Festivals are often a time to dress up. Use the true power of disguise in the VR title Maskmaker.
Traveling to other worlds is no easy task. But it is something humans often do. In the world of Maskmaker, one sees the true power of what changing appearances. Entire worlds lie behind each new face that is created. What is the true power of this lost art form? And where has the ‘King’ disappeared to?
From Innerspace VR comes an adventure told in the style of classic fairy tales. One might expect a world of adventure to be filled with typical dangers. Or they might expect to save a damsel in distress. But in this collection of worlds, there is a lengthy mystery to be pieced together. And the masks themselves seem to stress finding where the ‘King’ may be hiding. Become the Maskmaker and acquire a power that few ever get to experience the power of.
One of the best things about the game was the simple controls. Movement could be done using either the analog stick on the left or right controller. With the left one, one’s ‘avatar’ would walk slowly in the direction they were facing. Using the right, one would see a blue arc form when pressing forward on the stick. Letting go would teleport the player to the end of this arc. While it was useful for traversing great distances in short order, it could sometimes be disorienting.
As the name implies, making masks is the most significant part of the game. Becoming a Maskmasker is no easy task, and the game makes sure the player knows it. The slight difficulty is a welcome change, considering how short some other games are in relation to their objectives. That being said, experimenting with the tools of the trade was fairly interesting.
Before ever exploring other dimensions/universes, one must fashion the proper mask. This was done by choosing a solid block of wood located near the carving station. Using the two Quest 2 controls, the block was then placed in a vice.
And after the holding tools are released, it is time to gather the hammer and chisel to begin work of the Maskmaker. Having to chisel out the masks was both interesting and frustrating. It didn’t take a whole lot of chiseling, but one had to hit the hammer directly on the back of the chisel to ensure any wood came off the block.
After carving the next project, it was up to the new Maskmaker to use the right paint. Above a pool of paint sat three canisters with red, green, and blue paint. Using the right combination of colors, the next step was dipping the mask in the paint. Once all the right pieces were added to their respective mask, the eyes themselves would glow from the front and the back. Putting the ‘activated’ item on one’s face would then teleport them to another world entirely.
Each base mask had a handful of variations. To ‘discover’ these particular ones, a frustrating look through a telescope had to be done. It was doubly frustrating because of how sensitive the controls were at this time. If one did not hold their breath, as the game suggests one does, it was nearly impossible to acquire the next mask in seconds.
Once a new blueprint was discovered, it would be seen in the Maskmaker workshop. Using the first mask was required to find ingredients for the next few. Upon building a specific mask, putting it back in the workshop would teleport the player to where they first caught sight of the item. It was only ever necessary to pick up a necessary ingredient once, which is a relief for anyone with trouble memorizing their footsteps.
There were times when it wasn’t clear what color items might have been on a blueprint. As such, it was necessary to go through trial and error a handful of times. It was quite a bit of fun creating an absolute mess as the Maskmaker, since the game itself would rid the space of extra items.
After a certain point, the game granted one the ability to summon every created mask. It was relieving to have since it made solving certain puzzles much easier. Masks would have to trade certain items with each other for the player to proceed further in the game. This was great, especially if one wanted to spend more time simply exploring one environment after another.
Visually speaking, the game was stunning. The colors were vibrant, and the patterns on every single mask were fantastic. There was such attention to detail for the smallest things that it was sometimes hard to focus on the story itself. But, considering how amazing everything looks, getting lost in the world of Maskmaker is the point, right? And the color palettes for everything, from the accessories to craft to the worlds one visits, were most certainly the right choice.
The audio was also quite fantastic. Each character that spoke was done very well, and all their words were clear. The voice of the ‘king’ in Maskmaker was reminiscent of the Old God character from a previous title. And whenever a new part of the story needed to be told, a voice entirely separate from the masks or the king spoke, narrating the story as if reading from a book to an attentive child.
Altogether, Maskmaker is probably one of my favorite experiences in VR. It is most certainly something one should look at getting if they’re going to invest in Meta Quest 2. It’s easy to get lost in the game’s beauty, and I’d recommend taking a break every few minutes. Your eyes and sinuses will, thanks. Aside from a handful of visual glitches, as is likely to happen with any game, everything visual about the game was beautiful. The developers did a fine job of putting together a unique universe for the player to explore.
If you’re looking for a fun adventure that isn’t just a few minutes long, Maskmaker is definitely a title worth looking into. The title is highly interactive and truly feels as if one is part of a fairy tale story. It is available on Meta Quest 2 and Steam VR.
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