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[Chittagong]

The Basics

Game name: Déraciné
Publisher: Sony SIEE
Developer: From Software & Japan Studio

Platform: PS4
PSVR: Required
PS Move Controllers: Required

Release date: 6 Nov 2018 (US / UK / EU), 8 Nov (JP)
Price: $29.99 / £24.99 / EUR 29,99 / ￥ 3,240

Pre-order Bonuses

* Déraciné Dynamic Theme – Classroom (theme for PS4)
* Déraciné Avatar Set (6 PSN Avatars)


The Story

“The story is set in an old secluded boarding school, where three boys and three girls live with their aging headmaster. Players will take the role of an unseen faerie, living in a world where time stands still.

The faerie, who is living in another world unseen by humans, can only interact with the children indirectly. In order for the faerie to become closer to the children, the player interacts with the children’s world, moving between different moments in time, and adding time to objects’ lives are some of the unique powers.

The children’s memories have been left behind in this frozen world; by seeing the memories, the faerie can learn more about the children and gain hints about how to interact with them. Eventually, the children come to notice the faerie’s presence, and despite the two groups isolated from one another, they slowly become friends.”

– Source: PlayStation Blog


Key Selling Points

VR adventure experience
Déraciné utilizes VR technology to create a classic adventure game where players will be able to explore a quiet world teeming with mysteries.

Compelling and original story
A classic adventure game or visual novel built around the exploration of a mysterious world, frozen in time. Players take the role of an invisible faerie who forges a personal bond children in a boarding school in an emotionally deep and convincing narrative.

Thought-provoking discoveries
In tandem with the deep narrative, players must explore the world around them to discover clues that will lead them through the story. Discovering and piecing information together will pull players into the narrative’s world, and bind them to the characters in the physical world.

– Source: Playstation.com


FAQs

Who developed Déraciné?

“Déraciné got its start as the Japan Studio and FromSoftware team tried to see if we could provide players with an entirely new experience by creating a classic adventure game using the VR technology.”

So, is this game like Dark Souls or Bloodborne?

No, not at all. It’s an immersive adventure with some light puzzle solving.

How come From Software decided against doing a souls-like on PSVR?

“When director Hidetaka Miyazaki first experienced VR, he felt an impressive sense of presence – as if VR characters existed while simultaneously feeling absent and disconnected from our world. Déraciné is a game that tries to capture this strange feeling that is unique to VR and create an interesting experience by making this concept the core of its setting and world. The setting, lore and presentation, such as the world where time stands still, as well as the player’s role as the unseen faerie, are devices to emphasize this sensation unique to VR.”

– Source: PlayStation Blog

So if not a souls game, what is this game like, then?

There are very few previews available as the game has gone mostly under the radar, but it does sound a lot like Dear Esther and Everybody’s Gone to Rapture - games where you explore a frozen world to uncover what is happening. I will update the OP when I have got to play the game at midnight.

Variety has a nice writeup that describes the gameplay.

What does the name "Déraciné" mean?

“The title is a French word meaning “uprooted.” A Sony representative told Variety that it symbolizes displacement from their natural environment. This could refer to the children at the boarding school or the fairy in the real world.”

– Source: Variety


Screenshots

Videos

Announcement trailer - E3 2018



Gameplay - TGS 2018




Box Art

Collector's Edition (Japan)

* Physical game
* Original Soundtrack
* CD in a luxury storage case


Reviews

Gamespot – 5/10

Deracine has the buildings blocks of a good VR debut from Dark Souls creator FromSoftware, but it lacks the engrossing gameplay and mystique that has made the studio's previous titles so successful. It is a good example of a PSVR-exclusive title that uses the medium effectively, giving you ample control over your movement and an enticing space to explore fully with the flexibility of using your own two hands to pick it apart. Its narrative ambitions fail to meet the same bar, though, with intriguing themes that get lost within a poorly constructed narrative that's difficult to follow.

Upload VR – 8/10

Deracine’s initially dulcet tone certainly won’t be for everyone but scratch below the surface and you’ll discover a VR adventure that heads in some fascinating new directions. It’s a bizarre beast, placing the ambiguity From Software is known for in the front and center but, despite its often ham-fisted dialogue, it finds genuinely powerful moments of connection as it weaves a memorable yarn. Deracine might not be the game that truly breaks down the barriers between the player and the virtual characters and worlds they love, but it’s definitely a strong sign that VR is heading that way.

IGN Spain – 78/100

An interesting adventur with some control issues that works exclusively on PS VR, but is not as tailored to VR as we thought it would be.

