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Journey to Foundation Review – Galaxy Spanning Story

Journey to foundation review.

Journey to Foundation from Archiact Interactive is a galaxy spanning virtual experience. Its roots come from the Foundation series of books written by SF Giant, Isaac Asimov. This gives the game an enormous advantage because it gives them the entire Milky Galaxy as an immense creative sandbox to play in.

You play the game as Agent Ward, an agent of the Commission of Public Safety. This is a branch of the Galactic Empire that maintains order and the authority to do so by any means necessary. The Commission sends you to the edge of the galactic empire to investigate reports of deserters.

As with all good stories, the initial event escalates into a kidnapping and then into a big conspiracy. A conspiracy that could end the Galactic Empire. The game takes you on a journey that involves visiting several locales and eventually ending up at the titular location.

Given the immense amount of available source material, Archiact has put the game’s focus on the narrative. Each character you encounter opens up a dialog UI that is a tad clunky. You navigate through the options with eye tracking, which is pretty cool. However, once you make a selection, you must touch it to complete the selection.

Illusion of Choice

That all sounds slick, but what makes the dialog clunky is three fold. On the technical side, sometimes the choice made is not the one you selected. On the gameplaying side, sometimes the gameplay will not advance unless you make the proper choices. This means reloading a checkpoint and doing the conversation over again.

Another gameplaying element which hinders dialogs is Ward’s Mentalist talent. As a mentalist, you can detect the emotions of NPCs, a la Deanna Troi from Star Trek: The Next Generation. The drawback with the talent is the game shows it as an alternative to handling NPC interactions. However, its use is mandatory. You won’t be able to advance the story line in the situations where it is available.

Other abilities include a firearm, a hacking probe, a welding tool, and chameleon technology that allows you to mimic other NPCs. They all work satisfactorily, but again, their use at specific events is mandatory. The game does not have the depth to allow for multiple ways to address a situation.

Hacking is very reminiscent of the 3D puzzles found in Half Life: Alyx. You manipulate 3D cubes to trace out connections to override locks. It’s not bad, but not as clean as Alyx’s implementation. Occasionally you will also have to transverse some climbing sections. These sections are short and work with no issues.

Hail Haptics!

Something unique to the game is the use of physical gestures. Often when meeting with NPCs, they greet you with a salute of some type. You must respond in kind. The same issue happens here too. If you don’t return the gesture, you can’t progress. Also, it’s very easy to miss the gesture if your attention is elsewhere.

Hats off to Archiact for making full use of the PSVR 2 haptics. When you use the Mentalist abilities, the headset haptics rumble in accordance with you how close you are when reading or manipulating an NPC’s emotions. Each weapon has its own feedback. You’ll also get haptics when hit by gunfire or your health gets low.

Visually, the game uses a stylized approach to characters and the environments. It strongly echoes the visual style used in the Saints and Sinners games. Textures vary in quality with the environment and objects immediately around you are of higher quality. However far away vistas and outer space scenes are of a noticeably lower quality.

Another noticeable aspect of the environments is how constrictive they are. There is little to no room to explore. The feeling of being herded down a cattle chute is very strong. The game makes use of eye tracking. Not only is it used to navigate menus but also with NPCs. Their gaze tracks realistically as you move around them. It’s a small thing but adds to the immersion.

Excellent Narrative

Much of what I have described won’t entice one to play the game. However, the aforementioned narrative is excellent. The story takes a while to get going, but once it does, it totally engaged me. The twists and turns are great and present you with some tough choices.

One of my favorite sections of the game come with the Encyclopedia Galactica. This is accessible between game levels. Here the menu navigation with eye tracking is fantastic. You can learn much about the Empire, the characters, planets, and history. All of which adds to one’s investment.

Another strong feature of the game is the audio. This starts with the voice acting. All the dialog is voiced and is excellent. This is vital for a game which is so heavily story focused. 3D audio is well implemented and adds to the immersion. To top it all off is the soundtrack, which soars epically during the appropriate moments.

Journey to Foundation attempts to marry a narrative-heavy story together with the more traditional aspects of game play. The net effect is a game that offers a variety of game play elements but is not a master of any of them. Everything works, but they could all use some refinement to make them more user-friendly. You’ll find other games that do them better than this game.

