Sharks VR

Sharks VR: This is the 2D game. It is beautiful.
The 3D VR game is stunning.

In depth review

(No pun intended, but it made me smile!)

Despite the title, this game is not all about the sharks and not even all about the VR. Lakento's ocean diving game is a beautiful, immersive experience offering amazing visual delights, great sound and music and two game modes.

PLEASE NOTE: This review has been updated after I contacted the developers.

Two games in one - at a price

Available on Google Play:  Sharks VR

"Near coral reefs of the atoll Nuru-Haua, you start dipping into the main island of the atoll, soon you are aware that the area is infested with sharks ... Is it enough for your natural ability and your experience diving among sharks as you cross the reef? Will there be other hazards you do not expect ..?"
Developer: Lakento

Side note: I don't understand why developers spend hours and hours creating   a game but only spend two minutes writing the notes on Google Play.

Beware: Spoilers ahead.

This is a great example of how good VR can look. It is one of the prettiest VR apps I have downloaded to my phone, and it's the one I show people as a contrast to my roller-coaster app of the day.

You are a diver in one of the prettiest reefs I've seen since Endless Ocean on the Wii. Beautiful blue water envelopes you, shafts of sunlight pierce to the ocean floor. Shoals of colourful fish swim slowly past. Marine plants wave gently in the current. Columns of rock rise from the sun-dappled sand to pierce the sparkling surface. And a shark bites you in the face. 

The beauty of the 2D single screen mode in the Dive game. You can see the touchscreen controls - Pause/Menu - Move forward  - Take photo. The Play game (ie shoot the sharks) puts a spear-gun onscreen and replaces the camera button with a crosshair.

The game is playable in a 2D single screen mode with touchscreen controls and a 3D VR mode using a HMD. A controller is needed to play the VR version. I was able to use a bluetooth controller without any problems and a wired XBox controller worked just as well.

The 2D mode is very pretty and easy to play, this is a review of the 3D VR mode.

3D VR mode. That's not two sharks - it's one shark getting closer.  It looks a lot closer on the HMD. Dur dum, dur dum, dur dum. (Note the compass in the top right corner. In the HMD, it's right on the edge of your vision.)

First you have to decide which of two game types you want to play: Play or Dive.

If you select Play, you will be armed with a spear-gun to fend off hostile sharks. The sharks are quite relentless and will charge straight at you with gaping jaws unless a quick shot from the spear-gun scares them off -  with a little cloud of blood in the water. They can attack from any direction so you have to keep your wits about you. There are at least four sharks at the beginning - which is all I can tell you about because I keep getting eaten! The game description on Google Play asks "Will there be other hazards you do not expect?". Well, I don't know because I've been playing the Dive game.

In 3D VR: Play mode with a speargun. Don't shoot the baby whale, you monster. (No, it's not one big whale close up and another big whale far way. In game, it's obvious it's a mummy and baby. That's the beauty of VR.

Dive is a much more gentle game. You can swim slowly around the reef and even up to the surface where, with head above water, the islands come into view. On the surface, a map of the reef appears on the left of the screen and it's clear that the reef is long and narrow. 

Bobbing along, bobbing along,  on the beautiful briny sea! At the surface, the map is displayed. Strangely, the map and compass are only displayed on one side. The map has a red dot indicating your position. 

At all times, above and below the surface, a compass in the corner of the screen lets you find your way- which is useful if you want to explore the whole reef by going North. The compass also acts a radar with red and green dots moving about, but it's practically impossible to see them in VR mode.

The compass/radar. When you swim directly North, the red arrow turns green. The whole thing is on the edge of vision in VR and the radar dots are practically invisible. Not much use when (as here), there's a red dot RIGHT NEXT TO YOU!! AAAAAH!!

in Dive, the sharks are not hostile but swim gently around like the rest of the marine life. The purpose of the game is to swim along the reef taking photos of all the beautiful creatures. When you take some photos, you can open a photo album to see which you've got and which you have yet to get.

And there is a wide variety of creatures to photograph: two types of shark, a beautiful whale, lots of fish, a turtle, a stingray, dolphins, and more.

The album has spaces for 27 photos. Two of the spaces are marked "Coming soon" which hopefully means that the developers have plans for expansion. Any creature that you haven't snapped yet has a darkened photo but you can see what it is so you know what you're looking for. 

