Fisherman’s Tale. Building a model, inside of a model, inside of a model, is a really unique way of making this small, confined setting feel so much bigger.

There is nothing that I enjoy more than the way a game’s audio experience can stir feelings and be just as enjoyable as the game itself. The incredible vocal talents of the cast make you relate and empathise with the story told, the calm feeling you get as you hear waves gently breaking, and even feel the terrifying power of mother nature as the storm rips apart your boat. The immersive nature of VR makes soundscapes like this one feel loads more intense, you can’t help but feel the weight of the story.

A Fisherman’s Tale may be a short puzzle game that runs you just shy of 2 hours, but the story told here is incredible, telling the lighthearted tale of one man’s struggle to overcome the challenges of having a near-death experience. Fairly straightforward puzzles make this ideal for all ages, making it the type of game you show off to your friends who are new to the VR experience. It’s entertaining, engaging, and definitely deserving of a spot in your PS VR2 library.

Written by: Gary Nielsen