The VR game fujii offers the player a whimsical, if sometimes frustrating, VR experience. You are tasked with solving puzzles that are centred around one specific item in order to reveal an image underneath several layers of paint. This may sound easy at first glance but there are many factors that make it complicated, especially in the last puzzle.
You are the owner of an exhibit that you inherited from your grandfather. The entire game is played within this space so there are no load screens, no new areas to explore. Also, there are few UI elements present in this game so you will not be distracted by them during gameplay. You interact with things almost exclusively through telekinesis and that’s it.
The game begins with you picking up an old, worn-out picture of your grandfather at the beginning of his career as a photographer. The first thing that jumps out is how natural it feels to hold objects in this game. You can rotate or flip them around anyway you want and see them from every angle. This is incredibly important for puzzles within the game because you will be moving items around in order to uncover the image underneath.
The puzzles themselves are colour-coded which is nice so it’s easy to remember what each one means. For example, blue puzzles are about overlapping circles to reveal an item underneath while red ones revolve around rotating rings in order to find the hidden picture. At first, Fujii seems like it’s creating puzzles that are too easy because all you need to do is rotate rings or objects but the game evolves as you progress. There are more steps added to each puzzle which makes them more tedious and sometimes frustrating.
I had the most trouble with the fourth image in particular because of red/green turns and the fact that I had to spin a ring around an object. It was difficult to figure out what went where and as a result, it took me hours to solve. There are enough clues given but because there isn’t much time to think during each puzzle you have to be able to intuit things quickly in order for them not to drag on.
I appreciate that Fujii has a variety of objects to interact with since it creates a more unique experience each time you play. There is a roller, a wheel, and even a fishing rod in order to solve puzzles that have different steps added onto them. However, I was disappointed by the lack of ways to move from one puzzle to another. You can only move in one direction, forward, and this made it difficult to find the exit. I had to look around for an object that could teleport me out of the exhibit because otherwise I would have gotten lost trying to figure out where I was in the game.
Solving puzzles in fujii is quite rewarding when you finally figure out what to do. You take a moment after each puzzle to admire the image at the end of it and I enjoy that there’s a sense of accomplishment for solving them one by one.
I would recommend fujii as a casual VR experience for those who love colour-based puzzles or meticulously going through steps to reveal an object. It can be frustrating at times when you can’t figure out what to do but it’s a unique VR experience that is well worth the price of admission.
I give fujii a 7 out of 10, losing points for unclear map design and simple puzzles in the beginning.