Great Story, Acceptable Gameplay

However, if you are into good storytelling, with a detailed back story, good voice acting, and are patient with the story to kick in; Journey to Foundation is the ticket. The game should take between six to eight hours to complete if you focus on pushing through the story. However, if you stop to peruse the encyclopedia it will extend your play through time.

Journey to Foundation is available on all the major VR platforms: PSVR 2, Quest 2, Quest 3, and PCVR.

***Journey to Foundation PSVR 2 code provided by the publisher***

• Rich and detailed universe
• Excellent spoken dialog
• Clunky Conversation UI
• Confined Environments
• Underwhelming gun play

Developer: Archiact Interactive

Publisher: Archiact Interactive Ltd.

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Journey to Foundation Review

Journey to Foundation brings Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series to Virtual Reality, with a game inspired by the books over Apple TV’s series adaption of the same name. But, did the jump to the VR medium work out?

Release Date: October 26th 2023 Developer: Archiact VR Publisher: Archiact VR Price: US $39.99 / CA $53.49 / €37,99 / £31.99 Reviewed On: PlayStation VR 2 * Code Provided For Review *

MAKE IT TO FOUNDATION

Around two centuries ago Hari Seldon predicted the fall from grace of the Galactic Empire, and created the Foundation to avoid the chaos to come. You are placed into the role of an agent for the Commission of Public Safety, that keep peace in the Galactic Empire. What starts as investigating traitors in the Periphery, soon becomes much more. With your superior in your ear, and the governors daughter by your side, you must make the journey to Foundation.

THE BEAUTY OF CONVERSATION

Journey to Foundation plays like an immersive role-playing adventure, where the story and scripting takes centre stage, over being full of action and fights in space.

With this is mind the game relies heavily on the dialogue and the conversation you will have the cast of characters you come across. This is where the game really branches out, as the game will throw choices at you, and the choices you make come with consequences and will shape your story through the galaxy. The team have made the conversation flow as naturally as possible, by using the eye-tracking to select your choices. This just makes it feel like it flows better than needing to select the options with your hand.

Outside of the dialogue selection, you do have an ability called Mentalic’s. You can use this ability to read minds, influence people and change their emotions. This can help you find out some useful information you can use to switch the outcome of your conversation as well.

When not in conversation there is multiple elements to the gameplay, as you take on disguises, hack, climb and blast your way through the galaxy. With a couple of tools at your disposal that will allow you cut through objects or hack locks. All of these parts work well, and the hacking puzzle could make a fantastic puzzle game in its own right.

Throughout your travels you will learn more about the Galactic Empire and the Foundation, and also find new chip sets your blaster, which you can switch between on the fly to give you the best weapon for your current situation. Although I found I switched between two out of the four in most case.

MIXED SIGHTSEEING

Archiact have done a fantastic job of bringing the world of Journey to Foundation to life in virtual reality, but does come across as a bit of mixed bag. It seems there are sections that look great and will give you the WOW factor, but then next you are in an area where the background is like a 2D-painting in the distance. Where this is noticeable at first, it doesn’t break the immersion that much, it’s more of a ‘ that looks odd ’ situation, that is soon broken as you concentrate on what is going on around you or your conversation.

The voice-acting is fantastic in the game, and with it being so heavily based on conversations this was going to be essential – and the cast have really brought the characters and story to life with their performances. Each of the settings around the galaxy have the environmental sounds to match being in-doors or out-doors. With the musical score suiting the source material and being out in space playing in the background.

THE VERDICT

Archiact have done an outstanding job of bringing Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series to virtual reality. With the choice of making it an immersive role-playing adventure allowing them to work with the base materials strengths and keep you engaged via a great use of an arching storyline. Sprinkling in multiple gameplay elements as you explore the galaxy, that do a great job of keeping you entertained between the story and for the whole experience.

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New VR game 'Journey to Foundation' channels galactic chaos of Asimov novels

Isaac Asimov's immortal classic becomes an immersive outer space odyssey this fall.

One of the absolute titans in science fiction literature was Isaac Asimov and his astounding "Foundation" novels chronicling the tragic fall of a galactic dynasty and the band of exiles bent on restoring humanity are considered by many to be his finest accomplishment.

