Déraciné in the test

Some game titles just have to roll off the tongue: "Déraciné" comes from the French and means something like "the resurrected". Anyone who now assumes that this almost poetic name surely refers to a European development studio is mistaken. The VR adventure "Déraciné" comes from none other than Hidetaka Miyazaki, the creative mind behind the "Dark Souls" series himself. His development studio FromSoftware deals with far more than just the thousand most creative ways to drive innocent players mad.

The spirits I called

The makers of "Dark Souls" are going to boarding school: instead of hard boss battles, the adventure "Déraciné", which is available exclusively for Playstation VR, strikes a softer note. In any case, "Déraciné" has about as much in common with "Dark Souls" as "Super Mario" has with "Battlefield V". The VR adventure game, which is available exclusively for Playstation VR, is sometimes more reminiscent of story adventures such as "Life is Strange" or "Dear Esther" than some might like. There is no hectic pace or action here, but there is cosy horror and an atmosphere that you can literally cut with a knife.

In "Déraciné", you are one such fairy-like apparition and "haunt" the corridors of a boarding school. However, you cannot interact directly with the residents there. They do not recognise you or at most sense your presence. The only way you can interact with the living as a ghost is by manipulating objects.

As if by magic

"Déraciné" not only requires Playstation VR, but also two Move controllers. In the game, they transform into your hands, which you can use to pick up and manipulate objects. As usual, the precision of the controls depends heavily on the external conditions: A bright room in particular reduces the precision of the Move controllers. But even under optimal conditions, the controls do not feel as precise as with comparable systems. Nevertheless, "Déraciné" is easy to control at all times, which is not least due to the leisurely pace.

In contrast to other exclusive PSVR titles such as "Farpoint" or the gruesome "Persistence" there are no options that allow you to move freely through the boarding school. Instead, you jump from one spot to the next and work your way through the long corridors. However, the game gains its very special atmosphere through another twist. As a house ghost, you are not in the same dimension as the residents of the boarding school, which is exactly why time stands still as you sneak through stairwells, gardens and cellars.

Time travel to the wax museum

A short time after the start of "Déraciné", an accident occurs and you are given the task of undoing it. While story-driven games like "Dear Esther" almost completely dispense with puzzles and focus on the story, characters and emotions, "Déraciné" wants to be a traditional adventure game at its heart. This actually detracts from the unique atmosphere. As you progress, you travel back in time to unravel the events. Once you have solved certain puzzle chains, you change the past. However, we know from "Back to the Future" or "Butterfly Effect" that this does not always mean solving all problems.

Nevertheless, "Déraciné" quickly draws you into its world. The people frozen into pillars of salt, literally frozen in their space, form a very special backdrop. And while at the beginning everything seems quite harmless and well-behaved, "Déraciné" later takes on a darker tone. Nevertheless, there are some weaknesses: The puzzle design is largely based on collecting tasks. So we run to point A, look for clues and objects there and then go to point B. This is where the not entirely unproblematic controls come into play: the paths are comparatively long and so "Déraciné" buys its long playing time for a VR title with a lot of running and occasional moments of frustration.

If we forget something, we naturally have to go back to it. "Déraciné" has a rather leisurely pace and ultimately gains its appeal from the fact that you take your time in between to enjoy the atmosphere and the surroundings. The Playstation VR does a good job of this: The surroundings and the people look wonderfully vivid and so the adventure creates the impression of a visit to a wax museum. Whether you like this depends very much on your personal requirements. If you like alternative gaming experiences, you will definitely find what you are looking for here - despite the design flaws.