Ghost Giant

As VR technology evolves, it has become a place for game developers to experiment with some interesting gameplay mechanics and storytelling opportunities. This, combined with its visual style, are what attracted me to Ghost Giant by Swedish Fe developer Zoink, as it presents an interesting diorama style and attempts to immerse the player by incorporating them into the story. The game delivers on these promises in a unique way that makes it one of the most interesting VR experiences I have played.

On the outskirts of the village of Sancourt, a boy named Louis is crying by the edge of a lake as though something is wrong. It is then that he meets a giant ghost-like figure (controlled by the player), though he is initially afraid of the giant. After warming up to its presence, Louis befriends the giant and asks for his help in running an errand. From there, it becomes clear that something much more dire is going on in Louis’ life.

Louis, the primary (and non-playable) character of the story.

The story, written by acclaimed writer Sara B Elfgren, is very engaging as it follows the challenges of Louis’ current situation and how he desperately needs the giant’s help to get through it. The player character is silent and can only interact with Louis via touch, which includes poking him for hints and giving him a high five or fist bump. Though the giant is worked effectively into the story by helping Louis overcome physical obstacles to advance the story, a couple times you even get to pet him to help him overcome a personal obstacle (he even purrs). The story is carried partly by the amazing voice acting, especially Dust: An Elysian Tail alumni Kimlinh Tran’s performance as Louis.

The world takes place in a diorama-like setting, reflected in the visual style by having things vaguely appear to be hand-made (with the animal characters having small puppet-like elements). As the giant, the player is able to interact with various objects, as well as manipulate the environment via gold-colored objects. This allows one to look inside buildings or even turn them around to get a better look at things (and peek into people’s personal lives) in order to solve environmental puzzles or even to find hidden collectibles in each area. Adding to the diorama aesthetic is the somewhat mechanical environmental design, which is sometimes used in story bits (including focusing the spotlight on the scene) in order to highlight a key moment.

One advertised segment of the game lets you fish for objects using part of a crane.

One interesting mechanic, that I haven’t seen in other VR titles (that I’ve played), involves blowing into the PS VR headset’s microphone to create a small gust of wind, usually to either generate wind power (including hidden pinwheel collectibles) or blow something away. This seems to be a seldom-used feature that I would like to see more VR games incorporate. Another, more practical mechanic is the addition of a visual guide when calibrating your height, something that was a nightmare to calibrate properly in other VR games.

I didn’t really have any major frustrations while playing Ghost Giant, though there were a couple minor annoyances. In one Scene (of which there are 13) that involved planting sunflowers, the level didn’t progress even after I picked all the wilted flowers, which I figured out was because I didn’t let a story scene play out properly; this was easily fixed by me restarting the level, though fortunately any collectibles I found were kept. Another involved me, after waving to get Louis’ attention, having to go through the secret handshake, consisting of a high five and fist bump; for some reason, he kept asking for the high five several times before finally stopping, which I determined to be an isolated incident.

Ghost Giant is an excellent experiment in VR that I highly recommend those invested in the medium to play. Though the experience can be gone through in a single sitting, it still tells an engaging narrative that attempts to blur the line between first- and third-person VR in a rather experimental way. Though the game doesn’t seem to set itself up for a sequel, the general aesthetic and diorama-style gameplay is something I would love to see more of from VR titles in the future.