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Final Fantasy XV: Monster Of The Deep Is Super Dumb But I Think I Like It
At PAX West 2017, I strapped on a VR headset to immerse myself in Square Enix's upcoming fishing experience, Monster of the Deep. As I was connecting the headset and putting on the headphones, I asked myself what life decisions had taken me to this point, where I was about to join Prompto on a magical fishing voyage on a sunny day. I wondered if I could be doing something more important, like making a sandwich or doing laundry. However, soon I couldn't fight it any longer, and I was on the dock with my fishing pole in hand.
It's rare for me to walk away from a game and not have a real sense of whether or not I enjoyed it, but Monster of the Deep is bizarre as hell and the sheer novelty of the game is intriguing. On the surface, it's just a weird fishing sim where you look like an idiot swerving around and reeling fish in like crazy, hoping not to bump into anyone or anything around you in the real world. Then you take your crossbow and blast the demon fish out of the water to limber it up so you can catch it, because why not. To be terrible here, after a few casts - I was hooked. I caught myself enjoying this weird thing, and just went with it. I caught a couple of lunkers!
I don't really care for the fact that FFXV and its cast of characters are being pushed hard on a swath of products, but Prompto's dumb selfie-taking smile makes sense in this world, this world of fish and nets. Despite everything screaming at me that this VR experience was the pinnacle of gaming absurdity, I left the demo wanting to play more of this unusual nugget. I think I'm actually going to check this game out when it launches.
If you have a PlayStation VR and you're up for something that's just weird, wacky, and a little fun, you may want to join Prompto and I as we head down to the fishing hole. I hear they're biting today.
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