DeVuego

En manos de cualquier estudio desarrollador, Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son hubiese sido un producto alimenticio sin demasiado poso final. Es más, aburrido si hubiese seguido este mismo esquema de juego. Pero claro, no estaríamos hablando de Sony, que tan bien está sabiendo guiar su división VR. Sony ha sabido asignar un producto complicado, por el rango de obra de culto de su original, a una desarrolladora de contrastada calidad. Y con ese movimiento ha realizando un gesto de claro cariño a una de sus muchas propiedades intelectuales.

What a pleasant surprise, then. Against all odds, Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son nestles itself neatly amongst the growing number of VR titles that marry compelling, involving narrative with thoughtful interactivity. It’s a game with a welcome amount of heart, refusing to settle for the usual standards of tie-in media. Dare I say it, it’s even a worthy follow-up to a movie you’d have thought best left untouched. Bravo.

Groundhog Day Like Father Like Son es una entretenida continuación del clásico Atrapado en el Tiempo, que replica los aciertos de la película de manera jugable. No es especialmente largo ni innovador en lo jugable, pero si te gusta la película y experiencias como Job Simulator, aquí tienes una buena propuesta.

Si estar dentro de un bucle temporal es tan divertido como Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son, entonces, ¡a meternos dentro de uno! Lo que ha hecho Tequila Works al hacer esta secuela de una película tan querida tiene mucho mérito, ya que logran conmemorarla, homenajearla, y ofrecer una continuación más que digna. Estamos ante una aventura narrativa para VR sencillamente fantástica, que logra enganchar desde el primer minuto por las conexiones con la película, lo bien que funciona la propuesta del bucle temporal y las posibilidades que tenemos para interactuar en cada escena.

Groundhog Day is a fun, mind-bending adventure that encourages trial and error. Its funny, witty and everything is presented in a pleasing manner. The VR implementation is good and I had zero issues throughout. Groundhog Day came from nowhere and really surprised me. I really enjoyed it.

Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son is a lovable VR adventure that doesn’t do any disservice to the original material on which it’s based. There’s quite a bit to do if you look close enough as the title is all about paying attention to your surroundings. As such there can be quite a variance in gameplay time, expect around 6 hours on average, thanks to the different repetition elements – constantly repeating certain mini-games actually makes them easier. With a unique art style and engaging story, Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son offers an unexpectedly enjoyable adventure, and you don’t even need to have seen the film. That being said, it’s time to see if Groundhog Day is online somewhere.

Like Father Like Son may sound like a strange fit for the PSVR platform but it manages to deliver. It's a solid addition to the VR catalogue as well as a competent successor to the 1993 movie, and we loved how the time loop plot transitioned well into a puzzle format as we pieced together what needed to be done as we worked towards having the perfect day. Sadly the original cast is nowhere to be seen and we had a few minor issues relating to its repetitive nature and the clunky navigation, however, these are minor flaws at best and didn't stop us from having a great time in Punxsutawney.

Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son is an enjoyable title for fans of the film and those that like a stronger story in their games. You get plenty of the fun VR shenanigans with the Move controllers but the story is what drags you along and determines what you can and can’t do. It is, obviously, repetitious by nature with certain activities being more annoying than others in that respect but whilst a decent length, the game doesn’t outstay its welcome either. Once you’ve beaten it and done all the optional stuff then I’m not sure there’s much replayability which for the price could be an issue but it’s worth strapping on the headset for again.

Like Father, Like Son is an interesting VR experience that mostly succeeds despite lacking the charm of the source material

What succeeds above all else is the script. The writers know the right times to drop references to the film and faithfully stick to the first story’s warmest moments. It’s a shame Gobbler’s Knob can’t look the same as it does in the movie, and there’s an unavoidable clunkiness to the way people move around, but there’s a surprising amount of heart in this goofy sequel. It’s worth experiencing if you’re already set up for VR and Groundhog Day is something you like to revisit again and again.

Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son may not feature the most engaging gameplay, or technically precise controls, however it delivers a hearty helping of genuine sincerity that definitely sticks with you. Tedium plays a fair part here, which can grate on your nerves, although it's definitely fitting considering the source material.

Groundhog Day wasn’t exactly a property screaming for a sequel. However, Tequila Works’ next-generation time-looping adventure successfully manages to pull players into its familiar small-town Americana vibe for a cute new story, albeit one saddled with some VR control issues and inevitable repetition.

Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son is primarily a superb adventure game occasionally stymied by overly finicky – and at times outright broken – minigames. At most times a stellar lighthearted VR romp with some grand heartfelt moments, Groundhog Day's charm subsides at times as players are forced to do minigames over and over to succeed. The superior writing and structure shine through, but expect some moments of frustration.

It's a shame, then, there are some issues. The presentation is unimpressive, with character models particularly poor and terribly animated. The abundance of loading screens interrupts things far too frequently, and some of the writing and voice acting leaves a lot to be desired. Minigames pepper the experience but miss more than they hit, and the occasional issue with movement tracking can be a pain. At the end of the day, this is a neat experiment that fans of the film will enjoy, but overall it fails to measure up to the source material.

Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son should be praised for its devotion to the source material and bravery in its expansive approach to a time-honored classic film, but it fails in certain glaring areas that may frustrate its audience. Hampering player freedom in a sequel to a movie that was primarily about freedom seems drastically ill-conceived, and it’s hard to understand why the finished product was even made as a VR game in the first place. Fans of the film will still find it to be a worthy experience, mixing a similar blend of sarcastic humor and sincere emotional growth, but impatient gamers will probably grate against the clunky UI and unavoidable padding.

The sequel Groundhog Day never had comes with a similarly redemptive ark, a witty script, and some mini-games that should never have seen the light of day.

Despite being a quarter-century removed from the original movie, Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son was actually a great idea for a game. And it was neat to come back and check out Punxsutawney in 3D, from a first-person perspective. I also liked all the little references and call-backs to the movie sprinkled throughout (yes, you can drink “To World Peace”). But too often, the gameplay and production values took away from the joy. I’m not sure if the developers were pressed for time or under budgetary restraints, but it just felt rushed and unpolished overall. Like I said before, it’s not so much that Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son is a totally bad game — it isn’t. It’s just really disappointing that it wasn’t a lot better.

While I understand it’s trying to emulate the movie, this ultimately makes Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son not any fun to play. Having to repeat the same tedious, overly lengthy, and often difficult, minigames over and over is just not fun. While I can say I was impressed with the storytelling and voice acting, and it really did feel a lot of effort went into making the game feel just like the movie. I just wish it was actually fun to play.

The bottom line is this is kind of a variation of Job Simulator with an attempted franchise skin. Stick to Job Simulator would be my recommendation.

Unlike its protagonist, Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son shows little interest in forging its own identity. If you’re craving a return to Punxsutawney, rewatching the movie is a far more rewarding choice.