Robinson: The Journey

A wonderful VR adventure with truly impressive graphics and an interesting world to explore, dragged down somewhat by a minor lack of excitement.

Robinson: The Journey‘s developers have built a world worth exploring, and armed players with all the tools necessary to do so. While I wish the adventure was a little larger or that its price was a little more reasonable, it absolutely delivers on its premise. Thanks to PSVR, I was able to solve puzzles on an alien planet (that looks suspiciously like prehistoric earth) while hanging out with a heartbreakingly adorable baby T-Rex. This is the kind of experience that virtual reality headsets were designed for, and one of the best available showcases for the technology.

If you want to show off PSVR to your friends, Robinson: The Journey is the game that you use to do it. Equally, if you want to lose yourself in your very own Jurassic Park style fantasy, Robinson: The Journey is undoubtedly a triumph in this respect; just don’t expect to find an overly challenging core lurking underneath its resplendent veneer.

It’s not only the best looking game on VR, but one of the longest virtual reality experiences we have so far. Robinson: The Journey pushes the envelope on the possibilities that PlayStation VR can provide for immersive narrative adventures.

Essential for those who are in possession of PlayStation VR. Robinson: The Journey is an adventure funny, charming, even enduring.

While many PSVR experiences claim to let you inhabit another world, Robinson: The Journey fully embraces the medium and in doing so comes the closest to actually delivering on that promise. It’s not without its flaws, but still manages to deliver an ambitious, narrative-led experience that offers the kind of immersive escapism the medium was made for. It may be overpriced and not much of a looker, but Crytek’s latest still sits comfortably as one of the most essential PSVR titles to date.

This game does everything, to appear normal, the first "real game" for virtual reality; and yet paradoxically amazes less than other titles already available for PlayStation VR; little titles that actually appear much more in line with the technology itself, and slightly surpass the the (still) majestic Robinson the Journey.

The richly immersive ambience of this dinosaur planet might be worth the prohibitive cost of entry. [Christmas 2016, p.80]

Robinson the Journey is an interesting game on the PlayStation VR that successfully creates a virtual world, however it does have some limitations that includes the graphics, part of the gameplay and at times fiddly controls. So if you have push aside these limitations, the game does give you a sense of freedom and is a step in the right direction for the future of VR titles. Let’s just hope that developers can streamline the controls and more importantly, ensure that the players don’t need to dish out additional money for a PlayStation 4 Pro to upscale the graphics.

Beautiful but shallow VR game with some game mechanics that get really old too fast.

Crytek has delivered a visually impressive title, very immersive and interesting, although the VR limitations, the pricing and the potential motion sickness related to free movement are also worth considering. In any case, it’s a game any PSVR should try to see the potential of the headset.

Impressivly atmospheric VR dinosaur experience with great visuals, but with a disappointing amount of content and a story without depth.

It's a short game, too - we reached the end after hour hours of unhurried progress. But Robinson's focus is on exploration and discovery, and Crytek provides plenty of distractions for the particularly curious. [Jan 2017, p.119]

Robinson: the Journey is one of the most immersive, engaging games to hit PSVR, but it suffers from its short length and reliance on vague objectives. Still, the sheer visual splendor and moments of legitimately awesome sights make it an engaging experience. Crytek has taken their usual flair for gorgeous visuals and made a world worth stepping into.

Robinson: The Journey should have been Crytek's VR Jurassic Park. If the world is amazing and the game offers a decent experience with about 7-8h of gameplay, the lack of dinosaurs and interactions spoils the fun. This clearly calls for a second opus.

In the end, Robinson: The Journey is the closest thing to a full-fledged title for the PSVR, which would explain its full price tag. Unfortunately, its average length is only slightly longer than the average VR title, clocking in around five hours. Regardless of the price, there’s no denying the level of polish and immersion that Robinson succeeds at, opening the doors even wider for the kind of innovative experiences Sony’s virtual headset can offer. If the games can steadily improve from here, then it’s a sure bet that the PSVR won’t go extinct before its prime.

Robinson: The Journey offers the best graphics we’ve seen to date in PSVR and a beautiful world to explore. If it was a bit longer and had some replay value this could gave been a must-have.

Fascinating journey to an alien planet plenty of incredible animals. The worst part of it is that it can induce significant motion sickness.

Although not long by typical game standards, taking most explorers between four and eight hours, this is a serious amount of time for virtual reality releases. Adventuring around Tyson III is beautiful, and sometimes even breathtaking, and as such, it would have made more sense to focus on these high points instead of forcing players to drudge through puzzles or deal with sometimes finicky climbing mechanics. Even so, it’s incredibly appealing to visit the world of Robinson: The Journey within a VR headset. Barring that key aspect, it would be just another exploratory title with dinosaurs and adequate gameplay.

Taken as an interactive adventure, Robinson: The Journey is a stunning way to enjoy your PSVR headset. The world it creates is beautiful and the level of immersion is unparalleled. The gameplay isn’t nearly as exciting but is still a good adventure game but that’s not what they are selling you here. This is straight up eye candy.

