Sushi Ben

So this is an odd one. I wasn't sure what to expect with Sushi Ben, a title described as an interactive anime adventure with some notable voice talent - Ryan Colt Levy (Chainsaw Man), AJ Beckles (Dandadan) and Laura Post (Little Witch Academia). With the sort of graphical style and energy that reminded me of a Dreamcast-era game, you could colour me intrigued. The recent release on Steam, complete with an extra 4 hours of minigames gave me an opportunity to dive in.

And yes, it's very weird.

You take on the role of a person escaping the rat-race of city life for an idyllic new life in the countryside of Kotobuki, only to find out that a large corporation wants to buy up your new locale and turn it into a resort. This leads to you running around town, meeting new people and helping them out via minigames, giving the game a meaningful structure. 

The first thing to note is that this is a game designed first and foremost for VR, it's bright colours and cartoony visuals an enticing world to get virtually lost in. However, my PSVR has never seen the light of day since packing up the PS4 and I don't have VR for my PC, so I have to give my first impressions on how it plays without this element (though as you'll see later on, this is tested thanks to a friend's rig). 

The game's presentation is supposed to feel like an interactive manga, so characters pop up in dynamic panels and give the game much of its energy. The characters are fun and memorable, to the point where taking on tasks for them is genuinely not an issue - all too often in games such as this, you'll get stiff NPC's demanding you finish tasks before they'll help you, but the elevated voice acting and friendly vibe make this aspect more of a pleasure than a chore.

However, without VR the interface is quite clunky. The minigames, such as fishing, feel far less immediate and more mechanical as motions you'd provide naturally through the VR equipment are now whittled to static button presses - the game relies on immersion and that's been automated out of it. No matter how nicely you're asked, taking part in these activities just isn't a lot of fun.

Seeing as the non-VR version was proving to be something of a dead loss, I shot off to see a friend with a VR rig, set it up on my handy little desktop and off we went. The difference was night and day.

Firstly, being "in" Kotobuki is entirely different than watching it on a screen. The pop up panels are delightful when they appear around you, the interactions more genuine and the minigames more fun - now you're actually holding the rod and using instinct to reel in your catch instead of holding a button. The town, which admittedly is still very quiet if you're not actively involved in the story, still feels quite sparse and lifeless, but when interacting and taking on tasks, it's a lot more fun.

There's oodles of charm and polish to Sushi Ben, but honestly without VR you're missing 90% of it. Just because you can play Sushi Ben without VR doesn't mean you should, so be fairly warned that the town of Kotobuki is far more charming when you can virtually visit, and that's how I'd recommend you play. For those without the goggles, this one is best avoided.