Test: Ghost Giant VR

Immerse yourself in the world of Louis and become part of a fascinating VR dollhouse that needs a guiding ghostly hand. Right at the beginning, your protégé Louis discovers that he is being chased by a giant blue ghost. But you are actually a good, all-knowing ghost. In a unique diorama world, you open roofs, draw funny pictures, push cars around or repair a giant crane. Actually, whenever Louis doesn't know what to do. If you don't know what to do, just give Louis a quick nudge. You explore the small miniature village of Sancourt and help its inhabitants with all their little problems.

Being a "spirit god" for once ...

The game is played with the two Move controllers, which is possible both standing and sitting. The adventure is divided into different chapters. The Swedish author of the boys' book Sara B. Elfgren, who created the storyboard, has put a lot of humour and charm into the template-like characters. The surroundings of the cardboard worlds are also peppered with lots of details. For those who don't speak Shipman's English or don't understand British accented phrases very well, it is worth noting that there is no German audio or subtitle track to choose from. After all, what the characters say to each other can be crucial if you have to search for something in a hiding place or follow up clues. However, this is limited to a few game scenes.

The explorative game worlds with narrative animation sequences are very fun and varied. Without giving too much away, here are a few examples: Once you have to paint a work of art with a paintbrush. To get the colour red, you use the large painting tool to splash around in the vegetable seller's juicy tomatoes. And when it comes to repairing a giant crane, you have to tickle a sea shell that has swallowed a piece of gold so that you can slip the item to a greedy magpie. All so that it will let go of an important item.

Ghost hands do not tremble

However, the tracking of the Move controllers in "Ghost Giant" leaves a little to be desired. Although the peripheral devices with the LED rubber balls are a little outdated, a little software tuning would certainly have been possible. In the colourful showcases, which are divided into two to three viewing radii, you move around in a 180-degree perspective. You can look left and right at the touch of a button, but as soon as you have to grab something, the aiming gets tangled up and your gripper arm or brush suddenly points in a completely different direction. All attempts at calibration will fail. To avoid making this misery even more difficult, you should make sure that the camera is optimally aligned with your sitting or standing position.

Interactive fairy tale cinema

The gameplay in "Ghost Giant" is entertaining and strongly reminiscent of the VR puzzle game "Moss", which our colleagues from Games.ch have tested. "Ghost Giant" adapts a lot from the giant mouse with its labyrinthine levels. However, the ghost adventure plays more like a Lucas Arts adventure game overall, of course without the usual point-and-click gestures with the computer pointing device. Of course, this is also possible here with your hands and your head movements (and your breath along the VR microphone) in virtual reality.

You can also grab, shake or throw objects with the Move controllers. However, there are no different routes or dialogue paths. Everything follows a linear and entertaining storyline. The only disadvantage of the strict urge to move from A to B: If you miss a clue here and there, you may find yourself pondering for a while. This happened to me in about two sections of the game.