Robinson is a beautiful game but also an expensive and short experience. Full of life but there is a more than reasonable lack of interaction. Still a good game and experience in VR.

Robinson The Journey is a true VR game, and not just a simple "experience". It's a good example of what PlayStation VR is capable of, as the "Welcome to Jurassic Park" effect is very nice. But the game still suffers some technical and gameplay issues... and beware: the climbing feature is cool but painful for your neck and your back.

Robinson isn't the aventure that PS VR users were waiting for. It has nice gameplay touches here and there, and some visual moments and places you won't forget easily... but it's falls short for a full price game: you'll see the best it has to offer in 4-6 hours.

No Move support and just six hours of gameplay are the two main issues that prevent Robinson: The Journey from achieving a higher score. Wait for a cut price and for a patch that enables other peripherals than the DualShock.

Unfortunately Robinson: The Journey is not the next big thing on the VR scene: despite the premise and the efforts, Crytek was not able to create a convincing blend of a traditional adventure game with a full blown VR experience. In the end, this prehistoric space safari will probably somehow entertain you, without however being as mindblowing and groundbreaking as you might expect. Give it a chance if you dig the idea, but without too many expectations and absolutely not at full price.

If you're one of those immune to dizziness and happen to have $60 to spare, Robinson: The Journey is as of now the best game in the PlayStation VR catalogue. A beautiful audiovisual experience that keeps a good pace and is short enough to avoid being repetitive and with old-school gameplay mechanics.

Robinson showed a great deal of promise, but ended up much like any other VR game in this launch window.

While Robinson: the Journey looks great and has a decent conclusion, it seems like Crytek didn’t put any of its time into any other aspects of the game. It suffers immensely from repetitive gameplay, a short story and confusing puzzles. While I would definitely recommend that you experience this amazing world, the rest of the game doesn’t really make enough of a mark to justify its high selling price.

Robinson The Journey feels like an unique VR adventure with one of a kind beauty. Unfortunately the visual greatness is held back by the fact that feels like a walking simulator instead of a true puzzle game.

Visually this is one of the most beautiful and atmospheric VR titles so far – Crytek is a master of the craft. But when it comes to puzzle design and storytelling, it is too obvious that they are not in the top tier.

VR's viability hinges on making sensible objectives integral to the wonder implicit in its format. Robinson: The Journey understands this and makes visible strides to balance astonishment and curiosity. Too often, however, it gets tripped up by contrasting wandering ambition against capricious behavior. Ideas fight, rather than support, one another, ensuring Robinson's first steps are also its last.

High on spectacle, low on substance. [Issue#182, p.83]

That’s the most disappointing part about The Journey: it lifts you up to take you back down. Great graphics are overshadowed by weak gameplay which is then bolstered by a great cast of characters.

This is a game I was so ready to fall in love with, but it ultimately comes up short. After a couple of hours, I began to wonder, "Is this it? Dinosaur planet sight-seeing?" Basically, yeah. And at its high price point, that's going to be a tough sell.

In terms of visual impact, Robinson: The Journey is probably the best that you can see with your PlayStation VR. Unfortunately, the game lacks in its other aspects, while the motion sickness is always around the corner.

Robinson: The Journey is beautiful, but ultimately too light on content and reliant on overly traditional game design. It’s a wonderful insight into the future of PSVR that sadly remains trapped in the past.

Robinson: The Journey is a beautiful world to explore, and being in the presence of dinosaurs can be awe-inspiring. However, almost everything about it that makes it a game rather than a non-interactive virtual experience is unpleasant. Slow progress and poor direction kills the momentum, extending what could be a four-hour experience into something nearly twice as long, and makes even the amazing-looking environments feel stale.

In a budget game, the occasional dino delights would be worth a punt – Crytek has crafted a sumptuous world that oozes effortless depth courtesy of PS VR. [February 2016, p78]

One of the prettiest games we've seen so far on Playstation VR, but no amount of delicious dino looks can save this clunky, confusing quest. [Jan 2016, p.112]

It feels like such an almighty shame that a game this beautiful, with such a compelling premise, should be let down by a failure to include anything approaching interesting gameplay.

The game instead features a linear journey with some not-all-that-exciting tasks, a bit of repetition, a clunky climbing system, and a pet dinosaur that isn’t nearly as cool as it could be.

Many virtual-reality titles feel more like technical demos than fully formed experiences, and Robinson: The Journey belongs on that list – though it tries to fool you into thinking it doesn’t. A few elements add the illusion of depth, but they feel like shallow afterthoughts. This journey is just a linear tour of the world with no meaningful deviations and barely functional controls, all for the dubious benefit of seeing some cool VR dinosaurs.

Robinson: The Journey was one of my most anticipated VR titles and the final outcome is incredibly disappointing. The control scheme feels like an afterthought, motion sickness plagues the exploration and puzzle-based gameplay, and a number of technical hiccups lead to things taking far longer than they really should or, in some cases, so infuriating you’ll feel like giving up.

A gorgeous world and wonderful creatures can't save Robinson: The Journey from its two main flaws: intolerable motion-sickness and lackluster gameplay.