Rez Infinite

Yeah, Rez. Rez is certainly one of my ten favorite video games of all time , an absolute cult that in 2001 shocked the public and critics by severely testing the very concept of video games. Because, in spite of its undeniable nature of rail-based shooter - which is also quite simple, given the challenge rate set downwards, which allows you to get to the end of the levels without engaging particularly - just a few moments with the controller in hand to notice the unconventional momentum that permeates the creature of United Game Artists. We are, as we may never have been, seriously from the parts of the work of art in all respects: not only because the game is dedicated and inspired by the father of abstract painting Vasili Kandinsky, but rather because entirely built around the concept of synaesthesia (i.e. a neurological phenomenon that occurs when auditory, olfactory, tactile or visual stimulation is perceived as two distinct but coexisting sensory events).

In short, the contamination of the senses in perception, that subliminal psychological mechanism whereby in some circumstances it is spontaneous to associate a color with a sound, or perhaps a perfume with a word. Matter of studies for psychologists, painters and musicians, and it is not difficult to guess why, with such a "high", learned, refined starting point, the final result borders on experience in the round, rather than in the ordinary video game. As if that were not enough - but rather on the contrary to want to underline the very strong uniqueness of the proposal - thanks to the efforts of Mizuguchi, Rez has always been associated with various types of experimentation, with stresses that went beyond the standard use (just think of the peripheral Trance Vibrator, sold in a special bundle in Japan with the PlayStation 2 edition, or the recent Synesthesia Suit created just for the launch of Rez Infinite).

In all its forms Rez has thus been able to present itself as a dreamlike, cathartic, even almost hallucinogenic experience: a memorable journey among breathtaking suggestions, a dip in an ocean of colors and sounds that envelops, enchants and leaves you speechless between references to the great civilizations of the past and manifest Posthuman celebrations. Not even in my most perverted hi-tech porn fantasies would I have been able to imagine experiencing on my skin what Rez Infinite is able to offer paired with PlayStation VR. Here and now, year 2016, in the maximum comfort of your living room.

The Sony viewer allows you to break through the screen frame, making you interface with Project-k (the supernetwork of the future in which the game is set) directly at the neural level. Total avant-garde, point of no return, sensory orgy: the fascinating universe controlled by Eve, artificial intelligence in the grip of existential crises due to self-awareness, appears real and credible as never before. And not only that: the cyber dimension made up of data heaps, wireframe elements and mysterious digital life forms extends as far as the eye can see around you, leaving you breathless as to how the abstract is made tangible and tangible. Without exaggerating, with the music shot in the headphones and other controllers resting on your lap, the vertigo is worthy of the proverbial Stendhal syndrome: impossible to remain indifferent in the presence of such a bewitching show, which by virtue of the original and visionary artistic direction not only does not put highlight the technical limitations of PlayStation VR, but rather enhances its performance as perhaps no other title.

All this, at least in my experience, without the slightest feeling of nausea or annoyance, despite the intense stress given by the pulsating bursts of lights in beat time and the renewed control system with the aim (beautifully) managed through the head tracking. The usual, incredible passages of all time will thus take on a taste never tasted before: aiming for waves of enemies directly with the movement of the head will give satisfying "physical" satisfaction, and the clashes with the bosses will become even more engaging, more energetic, more scenic. Two in particular the steps from jaw to ground: the battle with URANUS, the humanoid-shaped boss with which the fourth stage ends, and the whole Area 5 (crossing it has been one of the most exciting experiences of recent years, to the point that as soon as I finished the level ... I immediately started over again!).

Area X, the unpublished scheme created specifically for Rez Infinite, deserves a separate discussion. In exquisitely stylistic terms, a certain detachment is perceived with respect to Rez's aesthetics: fewer clean lines, wireframe geometries at minimum terms and a lot, a lot of emphasis on particle effects, with thousands of light points to outline surfaces creating volumes directly from the black of the dark . We are definitely closer to Child of Eden than to the classic Rez, but it is not necessarily a bad thing: what is lost on the one hand is recovered largely in terms of impact, because willingly or unwillingly you can perceive how much Area X is the product of the graphics of 2016, with a kaleidoscope of flashes with an impressive performance to say the least.

