Cosmonious High Review (PS5 / PSVR2) | Push Square

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Developer Owlchemy Labs quickly found a winning formula with its virtual reality titles, most notably Job Simulator. It's widely regarded as one of the medium's early successes, giving the player lots of things to interact with and entertaining spaces in which to play. You can feel that same core running through Cosmonious High, a PSVR2 launch game that emphasises free-flowing fun.

You play as a new arrival at the titular school, an intergalactic institution for aliens of all shapes and sizes. As a Prismi, you're capable of adapting to your surroundings, developing new abilities on the fly in reaction to certain situations. For example, upon arrival at Cosmonious High, the bus crashes into the side of the school, causing a large fire. Your first ability, then? You can now shoot water from your hands.

There are many abilities like this to unlock as you make your way through the adventure. The game's structure is non-linear, and it actively encourages you to explore the school without any real guidance. You're often given a gentle push towards classrooms, which are largely where the meat of the game takes place and often where you'll discover new Prismi powers. However, you can go at your own pace, and are never punished for playing hooky.

The overall effect is that the game becomes a sort of soft Metroidvania; unlocking new abilities gives you more ways to interact with your surroundings, and thus discover new parts of the school that were previously sealed off. While Cosmonious High isn't particularly long, there's a nice sense of progression as you find new characters, various collectibles, and toys to mess around with.

Another measure of progression is in earning Credits. You can take on certain assignments within