But the unwieldy intellectual property has defied adaptation in other mediums, but that hasn’t stopped filmmaker from trying, most notably in the recent Apple TV+ series simply titled "Foundation" and starring Lee Pace, Jared Harris, Lou Llobell, Leah Harvey, Laura Birn, and Terrence Mann. 

Steeped in the award-winning source material's deep mythology, Vancouver BC-based gaming developers Archiact are tossing their creative hats in the Asimov ring with the announcement of a new interactive VR adventure gaming experience called "Journey to Foundation." 

The Vancouver, Canada-headquartered company already has created sci-fi and space-infused titles like Doom 3: VR Edition, Marvel: Dimension of Heroes and Freediver: Triton Down and Evasion.

Related: Best VR space experiences

Oculus Quest 2 256GB: $499.99 now $429.99 at Meta

The Meta Quest 2 (aka Oculus Quest 2) offers the best of both worlds; use it stand-alone for a wireless VR experience or connect it to a PC. It may have gone up by $100 last year, but this deal saves you $70 on the cost of the 256GB version. 

You get two free games to tide you over until Journey to Foundation comes out too - GOLF+ and Space Pirate Trainer DX.

The game's trailer that gives fans a taste of things to come when it's eventually released for PlayStation VR2, Meta Quest 2, and Pico 4 in the fall of 2023.

Here's the official synopsis:

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In "Journey to Foundation," players embark on a clandestine mission as Agent Ward, a spy sent to the edge of the Galactic Empire to infiltrate a group of deserters … only to uncover a dire truth that could change the course of history. Armed with the best tools and weapons the Empire has to offer, you'll have to decide who to trust.

Will you fight for an Empire that Hari Seldon has predicted will collapse into 30,000 years of anarchy, or will you defect to the Foundation and help them build a new cradle for humanity?

"'Journey to Foundation' is a major milestone for us," said Archiact Studio Head Kurt Busch in a statement. "It's the culmination of all our experience innovating VR gameplay elements, from locomotion to conversation to UI to combat. It's built by a veteran team with a passion for VR-first game development. It's an epic game, inspired by an iconic IP."  

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Isaac Asimov's original series of "Foundation" stories were published as a trilogy of novels between 1951-53 and has since sold more than 20 million copies in 32 countries worldwide.

Related: Apple TV+ delivers mindblowing trailer for 'Foundation' sci-fi TV series

The series was adapted for BBC Radio 4 in 1973 but was delayed in coming to television, as it was thought to be unfilmable for decades due to its sprawling and cross-galactic storyline. It nevertheless came to Apple TV+  in 2021 to popular acclaim . The series' second season on Apple TV may come as soon as mid-2023. 

"I believe in VR as a powerful new medium for immersive roleplaying and storytelling," added "Journey to Foundation" Executive Producer Ken Thain. "And building a VR game from the groundbreaking Foundation book series has been an incredible journey. I truly can't wait for people to experience this adventure first-hand."

Archiact's "Journey to Foundation" VR project arrives sometime in late 2023. If virtual reality headsets are your thing, then be sure to check out our  best VR headsets  and  VR headsets deals  guides for all the best products and discounts. We also have an extensive list of the  best VR space games .

Follow us @Spacedotcom , or on Facebook and Instagram .  

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.

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Journey to Foundation

OpenCritic Rating

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Critics Recommend

Journey to Foundation Trailers

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Critic reviews for journey to foundation, cogconnected.

However, if you are into good storytelling, with a detailed back story, good voice acting, and are patient with the story to kick in; Journey to Foundation is the ticket. The game should take between six to eight hours to complete if you focus on pushing through the story. However, if you stop to peruse the encyclopedia it will extend your play through time.

Read full review

The Games Machine

Journey to Foundation is a game that is greater than the sum of its parts: the absolute merit of the original work is set against the backdrop of mechanics and ideas that are limited and already seen, but when put together manage to function as pieces in the complex and fascinating mosaic that Foundation has always been. Do not, however, expect a revolutionary or particularly challenging VR experience.

Review in Italian | Read full review

The Foundation universe deserves a better game. The game benefits from what was created in 1951, and the story here is one you will enjoy. So are the choices and the ability to explore this world in much greater detail, thanks to the extensive encyclopaedia. But the gameplay falls short of not only the story, but also the potential of the game itself.

