Monster of the Deep Final Fantasy XV Review - Fishing in VR

With Final Fantasy XV, a daring step was taken within the franchise. The increase in freedom of movement has undoubtedly paid off. These creative excesses have even reached such a level that one of the mini-games has been transformed into a real VR-game. Whether this is also worthwhile, you can read in the Monster of the Deep Final Fantasy XV review.

Who would have seen that coming? A Virtual Reality adaptation of Noctis' favorite activity: fishing. In Final Fantasy you could spend a large amount of time with the waters and catch a bunch of those slippery creatures at the last minute. For a while this is an interesting affair, but it would also be surprising to have a stand-alone game.

Return to Eos

Monster of the Deep takes you on a journey back to Eos, the famous universe where particle 15 takes place. Right from the beginning the game is already growing a bond with you because you can tinker a character yourself. Your fisherman must of course look good, since it returns in a number of short cut scenes. Fortunately Monster of the Deep provides the tools to personalize your character.

Having said that, during the game it is the same that the character selection is a lot deeper than the story. This is not exactly wrong, because a fully loaded storyline will probably only get in the way of the fish game. What you can expect is an approximately 3 to 4 hour fan service story about disabling demonic fish, while you go with famous figures like Noctis and Cindy. Amusing for the fan who knows how to look through the graphics and technical problems.

Not always mother's prettiest

Monster of the Deep is a VR game in terms of graphics in the "too ambitious" category. It is clear to see that the developers have done their best to create a complete Final Fantasy XV experience. Thus the game is a feast of recognition through the familiar areas, monsters and items that you can admire quietly. Were it not that you have to make a lot of effort to distinguish shapes from a distance.

Even for a VR game it looks partly dated while it could have been so incredibly beautiful. Objects that are close are still somewhat appreciated, but if you look a bit further, Monster of the Deep loses its charms. The edges of the field of view are also encircled by a blurry effect, which means that a large part does not fall. That hurts, because it could undoubtedly have been a much nicer experience to revive these areas.

PS4 controller as enemy

The same principle is used in the control system, where the effect, with the exception of normal walking around, could have been better. You thus move by determining a point, after which you transport it at the touch of a button. Turning your field of view without turning your neck 180 degrees is done by means of the right thumbstick . Apart from recalibrating your VR position over and over again, it works, but when you throw your rod out, the controls become quite a mess.

The motion awareness of the PS4 controller (or Move controllers) with which you play Monster of the Deep is far from accurate. That is painfully made clear when you have to throw out the line to catch some fish. For example, during normal play mode, you must hold down the X button and at the same time make a whip movement with the controller to watch the float fly by. Only the line seems to lead a life of its own in terms of distance and direction.

Most of the playing time you are busy with the re-throwing of the line since the bait has not ended up at the intended location. Then if there is a fish bite, you should keep turning the left thumbstick like a madman while you move the controller with the swimming direction of the beast so that the line does not snap. This is a nice challenge in itself, but after the umpteenth fish you have to have your thumb needs some rest.

After the nerve-racking battles against fish and mainly the steering, the next obstacle is already ready. For example, you have to hoist the water sample in the net that is just as technically inaccurate as the ejection of the line. After a while you get used to the fact that the in-game limbs are placed in the least natural positions. Fortunately, the follower of all these negatives is treated to an entertaining and addictive game.

Deep waters

No matter how you turn it, Monster of the Deep is a single - player VR game that stands out. About one hundred Final Fantasy fish species can be caught in a number of different game modes. By far the best thing is still following the storyline, with which you can choose a bossfight for every mission. During spectacular finals of these assignments you can shoot with a crossbow to fish the gigantic sea monsters behind the net.

In addition to a story mode, the game has a tournament game type in which you have to bring in a high weight of fish in a certain time. On the other hand, you also get the opportunity to fish freely and enjoy the peace. As the last mode you get a large amount of hunts to choose to hunt demonic fish to your heart's content. Each of the six different fishing locations has its own flora, fauna and collectable objects with which you decorate your log cabin.

The wooden hut serves as a hub for all missions, game modes, a number of interactions and the purchase of gear. Each situation requires different equipment and bait, which is purchased from the hub with the Final Fantasy currency Gil. Monster of the Deep contains an extensive collection of rods, bait, lines, reels and even cosmetic adjustments for your character. You probably already guess it, but Gil is collected by killing you with fishing!

Conclusion

Monster of the Deep is a strange duck in the bite. There is a fair bit wrong with the performance, but it contains enough fun elements for Final Fantasy XV fans to get a hold of. The fish fanatic will easily put in an hour or ten, which is good for the price tag of 30 euros. It can not be denied that Monster of the Deep is unique.

The game mainly brings a lot of mixed feelings with a tendency towards the positive. The controls are not exactly perfect and the graphics of the background leaves something to be desired, but on the other hand there is no VR-fish game that does better. The game also contains a reasonable amount of content and especially entertaining recognition. Monster of the Deep is at least the right solution if you want to fish from your room.

Pros

➕ Objects close to pretty
➕ Light and entertaining story
➕ A lot of (recognizable) content
➕ Entertaining and addictive gameplay

Cons

➖ Distant objects graphically dated
➖ Control quite annoying and other technical errors

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