To the Top | PlayStation VR Review
Ever wondered what it would be like to have amazing parkour skills? Perhaps you’d like to be able to perform feats like a superhero without going through all the pain of learning them? Well, now you can with To The Top, developed by Electric Hat Games and Panic Button. Let’s dive into this game and see why this game is something you should consider checking out.
First I want to address the game’s loose story, which took me a little bit of time to discern. The setting is sometime in the future. A secret corporation is building superheroes, and you are testing one of the robots used in the Academy program. Your job is to see if you are up to the task of piloting one of these robots. Beyond that there isn’t really much of an in-depth story, which makes me happy. Anything more would have distracted from what makes this game special.
A Puzzler/Racer in VR
Though this game does focus on parkour elements, you’re actually racing from Point A to Point B. The parkour elements were definitely a bigger draw than the speed running. You move in a 3-D environment using only your hands, and it works surprisingly well. At the beginning of each area, you are able to look around and see the majority of the level. One of the first things you will notice is there are a large amount of blue objects.
These are the items you are able to “grab” to pull yourself around the level. The items range from small squares on the side of walls to huge cranes spanning across buildings. If you grab them with both of your hands, you are able to launch yourself in the direction you are looking when you let go. Later in the level, you also come across moving walls with blue sections on them. You can use these to traverse long gaps that you cannot leap across with your jump.
I found myself getting distracted discovering different ways to travel around the map with all the different objects to grab. One of my favorite climbing sections involved a stack of donut shaped objects which are stacked vertically. I spent a few minutes just trying to figure out an effective way to climb up and through this challenge. Though this is a racing game, I have had so much more fun just exploring, which the developers anticipated as well. For those who don’t want to just race through a level, the developers hid geometric shapes all over the level called Geoms. The Geoms are placed around the level in such a way that you have to use a little problem solving and good timing to grab. I found it to be a fun little inclusion to have added into the game.
Blast My Vertigo!
Despite the very simple look, it works incredibly well for this style of game. Even though at first glance it seems very generic and simple, it’s very well sculpted, and the lines are very clean. Climbing to some of the higher ares of the game actually gives you a sense of vertigo when you look down. I cannot stress enough how effective the verticality is in To the Top. My first session inside my VR headset was for four hours, and when I took it off it felt like I had just been dropped back to the ground.
Another neat little treat to this game is the sound. The audio tracks in the background provide some entertainment. Best of all, I love the noises this game makes as you fly through the air. Almost every time I launched my character off of a ledge, the sound of wind rushing past your head really helps create the illusion of you being inside the game.
To the Top Final Verdict
I love To the Top, plain and simple, and would recommend it for anyone who loves a challenge or wants to give their arms a good workout (much like with VRFC). That being said, this is not a game for someone who gets motion sick easily or is any way or shape acrophobic (fear of heights). It definitely fills a void in terms of a unique genre that is puzzle racing. The different ways to climb your way to the end of each area definitely gives the game a fair amount of replay. I would actually say this is probably one of the top five games I have experience on the PSVR so far.
This review is based off of a PSVR review copy provided by Electric Hat Games and Panic Button for coverage purposes. The game is available now for PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, and Oculus Rift with Touch.
To the Top
$19.99
Pros
- Parkour a blast throughout
- Collectibles give a great excuse to explore
- Takes great advantage of VR
Cons
- Motion sickness can occur
