Journey to Foundation is a VR sci-fi RPG set within the universe established in Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series. Developed and published by Archiact, Journey to Foundation presents a story where player’s decisions will shape the future of both the Galactic Empire and Foundation. With a variety of weapons and tools at your disposal, in addition to various immersive features, Journey to Foundation promises to transport players to an epic adventure.
After experiencing an attack on their facility, players are immediately thrown into conflict. Working with the governor’s daughter, players must utilize a combination of firearms and Mentalics to repel their invaders. The firearm can be changed with a pair of convenient chips embedded in the player model’s forearms, switching it from a burst-fire weapon to something more akin to a sniper rifle, complete with a scope. Thanks to the adaptive triggers on the PSVR2 controllers, pulling the trigger on the sniper rifle feels appropriately resistant, lending some heft to firing the weapon. Some enemies carry shields, but aiming for uncovered extremities, such as their feet, is a viable tactic for defeating them.
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Like some people in the world of Foundation, the player has access to Mentalic powers, which can be utilized in a variety of ways, including as an offensive tool. Mentalic powers must be used carefully to avoid hurting the target when attempting more delicate operations, but there’s no need to be careful in combat. Simply holding out your hand toward an enemy is enough to start the psychic assault, draining the life from your target.
This psychic attack is obtained later in the game, but players can also utilize their psychic abilities earlier in less harmful manners. Reading someone’s mind for a password is mechanically similar to tuning a radio, but you can also exert your influence on someone to help them calm down after a traumatic event. This can open up additional dialogue options, allowing players to obtain new or additional information.
With Journey to Foundation’s focus on narrative, it’s unsurprising to find voice memos lying around while exploring the environment, like in other games in the genre. These appear as orbs, and when picked up they emit a hologram of a person, who is usually saying something to build upon the world’s lore. For fans of the Foundation universe, these are a fun and insightful glance into the world and the lives of minor characters. Players can also imitate optional hand gestures when prompted, such as a salute when greeting officers or other people of status, allowing them to mimic the mannerisms of characters within the world of Foundation. Combined with the ability to make decisions that affect the world and characters around them, there’s an unprecedented sense of immersion.
Besides combat and narrative, players also advance through Journey to Foundation by solving puzzles. Players can use their Mentalic powers to aid them in solving these, such as in the previously mentioned mind-reading scenario, or using Mentalics to pacify someone, calming them enough to help with solving the puzzle. Though there were other tools available, such as a hacking tool, they weren’t needed in the preview, so their exact use is unclear for now.
All in all, Journey to Foundation seems poised to be a hit for VR, sci-fi, and RPG fans alike. If the rest of the game is as entertaining as the preview we saw, it’ll be a worthwhile journey.
Journey to Foundation releases in Fall 2023 on Meta Quest 2 and PlayStation VR2.
