Sometimes in Virtual Reality, you may not necessarily want to go from point A to point B. Sometimes you just want to take a break from the bad dealings of reality and just smash things. It’s that release of aggression and frustration that can be healthy for the soul and for some, to just take a deep breath. But does Developer Triangular Pixels allow us to take that feeling of any negativity you may have and smash it to pieces? Let’s find out with Smash Hit Plunder for the PlayStation VR.
But what is Smash Hit Plunder really about? You are playing as Mage and you are under the impression that you just inherited a castle from your Grandmother along with all of the debt she earned…ummm thanks, Grandma. But the reality is, parts of the castle have been locked up by a ghostly debt collector and it is your job to smash, hit, and plunder any worth that you can so that hopefully, you can clear any debt. But luckily, the ghost of your Grandma is there to help assist you along the way (I always knew I was her favorite).
Before we continue let’s talk about the controls. You can select from either the DualShock or both Move controllers. Since you will need to be picking up, smashing, and hitting objects you will need to decide what will work best for you. If you select the Move controllers, you will need to get used to how you turn. You have to hold down the Move button and then rotate with your hand. So for example, if you want to turn right, you would hold down the Move button and move your hand or arm and move it out to the right. This is where a thumb stick would come in handy or by using the other buttons on the Move controllers. It’s not a bad thing once you get used to it. For me, I went with the Move controllers as I just love how they are used and the ability to pick up objects seperatly with each Move controller does work very well.
But this is not going to be some easy task you see. This castle is a pretty big castle and that mean old ghost of a debt collector is not going to make it easy. Sure it sounds easy having to go into each room that may have other rooms and smashing and hitting things and plundering all you can like you’re a pirate of the Caribbean, but you see, there be a time limit going against ye. Sorry, pirate moment. Let’s try that again. You have a time limit going against you.
So why is that timer important in Smash Hit Plunder? You see, that mean old ghost of a debt collector has decided to lock up parts of the castle. So instead of you just taking it over like you own the place, you gotta pay the debt if you want to succeed. After the time has ended, all your plunder that you gathered is collected and then based on how much you collected, you will earn a crown. Crowns are important as a certain amount is needed to help unlock a section of the castle.
Sometimes when you plunder may just be enough to earn you a crown or two or sometimes three depending on how quickly you can smash and hit things and plunder the rewards. You really want to try and earn as many crowns as possible. When looking at the map and seeing the locked sections of the castle, looking ahead on the wall, will show you how many crowns are needed to enter the area. So that may mean you may have to go back to a previous section over again in hopes you will plunder enough to unlock the new section. Great thing is, if you replay the area one or two times, you should already know the rooms of that area to go all beast mode and think to yourself “Hulk Smash” to get what you need.
Sure it would be fun to just smash, hit, and plunder your way through, but Triangular Pixels knew you would want more. Some of the rooms may have spiritual occupants that may try to harm you by throwing things at you. But that’s OK as you can also throw things back and use objects to hit them. And lucky for you, pretty much everything that is not bolted down in some way can be used and they really are not that difficult. I like how Triangular Pixels added these extra elements to help distract you from remembering that there is a clock that is counting down. So keep that in mind when trying to deal with these ghosts.
Along with the campaign, there are also different modes to add to the fun. There is Scavenger Mode where you have a certain amount of time to find that specific object, Treasure Rush mode where you have to find all the treasure you can within a certain amount of time, and Free Play where you can just take your time. But you don’t have to go at it alone as there is also local co-op and vs multiplayer modes via the T.V. with Poltergeist Panic and Jewel Duel to add to the mix.
Also, when you add tasks such as the top items smashed is a certain number and if you smash a certain amount more, you will be in this rank really adds to the replayability of Smash Hit Plunder.
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Sound wise, the simple background music was not distracting. Hearing objects break as gold and silver hit the floor sounded like it should. When the ghosts speak, it is not in words they are speaking, but more in the way of sounds. Luckily, it is all written out so you can actually have an understanding of what is going on. Visually speaking, I really like the throwback to the 8-bit genre. Things are easy to make out and the colors are vibrant. It really all just works extremely well in Virtual Reality.
Smash Hit Plunder does what it sets out to do. Create as much chaos as you can and want to by smashing, hitting, and plundering your way through. Some may find that after a certain amount of time smashing, that they may want something more. But if you just allow yourself to go in and let out some aggression, you can actually have some fun. And I for one would rather let out any aggression in Virtual Reality and have some fun than anywhere else.
Smash Hit Plunder is out now with a North American retail release on January 15, 2019. A review copy was provided.
To learn more about Smash Hit Plunder, please visit the site. To learn about Triangular Pixels, 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 have some more smashing, hitting, and plundering to do.
Mr. PSVR, January 30, 2019, theplaystationbrahs.com