Review in Slovak | Read full review

"Journey to Foundation" doesn't play in the league of VR greats like "Resident Evil Village" or "Half Life: Alyx". In film, it would be categorized as a B-movie, and this comparison is apt. The developers were ambitious and offer a good game structure with many elements. The solid story is carried by the game, which mostly offers a lengthy and uninspiring gameplay. Unfortunately, the technical deficits continue to cloud the overall picture, so that the purchase price of around CHF 40 is not justified at this point in time.

Review in German | Read full review

Journey To Foundation is an interesting ride through an alternate future of the galaxy. The story is large in scope, and every Chapter takes a fair amount of time to complete. No level goes by quickly, even with movement set to teleport. It would admittedly be a little boring if the levels go by too quickly. As the chapters in Journey Foundation are about an hour each, you’ll want to invest in a backup power supply if you want to play in one go. It is a great game with an immersive story, but you’ll want to give yourself a break occasionally. It is definitely worth a shot if you’re a fan of arcade shooters and VR shooters in general.

Echo Boomer

Journey To Foundation explores new territories in Isaac Asimov's world, in a superficial VR experience that would be much more enjoyable to explore in a more traditional format.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

Duuro Magazine

Throught this review, I use the word "OK" to describe a lot of the elements of Journey To Foundation and that's it, this game is just OK.

• Cast & crew

Journey to Foundation

An epic sci-fi VR role-playing adventure based on Isaac Asimov's groundbreaking literary saga, Foundation. An epic sci-fi VR role-playing adventure based on Isaac Asimov's groundbreaking literary saga, Foundation. An epic sci-fi VR role-playing adventure based on Isaac Asimov's groundbreaking literary saga, Foundation.

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A Meta Quest 3 Update is Here!

Exciting news, Meta Quest players! We're happy to share that our newest update is available for Quest 3 users, which includes visual updates shared below, as well as bug fixes .

When you update Journey to Foundation and play on Meta Quest 3, you'll experience...

Improved texture resolution across the game

Updates to a large amount of materials, including using full transparency instead of dithering

Upgraded visual effects (VFX) for fire, smoke, and steam across all levels

Fog and lightshafts in supported environments

Increased lighting quality & resolution

We're excited for Meta Quest 3 users to experience Journey to Foundation in a way that takes advantage of the headset's true potential.

We hope you continue to enjoy this story-driven adventure! All the best, The Archiact Team

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Journey To Foundation Lets Players Explore Isaac Asimov's Sci-Fi Universe In VR

Isaac Asimov's classic sci-fi book series is getting a PlayStation VR 2 adaptation.

By Cameron Koch on February 23, 2023 at 2:16PM PST

Journey to Foundation is looking to give Isaac Asimov's legendary sci-fi book series the video game treatment, and it's coming to PlayStation VR 2 in Autumn 2023.

A trailer debuting as part of PlayStation's first State of Play for 2023 showed a first look at what players will be up to in Journey to Foundation, as a narrator warns that the universe's existing interstellar empire will inevitably collapse and that the future of humanity will depend on what happens next. The trailer shows first-person stealth segments, conversations, platforming, and gunfights, as well a unique piece of technology that is able to incapacitate enemies.

In a PlayStation blog post , developer Archiact dives into the game's story, which will have players stepping into the shoes of Ward, an agent of the Commission of Public Safety tasked with investigating civil unrest in the empire. Eventually, Ward will stumble upon a group of defectors who are looking for the mysterious Foundation founded by Hari Seldon, whose use of psychohistory has predicted the fall of the empire and a subsequent dark age that will follow. From there, players will team up with the defectors to learn more about the Foundation and Seldon's plan to save humanity, but Archiact seems to tease that it will ultimately be up to players whether or not they go along with Seldon's mission or if they continue to fight for the doomed-to-fail empire.

Choice looks to play a key role, as players will be able to use mental science to influence the emotions of others and make decisions that will impact the world, according to Archiact. There will also be a variety of gadgets to aid players in their journey, ranging from a plasma torch to a nanotech-powered disguise suit.