Attack of the Fanboy – 3.5/5

FromSoftware crafted this game with love, and it shows in its overall polish and heart. If you devote yourself to getting engaged in Déraciné’s story then you certainly will. You’ll grow attached to the characters and the school they inhabit, and you will feel a sense of urgency around helping them with their problems. When the story is over you will feel a sense of both accomplishment and loss, and that is a true achievement in VR storytelling.

Darkstation – 3.5/5

For a studio with a reputation for making impenetrable video games, Deracine is an accessible adventure that doesn’t require endurance or quick reflexes. The storytelling is still mostly vague and the developer doesn’t break its habit of putting significant clues inside item descriptions.[/QUOTE]

Gamerant - 2.5/5

Deracine doesn’t stick the landing with its ending, and the game can often be more annoying to play than it is fun. It gets points for its bizarre atmosphere and intriguing plot, but they’re not quite enough to make it a game worth playing through. If Miyazaki decides to create another VR game in the future, hopefully that game retains what’s good about Deracine while delivering a gameplay experience that lives up to FromSoftware’s impressive legacy.

 

[DunDunDunpachi]

Great OT and great title!

 

[a multicultural team of v]

I dont know what to make of this... Miyazaki makes a straightforward adventure game that gets reviews anywhere from 4 to 9/10.

I really wish this wasnt Gamestop only because they wont ship for free, wont ship to store, and wont let me preorder for store pickup online. It is like they are actively trying to go out of business with how out of touch they are.

 

[CuNi]

PSVR only? Not interested then. Graphics looks good though. Hope they nail the controls. VR needs all the momentum it can get right now.

 

[haxan7]

Oh shit I forgot this was coming out so soon. Good OT.

 

[Kagero]

I want the collectors edition

 

[Makariel]

Wait what? It's coming out already? Oh yeah this black friday the arguments for a PSVR getting more and more interesting!

 

[Chittagong]

Oh shit I forgot this was coming out so soon. Good OT.

Wait what? It's coming out already? Oh yeah this black friday the arguments for a PSVR getting more and more interesting!

For real, I thought it definitely wouldn't be coming since there has been close to zero coverage before the reviews started to pop up, but here we are, six hours away. I'll give it a short play tonight after midnight and post impressions here. I'll look up the reviews now.

As a heads up, Sony has finally got around to putting the game up for preorder on PSN, just in time to get the preorder bonuses.

 

[Chittagong]

Added reviews to the OP. Quite a mixed bag from 5/10 to 8/10!

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Added reviews to the OP. Quite a mixed bag from 5/10 to 8/10!

Rule number 1

Never listen the reviews =)

 

[mckmas8808]

Rule number 1

Never listen the reviews =)

This is so true, yet it's so hard to gauge what to buy or even pay attention to when it comes to VR. The variance for scores with VR games are just too wide to take only one too serious.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

This is so true, yet it's so hard to gauge what to buy or even pay attention to when it comes to VR. The variance for scores with VR games are just too wide to take only one too serious.

Trust me my friend. Japan Studio is the only one Gold Studio that Sony have, with such a huge quality and passion and unique.

And you can watch youtube trailers if is your game. But Rule #1 of the Gamer.... Never listen the Reviews

 

[Chittagong]

Had a minor moment of panic as my PS Move controllers kept on blinking the red light and not working. They had been on the charger for a year or more. Last time I used them was when PSVR launched, with Until Dawn maybe. So would a dead battery stand between me and this game, as PS Moves are required? Thankfully, after trying several chargers and cables, as a last resort,I tried hooking them onto my PS4 with a cable and boom, they woke up. Amazingly, I had forgotten that I got my PS4 Pro a few months after PSVR, so I actually never paired them. Phew!

So got to play a while. First impressions:

- The world is From Software through and through. Not the gothic horror world, but rather the tranquil and light Hunter’s Dream.
- The graphics are beautiful. The menus are, ahem, From Softwaresque.
- The world is as cryptic as ever. You are thrown into this school of which you know nothing. People talk about weird things.
- You move in increments between hotspots with a button press, and turn in 45 degree increments. Kinda like Batman VR I think.
- Similarly to Dear Esther and EGTTR, you stop to listen snippets of people talking from a world outside your timeline.
- The snippets give you clues on what items to get and where, and how to use them.

That’s it for tonight as the time is nearing 2AM in the UK. I can see this being a lovely world to immerse myself in. I have never loved the hotspot/turn button mechanic, but hopefully I’ll get used to it.

Looking forward to exploring more, and other gaffer impressions.