Part of the album in 3D VR mode. You can see I have found all these creatures except the Harlequin Sweetlips in the top-centre. Oh, where art thou, sweet lips? (By the way. I'm not sure what a freshwater eel is doing in in an ocean reef, but there it is.)

So there are 25 creatures to add to the album. I have found 23 so far. However, you won't find them all unless you pay for the full version of the game.

The game you can download from the Google Play store is a demo. The area you can swim in is about a tenth of the full size of the reef. Many of the creatures will be unavailable in this version. If you try to swim off the reef a gentle message asks you to turn around - but if you swim North into the 'not-free' area, a message asks you to pay. So of course, because you're having such a nice time, you say yes. How much? $4.95 (About £3.71)

UPDATE: When I first found this game, the full version cost £11.85. That's about $18 or 16 euro. I know what you're thinking. You'd be a fool to pay that! Yes, folks, I am that fool. I paid the £11.85 and carried on exploring the reef. I noticed later that the in-app purchase price on Google Play was listed as £3.71, so I contacted the developers. They explained that they had lowered the price and offered to refund the difference. Sweet! The point is that  I liked the game so much I was willing to pay £11.85!!

I enjoyed finding more of the marine animals. As I swam farther up the reef, the reef narrowed and became more river-like. Huts and other signs of humanity appeared on the banks.

Eventually, I reached the end of the reef, thinking it would be a pity if this was the end. But wait, a cave - right at the end of the reef. I swam in hoping it would lead somewhere or at least be home to one last undiscovered creature.

But no - it was empty and led nowhere.

I hoped the developers had put the cave there for a reason. The game effectively leads you North to the cave. Even the North arrow on the compass turns from red to green if you're swimming that way - as if to say "This way, my pretty!" There must be a point to it.

Do I need to find all the creatures to unlock its secrets? Or do they intend to add more content in the future. The two photos marked "Coming soon" imply that more content is on the way.  I hope so.

UPDATE: I asked the developers at Lavenko about this. They said that there is something in the cave in the Play mode. I have suggested that they put something there in Dive mode too as it is a bit of an anti-climax to find the cave empty. I hope they take my suggestions on board.

I haven't played the Play mode much - but I will play it now to find out what's in the cave. But I won't tell you. Too many spoilers already in this review!

The gameplay video above takes you from the start of the reef to the cave in Dive mode. The video is jerky because I was also running screen recording software on my phone. The actual game is smooth.

Another issue I have with the game is that I would like to clear the photos from the album so I can play again, or so my grand-kids can play, but I don't know how to or even if it's possible. (I guess I could clear the data from the app, but I'm afraid I'd lose my "unlock" for the full game.

About a week ago, I emailed the developer asking why the cave is there and how to clear the album. I haven't had a reply yet.

UPDATE: I have heard from the developer and there is no way in-game to clear the album. I have recommended that they put that feature in.

Anyway, don't hesitate to download the free version. You might get on with shooting the sharks better than I did, but at least you'll love the Dive game-play even if you just swim about looking at stuff.

Here are some tips:

• A controller is needed (for the VR version): A Bluetooth controller or a wired Xbox controller both work.
• Left thumbstick moves forward, back and strafes right and left.
• Right thumbstick up and down moves you up and down in the water and to the surface -  though you can just look up and swim forward too.
• B button - fires speargun or takes photo.
• Hold B button - opens menus, each with two choices - select with A (left) or B (right). Do this to open the Album.

Summary:

Pros:

• A delightful game with two different modes to play.

• The graphics are beautiful, with excellent 3D. The fish all move smoothly and realistically. 

• Two types of controller work perfectly.

• Immersive and addictive. Gotta catch 'em all!
• The 2D mode is nice too - if you don't have your headset or controller with you.
• The sound effects are effective with bubbling and splashing as you surface. The music too is just right - relaxing but with tense moments when the sharks swim close. 

Cons:

• It's a demo. But the cost of the full game is fair.

• Needs more content. Please!

• Where does the cave go? I have to know!!

• Can't reset the album to play again
• The compass/radar is right on the edge of my view so I can't see it all at once - but if I can't see North, I can see South and work it out. It's practically impossible to see the radar dots in VR mode, however.

SCORE:

Free version: 9/10 for sheer beauty and immersion.

Paid version: 9/10. Not perfect but better that nearly every other VR "game" on Google Play. 

Verdict: Download the free version now! I bet you buy the full version. Even if you don't have a controller, you can play the 2D version.