Whenever VR gaming comes up in conversation, I’m always quick to champion casual experiences. VR games don’t need to be intense to have merit; I say that as someone who loves playing the recent Resident Evil VR modes and is eagerly anticipating getting some free time to sink into Assassin’s Creed Nexus and Asgard’s Wrath 2. Wallace & Gromit in the Grand Getaway is a great example of how casual gameplay can make a family-friendly Quest 3 game fun for any type of player.
Now, I’ll admit that the appeal of Wallace & Gromit has always been a bit lost on me. That isn’t to say that I don’t find the series charming — quite the opposite, in fact. But so much of Wallace & Gromit’s overall charm has always struck me as very British in little ways that I feel British audiences appreciate more than someone like me.
What I’ve always loved about the films is their unique character designs and gorgeous stop-motion animation. I have a huge soft spot in my heart for stop-motion, especially as someone who spent a good chunk of his early teen years making his own stop-motion movies. The biggest compliment I can give Wallace & Gromit in the Grand Getaway is that it very much does feel like you’ve stepped into a Wallace & Gromit film.
[...] it very much does feel like you’ve stepped into a Wallace & Gromit film.
It’s a bit jarring at first, actually, to see the characters animated at a speed that doesn’t match your avatar’s hands. You do get used to it quickly but it was a bit weird at the start of the game to see Wallace’s mouth moving at a different speed than my retractable robot arms (that sentence makes sense in context, I promise). I felt less like a proper character in the series and more like a tourist who'd wandered his way into a new Wallace & Gromit film.
But it’s a fun film! Wallace’s schedule mixup leads him to make up for lost time by using their rocket, which naturally malfunctions and sends the pair to Mars. What follows is a series of short scenes broken up with some mini-games. Make no mistake: the appeal is the game’s script and visuals rather than its gameplay.
Wallace & Gromit in the Grand Getaway is a perfectly fine, if not short, family-friendly Quest 3 game. I can see this being a title you’d want to pass around amongst the family during the holiday season, especially because of its incorporation of VR mechanics.
Wallace & Gromit in the Grand Getaway is a perfectly fine, if not short, family-friendly Quest 3 game.
You’re entirely stationary during gameplay and if you want to move within a scene, you have to put your controllers to your head and point at a designated spot. You won’t be walking around or engaging in intense physical activity. This casual approach to gameplay makes it another great game for VR first-timers prone to motion sickness.
I’m uncertain if there’s any real appeal here to players who aren’t at least passing fans of the iconic British duo. That said, it’s a very wholesome game with a strong air of whimsy, so it might be worth a go for anyone looking for a casual adventure game.
