Paper Beast is an intriguing PSVR experience that’s been on the horizon for a while now. Sony revealed it late last year, but very few details were actually given. Well, now we have a new trailer and a release date. The game launches on March 24, 2020, check out the brand new trailer below.
A Paper Beast
This isn’t an easy game to explain. What we have here is a dreamlike odyssey that players embark on in PSVR into a large open desert. Here they can create all sorts of paper beasts, creatures that are made of paper, and resemble living origami. These creatures have some basic intelligence, but for the most part they really are quite inept, so it’s down to you to show them where to go, and get them there. You can also change them into all kinds of funky colours, so that’s a lot of fun.
Players have a set of tools that they’ll use in Paper Beast. These could allow them to create new creatures, or maybe even some new terrain. One demo that I saw last year showed the horse-like creatures aimlessly walking around. The player created water at the top of a hill, but the creatures wouldn’t move up to it, they weren’t motivated enough. The player then spawned in a creature that the horses were afraid of, driving them towards the water, but even then they would get stuck at some point on the hill, falling down in a comedic fashion one after the other.
The solution was a bit more complex. The player created balloons that each creature bit onto, sending them soaring into the air. When the creatures were over the water, the player popped the balloons, and the creatures fell down on top of the hill. They survived, and they got some water as a reward for doing so. We were told that these creatures needed to be cared for by the player, and that getting them to this water was essential.
I have no idea how any of this fits into the wider game, but I’m excited to try it out all the same. I think that Paper Beast stands a good chance of being a cult classic if the gameplay is good enough.
