Ground Hog Day – Like Father Like Son developed by Tequila Softworks is now available on PSVR and PC VR systems.
Groundhog day starring Bill Murray is an ultimate classic in my eyes, one that you can keep going back to every now and then, it’s just one of those really gripping films that make time go by fairly quickly. Once I learnt about a sequel I thought a film sequel? No, Tequila Softworks decided to do a sequel in VR form, I thought well… That’s interesting. It never felt like a film that needed a sequel though I am surprised Hollywood hadn’t tried it or at the very least a reboot.
I have to say, despite a few flaws, it works, it stays true to the source material, all the characters from the film you meet are almost exact matches of their movie counterparts apart from the voice acting, and it is just a pleasure to visit Punxsutawney in VR form. Groundhog Day Like Father Like Son puts you in the shoes of Phil Connors Son, his personality is very reminiscent of Phil before the time loops happened to him. He is selfish, quite a jerk, and the relationship between him and his dad is strained to say the least. The game is also set on Groundhog day but it is a day that is also celebrating Phil Connors and all the wonderful stuff he did at the end of the film, while his family have turned up for it, none of them seem very happy to be there at all. It’s quite the family drama and being inside VR in it having the arguments in your face is both hilarious and realistic though throwing eggs at them to stop doesn’t work… Trust me.
Gameplay wise it’s a 50/50 kind of thing. Using the moves as the hands and getting to interact with objects in the game world is so much fun but at the same time you’re limited to where you can move too which is slightly disappointing. I also found myself quite stuck sometimes at certain points on what to do next and where to be but when things got going it was enjoyable. Obviously due to the time loop the game is repetitive by design but each thing you change in the game changes the flow which is fairly interesting but I found myself getting stuck on the most basic of tasks due to a lack of guidance. It truly is a 50/50 of enjoyment vs frustration at times.
It was amazing visiting the original locations in VR, the graphics are really good and the 3D environments are as close to the original as possible. I truly believed you could some how put this into a movie form and it would qualify as good enough. The sound design again is also great, while the voice acting mic quality seems a bit off, the voice actors have done a great job in bringing it all to life. I have to say there’s nothing better than waking up to I got you babe every-time I mess the game up, I loved that little bit from the movie.
Verdict
Groundhog Day – Like Father Like Son is an enjoyable VR game and there is plenty to do and I felt that it was seriously so great at copying the source material over to years later. My only complaints are some parts can be quite difficult to find out what to do next and others a bit of a slog to get through but once you manage it all it’s fairly rewarding.
7/10
Nerdy Bird Games 