The charm of Wallace & Gromit is the innocent humor that is wrapped around a never-ending buddy comedy. The bumbling adventures of Wallace and his loyal dog/friend Gromit, who tries to keep him out of trouble, speak to multiple generations, which also helps it to stay memorable and relevant. The old-school claymation helps to fully complete its charm. Definitely a timeless experience in entertainment.
Now, take all of what makes Wallace & Gromit great and imagine putting that into video game form. Then take that video game form and put it into a virtual reality adventure. What you end up with is a charming, fun video game in VR that doesn’t ask too much from its player other than to enjoy it. All of this is what makes up Aardman Studios’ Wallace & Gromit in The Grand Getaway.
So, get some cheese, crackers, and a cup of tea, and let’s sip and discuss.
Story-driven experience
The story of Wallace & Gromit in The Grand Getaway is a simple one, where the duo builds a helper robot for a simple camping trip. Of course, in the Wallace & Gromit universe, there is absolutely nothing simple about any trip. While preparing for the trip, Wallace quickly finds out that the day he thought he had to pack and go on the journey was not the next day – it was actually the day they were planning to pack. In pure panic, Wallace makes the decision to take the household rocket ship to the camping trip to save time, a ‘killing an ant with a break’ sort of decision, and the rocket ends up off its course. In fact, it ends up way off its course and the duo must find their way home.
The story is charming as expected, which equals meaningful good fun for a family audience. Is it the most creative Wallace & Gromit adventure? No, but it’s a good enough setup that opens the door to all sorts of situations. For the most part, the story takes us to those wackadoodle places that you expect. For example, you get to experience space, Mars, and all the red planet’s glory. Well, limited glory as it pertains to the story, but glory, nonetheless.
Anyway, this is the type of story you would expect from a Wallace & Gromit adventure, where the mishap and off-kelter situations equal a fun time. In that respect it doesn’t disappoint. The story is simple, fun, and good-natured. Again, what you would expect from the duo’s misadventures.
The gameplay certainly does take a backseat to the story.
Good gameplay that doesn’t push the limits
The gameplay for Wallace & Gromit in The Grand Getaway doesn’t push the limits of VR technology. It’s not like The 7th Guest where it uses every ounce of VR power to place you in the ghostly and ghastly world of Stauf. It’s not like Before Your Eyes, where you’re jumping between a mystical world of the dead while reliving the death of a main character. It doesn’t get as artsy or deep as those games, but what it does right is that it understands its own purpose and style by giving you gameplay moments that match its innocent humor and wit. And that’s something you can’t discount because it replicates what type of story it is trying to tell in the VR landscape it is presenting. It creates a solid boundary of what it wants to do and what it can do to make this a true Wallace & Gromit adventure.
Please understand, that when you’re trying to capture the essence of something like Wallace & Gromit, there are only a finite number of places you can take the gameplay situation before you run the risk of losing the characters, humor, and everything that makes it beloved. This may sound like I’m trying to prepare you for a letdown, but I’m simply giving you context on what to expect and why that type of gameplay is what should be delivered. The harsh truth that gamers need to know is that you can’t take a review blueprint and apply the same rules to every type of game. Sometimes the rules must be adjusted for different games. I mean, I can’t judge Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo the same way I treat Call of Duty. That wouldn’t be fair to Putt-Putt. Those are two different series and only one of them hasn’t ever disappointed its fanbase.
Anyway, let’s talk gameplay.
The gameplay in Wallace & Gromit in The Grand Getaway is divided into mini-games and tasks. The latter part of the bunch is how you start the game, as you are given tasks as the helper bot to prep our main duo for their journey. You’re put in a room where you learn the Meta Quest 3 controls, which consist of finding, grabbing, and storing objects in luggage. Nothing too terribly complicated, as you simply look at an object, press the trigger to extend the helper’s arm, retrieve whatever item you might be reaching for, and then stuff the object in the helper’s mouth to launch the object toward the luggage held by Gromit. It is short enough not to be repetitive but long enough to get used to what’s in store for you the rest of the way. Beyond those simple tasks, you’ve got a search feature that involves putting your hands up against your temple and finding objects of interest. The tasks and controls don’t get more complicated than that. Those same controls set the tone for the rest of the game when it comes to tasks, as the boundary for how far the game is going to press the VR limits is firmly set by those gameplay controls. The only difference with the complication of the progressing tasks is the scenarios presented. Changing scenarios keep the gameplay content fresh even when you’re not really going beyond how you treat them with controls.
Now, the most intriguing and complicated task I completed in the game was trying to fix the rocket ship’s control console. The multiple tasks I had to perform were more akin to the tasks found in Rick and Morty: Virtual Rickality, where you had to search drawers for the right parts and pieces, use them to complete a hardware puzzle, and then move on to the next puzzle before completing the scenario and moving the story along. This rocket ship console scenario was the same type of structure. The setup went like this, the rocket ship you’re on spiraling towards your camping destination requires some servicing while in mid-flight. The complexity of the series of tasks here is clearly geared towards a younger audience, much like the show. The complexity consists of putting on cogs to get a machine moving, adding a plunger to correct a braking mechanism, and even vacuuming out cracker crumbs from the rocket ship’s navigation console – all of which were easily done, but nonetheless fun. Again, the content matches the essence of Wallace & Gromit’s entertainment. You will run into these task-type moments all throughout the game, where you’re having a good VR experience that doesn’t push the tech too far but leans on the story to make up for that type of gameplay.
Now, the variety of VR scenarios is bigger than expected thanks to mini-games but still driven by mini-games. You will find out quickly that the short stint of mini-games in Wallace & Gromit in The Grand Getaway is mostly driven by story and doesn’t have overly complicated gaming elements to them, much like the tasks. For example, when on Mars, you’ll play a whack-a-mole type of game that simply emulates the actual old-school game. You’ll also play a game on Mars that involves pointing a small alien launcher, which is positively adorable, into a statue’s mouth to help Wallace complete a golf game. The smaller mini-game moments aren’t meant to be some grand experience in VR but are meant to be fun enough to warrant being in VR. And they’re meant to be repeatable. I could have played that launcher moment for an hour and been happy. It was just stupid fun. Same with the whack-a-mole.
If you’re looking at the gameplay solely based on VR complexity, that complexity is going to be low. It’s going to be more character and story-driven than it will be VR-driven. Is that enough? I think for younger players who are just getting into VR for the first time, it should be a stepping-off point. It helps that the acting and whacky story completely make up a Wallace & Gromit experience, as the adventure and characters are in full beautiful force from the moment the game begins. Just don’t go into this game expecting it to push the VR boundaries. It’s not going to do that, but it will entertain.
On that sweet note, let’s wrap this review up.
Conclusion
Wallace & Gromit in The Grand Getaway from developer Aardman Studios is a great nod to the series. The story is solid with fun and innocent humor, while characters bring their A-game to make the adventure feel like the Wallace & Gromit world. The gameplay is a little light on VR content, certainly not as deep as other VR titles, but it’s good enough to entertain a wide variety of gamers including those young gamers just starting their journey into the VR world.
