Wiggly, Wobbly Handy…man?
The VR game space is filled with experiences where players can really become a character. Embodying a giant tentacle-type Kaiju monster isn’t anything new for me as a gamer, but the twist with Tentacular is that you aren’t rampaging but instead is a heartwarming puzzle game that surprised me by how much I really enjoyed it.
Tentacular begins with our titular hero waking up on what is their 16th birthday by their little sister; players will learn that she baked them a cake but they have to get up and go find a job. Because even in a VR game there is such a staff shortage in the world that we are forced to recruiting tentacle armed employees. I joke of course but on the island of La Kalma it’s a special day for the young kaiju as they are an official citizen of the town. With that comes the responsibilities of getting a job, which means being rigorously tested to figure out just what type of job a cephalopod can actually do.
MSRP: $24.99
Platforms: PC
Price I’d Pay: $24.99
With a name like ‘Tentacular’ you might have guessed that this game is all about building tents…no I kid. Tentacles is the name of the game here, each controller acts as the players long appendage; while triggers will activate the ‘suckers’ and allow players to manipulate things in the world with varying degrees of success. I say that because everything has a real-world weight and feel to it. Sure, players have large tentacles that can pick up a whole shipping container one tentacled; but if you attempt that with, say a cargo ship, players will see and feel due to the vibration effect the stretch and strain on their tentacle. There are some challenges where players will need to catch items being shot from a cannon, and I learned the hard way that while you can slow down the object, you can’t catch them one handed if it’s a heavy item.
I truly appreciate when VR games use physics properly, even in a wild game like this where I am flailing about with tentacles its really cool that control wise it’s as natural as if I was stacking blocks with one of my kids. Which is something that you will do in the game actually, No not stack blocks with my kids…but players will be tasked with manipulating shipping containers into patterns, or stacking things correctly and neatly during their time in Tentacular. Any sort of situation from removing debris after an accident, to rescuing ships and people; players will handle all sorts of issues in the name of keeping La Kalma safe and productive. The one thing I will caution is that some puzzles require reaching above your head and you might feel the need to jump. Well, if you are playing the Steam version players will be tethered, but for those on the native Quest be careful. During testing I got so immersed in the game, I jumped to reach something and smashed my hands into the ceiling. My own fault…but I don’t want any of you to suffer this same embarrassing fate.
Although Tentacular puts players in the shoes of a gentle giant, I will admit the urge to thrash around and throw things like a kid acing out is really high in this game. Luckily there is an included sandbox mode where players can go and act out their most destructive kaiju fantasies when they tire of being the islands handyman. Destroying things feels just as good as fixing them honestly, it is fun to play with the various toys in this massive sandbox without the constraints of being careful.
I gotta say that Tentacular is vastly different from what I thought it was going to be based on the trailers I’d seen. And this is very much a wonderful thing, because like I said I’ve played lots of games focused on destruction; which I initially thought this was. But much to my delight and surprise, Tentacular turned out to be a wonderful, heartfelt game that touches on things like being adopted, and being different and how those differences can really be a boon to those around us. Developer Firepunchd Games did a wonderful job with creating Tentacular. I very much enjoyed the gameplay but most of all the story was so touching and the sense of discovery as you peel back the mystery of the kaiju’s origins is very well done. If you need a break from constant destruction, Tentacular might be the fresh sea breeze for you.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
