Symphony of the Machine is the latest PSVR title from Stirfire Studios. Set in a barren wasteland with nothing but a large tower looming over you, your task is to ascend this ancient structure and discover its secrets.
The game begins with you learning the basic controls to move and interact with objects using the PS Move controllers. After this quick tutorial, you proceed towards the tower and enter a lift. Once reaching the top of the tower, you are greeted by a floating robot, a laser beam and an array of stones with symbols. The robot informs you of your purpose in this wasteland, which is to complete a selection of puzzles to manipulate the weather, and grow a range of vegetation. This is all achieved by changing the direction of the laser beam in the center of the tower, and pointing it towards the stones.
To complete each of the puzzles, you are given a mirror and a splitter to adjust the laser beam. You simply have to alter the beam’s direction with either of the two objects, shine it at the stones, and you are on your way to complete the puzzles. With each puzzle, you are tasked with creating the perfect weather conditions to help grow a particular plant. To achieve this you must use the laser beam to power the stones, each of the stones represents a different form of weather; Wind, Sun, Rain and Cloud. Once the required conditions are met, the plant will flower and allow you to move onto the next puzzle.
As you progress, harder conditions must be met. You can combine different forms of weather to create new ones, for example wind and rain will summon a storm, sun and rain will create a rainbow and so on. Later on you can use an ice stone to freeze the rain and a fire stone to heat up the sun. All of this might sound quite simple, but once each stone is powered, magical barriers are formed to hinder your progress. These barriers are scattered all around to prevent the beam from reaching its designated target, by using strategy and wit, each puzzle can be completed fairly easily.
The most difficult part of Symphony of the Machine for me was the controls. At times it felt like the game was fighting against me to grab and position objects. The floating robot also got in the way many times, which proved rather annoying to say the least. The game is playable without the Move controllers but it is highly recommend you do use them as the DualShock 4 controller does not provide the precision required. Apart from these slight issues, Symphony of the Machine is a great puzzler.
Overall Rating 7 out of 10
Pros:
- Intriguing range of puzzles.
- Really simple and relaxing (with Move controllers)
Cons:
- Awkward controls at times
- Quite short
Original article on PSU.com