Fujii – The Review

One of the great things about Virtual Reality is the ability to allow you to escape your troubles. A way to enter a new dimension, a new world that you may all seem so familiar or a place and time you may have not ever thought about. It really is your own time machine to become whoever you want to become and whatever, whenever, or wherever you want it to be. It really is quite fascinating once you think about it. But does Developer Funktronic Labs show us the interactive way through organic landscapes? Let’s find out with Fujii for the PlayStation VR.

Now before I begin with this review, I want to point out that I will be keeping this as spoiler-free as possible as I never want to ruin anything for anyone. With that said, let’s continue.

In Fujii, you have emerged from a mystical tree where you set out to explore this garden that has separated biomes where you will water and interact with different forms of life and plants as you restore its lifeforce and expand the energetic rings of light that are above and expand those areas as you bring harmony and life to this garden. There are no words per se spoken here other than life itself. Even though you may not hear the words, there is communication happening all around you through music and interaction. It really is quite breathtaking watching the world of Fujii come to life within your journey. When I first started out, I wasn’t really sure what to do, but that is part of the fun and mystery of it all. You really only get a very short tutorial of sorts of learning how to move around (which is done through teleportation) and how to absorb and use the water.

But if part of the fun is not knowing what to do, then how do you get to the next point? There are a few ways and they all come together nicely. You have to be able to listen to the sounds and music around you, you will need to interact with plants and the creatures around you as some of the plants will produce forms of light that will help light up new parts and also collecting orbs and seeds throughout the biodomes while others may require a certain pattern to interact with which can be timing or it might be a certain type of pattern that you have to follow.

Now, there are different types of seeds you will collect. Once you plant these seeds and water them, plants will grow and because of all your care that you put into them, they in return will reward you with orbs which can unlock doors that will open up new areas within the biodomes for you to explore and interact with. Keep in mind that as you have two hands and there are more orbs and seeds than you can hold, you will need to place them in your inventory that is limited on space, so some seeds and orbs may have to stay behind if you run out of space. So an important lesson here is water, grow, and take care of your own garden which you will have to give your loving care and you will be rewarded with happiness in return. Once you have restored life, the main hub (your home) now becomes your own place to grow your garden and use the orbs to buy new pots and seeds to grow.

Fujii is not something you want to rush. It is meant for you to relax, explore and enjoy the things around you. And isn’t that what we all could use more in life, to relax and enjoy not only what’s around us, but explore within our surroundings?

Fujii is out now for PlayStation VR and is also available on the Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift/S on the Oculus Store, Steam, and Viveport. A review code was provided.

To learn more about Funktronic Labs, please visit their site, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.

In case you missed the trailer, please enjoy. Until next time, I am going to go back into the world of Fujii.