Good Goliath Is a Tall Tale Come Alive

Virtual reality is made for games like Good Goliath, where players immerse themselves in the fantasy of creating havoc as a giant. Grab and toss people or the weapons they hurl your way as successive enemy waves seek to bring you down. It's standard fare that's elevated by the unique perspective, fun scenarios and overall polish, though the sometimes imprecise and repetitive gameplay threaten to cut it down to size.

First, a disclaimer. I've played for hours, but so far have progressed only through the first third of the game (more than three of nine levels). I'm admittedly not the most coordinated gamer. So I will (and you should) keep that in mind as I discuss what is generally a fun game to begin with that most gamers will likely enjoy for its sheer scale, sense of humor, intuitive gameplay, inspired art design and quality production values.

The first thing players will notice in this Knocktwice Games release is the entertaining voiceover that introduces them to the plight of the giant. The narrative and storybook delivery create a fairytale premise for the misunderstood Goliath, who intends no harm and just wants to return home but has alarmed people by appearing at a time when giants no longer roam the countryside. This conflict provides context for the confrontations to follow.

While the story provides the foundation for the action, players will be motivated not just by survival but by scoring. All damage dealt by gamers is tabulated for a final score at the end of each stage and bronze, silver and gold medals awarded at the end of each level, if I recall. Extra points are awarded for multiple hits, long distance, etc., as well as for taking no damage and clearing a stage quickly. Bullseyes encourage extra target practice.

Of course, players won't need such encouragement when faced with waves of villagers, knights or pirates, and their catapults or cannons, or tougher enemies such as witches, conjured or captured giants, and section bosses. Gamers will be too busy fending off or returning fire with pitchforks, halberds, lances, barrels, explosive barrels, cannonballs and even wagon wheels, boulders, sharks and fireballs.

Gameplay boils down to outlasting waves of enemies by avoiding incoming fire while also snatching some projectiles from the air for a return engagement. And it can be quite funny, as foes will launch their own screaming people at players, who can lob them back or toss them into the ocean to lure a shark, which in turn will do more damage. But do check yourself for pointy objects (pitchforks, halberds, spiked bombs, sharks) and clingy people!

Enemy targets like people or boats can take three hits depending on weapon, though weapons like anchors or sharks are one-hit wonders, and explosive barrels of TNT or bombs can take out multiple foes. And for the record, the latter attacks are sites to behold, with nice particle effects and lots of debris. This is especially true of Peasantville, the first level, which features destructible environments dotted with bullseyes.

For all the damage that the player can do, they're vulnerable to being hurt, too. The game does warn players to tilt their heads to avoid projectiles, but this fool will tell you it's not foolproof. Some attacks during the game can be avoided but others cannot, and players can still take damage. Thankfully, bakers will helpfully walk or float by carrying healing cakes that players can nab with a well placed hit.

This is one of the key gameplay elements. While some weapons will be tossed at the player, others will need to be obtained by hitting a respective target. Critical blows will force people to cough up explosives, boats to launch their anchors into the air, and giant skulls mounted on pillars (pirates are a resourceful lot) to disgorge their cannons. Combined with using people as shark bait or cannon ammo, it's an important strategic consideration.

So how does all this play out? Like the combat in most castle-defense games or horde-type game modes, enemy waves in each level start out simple before progressing to more challenging stages. To begin with, the Move controllers function well, especially given the basic mechanics of grab, throw and deflect. The headset, too, manages to track dodge movements well enough to avoid danger.

Indeed snatching objects out of the air and tossing them back is extremely fun and rewarding particularly the more damage you inflict. Players are literally giving as good as they get, and there is a real sense of satisfaction and just desserts in that effort. Plus, it's surprisingly easy to catch pitchforks, halberds, lances, etc. despite their narrow circumference and quick movement. But the real joy is in catching clearly terrified people or ravished sharks.

This is where the game shines, but also where I struggled. The more enemies and projectiles on screen the more options players have both to select a weapon of choice in any given moment for each hand and also to identify which target to hit. And this happens constantly in real time. Grab lesser weapons to force foes to give up TNT or bombs, use those to cause more damage and/or retrieve the same or anchors, etc.

Imagine dodging incoming attacks while reaching up to snatch projectiles out of the air, swinging your arms down to toss them at explosives carrying foes or boats, raising your arms again to collect those explosives tossed up as debris, dropping your arms to throw them at enemies, catching anchors or other debris, tossing those, while also using foes as shark bait or hitting a baker for healing cake. And repeat nonstop until the wave is defeated.

This also applies to when bosses are on the field, though naturally they present their own challenges as they're tougher to bring down and hurl kinds of boulders at players, all in the midst of smaller foes and enemy catapults or cannons still firing on all cylinders. Helpfully, blue-tinged boulders contain orbs that detonate on impact, though both they and red-tinged boulders have to be punched apart first. All told, battles are high-intensity affairs.

It's during such barrages that players might encounter issues with responsiveness or targeting. I found that the more hectic is the battle and the more quick are my movements, the harder it was to dodge attacks, catch projectiles or hit my mark when targeting foes. This could be an issue of tracking via the headset or motion controllers or, admittedly, worse coordination on my part when panicking under fire.

I know for a fact I'm less adept than others when it comes to demanding gameplay, so I do take that into consideration and make allowances when writing my impressions. It's possible this won't be an issue for many. Still, I always appreciate when developers include multiple difficulties, or customization options to improve accessibility for gamers. And to their credit, Knocktwice Games allows players to adjust Throw Strength.

If I recall, the default Throw Strength is set to 6 out of a total of 10. I maxed out mine and it did in fact improve my throws as farther targets were much easier to hit. But it didn't help me enough. I would have been grateful for other difficulties or a feature in games like The Persistence, which controls targeting (and teleportation) with the headset and, if I recall, uses a targeting reticule. But again, I expect most won't struggle like I did.

In fact, there is plenty of promise to judge by the early levels. The quality presentation, storybook aesthetic, sense of humor and generally well executed gameplay allows them to stand their ground in the shoes of a Good Goliath in a way few, if any, games can. It's worth checking out, especially for players who have better than woeful coordination, and who won't easily tire of castle-defense or horde-style gameplay.

(This post was based on a review code of Good Goliath for PlayStation VR. The game released March 31 on that platform as well as Oculus and Vive.)

​(Be sure to check out additional images here: Screenshots.)