The Solus Project (2016) is a sci-fi adventure-survival game from Grip Game and Hourences. Once only available for traditional monitors and PC VR headsets like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, the game is now available starting today on the PlayStation Store for PlayStation VR and PS4 at $20.
The Solus Project started its tenure as a PC-only title on Steam Early Access, and while the blend of cinematic storytelling and survival initially met a mixed critical response, the developers Hourences and Grip Games went on to push an update that fixed bugs and critically implemented what they described at the time as “work in progress” VR support, including support for Rift and Vive.
Road to VR‘s Matthew Magee got a chance to review the game this time last year, saying at times he was “completely immersed in the illusion.”
Magee especially like the survival elements, which require you to find food, water and medical supplies as you burn through calories, H2O, and get injured from the alien terrain’s many perils. Featuring rain storms and meteor showers to keep you on your toes as you traverse the planet, your trusty AI balances out the danger with a chipper voice of reassurance.
The story, Magee says, can be a bit lacking however.
“As good as the setting is, the game does indulge itself with some clunky storytelling at times. At one early point your character delivers a monologue to impart some sudden realisation… except it’s not sudden, and you will have had this realisation yourself a good half an hour earlier. You are left to construct much of the backstory yourself, by observing your surroundings and reading crew logs conveniently strewn about the place. It’s good to know that even in the distant future humankind still write their logs on paper. Fireproof, crash proof, waterproof paper.”
Check out our full review here. Since it was reviewed while the game still featured experimental VR support, we weren’t able to give it a proper point-based ranking, but Magee contends The Solus Project is memorable, atmospheric, beautiful, and occasionally terrifying too. Although we didn’t clock gameplay, the developers say you should expect 15+ hours in VR to complete.
The game supports both DualShock 4 and Move controllers.