Asimov's book series is notoriously action-light, instead focusing heavily on its philosophical themes. How the game will ultimately adapt the classic sci-fi series remains to be seen, but in the meantime fans can check out Apple TV's big-budget Foundation series, which was recently renewed for a second season.

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• Journey to Foundation brings Asimov’s epic sci-fi series to life on PS VR2

In this story-rich adventure, the future is in your hands.

80 years following the release of this epic sci-fi book series, Archiact is bringing the world of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation to life in VR. The groundbreaking saga that has been incredibly influential on science fiction, having shaped much of what we see today.

Adapting Asimov’s work into an immersive VR narrative adventure has been an incredible journey for our team, and we can’t wait for people to experience it first-hand.

In this story-rich world, players are plunged into an epic journey through an area of space called The Periphery, where relationships will be strained, loyalties will be tested, and they must decide which factions will rise and fall. In this game, the future is in your hands.

Journey to Foundation

More than just a title, Journey to Foundation embodies the mission you’ll embark on that will reshape an empire.

You play as Ward, an agent of the powerful Commission of Public Safety, who is sent to investigate civil unrest at the edge of the Galactic Empire. The Empire has kept peace across the galaxy for over 12 thousand years, but cracks have started to emerge. Stagnation, apathy, and internal revolt all threaten to break it apart.

Your mission takes a turn when you discover a group of defectors who are planning to abandon the Empire and make their way to the Foundation, an organization that was formed by famous psychohistorian Hari Seldon, who used mathematics to predict the Fall of the Empire. The player must join with the defectors to learn more about the Foundation and their plan to save humanity.

In the end, you’ll need to decide who to trust. Will you fight for a dying Empire, or will you defect to the Foundation and help rebuild what has been lost?

Caption: A mohawked figure garbed in bronze and blue that looks equally like armour as it does a space suit, gazes out of a window into deep space, watching the sun rise over a nearby planet’s surface.

Become a Galactic Spymaster

Whether you employ subterfuge and diplomacy, or use threats and manipulation to get your way, you have an arsenal of equipment, weapons, and special tools to approach every situation with.

The power of mental science allows you to uncover and influence the emotions of people around you. Use this to your advantage to gain information peacefully… or forcibly.

Participatory conversations

Converse with or coerce the people around you and build relationships with your companions using an intricate conversation system.

Choice & consequence

Characters will respond to your actions (or lack thereof). Keep in mind: how you approach each situation will impact the world around you. You have the power to influence your environment; will you rely on stealth and diplomacy, or take a more direct approach?

Shape-shifting arsenal

Let your weapon do the talking. Blast your way through areas with a set of swappable components to cover you and your companions in any situation.

Cutting-edge tools

At your disposal are the best spy tools the Empire has to offer: a plasma torch capable of cutting through the toughest alloys, a nanotech disguise that allows you to infiltrate enemy camps, and a sophisticated hacking tool that can penetrate the most complex computer systems.

Releasing Fall 2023

This autumn, immerse yourself in the world of Asimov with Journey to Foundation on PlayStation VR2.

State of Play: All Announcements

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Journey To Foundation Cast Features Mass Effect & Overwatch Talent

Journey To Foundation unveiled its voice cast featuring actors from Mass Effect, Overwatch 2 and more.

Set in Isaac Asimov's Foundation universe, Journey To Foundation is a narrative-focused sci-fi adventure from Archiact. As confirmed in a press release, we now know that Hayden Bishop (Wasteland 3) is voicing protagonist Agent Ward. They're joined by François Chau (Ghost of Tsushima) as Commissioner Han Bo, Jennifer Hale (Mass Effect, Synapse ) as Vex, and Leah de Niese (Overwatch 2) as the soon-to-be Empress Astoria Durand.

Rounding out this cast is Anoush NeVart (Nyria Durand ), James Mathis III (Cyril Gant), Ritesh Rajan (Kaldan Morrow), Ry Chase (Ezro Toombs), Fryda Wolff (Erinye), Jason Hightower (Major Leos), D Callahan (Grilk) and Jason Spisak (The Peddler ).