There is also a novelty also at the level of gameplay in what would seem to be a sort of ideal continuum between past and future: in the X Area a certain degree of control of one's character is also introduced, which as for the levels of Star Fox's free flight has the ability to move independently in 3D (instead of being rigidly tied to pre-established tracks). Once again, the gaze is used to hook the targets and give direction to the avatar, while the R2 and R1 keys are used to push the being of light moving forward or backward within an even more exotic and seductive context. . The resulting sensation is that of total suspension, of placid flight into nothing, of enchanting neon harmony: and so, despite the mild rhythms, the mind cannot help but run to another SEGA masterpiece, namely NiGHTS: Into Dreams.

In the end, I regret that the magic of this new level lasts just a dozen minutes: the hope is that Rez Infinite has the success it deserves, so as to maybe convince Tetsuya Mizuguchi to give us a new chapter of one of the most sensational video games ever .

Sensation of motion sickness : nothing

Game speed : medium

VR effect : high

MODUS OPERANDI
I reviewed Rez Infinite thanks to a code made available by the publisher. I completed all areas of the original version (some even repeating them several times, in particular the prodigious Area 5), and then threw myself headlong into the highly anticipated unpublished level. I played exclusively with PlayStation VR, both using a Dualshock 4 and a PlayStation Move, and I don't intend to live the experience in any other way: after enjoying the wonder of Rez combined with Virtual Reality, it is not conceptually conceivable to go back.

Well, it is not fair to point out that Mizuguchi reached his climax as a videogame designer with Rez and then never again lived up to it. It would be cruel and quite false. What he did, and did well, was to evolve this work, always taking it a little further. He first introduced the Trance Vibrator in the PlayStation 2 edition, bringing the experience to total synesthesia. Then, he raised the experience to a greater definition, in its launch on Xbox 360 and, finally, although in the form of a sequel and with less draft, he managed to turn the gameplay into something different by passing his concepts through Kinect with Children of Eden . And, oddly enough, it always seemed that the game was born for the new regeneration: it gave the impression of being thought to take you to an orgasm, to look better, to break with the control of a lifetime ... Just like now, with no place to doubts, it seems that he was always dreamed for virtual reality . It seems silly, but in this sense, looking back makes us increasingly confident that Mizuguchi knew how to see the future at all times. He created the game that always, absolutely always, is equally groundbreaking with any of its mutations. It is always at the top and, we know, it always will be, come the technology that comes.

Because, ladies and gentlemen, if there is a game that is terribly necessary in the PlayStation VR neo-catalog that is, without a doubt, Rez Infinite . The experience of this synesthetic game that involves a journey through the senses of complete abstraction is, without a doubt, the fullest we have lived since Sony put the viewfinder in front of our noses. Unlike other games, Rez Infinite does not play to make us believe that we are there . What he does is tell us: you are going to feel this now and that is going to completely take you away from any other thought. Now your life is going to be rhythm and color. And you will not get dizzy, you will not feel that the glasses are more comfortable or less comfortable. All he will do is reward you with an experience that will make you freak out, never better, in colors.

Of course, everything has been redesigned for the return of Mizuguchi's work to a Sony console: we will no longer have to aim only with the control sticks. Now we can do it with synchronized movements of the head (although surely if someone sees you thinking they will think that you are cuckoo). And, if you want more sensations, you can also control it with the movement of the move controls. You can play free and infinite modes, classic levels ... You will face the usual enemies, those incredible and rhythmic final bosses. And you will do it like never before. Rez Infinite part of the game that already has three decades, but goes further, with Area X, which leaves behind the limitations of an HD adaptation to take advantage of PS4 hardware with more particles, colors, shapes and enemies again, in a succession ad infinitum of shootings in which we can even control the movement of our protagonist (something we cannot do in the original game).

This is also not the only extra for those who exceed the 5 phases of the original game, but also will unlock various specific game modes , intended to add replay to this peculiar and synesthetic game. It is true that the harmony of the entire production will be what drives us to play and replay the levels, regardless of the whys, but it is always good to give a meaning to the matter, beyond the 'game because yes'.

Ok, we know that the game is short, that visually the remastering limps somewhat (not so much the Area X, which you see on these lines), and that it could have taken a new twist to the original concept. The question is, does Rez Infinite need all that to be the best PlayStation VR game? No, you do not need it, and it is also a highly recommended experience if we do not have the Sony virtual reality headset, since it includes a TV game mode that transforms it into the command game that we all enjoy at the time.