Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV Critic Reviews

Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV has its own virtual reality quirks, but the game is much more than the sum of its parts. Monster of the Deep may be the first PlayStation VR game that I would recommend across the board to anyone with the hardware to play it. However, anyone who has played a good amount of Final Fantasy XV will get more out of the experience than others.

It’s undeniably a weird package, but Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV manages to make its eccentricities work for it, rather than against it. Not only is it the best fishing game I’ve played in virtual reality, but it’s also a true delight for Final Fantasy fans.

It wasn’t anything close to what I expected. But in the end, I wound up being pleasantly surprised. While far from a meaty experience, what’s there is all good stuff. If this is Square Enix testing the water – so to speak – with VR, then I hope there’s much more to come from them on this platform.

Final Fantasy XV: Monster of the Deep is one of the best-looking PlayStation VR titles currently available. Its possible to waste quite a lot of time simply taking in the scenery. The title also uses the limitations of the PlayStation VR cleverly, by letting players sit facing the camera most of the time, it eliminates most of the tracking issues the PlayStation VR is known to have. Though far from a deep experience, Final Fantasy XV is surprisingly absorbing, and can chew up an impressive amount of time, despite its slightly repetitive gameplay.

It’s a relaxed, laid back and generally amusing side story to the Final Fantasy XV universe, and it throws some great variety and boss battles into the gameplay mix. It’s not the essential VR experience, but it is a delightful little game that fundamentally benefits from the VR platform.

Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV has a few technical flaws, but at its core it is a very fun and lengthy fishing RPG. This VR game comes highly recommended to even those who did not like the original Final Fantasy XV thanks to its ease of play and in-depth character customization. Fans of the original titles will find much to appreciate here, like the frequent cameos of the cast and the ridiculous unlockable outfits. This is one for the few PSVR games that feels like a full game and not a tech demo with dumbed down gameplay. Even if this was not a VR game, on its own merits there is nothing like Monster of the Deep thanks to its delightfully weird hodgepodge of game ideas. This was a game nobody expected to be good, yet in spite of the odds, Square Enix really did deliver one of the more enjoyable VR games on the market.

Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV is a chill-ass game that's meant to lure in a very specific type of player. Seeing random wildlife from Eos and interacting with the cast was fun, and I feel like the tension of seeing everything in first-person elevates the sometimes rote act of fishing. It's just silly enough to work for the select few that will meet all of the requirements to actually boot it up.

For fans of the series that own a PSVR, Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV is the perfect spin-off. There is enough fan service to keep you smiling and enough original content plus exciting gameplay to make it fun in its own right. Surprisingly, Square Enix was able to craft an addictive fishing game that lets us see brand new sides of beloved characters and really feel like part of the team.

Despite some persistent technical issues that dragged down the experience, Monster of the Deep is surprisingly ambitious, and one that I did not expect to enjoy as much as I did.

As a fishing game, Monster of the Deep is actually quite fun, with many ways of enjoying fishing. Yes, there are probably better ways to bring FFXV to VR, but if you enjoyed fishing in the main game, give this a try.

The wonky motion tracking and cumbersome menus may leave you reeling, but Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV is not the gimmicky gag that many expected it to be. This is a hearty package with a surprising amount of meat on its bones, and it’s a feast for the eyes in PlayStation VR. Cut corners like 2D cut-scenes do break the immersion somewhat, but relative to expectations, this is way better than it has any right to be.

Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV, while not an epic virtual reality experience, it is a pleasant one. This is a title I would recommend to Final Fantasy XV fans for a relaxing evening. For players wanting a thrill, I say look elsewhere to get an adrenal rush.

Fishing in VR is actually pretty damn fun, even more so when you add magic crossbows and fish borne straight from the bowels of hell into the equation.

It looks good and it is quite enjoyable, though in the end it's still just a fishing game with an inaccurate rod as its main annoyance.

Exploring Eos on VR is nice but fishing games are not for everyone. Monster of the Deep works well most of the time but could offer deeper gameplay and better controls to justify its price tag.

If you enjoyed the fishing minigame and you want to see again Cindy, Noctis and other characters from Final Fantasy XV, Monster of the Deep is what you were looking for.

Monster of the Deep is a bit cunning, but not enough.

If you have a PSVR and you want to see Eos from an eye-level view, and you want to do some semi-glitchy fishing, this is a good title. With patches, Monster of the Deep will likely improve, and there's a lot to enjoy here for players for which it does appeal. For most though, this title will be a hard pass.

If VR and/or Final Fantasy aren’t your thing, you may want to sit this one out.

Monster of the Deep definitely succeeds in immersing players, though fans of Final Fantasy may be left sorely wanting. It comes with a hefty price tag and, gameplay-wise, there’s so very little tying Monster of the Deep to Final Fantasy XV even if it does feel like part of the universe.