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Henry Review

Henry Review

Henry Review

A short 3D animated film for Oculus Rift that won an Emmy Award

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Genre: VR Movie
Release date: September 20, 2016

“Narrated by Elijah Wood, and developed with former creative talent on the Brave and Toy Story 3 teams, Henry is the story of a little hedgehog with a big problem…he loves to hug! After ending up alone on his birthday, he’ll make a wish that changes everything.”

That description from the Oculus Store pretty much says it all. Or at least all that I would want to say without ruining the movie for you.

The VR is very comfortable. You can spend the whole time just sitting and watching the story with no danger of motion sickness. Or you can stand up and walk around the room (assuming you have the room to do so without tripping over your computer). You can bend down to look under the table or lean over the railing and look down.

That is the difference with VR. You aren’t just watching. You’re there.

And winning an Emmy definitely helps legitimatize the new VR medium.

Bottom line is that the Oculus Story team took a tried-and-true storyline, applied it to a new medium and nailed it. If you have a Rift, there’s no reason not to get Henry.

Grade: A
 
It’s short, cute and moving
+ Excellent for beginning VR users
+ You’re on the stage and can move around with the “actors”
+ It’s “free for a limited time”
 
Clichéd, formula-driven plot. No surprises here.
No interaction. It’s just a very short movie.
 Logo 
 
Trailer:
 

 

 

Bob Washburne

Bob Washburne

I have been playing adventure games since 1979 when I played "Adventure" on the DEC PDP minicomputer at work. The first adventure game I ever purchased was "Zork 1" for CP/M. I can remember the introduction of the IBM PC. I remember the invention of the microcomputer (actually, it was discovered rather than invented). I remember the invention of the minicomputer. Yes, I am an old fart. I have written 80 reviews and articles for JustAdventure starting with my review of "Bioscopia" in February of 2004. I currently own more adventure games than I will ever be able to play, let alone review. And I want more!

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