Paper Beast, the surreal wildlife simulation from the creator behind cult classic platformer Another World (1991), was originally slated to arrive on PSVR sometime last year. The wait is however over, as developers Pixel Reef release Paper Beast on PSVR today.
Update (March 24th, 2020): Paper Beast is launching today on PSVR. We haven’t had a chance to review, although in the meantime you should definitely check out our 20-minute demo from Gamescom 2019, which gave us a good look at what this serene, meditative simulation game is all about. Don’t miss out on both the release and gameplay trailers below:
Original Article (December 10th, 2019): Éric Chahi, lead developer and head of his newly formed studio Pixel Reef, is no stranger to the weird and oftentimes unconventional worlds, and makes no exception with Paper Beast. He’s the mind behind cinematic platformer action-adventure games such as Another World, Heart of Darkness (1998), and god-game From Dust (2011).
I got a 20-minute demo at this year’s Gamescom back in August, and while the game may seem like a strange nut to crack, I left at very least with the sense that I had truly explored new territory.
Although it’s not a game in the traditional sense, it did leave me feeling like there was a wider story to be told here. Even Chahi himself wouldn’t tell me exactly what that would be, but rather the story would be told only through the happenings in the physics-based environment; no text and no vocal cues.
Paper Beast was previously slated to launch on PSVR first, then on PS4 sometime afterwards, however the studio’s update factsheet maintains it is a PSVR-only experience.