Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV

Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV has its own virtual reality quirks, but the game is much more than the sum of its parts. Monster of the Deep may be the first PlayStation VR game that I would recommend across the board to anyone with the hardware to play it. However, anyone who has played a good amount of Final Fantasy XV will get more out of the experience than others.

It wasn’t anything close to what I expected. But in the end, I wound up being pleasantly surprised. While far from a meaty experience, what’s there is all good stuff. If this is Square Enix testing the water – so to speak – with VR, then I hope there’s much more to come from them on this platform.

Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV has a few technical flaws, but at its core it is a very fun and lengthy fishing RPG. This VR game comes highly recommended to even those who did not like the original Final Fantasy XV thanks to its ease of play and in-depth character customization. Fans of the original titles will find much to appreciate here, like the frequent cameos of the cast and the ridiculous unlockable outfits. This is one for the few PSVR games that feels like a full game and not a tech demo with dumbed down gameplay. Even if this was not a VR game, on its own merits there is nothing like Monster of the Deep thanks to its delightfully weird hodgepodge of game ideas. This was a game nobody expected to be good, yet in spite of the odds, Square Enix really did deliver one of the more enjoyable VR games on the market.

It’s a relaxed, laid back and generally amusing side story to the Final Fantasy XV universe, and it throws some great variety and boss battles into the gameplay mix. It’s not the essential VR experience, but it is a delightful little game that fundamentally benefits from the VR platform.

Final Fantasy XV: Monster of the Deep is one of the best-looking PlayStation VR titles currently available. Its possible to waste quite a lot of time simply taking in the scenery. The title also uses the limitations of the PlayStation VR cleverly, by letting players sit facing the camera most of the time, it eliminates most of the tracking issues the PlayStation VR is known to have. Though far from a deep experience, Final Fantasy XV is surprisingly absorbing, and can chew up an impressive amount of time, despite its slightly repetitive gameplay.

It looks good and it is quite enjoyable, though in the end it's still just a fishing game with an inaccurate rod as its main annoyance.

Fishing in VR is actually pretty damn fun, even more so when you add magic crossbows and fish borne straight from the bowels of hell into the equation.

Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV, while not an epic virtual reality experience, it is a pleasant one. This is a title I would recommend to Final Fantasy XV fans for a relaxing evening. For players wanting a thrill, I say look elsewhere to get an adrenal rush.

The wonky motion tracking and cumbersome menus may leave you reeling, but Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV is not the gimmicky gag that many expected it to be. This is a hearty package with a surprising amount of meat on its bones, and it’s a feast for the eyes in PlayStation VR. Cut corners like 2D cut-scenes do break the immersion somewhat, but relative to expectations, this is way better than it has any right to be.

As a fishing game, Monster of the Deep is actually quite fun, with many ways of enjoying fishing. Yes, there are probably better ways to bring FFXV to VR, but if you enjoyed fishing in the main game, give this a try.

Despite some persistent technical issues that dragged down the experience, Monster of the Deep is surprisingly ambitious, and one that I did not expect to enjoy as much as I did.

For fans of the series that own a PSVR, Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV is the perfect spin-off. There is enough fan service to keep you smiling and enough original content plus exciting gameplay to make it fun in its own right. Surprisingly, Square Enix was able to craft an addictive fishing game that lets us see brand new sides of beloved characters and really feel like part of the team.

Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV is a chill-ass game that's meant to lure in a very specific type of player. Seeing random wildlife from Eos and interacting with the cast was fun, and I feel like the tension of seeing everything in first-person elevates the sometimes rote act of fishing. It's just silly enough to work for the select few that will meet all of the requirements to actually boot it up.

If you enjoyed the fishing minigame and you want to see again Cindy, Noctis and other characters from Final Fantasy XV, Monster of the Deep is what you were looking for.

Exploring Eos on VR is nice but fishing games are not for everyone. Monster of the Deep works well most of the time but could offer deeper gameplay and better controls to justify its price tag.

Monster of the Deep is a bit cunning, but not enough.

Monsters of the Deep is not very innovative with the fishing mechanic and the story is not exciting but boy did I enjoyed every second of it. From the incredible graphics to soothing sounds and music, this game is a must for everyone who's looking for a game to lay back, relax and have a cold one. Daemon battles are a blast but my favourite game type was free fishing.

Monster of the Deep definitely succeeds in immersing players, though fans of Final Fantasy may be left sorely wanting. It comes with a hefty price tag and, gameplay-wise, there’s so very little tying Monster of the Deep to Final Fantasy XV even if it does feel like part of the universe.

If VR and/or Final Fantasy aren’t your thing, you may want to sit this one out.

If you have a PSVR and you want to see Eos from an eye-level view, and you want to do some semi-glitchy fishing, this is a good title. With patches, Monster of the Deep will likely improve, and there's a lot to enjoy here for players for which it does appeal. For most though, this title will be a hard pass.

I could see someone maybe enjoying the fishing aspect of it, but in this case, still waters don’t run deep. To catch fish, you simply use your sonar to highlight their hiding spots in the water and cast your line. The whole endeavor lacks complexity, and if you’re there to see the characters, then there’s not much of that either.

While this fishing simulator is visually a-lure-ing for a virtual reality game thanks to its Final Fantasy heritage, the snags are packed in like sardines. [Jan 2018, p.95]

Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV is a completely unremarkable game. Outdated visuals and repetitive gameplay make the game difficult to recommend, even for Noctis' fans.

It's all a little rote - something we certainly don't associate with Final Fantasy. [Issue#315, p.120]

There was so much to hope for from Monster of the Deep: its shimmering universe is pretty amazing once equipped with the PlayStation VR, and the game offers a beautiful walk in the land of Eos. Unfortunately, Square Enix's first virtual reality game misses the spot by falling short on ideas: the game repeats the same mechanics from start to bottom. Still, the idea of defeating a gigantic boss using a crossbow before shoeing him offers some satisfaction from time to time, but the adventure itself looks more like a storm in a teacup.