When it comes to VR based games, they can easily fall into the category of fun, but no real depth to the gameplay, there are some incredible exceptions to that of course, but most rely on a single mechanic. Tentacular is one of those games, and while after first glance, it might seem like something without depth, my hands on with the game have changed my opinion.

Tentacular is a job simulator, you push things, pull things, occasionally throw, you know your basic job requirements, oh but of course, you are a giant squid, and you interact with the world via tentacles, thus the name. Though all things are not normal among this little island chain, because as you wake upon your sixteenth birthday, you are told that you are in fact adopted, which is why you don’t look like anyone else around. That single line alone, helps set the tone for what was a wacky and crazy time within this world, there are some puns, some dad jokes and a few bad ones, but where things shine is in how you interact with the world.

You control everything with your tentacles, which are controlled by your VR controllers, where you move them, the tentacles follow, it is a simple concept, but one that can become trickier as the game progresses. At first, it's just a matter of pushing a button, maybe flipping a switch, but then the game will ask you to start stacking objects or picking up a particular object and forcing it into a very predefined position in order to make use of it. For the first few I was sitting down without an issue, but as some of the tasks got more complex, I realised sitting down was not giving me the range of motion that I required in order to complete the task. But as I was standing up and trying to move objects around, I realised that I was starting to get a workout from all this trying to pivot my arms in certain directions in order to have something go exactly how I wanted it, the thought that would happen never entered my mind.

What was interesting, is that initially I thought I was confined to a single point, that my actions had to take place within a stationary position and only my arms could interact with the world, that was not the case. You are able to actually move around, using the left stick you can move left, right, forward and backwards, plus using the right stick you can spin around, because I didn't realise this until about the third objective that I was given, my need to contort myself was proven to be wrong, though I still did that quite often. Even with this newfound freedom of movement, I still found myself focusing on the detail, trying to get objects in the exact spot that I wanted, picking up something and rotating it in my tentacles in minute amounts, in order to have it lined up before I went to place it, and I think that comes down to just how charming the world was and my desire to not destroy it totally.

Visually things are very simplistic there's a lot of 8-bit texture work applied to everything, but the detail is beyond what you might expect, even taking a moment to look at the underside of your tentacles you'll see how much detail is the present. Beyond that the world is full of things to do there are shipping containers, barrels, fuel canisters, boats, buses and more, none of which is taking into consideration the playground that you unlock. The characters have this MySims vibe to them, they are not super detailed, but they strangely possess a whole lot of charm, so if you throw them out into the ocean, they still seem joyful about the experience.

Tentacular is a weird experience, there is a story there and missions that connect to that story, but I found myself just having fun picking up citizens ever so gently and then placing them in places they couldn't normally access, or when the game refused to acknowledge my actions correctly picking something up and throwing it like a child. How all this shapes out in the full game I don't know, but I am very interested in finding out.

The game doesn’t have a release date yet, but is coming to PC and Oculus Quest 2 later in the year.