Video games have the ability to immerse players into whimsical and imaginative worlds beyond our wildest creative dreams. With VR, the sensation of immersion and wonder is heightened immensely, bring the viewer within an unseen and uncharted world. Paper Beast on PlayStation VR is a new adventure that invites players into a strange and fascinating land, filled with bizarre creatures and environments. Directed by Eric Chai, the creator of the classic adventure Another World, Chai once again puts players into an experience that does not hold hands, removing the distractions of tutorials and instruction in favor of allowing players to figure out the world around them. With this approach, Paper Beast becomes an astounding and mesmerizing experience, at least while it lasts.
A computer boots up, analyzing your brain wave patterns and inviting you into a sensational experience. A few prompts later and the VR room turns into an eclectic virtual concert, with Japanese rock music roaring through the speakers, sounding like something straight from a favorite anime. After jamming for a few moments, the system crashes, and out of the darkness comes a mystical world. A red curtain blows away. The landscape opens, and in front of you is a bizarre, strange world. The skies are elegant and pristine but made of ones and zeroes. The sand beneath you is soft and pleasant. Suddenly, a strange, large creature appears before you, appearing alien, but curious. This is the beginning of a rather fascinating journey into an unknown world of paper creatures, and a strange mystery to unfold.
Paper Beast is an exploration and puzzle game, where players are immersed in a fascinating world. Players explore and interact with the world around them, solving puzzles and delving deeper into the mystery of the paper creatures. There are no tutorials, other than the controls appearing on the gamepad. Much like Eric Chai’s previous work, Another World, players are left to analyze their surroundings and solve the puzzle set before them by studying environments and creatures to find a solution.
Paper Beast is mesmerizing, beautiful, elegant, and refreshingly original. It’s a game that simply lets the player be lost and immersed in its bizarre world, constantly asking questions but also engaging the player. Who and what these creatures are, and the phenomenon occurring within the world, continuously poke players’ imagination. Paper Beast soaks the player in immersion, from the captivating world to the bizarre paper creatures. The paper creatures are brilliantly designed and elegantly made. Many of the puzzles involve using the paper creatures and plants, to better navigate and manipulate the environment. The elements and physics are used to great effect. One puzzle had me use a plant to pump out sand and spray it on obsidian to allow some of the creatures, that resembled large deer, to ascend to a particular point to further the adventure.
Paper Beast is filled with breathtaking moments. From ascending to the skies to view the world below to navigating the paper world at night, there are extraordinary moments that occur in Paper Beast. Paper Beast had me mesmerized, fascinated, and truly lost in the world that was presented.
Sound plays an important role in Paper Beast as well. The sounds of each creature are distinct and the game specifically focuses on the sound of the environments. Water, wind, ice, all sound appropriate. The sounds of each creature are distinct too. The soft touches of music heighten moments and the use of Japanese rock and roll is interesting. I felt at peace with the world in Paper Beast and simply wanted to heal the ills that have befallen it. It was a pleasant, wonderful adventure to experience. Alas, when the adventure is over, the bulk of Paper Beast has been seen.
The biggest setback to Paper beast is its length. Even with several difficult puzzles to solve, the game lasts upwards of 4 hours, with an additional hour for the Sandbox Mode and finding the collectibles in the game. There are even two trophies that require a set amount of time to complete. I couldn’t help but feel that we could have seen more of the game and the world that Paper Beast offered as the world it was set in was exceptionally refreshing and original. When the credits rolled, I was happy and amazed, but also already missing the world that I explored. I questioned why the game was so short, as there is so much more we could have seen. I imagined jungles, forests, beaches, mountains, volcanoes all themed to the world of Paper Beast. I imagined whales, birds, dragons, and other strange creatures made of paper. A longer length could have given more visual context to the storytelling and world of Paper Beast. As it stands the story is what you take with you and it is a nice narrative, but there are so many questions I have and I feel a longer length could have added to that narrative. On a technical level, Paper Beast runs swimmingly well, and I had no problems with moving around or making commands. Although, locomotion movement would have been a nice addition, instead of the instant teleportation movement.
After the main quest is over, the Sandbox Mode puts players as master of their own domain. Players can add creatures, adjust the gravity, and play around with the various weather and physics elements. Here, Paper Beast opens up to an incredible playground, showcasing the potential of what the game can do. It’s a wonderful and fun mode, though it also begs the question as to why some of the aspects in the Sandbox Mode were not featured in the main quest. For example, I can play around with gravity and explosive capsules in Sandbox Mode, but for some reason, those elements aren’t featured in the main quest of Paper Beast. I could easily imagine more puzzles utilizing these mechanics in the main quest, especially towards the end. In addition to the Sandbox, there’s a music visualizer, but it only plays one song. I could have imagined the visualizer plugging into Spotify. Regardless, the Sandbox Mode does showcase the impressive engine power Paper Beast and wish we could have seen it more.
Featuring a mesmerizing world and despite the short length, I had an excellent experience in Paper Beast. Its world is bright and vibrant and its visual storytelling is captivating. I’d encourage anyone with a PSVR to play Paper Beast, especially for those looking for a peaceful but engaging adventure. However, I wished to see so much more of this world and I feel that Paper Beast should have released with a larger world to explore. If the campaign were longer, by four or five hours, I’d say it’s worth a buy at full price. Nonetheless, Paper Beast stands as Eric Chahi’s first foray into VR on PlayStation, and I can easily imagine him and the rest of Pixel Reef creating more captivating adventures, even possibly adding more content to Paper Beast. It can’t be overstated how amazing Paper Beast is and how it artistically pushes VR forward with its truly fascinating world. I can imagine many being inspired by Paper Beast. If Paper Beast is the tip of the spear, I can’t wait to see more from the team.
Paper Beast is short, but its a truly distinct and engaging experience that lingers with you long after you play.
More information about Paper Beast can be found on the official website. A digital PSVR copy was provided for the purpose of review.
More reviews of indie titles are abundant here on Marooners’ Rock. Check out my take on the super action-packed Bloodroots on PS4 or the more thought-provoking Neo Cab on Nintendo Switch.
