I’m ashamed to say that I was one of those people who was furiously swiping across their smartphone at any opportunity when Fruit Ninja released on mobile all those years ago. I kicked the habit pretty quickly (6 months is quick, right?) and never looked back. I was free to play other pointless swipey/tappy games.
Fast forward to 2016 and my smartphone is a glorified email device that I use to send the occasional nude Snapchat to my friends for laughs (they love it) and to give my mother a weekly text to inform her of my ongoing survival. Yet Fruit Ninja has found a way. It always finds a way. God damn it. Now I’m addicted to Fruit Ninja VR, even if I’m not especially good at it.
It’s the same basic game that you’ve sunk countless hours into on your phone, but now it’s in VR. Is it worth playing? Hell. God. Damn. ‘Effing. Yes. It’s stupidly addictive and wickedly fun. Using two PS Move wands is the only way to play this one, so make sure you’ve got a pair and that they’re fully charged. However, just to be clear, you can play with just one ninja sword if you so wish by using just one PS Move controller. These act as your swords, and for the most part they work brilliantly. I normally notice a fair bit of wobble with the wands in most PSVR games, but thanks to the fast action of Fruit Ninja VR, you’re never holding your hands still long enough to see.
There are four game modes on offer here: Classic, Arcade, Zen, and Survival. My favourite mode by far is Zen where you have a couple of minutes to slash as many healthy snacks as you can, all without the risk of accidentally slashing through a bomb. It kind of takes the challenge away, I admit, but it’s still good fun to chase your way up the leaderboards.
The traditional modes are more of the same, although there’s the added threat of cutting a bomb and losing the game. Instead of just avoiding bombs, you need to gently tap them away from your circle of safety, otherwise you’ll get one strike; three strikes and it’s game over. It’s challenging, frustrating, rewarding, and most of all, fun. Swapping the headset over with the Mrs after every other go turned out to be a nice way of getting some multiplayer out of the game, even if it doesn’t officially support multiplayer. Pencil and paper will track your scores here. Yeah, we did it old-school.
To be honest, there’s not much else to say about Fruit Ninja VR other than it just works wonderfully. It’s a really good game. It’s as simple as that. It doesn’t hurt that it looks pretty awesome, too. I suppose my one suggestion would be some kind of add-on for the PS Move wands. It’s all good and well having your in-game swords swinging as you like, but the lack of any weight in the hand is a bit weird. Maybe that’s just me, but if the only fault I can find with the game is something that’s out of the creator’s hands, surely that’s a good thing? It is. Go and buy this game and then show it off over the Christmas period to relatives. Maybe let Granny have a few Gin & Tonics first, then send her on her way to Ninja School with Fruit Ninja VR. Then please, for the love of gaming, send us a video.
Fruit Ninja VR PS4/PSVR Review
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Overall - Must Buy - 9.0/109/10
Summary
Fruit Ninja VR is a simple, silly, sword-swinging fun. If you thought it was a blast on your phone, just wait until you strap on your PSVR headset and go to town on those fruity snacks. Just, er, be careful not to whack anyone nearby. They don’t like that kind of thing, apparently…
Review Disclaimer: This review was carried out using a digital copy of the game bought at the expense of the reviewer. This has no effect on the content of the review or the final score awarded. For more information, please read our Review Policy.
Reviewed on a PS4 Slim.
