Quest 3 hands-on: Selina offers a journey into a child's surreal dream world
The VR game Selina features fantastical rooms, a gravity-defying way to move around, and mind-bending puzzles. We tried it out.
Selina: Mind at Large plunges you into the surreal dream world of a young girl as you help her overcome her fears, traumas, and demons.
Inspired by the writings of psychologist C.G. Jung, the VR game gets off to a promising start. You climb into an oversized paper boat and float down a river surrounded by darkness, while fragments of Selina's story are told on the sides in the form of children's book drawings.
A little later you meet Selina herself and get your first mission: delve into her memories and find her favorite plushy, Big Whale. This scene also gives you a taste of Selina's antagonist and inner demon, a shadow version of the girl named Aniles.
A gravity-defying way to get around
The girl's animation and voice acting are a highlight of the game. The movements and facial expressions of the young actress who plays Selina are convincingly captured, and her voice gives the character life and expression.
After this atmospheric introduction to Selina's world and consciousness, the real adventure begins. During my playtime I visited surreal versions of places that were formative for Selina, such as her home, school, and an amusement park.
Selina: Mind at Large features an unusual way of getting around. Using a magic glove, you can point to a wall or ceiling and teleport to it. As you do so, the world rotates and gravity adjusts to your new orientation in space.
Your main task is to manipulate gravity to direct water through channels that crisscross the fantastic rooms. If you succeed, doors to new areas will open. The video above illustrates this game mechanic, which seems very simple at first, but later becomes more challenging thanks to additional puzzle elements.
Underwhelming puzzle design
I played Selina: Mind at Large for about 90 minutes, and I cannot comment on the entire game, which the developer claims takes 6 to 8 hours to complete. But here are some criticisms based on my limited playtime.
I found the gravity-defying locomotion exciting and powerful, but also overwhelming at times. Up, down, right and left: In Selina's dream world, these points of orientation are relative. Since the rooms are also freely designed and do not adhere to architectural expectations, this way of moving through space felt disorienting and even exhausting at times.
As for the water puzzles, after 90 minutes, I found their appeal somewhat exhausted. I'm not sure if this puzzle mechanic runs through the entire game, but based on my playtime, I doubt it could carry the entire game and keep me motivated until the very end.
The version of the game I played is clearly optimized for Meta Quest 2. If you have a Quest 3 and the Quest Games Optimizer, you can increase the resolution significantly. The fantastic rooms look much better with a sharper image.
Selina: Mind at Large will be released in the Horizon Store on February 20. Quest 3, 3S, 2 and Pro are supported.
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