Revealed during February's State of Play presentation, Journey To Foundation promises every choice "carries a consequence and affects your story." You can read the official description below:

Players will embark on a clandestine mission as Agent Ward, a spy sent to the edge of the Galactic Empire to infiltrate a group of deserters… only to uncover a dire truth that could change the course of history. Armed with the best tools and weapons the Empire has to offer, you'll have to decide who to trust. Will you fight for an Empire that Hari Seldon has predicted will collapse into 30,000 years of anarchy, or will you defect to the Foundation and help them build a new cradle for humanity?

Journey To Foundation releases in Autumn 2023 on PSVR 2 , Meta Quest 2 , and Pico 4 .

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Journey to Foundation

By Ryan Ouellette on October 26, 2023

Developer / publisher – archiact interactive price – us $39.99 / can 54.99 / eu €39.99 / uk £29.99 release date – october 26th, 2023 input – 2 x motion controllers play area –  seated, standing store links – playstation , meta , pico reviewed on – psvr 2.

I’m not familiar with the source Material for Journey to Foundation, but I do loves me some epic sci-fi stories which is clearly what this game is looking to give players.  You play as agent Ward, a woman who works for the Commission of Public Safety, a branch of the Galactic Empire that maintains order by seemingly any means.  The game opens up with a simple mission involving a few deserters from the Empire, but soon turns into a larger conspiracy that could change the fate of the empire.

Conversation choices are the name of the game here.

The games’ onset will have you familiarize yourself with the controls and included are comfort options that allow for full freedom of movement to click-turning and teleportation and various levels of blinders.   After this simulation, the 1 st stage introduces the current political climate as well as combat and communication, the latter of which is paramount in how you’re going to enjoy this game.

Once chatting someone up, talking points will appear that can be abrasive or kind with optional dialogue choices also popping up that could help you learn more about who you chatting with, someone else or some general information about what’s happening around you.  Without spoiling the story, you will end up playing a pivotal role in it that will depend on many of your choices…whether you like it or not.

Sometimes you’ll have to “persuade” people using your telepathic powers.

It’s not a great system as you need to look at the choice before pressing ‘X’ to select it, but on more than a few occasions, the game picked a choice I didn’t mean too. Most of the time, that was fine as you can repeat many conversations and pick all the options to see how people may react differently or get additional info, but it’s still annoying to repeat conversations nonetheless.  Adding to those simple choices is the ability to read minds and persuade people to change how they’ll react to questions, which is awesome in theory as I initially felt like Obi-wan Kenobi telling storm troopers “you don’t need to see our identification”.  In practice though, these bits are rarely optional and need to be used to move the story along, adding a layer to talking that felt more contrived than fun. You can also look at “stuff” in the environment to help trigger a response so pay attention to your surroundings as they can be easy to miss, though an icon will pop up in your speech options to remind you it’s there.  What this all makes for is a somewhat clunky conversation experience that is fine when it flows but annoyed me when I was forced to do something to trigger the right talking point.

The combat isn’t anything to special.

Unfortunately, Journey to Foundation has chosen to include many different mechanics like shooting combat, hacking of storage containers using a relatively simple cube puzzle that just gets more complex, but not necessarily harder, the further you get in the game, climbing sections, finding hidden items and a host more ways to interact with the various environments you find yourself in that feel at best half baked and at worst simply there to pad the run time. Speaking of running, you can’t, and are relegated to a slow walk which in most situations is fine, but when backtracking or in in a situation that might call for some quicker feet, agent Ward always goes at her own, slow pace. Now let me be clear, none of the gameplay elements are broken in here, they just tend to feel more formulaic and redundant than engaging and fun which had my initial few hours in the game feeling like quite the chore.

Now, this is where the story kicks in as while it is initially not very engaging, at least it wasn’t for me, once I started to remember who was who and paid attention to the politics at play, did I start to feel invested in the story.  In between stages, you can view a sort of encyclopedia which covers important planets, characters, technology and other info found in conversation or from little data cubes which contain audio recordings or snippets of text.  That narrative really is the driving force behind my investment in this as once things started to pick up, it did ease some of my annoyances with all the ways the game tries to slow that story down in favor of just seeing what was going to happen next.

The hacking puzzles get old reeeeeal fast.

