Doki-Doki Universe Review (PS4)

After spending a whole two weeks playing almost nothing but Mass Effect: Andromeda, I wanted to start playing other games again. With the addition of a new external hard drive I was able to download a bunch of games that were in my library just sitting there that would have never fit on my internal storage before. Even though I had already played this game on the PS3/PS Vita, I decided to give it another shot because I enjoyed it the first time around. You can read my original review here, and keep reading to find out if I enjoyed it just as much the second time around.

Doki-Doki Universe is about a cute little robot named QT3. Left alone by his family on a planet with just a red balloon, he waited years and years for his family to come back, especially Lani the little girl that he cared for. After all that wait he’s picked up by Alien Jeff and told that his model was discontinued for their lack of humanity. If QT3 doesn’t want to end up like the rest of his robot model line, he’ll have to learn some humanity and in order to do that he’ll have to travel from planet to planet and learn the different traits of what it means to be human. Along the way you’ll test your own humanity as you take little quizzes. Answer honestly and you might even actually learn something about yourself.

I really enjoyed this game the first time around that I played it, and the second time was unfortunately not that enjoyable. The reason comes a little later, but I will say that I really really enjoy the story and the overall point of this game. For such a small game it has a lot of heart and really tells a touching story. When you think of it, there are huge budget AAA games that can’t even tell this kind of a story. This game kind of breaks the mold and really has you routing for QT3 as he goes from planet to planet. Plus it has a happy ending, everyone loves a happy ending once in a while right? There’s a bunch to do as you go from planet to planet, learning and helping out the citizens of these planets. Then there’s the quizzes. There are a bunch of quizzes scattered around that will basically analyze you and I would say that it does so pretty accurately. The thing is thought that you have to answer honestly and not answer how you think the game wants you to answer.

Here comes the bad part which basically ruined the second playthrough of this game for me, the playability. Not only was this game super laggy at times, but the lag made the game crash more then once. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times. Game crashes are not good. It’s not good for the system and it’s not good for the overall perspective of the game. If I have a game that is constantly crashing on me then I’m not going to remember it to fondly. Anyway, one crash even corrupted my data which completely sucked. I was halfway through the game when this happened and thought I would have to start from the beginning all over again. Luckily I didn’t, but that’s not the point. The file was so corrupt that the game wouldn’t even start without having me delete the corrupt file. I’ve never had this happen before on my PS4. It made me angry with the game and by this time I just wanted to finish playing and get my trophies so I could be done with the game.

SERIOUSLY! This game completely ignores that the PS4 controller has a touch pad, like a lot of games do. This had me a little aggravated because the touchpad would have been great for those times when you were saying hello to someone or taking part in a little quick time event that made you rotate the R stick. Why not use the touchpad instead? It would have made things more interesting and gave the game that extra kick.

The graphics for this game were really nice on the PS4. I enjoyed the graphics on the PS3 / PS Vita, but was surprised that they played out so well on the PS4. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised by the simple graphics that were so much more and really brought the story to life.

Play this game from start to finish and do everything this game has to offer to get yourself 14 really easy trophies. This is one of those games though that isn’t about the trophies, but the story that the game is trying to tell. When it comes to this game I like to think of the trophies as just an added bonus.

Overall I give this game a 2.5 out of 5.

What’s Great:
+ Great story that has a lot of heart and can even teach you about your own humanity along the way.
+ Simple graphics that really make the game.

What’s Not So Great:
– This game can be super laggy at times making it almost unplayable.
– This game suffers from a lot of game crashes that could corrupt your data making you have to start all over again. While my data was corrupt, I didn’t have to start all over again, but I’m sure not everyone has been this lucky.
– Completely forgets that the PS4 controller has a touch pad because it’s never utilized.

I know I was really harsh for this game and it’s sad because this is a really great game, but I was harsh on it because it was a port from the PS3 / PS Vita version to the PS4. While the PS3 version didn’t work all that well, the PS Vita version was different meaning that some work should have went into making the PS4 version workable without the problems from the PS3 version. This didn’t happen and for a game that had so much heart, it just seemed like a money grab which is kind of heartless if you think about it. That being said, the story is really worth it because it’s sweet and has a lot of meaning to it, but if you’re going to play it skip the PS3 and PS4 version and play on the PS Vita.

This Week in Trophies 04-02-2017 – 04-08-2017

Keeping up with my promise of playing more than just Mass Effect: Andromeda, I actually started two new games this week. One of the games I finished, and the other one I’m still working on while I work on my second full playthrough of Mass Effect: Andromeda. For me it’s all about managing time as it seems I’ll be having less time to actually play in the upcoming week and then in the upcoming months because of work. While not trying to dwell on that right now, here’s a breakdown of my weekly trophies.

