Once Upon a Sea (Steam VR)

VR Shop Score – Silver Award

System: HTC Vive & Oculus Rift
Price at Time Of Review: £7.19
Comfort Rating: Green
Genre: Interactive Experience
Input: Tracked Motion Controllers
Best Playing Position: Room-Scale
Multi-Player: No
Age Rating: PG

 

Description: Once Upon a Sea is a poetic, interactive XR documentary telling the tragic tale of the legendary Dead Sea. Through a physical exploration of the sea’s forbidden, moonlike landscapes, to intimate encounters with local characters, the user gets a rare glimpse into one of the world’s most dangerous, soon to be extinct, wonders. Centuries of human intervention and political neglect have turned the Dead Sea into a precarious place. Its water levels have dropped dramatically, leaving behind sinkholes and collapsing beaches. The experience offers a deep insight into the complexity and very human impact of this ecological and geopolitical crisis. Once Upon a Sea is our call to action.

Review: ‘Once Upon a Sea’ is an hour-long mix of short interactive 3D scenes and 360 videos. It tells the story of the Dead Sea and how ironically it is dying. Yes, this was mostly about client change, but I have to say it was interesting as it did hold my interest all the way till the end of the 4th chapter. While I wasn’t too impressed with the quality of the 360 video the 3D scenes looked pretty good, you can even explore them a little by teleporting around. It’s an interesting experience for sure, but I am not quite sure it is worth the full £7.19 asking price. If you can grab this for a few quid short of that you should get enough enjoyment out of it to justify the price.