Epyka Review (Quest)
Summary: Epyka is an adventure, puzzle, narrative VR caper into the mysteries and blunder of a forgotten society. Reveal secrets by deciphering clues, decoding hidden messages, and revealing veiled pathways on your quest to finish what your father started and finding out what happened to the world's first civilization. The game's short length and squabble from characters doesn't diminish the fact that Epyka is incredibly charming and the gameplay is so intriguing all the way through that your only complaint might be that you want more.
3.5
Crystal Clear
Get ready for a portal hopping adventure to make the biggest discovery of a lifetime! Epyka is an adventure, puzzle, narrative game developed and published by Singular Perception and released on January 9th of 2025 for Meta Quest. In Epyka, you will explore environments like a puzzling island, hollow caves, and the ruins of a lost civilization in the hopes of uncovering an important part of history. Join Scott and his dog Jack as they work together through perilous obstacles and dig deeper into this perplexing mystery they have gotten themselves into. Set sail for the lost frontier!
Scott Hudson is following in his father’s footsteps in trying to find Earth’s very first civilization. Seen as a laughing stock for his failures, Scott still believes in his fathers’ work. With no luck following his map out at sea, Scott is about to call it quits as his dog Jack is getting hungry and restless. All of a sudden, the crystal left behind by Scott’s father begins to glow and literally directs them to an uncharted island. The two meet up with a sprite called Talima who aids them through the mazes and riddles of the concealed nook resting in the mists of the ocean. The trio help each other out to unveil an ancient secret and through exploring, Scott may learn more about himself than he initially thought he would.
Scott trudges around in his boots, so I instantly went to the options menu and found a slider where you can adjust his walking speed to be faster. The controls aren’t complicated at all; you can only walk, pick up things, and interact with certain objects that deal with puzzles in the space of virtual reality. The actual elements of VR that are here are all pretty great and work well. You may be picking up stone doors, looking around to see which portals you need to walk through in a baffling labyrinth, or turning a handle to activate another instrument to help you move forward. You will eventually be able to activate powers which not only look cool, but have you actively participating within the domain of your headset in simple, but clever ways. There are also some moderately hidden collectibles you can find along your way as something extra to keep a look out for.
Epyka is relatively short clocking in at only around a few hours, depending on how good you are with puzzles. The story moves at breakneck speeds which is fine and is acceptable given how the design of Epyka is more focused on a family friendly experience rather than something akin to the Talos Principle. The puzzles here are all pretty easy and it only takes a couple of minutes before you realize what the puzzle is actually asking you to do. The puzzles are also varied which keeps the game from becoming boring. Every turned corner will give you a new task and this factor made leaving the game pretty hard.
The game has a nice cartoony style with everything having bright colors and characters like the dog having large animated eyes. Enchanting glows and lush green scenery are abundant and improve your enjoyment in this game even more. Voice acting is good, but comes off as cheesy due to the nature of keeping it suitable for all ages. Scott in particular is a very happy-go-lucky lad and is always optimistic in any given situation. While the corny approach can get annoying at times and overly affectionate, this attitude makes for a good protagonist in a game like this. I was a big fan of the many magical noises I came across during my journey. There is an item that you can pick up and hold with two hands and the hollow plink sound it makes when you grab it sounds really good.
As cute as the dog Jack may be, I did have a couple of problems with him. For one, he whines too much. You can hardly go 30 seconds without Jack yelping. Being able to pet him is a nice touch, but looking around a level trying to find clues and constantly hearing a dog cry isn’t doing the game any favors. I also ran into a glitch with Jack that was pretty aggravating. Jack was waiting for me at the end of a long-winded puzzle and after finally finishing it and reaching the end point, Jack randomly spawned back at the beginning of the puzzle. Jack needed to be at the point with me so I could move on and since he wasn’t there, I had to restart and do the puzzle all over again.
Final Thoughts?
I really enjoyed my time playing Epyka. The puzzles are creative, the characters are amusing, and the story is interesting even though it’s a little “book by numbers”. I really wish I had more time in this world. Some puzzles felt too short; it was like right when I understood what I was doing, the puzzle was over. If there were ever a sequel to Epyka, I would be looking forward to how the mechanics and gameplay design might expand. Even if the game is a bit on the shorter side, Epyka is debuting at only $10, so you are getting a lot more bang for your buck here in this virtual escapade of uncovering the mysteries of the world and yourself.
About the Author
Nay Clark Gaming holds a special place in my heart and I never stop talking about video games. I really love all types of games and have an interest in games that have complicated stories and lore because I enjoy untangling the mystery of it all. When I'm not gaming, I unsuccessfully try to control three amazing and incredibly bright kids.
Related Posts
Masters of Light PSVR2 Review →
Alien: Rogue Incursion Review (PSVR2) →
Squingle Review (Quest) →
