Beardo Benjo's prismaticShape Pokémon VR Review

The Pokémon VR mod runs entirely standalone on the Meta Quest 3 headset, requiring no additional hardware beyond the headset itself.

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Most of the game's environment, including elements like tables, plants, and trees, are rendered in 3D voxels, contributing to the VR immersion.

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Human characters within the game are displayed as flat 2D sprites, which stands in contrast to the 3D VR environment and can be jarring for players.

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Players have the option to switch from classic 2D sprites to full 3D Pokémon Stadium models for Pokémon, enhancing the visual fidelity during gameplay and battles.

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The game features interactive environmental details, such as grass that physically parts as the player walks through it, adding to the immersion.

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Pokémon battle animations can be glitchy, with models sometimes phasing in and out of existence, and attack animations appearing noticeably delayed, though still considered cool by the reviewer.

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The mod allows players to experience the game from various perspectives: a direct first-person view, a third-person diorama view, and an interactive mixed reality mode that integrates the game into the player's physical room.

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While the third-person mode allows for adjustable draw distance to view the entire map, maximizing this setting noticeably degrades the game's performance.

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The mod features a highly immersive and "slick" mechanic where players physically grab and throw Poké Balls to catch wild Pokémon, which the reviewer finds brilliant.

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The game includes comprehensive settings that provide players with significant options to customize their VR Pokémon experience.

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Standalone Quest 3 compatibility

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The reviewer states and demonstrates that the Pokémon VR mod runs entirely standalone on the Meta Quest 3 headset.

2D character sprites in 3D environment

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The reviewer observes that human characters, such as the player's mom, appear as flat 2D sprites within the otherwise 3D VR environment, which they found jarring.

Optional 3D Pokémon Stadium models

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The reviewer confirms that Pokémon models can be changed to 3D Pokémon Stadium versions, enhancing the visual experience over classic sprites.

Voxel water animation

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The water in the game is rendered as a rolling line of transparent voxels, which the reviewer describes as "really cool" but speculates might have a performance cost.

Initial glitch with Pokémon Stadium models

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The reviewer initially expected to see Pokémon Stadium models during battles but encountered a glitch, seeing default battle sprites instead. They later corrected this in settings, still finding the experience "very cool."

Interactive grass and Pokémon battle animations

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The reviewer demonstrates that grass parts interactively as the player walks through it and observes a Rattata performing backflips and other animations during battle, which they found "wicked."

Glitchy and delayed battle animations

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The reviewer points out that battle animations are sometimes glitchy, with Pokémon phasing in and out of existence, and attack animations are noticeably delayed, despite still being considered "so cool."

Performance in grassy areas

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Despite initial concerns about performance in dense, interactive grassy areas, the reviewer concludes that the game's performance is "actually perfectly fine."

Third-person 3D gameplay mode

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The reviewer demonstrates an alternative third-person gameplay mode where the entire game environment is still rendered in 3D.

Adjustable draw distance impact on performance

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The reviewer shows that increasing the draw distance in third-person mode allows viewing the entire map but causes the game to run "noticeably quite poorly." Reducing the draw distance improves performance significantly.

Mixed reality gameplay mode

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The reviewer demonstrates a mixed reality mode where the 3D game world appears within the physical room, allowing players to pick up, rotate, and scale the diorama.

Physical Poké Ball throwing mechanic

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The reviewer demonstrates and highly praises the immersive mechanic of physically grabbing and throwing Poké Balls to catch Pokémon, calling it a "slick little implementation" and "brilliant."

Comprehensive settings for custom experience

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The reviewer notes that the game's settings are comprehensive, allowing users to tailor their VR experience.

Can I play Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow in VR on a Quest 3?

The reviewer demonstrates a VR mod that converts classic Pokémon games (Red, Blue, Yellow) into a playable virtual reality experience, running entirely standalone on the Meta Quest 3 headset. This mod enables a new way to interact with the familiar Kanto region.

What are the graphical features of the Pokémon VR mod?

The mod renders most environments, like plants and tables, in 3D voxels and provides an option to use 3D Pokémon Stadium models for Pokémon during battles. However, human characters within the game world are depicted as flat 2D sprites, which the reviewer found somewhat jarring against the 3D backdrop.

How immersive is the Pokémon VR mod?

The mod provides a high level of immersion through features like interactive grass that parts as the player walks through it, and a "slick" physical mechanic for throwing Poké Balls. While some battle animations are noted to be glitchy and delayed, the reviewer praises the overall immersive and interactive experience.

What gameplay modes are available in the Pokémon VR mod?

Players can experience the game in a direct first-person view, a third-person diorama view that offers a broader perspective of the map, or a mixed reality mode which integrates the 3D game world as a scalable object into the player's physical room.

Does the VR mod impact performance on Quest 3?

The mod generally runs "perfectly fine" on the Quest 3, even in graphically intensive areas like interactive grass. However, if players choose to utilize the option to increase the draw distance to view the entire map in third-person mode, it results in a "noticeably running quite poorly" performance drop.

Are there customization options in the Pokémon VR mod?

The reviewer highlights that the mod comes with comprehensive settings, allowing players to significantly customize various aspects of their VR Pokémon experience to suit their preferences.