Shaun Munro reviews SoundSelf: A Technodelic…
With present global circumstances encouraging everyone to stay safely glued to their video games rather than enjoy the sun outside, there’s really no further excuse to leave your VR headset amassing dust in the corner of your room on a hot day.
And given the collective stress the world is under right now, a meditative VR experience is just what the doctor ordered – especially for those still reeling from the exhilaration of Half-Life: Alyx.
Self-touted as “the first video game measured to produce altered states of consciousness,” SoundSelf: A Technodelic is a meditation app – playable both “flat” and in VR – which completed its Kickstarter funding over 7 years ago, and is now finally available for all to play.
I say “play,” but it’s worth emphasising that SoundSelf is one of the VR medium’s many exploratory hybrids of game and app; there are no conventional goals, beyond simply completing whatever timed meditation period you set for yourself.
After the calming voice of “Sophia” guides the user through the initial breathing exercises, SoundSelf’s major hook unveils itself, with participants encouraged to use their own voices to manipulate the on-screen visuals and in turn guide them into the heavens.
As you’re hurled into a kaleidoscopic world of shapes and sounds, your own humming, vocalisations, and even your own breathing will influence precisely what your eyes and ears are witness to. It’s a neat concept for sure, and one which sporadically, fleetingly impresses in its trippiness, yet for the most part SoundSelf’s thorough lack of content and inconsistent presentation make it feel rather half-baked.
As an anxiety sufferer, the game’s soothing introduction disappointingly gives way to a relatively unremarkable core experience which doesn’t offer much beyond some fairly rudimentary visual modulation. Hearing your own voice filtered through synthesizers is at least a neat trick, but both the sound and visuals feel lacking compared to many other VR meditation apps; I too often felt like I was just staring at a decent Windows Media Player-esque screensaver.
Basic functionality can also be mildly frustrating; moving your head more than a few inches is an easy way to trigger a fade to black, and the overall lack of features is a certain fatal flaw. The main menu should accommodate at least some basic customisation options such as filters or other choices of music, not to mention the ability to disable the pre-lightshow preambles.
But the prevailing sentiment is that SoundSelf only sometimes relaxed me, and often quite the opposite; there were instances where the droning music played as vaguely ominous, immediately placing me in the head-space of a David Lynch movie rather than anything close to a positively transcendent experience.
As it stands, this feels like a tech demo, a free or budget app rather than a game that, astoundingly, retails for £24.95 on Steam. While there will certainly be those who connect with SoundSelf’s mindful journey into one’s own consciousness, it’s ultimately just too blatantly piecemeal to suffice – or justify that incredibly high price tag.
Pros:
+ Some trippy visuals.
+ Neat manipulation of the player’s voice.
Cons:
– Disappointing image quality.
– Not as relaxing as you might hope.
– Lack of customisation options.
– Extremely limited for the price.
Rating: 5/10
Reviewed on Oculus Rift.
A review copy was provided by the publisher.
Shaun Munro – Follow me on Twitter for more video game rambling, or e-mail me here.
