One thing I love about video games is how the medium has changed across the years. It’s amazing how we went from 8-bit graphics with the NES to the clear 1080P resolution that the PS4 and other modern gaming devices can display. You know what I’m looking forward to next? Two letters – VR.
While many are uncertain whether to call it a fad or the future, I’m convinced that it’s the future. The way I see it, it’s just a matter of time before hardware manufacturers are able to come up with a device that changes our understanding of gaming (in a positive way!) and software vendors create something amazing that can fully make use of it. These are the problems that VR has been facing right now – hardware that isn’t ideal
Despite this rather rudimentary VR environment, one title has been doing quite well in Asia, “Summer Lesson: Hikari Miyamoto,” and it is in my opinion, something that VR enthusiasts should really be paying attention to. The game released as a Playstation VR exclusive has a pretty strange premise: you play the role of a tutor who attempts to teach a student and build a relationship with her. Not your average game right? Well, despite the fact that it’s a very simple game in that are virtually no challenges to be found and has somewhat repetitive gameplay, “Summer Lesson: Hikari Miyamoto” does something that few VR games on the market are able to do – create a truly immersive experience. People who’ve played it find themselves so captured by the realism of it that they’ve ended up actually feeling like a creep
Originally released in Japan, the game received so much interest from English-speaking importers that the Southeast Asian version shipped with English subtitles. Following the wave of success that it received, a second title in the series, “Summer Lesson: Allison Snow and Chisato Shinjo,” has just been confirmed to also be released with English subtitles. Here’s the trailer for the Chisato Shinjo chapter.
And here’s the trailer for Allison Snow.
While the premise seems a bit too culturally Japanese for my personal video game tastes, I’m definitely interested in giving these titles a try for the sake of that quality VR experience I keep hearing about!