Circling back to the combat, you are armed with a singular weapon that has additional mods that change it up from being a pistol, a machine gun, shotgun and rifle.  Enemies are bullet sponges or the weapons are weak AF, it doesn’t really matter as your shots move just slow enough to make hitting moving targets a struggle and as there is no ammo to be found, overusing your weapon will force it to cool down for a few seconds.  The combat feels very similar to Hubris with the exception that enemies rarely miss if you are exposed so you need to take them out quickly and let your health regenerate while hiding behind cover.  You’ll also gain the ability to use your mind messing powers to stun or even kill singular foes though this will need to be used sparingly as your mental powers are also tied to a meter on your dominant hand that slowly replenishes when not being used.  There is no level up system in here, the story will simply dictate when a new ability or weapon mod becomes available.

Something I did enjoy, despite it being a little janky, is the need to make hand symbols and arm gestures as you meet certain people.  The first time this happened was when I was being detained until my ID was verified and the solider in charge told me to put my hands up.  I did, but clearly didn’t do it high enough as he threatened me once more to do it lest I face consequences. Once I raised my hands well above my head did the scene proceed and it’s little moments like that that remind me why playing in VR can be so special.  Throughout the game some characters will greet you with gestures from whatever group they are affiliated with and repeating these successfully did seem to endear me to them or irritate them if I didn’t do them properly.  This did get tricky when they wanted my fingers in a certain position as I had difficulty remembering which buttons did what and failed as those characters moved on, but it’s something I appreciated throughout the campaign whenever it showed up.

Some of the background images can look rough.

This leads me to the presentation which is a mixed bag of campy cartoonish fun not unlike the Saints and Sinners games or Vox Machinae with nearly everyone looking like they could easily belong in either of those titles.  On the PSVR 2, there is some dynamic lighting at play which does help make things look a little immersive but on the flip side are some lower resolution backgrounds and textures which do stand out as looking particularly not good.  This is readily apparent during the sections where you can see into space and ships are flying about as both don’t look great.  The levels you find yourself in fare better, but in no way are they anything special and while the variety of locales you find yourself in is impressive, the small scale of every stage makes this universe feel smaller than it should.  NPC’s can animate stiffly, many effects (like explosions or various weapons fire) just don’t look good and I can’t help but feel like having this release on the Quest & Pico platforms limited the scope of the stages and restricted the design choices to something that could run on the stand alone platform. Most of the game looks ‘just fine’ but anyone looking for their next Red Matter 2 or Hubris when it comes to visuals should check those expectations.  I also did notice a slight Mura effect though it was fairly subtle and never became too distracting.

I love the use of hand and arm gestures to greet certain people.

As this is a narrative heavy tale with a lot of talking, it’s great that everyone you talk to is fully voiced by a talented collection of actors that all do great work at nailing their respective characters.  Sure, sometimes people can be a bit cheesy, or some replies sound forced, but overall I’m happy with the voice acting and dialogue as it did remind me of Bethesda classics in the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series of games.  A fairly epic soundtrack is also at play, kicking in when the action gets intense, but falling into the background when things get a little quieter and when I did notice it, I appreciated its quality!  Spatial audio is also in full effect here and I always love when turning my head away from someone causes me to hear them less or only in 1 ear.  Of course, there’s more to that 3D audio than just that and when explosions and gunfire were happening around me, it can sound fairly intense.

PSVR 2 haptics are also fully utilized with each of your blaster shots feeling different and when you use your powers or health gets low, they’ll rumble in different ways.

Your telepathic powers can also be used to scramble enemy’s brains!

Journey to Foundation I think is best described as a Jack of all trades, but master of none type experience that is saved by its story and how it potentially plays out during the 7-hour campaign.  Key choices will have a dramatic effect on how it all plays out and you can skip through conversations should you decide to play a 2 nd time to see what changes you can affect.  Nothing in here is broken, it could just all use some fine tuning as, minus the telepathic powers, almost every other aspect of the game feels like it’s been done better somewhere else.  It’s for that reason that I feel like the asking price is a little high for this but if you are looking to play a narrative heavy sci-fi adventure, I think Journey to Foundation should scratch that itch nicely…just give it a couple hours for the story to truly pull you in

Archiact Interactive provided The VR Grid with a press code for this title and, regardless of this review, we thank them for that!

