Review: Firmament
Three years back, Firmament made its debut on PC and PCVR, leaving a strong positive impression on me. Following that, it was announced for PlayStation VR2, and I eagerly awaited its release to see how it would leverage Sony’s technology. After a lengthy wait, it has finally arrived on the PS Store, but the question remains: has it successfully transitioned to PSVR2?
Release Date: July 2nd 2025
Developer: Cyan Worlds
Publisher: Cyan Worlds
Price: US $34.99 / CA $46.99 / €34,99 / £28.99
Reviewed On: PlayStation VR2
* Access Provided For Review *
Explore The Realms
At the start of Firmament, a mysterious figure welcomes you, introducing you to your Adjunct while also sharing her own intriguing story. Before long, you learn about three realms that await your exploration. The questions arise: what secrets lie within each realm? What is their purpose? And ultimately, can this enigmatic apparition be trusted?
Cyan Doing What They Do Best
One aspect I truly appreciate about Firmament is how it transports you back to the critically acclaimed and beloved Myst by Cyan Worlds. This feeling is heightened by the fact that some puzzles can leave you completely stumped – and the game certainly doesn’t guide you through them. Every puzzle is crafted to utilise the Adjunct, a device that allows you to interact with the nodes scattered throughout the three realms you will explore.
Even though all the puzzles revolve around interacting with the nodes, not all of them are straightforward – some truly had me puzzled at times (despite having played it three years ago). In the initial segment of the game, you will explore each realm to gather upgrades for your Adjunct, which will enhance its interfacing capabilities, introducing new elements to both puzzles and node interactions. However, as is typical with all Cyan Worlds games, it’s challenging to provide specifics without compromising the puzzle design, so I won’t share any more details.
Beyond the puzzles, the gameplay doesn’t offer much else. If you’re aiming for the platinum trophy, you can take the time to discover and read all the books, listen to every piece of dialogue, and locate a hidden bunker. The game is devoid of threats, hazards, or enemies, which means there’s no danger or risk of dying, allowing you to explore freely at your own pace. One aspect on the exploration I truly enjoyed on PCVR was finding the stunning views of the realms – I will discuss my experience of this with the PSVR2 later in this review.
The gameplay aspect of the game has transitioned seamlessly to the PSVR2. If you enjoy Cyan Worlds games, you shouldn’t encounter any problems with the gameplay. Additionally, I believe it’s crucial to clarify a common misconception regarding a supposed game-breaking bug that occurs early in the game; it’s not actually a bug, but rather a minor inconvenience if you make a mistake the first time around. This pertains to a puzzle involving an ice block that you need to drop while standing on it. If you drop the block without being on it, it’s often labelled as the game-breaking bug. However, you can retrace your steps by using the bridge you raise near the omni-rail, returning to the starting point where more ice blocks are available. Simply pick one of those up and bring it back to the chute, ensuring you are standing on it before you drop this one.
There was one last minor annoyance that troubled me. When playing with a right-hand dominance, the X-button is utilized to disconnect the Adjunct, but it is also assigned to reset your height. This means that every time you disconnect, the ‘Height Reset’ message appears on the screen. In the PCVR version, you needed to hold the button to reset your height, which prevented this issue. Therefore, I am puzzled as to why they didn’t implement the same hold-to-reset feature for height, especially since it functioned flawlessly on PCVR.
Porting Problems
Outside of the gameplay is where the issues come with the port, which is such a shame because it really detracts for the experience and makes it hard to recommend the game if you are wanting to play it on the PlayStation VR2.
To begin with, let’s address the visual issues. The game has the potential to look stunning on the hardware, but unfortunately, several problems detract from the experience when playing in VR on the PSVR2. Firstly, the resolution appears low, and combined with the anti-aliasing, those gorgeous views quickly become less appealing. The anti-aliasing causes distant objects to appear as if they are wiggling and shifting, which could lead to motion sickness. I’m not certain if it’s a combination of factors, but the fog and smoke in the game also look quite poor. As you navigate through the air on the omni-rail and move towards the mist, the visuals just don’t hold up. These problems become even more pronounced when you enter the arches and ascend a spire, offering a panoramic view of the realm from above. Everything in the distance suffers from the anti-aliasing and fog issues, significantly detracting from what are some of the most breathtaking views in the game.
The problems don’t stop there; the game also experiences poor re-projection, which detracts from the overall visuals. I hope the team will release some patches to address these concerns or, at the very least, improve the low resolution, anti-aliasing, and fog issues. This way, the stunning views available on PCVR can be preserved, significantly enhancing the PSVR2 port.
The voice acting of the enigmatic apparition was impressive, which was essential since she frequently communicates with you during the game. The environmental sounds in each realm you explore are skillfully utilised to enhance your immersion in the worlds they have crafted. It’s truly unfortunate that the visual problems on the port exist, because without them, this could have been flawless.
Comfort
The Verdict
When Firmament announced its release date, I was thrilled to have a reason to dive back into the game and explore what they had accomplished with the PSVR2 hardware. However, my excitement quickly faded as soon as I stepped out of the bunker into the open world, where the visuals I remembered from the PCVR version were met with a disappointing low resolution and poor anti-aliasing, diminishing some of the wonder that the PCVR version provided. In terms of gameplay, it remains a fantastic and robust puzzle game that will take you back to the critically acclaimed Myst, but personally, I found it challenging to enjoy due to its graphical appearance. I sincerely hope the team at Cyan Worlds can release a patch to enhance the resolution and eliminate the anti-aliasing, because right now, it’s difficult to recommend the game if you intend to play it exclusively in virtual reality – which is unfortunate since it’s such an excellent puzzle game that fans of classic puzzle games will undoubtedly appreciate. Nevertheless, if you have a VR-capable PC, I would strongly suggest purchasing it on PC, especially if you can’t wait or if the game doesn’t get patched.