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Is job simulator worth it10/4/2023 ![]() When I think about the history of virtual reality as viable, consumer-grade tech, I think about a certain "game jam" in early 2015. ![]() It may be a caricature, almost a pantomime-eqsue exaggeration, but it still feels like a "real" place to an extent, and that's what virtual reality is all about about creating greater immersion.Platform: SteamVR (reviewed), Oculus Rift (coming to PSVR, Oculus Quest) All of these aspects help to suck you into the experience. It must be said, however, that Job Simulator is among the most absorbing VR experiences we've had so far, and that's mostly because of the game's physical representation of your body, your hands in the form of the two Move controllers, as well as the game's way of making you a physical part of a space. ![]() That's of course a shame, but you never get the sense that it's trying to be more than an entertaining distraction, so it is what it is. Job Simulator's comedic effects last for about ten minutes per session, and then you'll start longing for something else to play, or to take the headset off entirely. Though it must be said, Job Simulator is not the kind of game you'd want to play with for long periods at a time, and those who expect any kind of story or narrative will find none of that here. It's very simple and elegant, and facilitates the comical joy of putting on a VR headset for the very first time. This is the form of VR playfulness that is at the heart of Job Simulator. After that, we managed to create a tower of various objects, and that's when our customers started to become really annoyed. Instead of completing the various tasks that were given to us, we started mixing strange cocktails made with ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise, to then throw it in the face of an angered robotic customer. The best way to describe this is to quickly paint a picture of an intersting sequence in the Gamereactor office, where a number of people from the editorial staff watched on as we performed the role as a store clerk. The best parts of Job Simulator are when the player creates the comedy, when you go completely off the rails when the next task simply is a bit too boring. It's all wonderfully caricatured, and the tasks quickly evolve from the mundane to the quite obscure and strange, and this really benefits the overall experience. ![]() However, you're not just on the job, and luckily, Job Simulator doesn't take itself very seriously. Dropping your coffee mug on the floor, to then instinctively bend down to pick it up, and then just for a second believing that this action is real, is quite magical, and Job Simulator is filled to the brim with these kinds of experiences. It doesn't sound very interesting at all now, does it? Owlchemy is perfectly aware of that, but they also know that offering these tasks in a VR context changes the nature of them completely. As a cook you'll make sandwiches, boil potatoes and blend juice, whereas as the office worker you'll make coffee, print documents and arrange files. Mechanic, cook, store clerk and office worker, all four place you in a particular context, and then ask you to perform a series of tasks. Job Simulator is in fact four small games each of them designed around a specific day job. It's exploring the possibilities of VR that makes Job Simulator entertaining, but what exactly do you do? Job Simulator is all about physics, and about having a ton of fun performing otherwise mundane tasks, which are now hilariously funny due to them taking place in a digital dimension. The game has a heavy burden to carry, as it must both service as a technical proof of concept for virtual reality, and also work as a funny, easy to understand introduction to the basic mechanical foundations of VR gaming. Which of them are "real" games, and which are just glorified tech demos that struggle to justify your expensive hardware purchase? One of the most proliferated VR titles around is Job Simulator from Owlchemy Labs, which first saw release on HTC Vive earlier in the year, and which now releases as part of the PlayStation VR launch line-up. ![]() With it still being early days it can be extremely tricky navigating the titles available for VR right now, especially with the launch of PSVR looming. ![]()
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