Statik Review (PS4 / PSVR)

Statik is a PlayStation VR puzzle game similar in style to Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. You awaken in a strange room as a test subject with both hands locked inside a puzzle box while your captor Dr Ingen observes you from afar. You must solve these puzzle boxes in order to uncover why you are being tested and learn how to escape Ingen's lab.

You are thrown straight into the game with no explanation of controls or story. Instead you are left entirely to your own devices throughout the game, to gather your thoughts and figure out the controls with the occasional spiteful or sarcastic quip coming from your tormentor, who we are certain has the middle name Glados.

There are a wide variety of different boxes that Ingen will lock you into, each being covered on the outside with puzzles that require your interaction through the DualShock 4. You are able to rotate your controller in order to examine the puzzles on the box as you experiment pressing buttons to see what happens. Each button is associated to something on the outside of the box and you will have to use your initiative and the environment around you in order to find the solutions.

For instance, in one puzzle we had to enter a colour code on the outside of the box but we were scratching our heads for ages until we noticed the coloured flower pots at the back of the room and then it clicked; some of the solutions are hidden subtly within the environments. Every puzzle is completely unique and challenging, with multiple steps needed to solve them, so you get a great sense of satisfaction out of finding the solutions and completing the tasks.

The puzzles are excellently designed: there can be several types of puzzles on one box that are all interwoven so that you have to solve one to unlock another. There are number puzzles, colour puzzles, remote controlled car puzzles, and much more – it really puts virtual reality to good use. Although they are all challenging to complete, it never reaches a frustrating difficulty.

Statik is also visually impressive with an excellent sense of depth and great detail that is very clear to see in the VR headset. There are several different rooms where your tests will take place and each feels different and interesting to look at as puzzle solutions are sneakily hidden among ordinary objects in a similar style to The Witness.

Aside from some very minor technical issues, the length of the game is the only real downside; with only a couple of hours of puzzles to solve you'll end the game yearning for more, which shows just how good the whole experience is.