Seeker: My Shadow Review

April 2, 2023

Seeker: My Shadow is the first asymmetric game available for the PSVR2, these usually make for an interesting couch co-op experience, and can also be an acceptable single-player game if possible. Seeker: My Shadow does allow for both modes with how the game plays, this question is how does this one hold up?

STORY

The world of the Seekers is peaceful until the Jesterians re-opened the Pillar of Darkness, which is going to cause harm to the land. Due to this Viktor awakens and enlists a giant spirit and Kippo to help restore peace to the Seekers world and once again lock away the Jesterians.

GAMEPLAY

Seeker: My Shadow is puzzle game, that is played out across levels that are little dioramas, with both the spirit and Kippo having to work together to solve the puzzles and get to the exit of each level.

Each level is given a little task you must do like ringing a bell to warn the town-folk or catching a train, but these are all done by simply getting from point A to B to complete that level. How you get from point A to B throws puzzles the game, however, these are never overly complex and gave me the feeling these are made to played asymmetric with a younger child/sibling over adults. If for any reason you get stuck on the puzzles, you can speak to Viktor who will give some vague clues on what is required, but, as someone older who played it single player I never really needed to do this.

To solve these puzzles you are going to need both the giant spirit and Kippo the little dog. Kippo will need to do things like activating switches and moving items inside of the diorama. With the spirit helping Kippo by doing actions around the outside of the dioramas like turning cranks, removing blockages from pipes and flicking switches. This is how the asymmetric element works but also allows for the game to played alone as well.

Now, I did come across a few issues when playing the game, in some levels there are parts you can fall of a ledge without having activated the switch to open the door. But as there is no jump you are basically stuck and have to restart the level – this sometimes happened with parts of the scenery as well when falling off ledges and getting stuck in the environment.

Outside of the puzzles each of the levels have three hidden eggs for Kippo to find and a card for the spirit to find. The eggs are important, as these are used to unlock levels, with each section needing so many eggs to unlock. Again these are not overly complex to find and only a few are not at floor level.

PRESENTATION

With the game being suited for a more younger audience the game uses bright eye-catching colours to create family-friendly environments that can be enjoyed by all ages. These make up the little dioramas well and make sure they all pop inside the HMD and on the screen. Using the diorama approach has also allowed them to add in some nice little touches in the levels, like having sea monsters floating beneath the water surface, just adding a bit more character to the levels.

The audio is kept simple, with the team opting for a relaxing soundtrack, environmental sounds and of course the ability to make Kippo bark. None of the dialogue in the game is spoken, so there is no voice acting required – but, in a game like Seeker: My Shadow this is not an issue, as there isn’t a lot of dialogue used.

COMFORT/CONTROLS

The game can be played seated, standing or roomscale, however, I just found myself playing it seated and rotating the levels, rather than walking around the world in my play-space. As you are static and rotating or physically walking around the levels in VR, there is no need for any comfort options in the game.

If you are playing single player, you will grabbing the world to rotate it or picking up some items when needed with the grip buttons on either controller with the spirit and controlling Kippo with the analogue on the left controller. Outside of these you will activate any dialogue with trigger, and this is all the game uses.

If you are playing asymmetric, the VR players will be completing the same as above minus controlling Kippo, which will be done by the other player using the Dual-Sense controller.

LONGEVITY

It took me around one and half hours to get through the game, find all the hidden eggs and cards, however, I did play this in single player. As aforementioned the game is really made to be played asymmetric with someone who is younger, in this case if you are letting them solve the puzzles it could last longer.

REVIEWED USING PLAYSTATION VR 2

For the purposes of transparency, this review was created using a sample provided by the company or their respective PR company. The use of a press sample does not affect my judgement of the product.

REVIEW OVERVIEW

Seeker: My Shadow certainly does suit a specific audience, that being someone that has a child or younger sibling to enjoy the asymmetric mode with. It does have a single-player option, were this works, if you are playing it as an adult it does not do enough to make it entertaining for the older audience – due to the simplicity of the puzzles. So, really if you are looking for a VR game that can include your kid or a younger sibling it is worth considering.