• Engaging narrative
• Lengthy 7+ Hour campaign
• Choices give replay value
• Solid performances from the actors
• Story took a few hours grab me
• Presentation is underwhelming
• Most mechanics are servicable, but never great
• Gameplay gets in the way of the story

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Journey to Foundation

• Screenshots

• 2023 ( Quest )
• 2023 ( PlayStation 5 )
• Archiact Interactive Ltd.

It’s been almost two centuries since Hari Seldon predicted the fall of the Galactic Empire and forged a Foundation to mitigate the chaos and destruction that would come.

You are an agent with the Commission of Public Safety, a shadowy organization that maintains order in the Galactic Empire.

What begins as a mission to investigate deserters in the Periphery quickly becomes a battle for control of all humanity.

With your superior officer in your ear, and the esteemed governor’s daughter at your side, you must journey to Foundation.

In this immersive roleplaying adventure, you decide who will rise and what is lost to the fires of anarchy.

Disguise, hack, and blast your way through Asimov's groundbreaking sci-fi universe using the most advanced tools the Galactic Empire has to offer.

Where will your journey lead you?

Source: PlayStation Store description

• Inspiration: Author - Isaac Asimov
• Inspiration: Literature
• Setting: Space station / Spaceship

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Average score: 68% (based on 2 ratings)

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Game added by Terok Nor .

Game added November 22, 2023. Last modified March 30, 2024.

• News & Events

Mitchell S. Jackson to Speak at Convocation

The celebration is Monday, June 10, 2 to 4 p.m. at the Ryan Fieldhouse, 2333 Campus Drive on Northwestern’s Evanston campus. A reception for graduates and their families follows the ceremony.

Jackson, the author of the award-winning books The Residue Years and the memoir Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family , is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, a columnist for  Esquire , and a highly sought after speaker. A formerly incarcerated person, Jackson is also a social justice advocate who, as part of his outreach, visits prisons and youth facilities in the United States and abroad.

“Mitch Jackson is one of the great social commentators of the decade,” said School of Education and Social Policy Dean Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy, the Carlos Montezuma Professor. “Whether it’s his treatment in the role of race in the killing of Armaud Arbery or how Chicago’s Bo Jackson navigated being a two-sport athlete, his insightful critique and important illuminations of challenges and the opportunities in front of us are remarkable.”

In addition to Jackson’s keynote, Convocation features the annual Alumni Leadership Award, given to an undergraduate and graduate student for exceptional leadership in the School of Education and Social Policy, at Northwestern, and beyond. Graduating seniors  Kyla Neely (social policy) and Yaurie Hwang (learning sciences) are the 2024 Convocation co-chairs.  

About Jackson  

Jackson won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Feature Writing for a “deeply affecting account of the killing of Ahmaud Arbery that combined vivid writing, thorough reporting and personal experience to shed light on systemic racism in America” according to the judges. The piece, called “ Twelve Minutes and a Life ” and published in Runner’s World , also won a National Magazine Award in Feature Writing.

His debut novel The Residue Years  won a Whiting Award and The Ernest J. Gaines Prize for Literary Excellence. His essay collection  Survival Math: Notes on an All-American Family  was named a best book of 2019 by fifteen publications. Jackson is also the author of Fly: The Big Book of Basketball Fashion, described by The New York Times , as “A coffee-table book that elevates the subject to the same decorative status as a Dior or Gucci monograph.”

Jackson’s other honors include fellowships, grants, and awards from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, Creative Capital, the Cullman Center of the NYPL, the Lannan Foundation, PEN, and TED .

His writing has been featured on the cover of the  New York Times Magazine , the New York Times Book Review ,  Time ,  Esquire , and Men’s Health , as well as in  The New Yorker , Harpers , Harper’s Bazaar , The Paris Review , The Guardian , and elsewhere.

As a public speaker, Jackson has delivered lectures and keynote addresses both in the US and abroad, including the TED Conference, the Ubud (Bali) Writers and Readers Festival, the Sydney Writers’ Festival; the Hegra Conference of Nobel Laureates and Friends; as well as at Yale University, Brown University, Cornell University, Columbia University, Oberlin College, UCLA, and other esteemed institutions.   

Photo Credit: John Ricard

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