Mass Effect: Andromeda – 71%

I finally finished this game after a total of 60 hours into the game. According to the game though I’m only 94% done, but I just didn’t feel like going back and finishing up those little tasks that needed to be done. While it was fine to do them while I was playing, to go back and finish each one feels like a waste of my time. I have to say that I was happy with the overall story of the game and how it ended. I was able to get the super happy ending with PeeBee, and was quick to start a new game especially with the patch that fixed a lot of the problems I had with the game. Saying that, the game is still not perfect, but it’s getting there.

Doki-Doki Universe – 100%

Playing this game for a second time this week, my first time was on the PS3/PS Vita, I wanted something light hearted and something meaningful this time around so I choose this game. I’ll have my full review of the game on Wednesday.

Color Guardians – 30%

I started this game on a whim because I really couldn’t figure out what the hell to play this week. Having a bunch of games at your fingertips does that to you sometimes. Anyway, I got past the first two levels and am basically working on a level a day since that’s just about all I can take when it comes to this game. Anyway, for short bursts I’m finding it fun, I just don’t think I can play longer than I have been.

That was it for the week, a pretty decent amount of trophies. Not a whole not, but not a small amount either. Now for next week, I’m going to continue to play Color Guardians hoping that I can get the platinum trophy before the week is up, continue my second playthrough of Mass Effect: Andromeda (choosing Vetra this time around by the way which may or may not have been decided by a coin toss between her and Suvi.), and hopefully start a new game. I’m not sure which new game I’ll start because now I feel like I have too many games. Anyway, I’m open to suggestions if you think I’ve been missing out on something and should play it and as always I’ll tell you how my week went next time.

Throwback Thursday Review – Doki-Doki Universe (PS Vita)

I bought this game when it first came out because it looked completely different from anything I ever played before and mostly because I’m a sucker for games that look really cute. Since this game was a cross-buy, I started playing on the PS3. I encountered so many errors and crashes while playing that I just completely gave up playing. The last thing I wanted to do was actually break my PS3 from all the crashing and restarting. A little annoyed that I had to switch to the PS Vita to finish playing, I did so reluctantly in order to be able to play a game that I paid good money for. After finally being able to get through the whole game on the PS Vita, this is what I thought about Doki-Doki Universe.

For such a little game, this is one of those games that has a huge story and a lot of meaning behind it. Throughout the game you’ll play as robot QT3 whose main goal is to find his human family. It’s just been QT3 alone with his red balloon for years when he finds out from Alien Jeff that his model has been discontinued because of its lack of humanity. It’s now up to QT3 to prove that he can learn humanity and the people on his new home world along with some friends and enemies he’ll make along the way are going to help him.

There are a bunch of things to do while playing this game and once I restarted on the PS Vita, I couldn’t put it down. With a total of 27 planets to explore, you’ll have the chance to help the other inhabitants of each planet where you’ll either become friends with them or just not get along with them at all. There really is no right or wrong way to play this game because it’s all about being human. You’ll also have some personality tests to take which will show you some insight to your own personality and you’ll be given the results by Dr. Therapist on QT3’s home world. Even though some things became a little repetitive, the game was still interesting and was able to hold my attention for a long period of time.

The playability on the PS Vita is absolutely flawless. This game makes full use of both the front and rear touch screen as well as the regular Vita controls. While the PS3 version was riddled with error after error and constant crashes, none of this even happened on the PS Vita making me wonder just what the hell went wrong with the PS3 version. Since I gave up completely on the PS3 version, I’m not even sure if anything even got fixed or if it even works right on the PS3.

The graphics for this game shine as it really brings out the game with it’s cartoon like nature. Each different planet is unique as well as the creatures that inhabit the planet. There are no two plants alike and even though the graphics can be thought of as simple, they are detailed and match the story.

There are a total of 14 really easy trophies for this game, but this is one of those games where it’s not about the trophies. Even though there are trophies for collectibles, this shouldn’t be a problem since there is a trophy for doing everything the game has to offer. By the time you get the trophy for doing everything the game has to offer, you should have the trophy for the collectibles so it’s a win-win type of trophy. Just play the game and the trophies will come naturally.

There’s no multiplayer for this game, but you can log in through Facebook and connect with your Facebook “friends” that way.

Overall I give this game a 4.5 out of 5

What’s Great:
+ Touching story that is surprisingly human.
+ A bunch of different things to do so it’s hard to get bored.
+ Simple but fitting graphics that enhance the story.
+ Flawless play on the PS Vita.

What’s Not So Great:
– I couldn’t really find anything wrong with the PS Vita version, just the PS3 version.

This was one of the games that I really enjoyed and it was sad that it had so many problems on the PS3. I’m not really sure if things were patched on the PS3 version, but I would suggest playing this on the PS Vita if you have both consoles. The few planets that I played on the PS3 were only ok compared to the PS Vita version where it was more interactive and just easier to play overall.

Up for next week’s throwback Thursday is a game that I got for free thanks to my PS+ subscription. It was another game that seemed simple but had a lot of meaning to it and actually made a lot of sense. It’s Thomas Was Alone for next week’s Throwback Thursday Review.