Along Together—The Review

When you have a story that is so heartwarming, it’s great. When that story can bring you in and bring you down to the level of where the characters bring life to that story, that is something special. But the question then becomes, can you bring that heart to a new level in Virtual Reality? Well, it seems that that is exactly what Turbo-Button has done with Along Together for the PlayStation VR.

So, what is Along Together really about? It’s a story about a kid’s best friend who goes missing and they are trying to do whatever it takes to get their dog, Rishu, back. So you might be asking about what you do. You play a kid’s invisible friend to help them along the way. So your job is together, you must rescue Rishu and bring him back home. But it will not be an easy task. As there will be puzzles that you must solve in order to help your invisible friend.  And this is where the fun begins.

With your DualShock 4 controller charged, get ready to go on an adventure. But hold on, just a moment. I mentioned that you play the part as the invisible friend, and this is true, but you will also be playing the part of the visible friend (either boy or girl) as well. Don’t worry, it really is not confusing, as it will only take you a few moments to get used to how it works. You do control the visible friend by moving him around, but when things get a little tricky, such as spots that you may not be able to reach, this is where playing the invisible friend comes into play.

So let’s speak about the controls. One thing I really appreciate is the how, even though you are controlling two separate characters in a way, you are working together almost in unity. The invisible friend is represented by the blue hand which is motion controlled with the Dualshock 4 controller and the R2 button to execute the actions, such as turning cranks, pulling carts, rotating bridges to even using a slingshot just to name a few. The visible friend is controlled with the left analog stick and you will be using X to interact. So even though its two different characters, its just one simple control scheme to help each other.

I mentioned puzzles, and there are plenty here for everyone to enjoy. Some are simple, and some require some thinking, but none should make you too frustrated. If else fails, look to your visible friend as they just might point you in the right direction. But the puzzles here are very well thought out and work amazingly in VR. And I love how something as simple as rain is used here, as it seems each drop just comes alive as it’s pouring all around you.

Along Together has also done something very special here in the way of nostalgia with the items. When you play, be on the lookout for special collectibles. By collecting these, they will appear on your shelf, which you can then interact with. One of the first items is a handheld video game that is all too familiar. Sure, you could have just collected the item and continued on trying to rescue Rishu, but no. Turbo Button didn’t think that was good enough. They made the game playable, so yes a playing a game within a game in Virtual Reality. Nicely done, Turbo-Button…nicely done.

I do not want to spoil all the collectibles, but there are some really nice throwback items that I just looked at, and it brought some memories back and makes me really appreciate everything. And for a game to do that, to bring out some of those memories we had growing up that maybe we have forgotten or they just lay dormant for whatever reason, it’s these small touches, this extra effort that makes playing Along Together just a joy to play. And trying to collect them all will keep you wanting to repeat the levels just to do so.

Let’s go back to the controls for one moment, or really, the camera movement. The camera does move on its own, depending on where your character is on the screen. This is not a bad thing, as it just seems to flow with the movement of the adventure, but it may take some getting used to for some.

Sound wise, from the beeping due to not all the buttons being pressed that need to be to the raindrops, the warmheartedness of Rishu works really well. And when you add the right kind of music that is at the right beat, you cannot go wrong here. Visually, this is stunning. I don’t know what it is, but something about being brought down to the level of being presented like you are right there along the side of these characters in Virtual Reality just seems to show the right amount of detail, and for on,e I really appreciate that.

Along Together proves you don’t have to have the most action, the biggest explosions. All you really need is just sit back and have some fun. Sometimes we just need to be able to escape and be shown a different perspective on some of the happy memories that allowed us to be who we are today and to show the next generation of who they can be for the future.

Along Together is out now. A review copy was provided. To learn more about Turbo-Button, please visit the site and make sure you like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

In case you missed the trailer, please enjoy. Until next time, I have more items to collect.