Mekorama is one of the launch titles of Daydream VR and it’s competing against Claro and Danger Goat for best puzzle game in these early days of the system. In Mekorama you are guiding a crash-landed little robot through 50 challenging levels in the quest to reach the exit. The game is the VR version of the title with the same name that you can download from the Android Play Store for your phone or tablet as well.

Gameplay

Mekorama’s gameplay is simple. You are presented with the level from a bird’s eye perspective. Use the motion controller to tap any point in the level and if there are no obstacles in the way, the little robot will move to this position. There are special bricks in each level that are marked with a circle. Those bricks can be moved by pointing at them with your motion controller and dragging them in the direction you want them to go. Move those structures to clear the way or move the robot across obstacles or into higher heights to reach the exit. You can also rotate the game world with your motion controller and drag the whole level up or down to give you a better view of the action.

You will also meet fellow robots along the way that are wondering around the levels. Sometimes they will block your way and you have to wait for the right moment to pass by, sometimes you might use them in other creative ways to reach your goal, for example by using them as a stepping stone to reach a higher area.

The developer did a fantastic job of increasing the difficulty level in a way that let’s you get used to the game mechanics early on but that presents to you harder and harder challenges as you advance. Mekorama is a real brainteaser with clever level design that will give you a great sense of achievement once you have mastered a level. You really have to think out of the box and make smart use of the game mechanics and all of the environment in order to advance. It’s great fun!

Presentation

Mekorama is a total eye pleaser. It’s a beautiful game in its simplicity and clean level design. Your robot is simply cute, well animated and the environments that it is exploring with your help are full of imagination and of an aesthetic and gameplay craftsmanship that you could believe Mekorama was a new Nintendo franchise. The game was already beautiful on Android, but being able to dive into this VR version is just fantastic.

Immersion

Before I sat down to write this review I didn’t just play the VR version of Mekorama but also the Android version that came first. Yes, Mekorama was not made for VR and it works fine as a phone or tablet game as well. So why this VR version? Well, I can answer this question for you very convincingly: The VR version of Mekorama is the definite version. The game plays so much better in VR and it is simply a joy to be in this world, up and close with your lovely robot. The game especially controls so much better in VR. If you play the phone or tablet version, it is sometimes just too tiny to hit exactly the destination you would like to go. Also you cannot freely change your camera angle. In the VR version, you can drag the whole world up or down to get the perfect view on the action. VR makes so much sense for Mekorama.

Comfort

The game has no camera movement whatsoever, so you can play in VR without any problems. Comfort levels are high and since some of the levels are really tricky you might need to spend some hours in this virtual world.

Final Thoughts

Mekorama is without a doubt the best puzzle game for the Daydream platform at this moment in time. It offers perfect controls and a great challenge for everyone who loves to think out of the box. But don’t take my word for it, you can simply download the game for free on Android and see if it is for you. You can trust me on one thing though: the VR version is far superior and worth the asking price if you like this game!