Challenge yourself to go deeper down the rabbit hole and question the meaning of your existence. "Heart of The Emberstone" is a stunner in many respects. The first part was already a very lovingly crafted work in terms of graphics and game mechanics. The story of the Myst-inspired exploration puzzler ties in directly with the first part of "Call of The Starseed". The last game ended with a very cinematic and bombastic final sequence when the protagonist Alex found an extremely powerful relic. Now, thanks to a magical glove, you are equipped with telekinetic abilities to continue the search for your sister Elsie. Incidentally, the whole saga is designed as a four-part series.
Of course, you will again have to solve a lot of environmental puzzles to get from one place to the next. As in the first instalment, the developers have included additional convenience options to help you get around. The tried and tested "Blink" teleportation has almost become a tradition to prevent nausea. With the latter movement option, you look in the desired direction and a holographic projection visualises where your body will be.
The story is more gripping. Once again, you record various cassettes and insert them into the "Tony Talkman" to get clues to puzzles. In addition, virtual silhouettes of Elsie and the mysterious Sebastian, whom you met shortly before the end of the last chapter, are frequently displayed. However, you will also encounter new characters, many powerful sculptures and complex equipment that will surprise you time and again with a wealth of details.
Large rooms
Although the first part was already full of beautiful beaches and dimly lit tunnels, "Emberstone" simply makes you salivate after the first immersion, even if you look up from time to time. You almost feel a little like you're on an alien planet from "Metroid". This time there are only about three main areas, which in turn consist of several rooms. However, you will spend several hours in the respective puzzle areas, discovering something new each time so that you can acquire new skills to progress in another room.
Marvellous: Telekinesis and VR
In the opening episode, there were a few hair-raisingly difficult tasks such as an electricity box that you had to make work for an endlessly long time with the right fuses towards the end of the game. As in the first instalment, the puzzles are again moderately difficult to easy. There are also more smaller mechanical activation puzzles with various cylinders, squares and cubes and holographic "hacking" scenes to enter new rooms. Incidentally, if you don't understand English very well, you may have a little trouble listening to the voices on the audio tapes with the artificial interference effect.
First impression
Personally, I always particularly like how telekinetic powers and magic take a VR experience to a new level. Perhaps this is precisely why you are immediately drawn into this atmospheric title. The music and voice acting are also back to the level of a professional triple-A studio.
I haven't got round to finishing the whole game yet. I have played the HTC Vive version. So far, after three hours, I'm probably somewhere in the middle, as according to Steam reviewers, you'll probably spend four to six hours in the adventure. That's why I don't want to give it a final rating yet, but I can give it a big thumbs up so far.
"Heart of The Emberstone" is released on 18 October on Steam and in the Oculus Store was released for 29 francs. An adaptation for PlayStation VR is also planned this time, which the developers are still working on due to the enormous effort involved. Feedback from PSVR owners. Depending on how many people are interested, the development team may also bring the previous title to the console headset.
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