Recent reviews by mybecker

better than its reputation. linear af but the story is decent, the graphics are often beautiful and the paradigm system is extremely enjoyable once mastered.

don't believe the (lack of) hype. this is a great FF title.

LOVED this game. The attention to detail is palpable. The implied story is evocative and powerful without hitting you over the head with a cheesy narrative. The game mechanic is one of the most innovative I'd ever witnessed; you wouldn't think it could sustain an entire game, but it sure does.

As others mentioned, not too challenging; I finished this in an evening. This is not a MYST clone, not in its scope, nor in ambition. This is a gorgeous interactive vignette that'll get you admiring its sheer beauty and (if you're anything like me) sometimes on the verge of tears without knowing exactly why.

I don't feel the need to recommend this; with games like these, you already know if it's for you.
If you're in it for the sense of wonder and beauty, don't need a game to last 50+ hours to justify paying >$10, and are ready for a one-of-a-kind puzzle game with heart, charm and gorgeous handmade looks - get this now.

It's a little challenging tough to talk about Moriarty. It's certainly worth the purchase - if you're a VR enthusiast or creator - because it's a fantastic implementation of the graphic novel medium in VR. It embraces the tropes and affordances of the original medium (2D, speech bubbles, striking coloring), which I think was a brilliant choice on the dev's part. The art is lovely, esp. if you're into Steampunk, and the colors are gorgeous.

That said, the story is... Gah. A little on the weak side, imo. Moriarty's and Holmes' moral roles are flipped, which is an interesting concept - but there's little to no character building, pretty stereotypical dialogue, weird dynamics (Watson's character is... wha...?)

It might be unfair to judge the story out of the context of other, non-VR issues of Moriarty. But they're not available as part of this game, and as an isolated experience, I don't think this one has a mass appeal in terms of being an awesome graphic novel. It kinda isn't. It's also exceedingly short, at 10-15 minutes of "play" time [mine shows ~7: there were sync issues with SteamVR but it was at least 12 minutes). And the voice acting feels a little over the top quite often. These are normal issues with games, and maybe more forgiveable in that medium, but I brought my graphic-novel expectations to this experience, and as such, it falls a little short.

What it is, though, is a fascinating experiment with form and with how passive "reading" could work in VR, and it works really well as such. And even though it's still fundamentally a 2D experience the parallax effect of multiple "action planes" and effective animation, as well as gorgeous backdrops and really clever "windowing" of the panes, definitely helps with immersion.

If you're curious about "out there" VR experiences - that don't go down the obvi path and offer an alternate take on what it means to create entertainment in VR - definitely give this a try!