Imagine starting your own business with a passion and drive for success, that no job was too small or too big, would you take the risk for the opportunity of the reward or stay left thinking what could have been? Starting anything new can be frightening and interesting at the same time. But does the developer, Frozen Way, show us the house flipping way? Let’s find out with House Flipper VR for PlayStation VR.
House Flipper VR is a simulation game where virtual makeovers allow you to be able to that you will be able to single-handedly take care of ruined properties from cleaning to installing appliances as you gain your clients’ appreciation and satisfaction from a job well done. So before you go in and try to become a new host with your own show on HGTV, there are a few things to be aware of. First, find your favorite place to sit. There is no need to have to stand as you are fixing things, plus, you work hard, so you might as well be comfortable. Second, make sure your Move controllers are charged. It may have been a while since you used them, but you will need your virtual hands here. And finally, just have some fun. With all that said, let’s continue…
When you first start the game, you are welcomed to the Calibration screen where you will need to decide if you want to play standing or sitting. Once your decision has been made, you are at the main menu. Make sure you go into Options just so you can make sure everything from the sound to the movement option, makes your house-flipping experience the best it can be. Once you are ready, select New Game, and this is where you get to see the tasks that you need to complete. The tasks start out simple such as throwing out the trash, picking up a tool, and teleporting to the indicated place.
As you start moving from house to house, you start to wonder how things can be as messy as they are from the trash, stains, and making sure the plants have water. But as you are starting to clean things up, make sure you pay attention to the tasks at hand as there will be multiple things to pick up that you will need to look at closely (more about this in a few).
On your wrist, there will be what could easily be a normal watch, but the face of the watch, once touched, opens up your tablet which allows you to get to the different options you have available to you that include items you can select from the Shop, Jobs that are available, and Houses where you can purchase and then sell. There will be items that you need to purchase to make the house that much more appealing. From the Shop option, you will have different items to choose from. From furniture to lights to even various plants, it’s all here at your fingertips from your wrist. One thing to watch out for is accidentally touching things as items such as cabinets, counters, lights, and even appliances can easily be moved which might be frustrating for some players. Once all the tasks are completed, you will receive an indication that the job is done and then you will be teleported back to your house.
Now, you would think being in your line of work once you complete a job and go back home, that you can relax as you will start to unlock tools and more items that will appear on your tablet. Tools consist of mops, brushes, tiling so you can add some brand new tiles to the house you are working on, plastering, a vacuum cleaner to help clean up those floors, and even a demolition hammer for when you want to do that extreme home makeover. Not only that, it seems that every time you go back to your own house, it looks like someone broke in, and left trash and stains all over the place you can decide to either leave it like it is and move on to the next job or use your tools to clean up your house so that even your parents would be happy with.
Part of the fun and the sole purpose of your life at this point is you take the skills and money earned from your jobs so you can purchase a house, make it better than anyone has ever seen, and then try to sell it for a profit. But even if you purchase a house, keep in mind, that you still have to have enough cash flow to do everything that you want to with it. If you don’t have enough, you will just need to work more jobs. But it’s the freedom to do whatever you would like that can be the most satisfying.
Let’s talk about the graphics and sound. With the graphics, many of us have spent a lot of time with the PlayStation VR with many being a day 1 user since its release back in October of 2016. If you are hoping for your time flipping houses with the PlayStation VR in 2023 to break those graphic hopes and dreams, those may be short-lived. I am not saying the graphics are unviewable where you can’t play, you can and have a good time doing so, but some things such as items that are part of your tasks, can be difficult to make out. There were times when I had to just go by the shape as the objects were too blurry to make out. Then there were items in a room, such as the furniture, your own tools, and the text that describes your tasks, that could easily be made out without any issues.
With the sound, there is not a heavy bass-pounding soundtrack, but more of a calming go-with-the-flow music that is simple and helps me with my tasks and jobs at hand. Even hearing the voice that explains everything sounded natural which was pleasantly appreciated.
There are some things that I would love to see. First, a graphical upgrade. Yes, this is a PlayStation VR game, but even with that, there have been some other games on PlayStation VR that took advantage of the platform. It would be great to see how great things could look if the limits were pushed. Second, a release on PlayStation VR2. It would be great to see House Flipper VR on and using the features of PlayStation VR2. One of the reasons is the Move controllers. While they work here and are capable of doing the job, there were times when it just felt more awkward than it should. Being able to use the Sense controllers for movement or at least having the option of using the DUALSHOCK 4 controller would be welcomed. Third, player-created houses. To add some replayability, it would be a nice touch and feature to have where players could build and design their own houses and then be able to upload them so that other players could try to flip them with other players. And finally, more updates and DLC. With the holidays coming up, it would be great to see updates that included the different holidays from around the world along with weather effects. Maybe even have timed events where players can unlock different items and be able to keep and use them as long as they participate in the events. Hopefully, the PlayStation VR version will receive the House Flipper Pets VR DLC to add even more fun to the craziness and more in the future.
House Flipper VR allows us to take a break from the real world and challenge us with the freedom of creativity. It doesn’t try to be anything other than what it is. It gives us the tools of the trade without the sweat of the labor. Sometimes, we are faced at a point in our lives with the question of what if only to find that half of us will continue to wonder while the other half will have their answers. But no matter the path that we may take, always try to follow your heart and your dreams as you never know how you may impact the world we live in.
House Flipper VR is out now for PlayStation VR on the PlayStation Store, Oculus Rift/S and Quest/2/Pro on the Oculus Store, and Steam VR. A review code was provided.
To learn more about Frozen Way, please visit their site, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, follow them on Instagram, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
In case you missed the trailer, please enjoy. Until next time, I need to go and flip some more houses.
If you had the opportunity to make a career change that could be very rewarding, would you take it?
