Review of ‘Wall Town Wonders’ – Perhaps Too Laid-Back for Modern Mixed Reality

Wall Town Wonders feels like a delightful glimpse into the casual games of tomorrow, crafted with the vision of a world where all-day AR glasses are second nature. Imagine managing a bustling town of tiny inhabitants who fly about your living space in hot air balloons, engaging in their miniature lives as you go about yours. Visually, it’s a stunner. But does the gameplay have enough depth to hold your attention? For me, the experience sparked doubt about whether this genre is a bit ahead of its time for our current XR headsets.

Wall Town Wonders Details:

• Publisher: Cyborn
• Available On: Quest 3/3S
• Reviewed On: Quest 3
• Release Date: November 21st, 2024
• Price: $20

Gameplay

In traditional casual gaming style, Wall Town Wonders offers a low difficulty level, harmonizing perfectly with the relaxing atmosphere it seeks to cultivate. The initial fun is in taking a peek into different buildings and watching the villagers go about their chores—whether it’s a diminutive chef preparing a pizza or two residents joyriding around on a bi-plane in your living room.

Once you clear the tutorial, which takes roughly an hour, the game shifts focus to a variety of mini-games tied to unlocking new structures. Tasks include protecting a vertical farm from pesky bugs with a mini-crossbow strapped to your wrist, fishing in a pond located on your floor, and guiding airplanes around your room using simple hand movements.

Most of your time, however, will be spent waiting for your villagers to produce resources such as wood, money, and food automatically. This gameplay loop largely involves expanding basic building types and upgrading existing ones, offering over 100 edifices to explore. You can also customize your village by repainting and repositioning buildings to suit your taste, creating a personalized microcosm that enlivens your room with dynamic activity.

While watching the village run itself can be fascinating at first—like observing fish in a tank—this autonomy means villagers tend to handle tasks independently, allowing you to step in or simply watch. You can choose to engage by helping them mine, farm, or explore, typically through optional mini-games.

Over time, though, I found my interest waning. I yearned for something more engaging and was hesitant to revisit the game beyond the few hours I invested across several sessions. While the mini-games are meant to spice up waiting times, they often felt more like mundane chores than exciting challenges.

Immersion

Personal virtual dioramas have always fascinated me because they accentuate detail on a smaller scale, making everything seem more vibrant. The charming European village motifs springing to life on your walls can elicit an "aww" of delight.

Despite advances in virtual desktops and XR productivity tools, I’m not penning this review in a headset. Like most of you, I snatch a few precious hours at the end of the day to immerse in favorite games or social apps, rarely during working hours unless a review demands it.

I envision a near future where display resolutions are so advanced and headsets are comfortable enough to wear all day, you would forget you even have them on—ideal conditions for casual ‘pick-up, put-down’ games like this.

In that future scenario, it would be seamless to hop in for a few minutes and switch to something else, much like flipping through apps on your phone. At present, Wall Town Wonders seems to wish away the genuine hardware limits of XR with its assortment of mini-games and its relaxing fish tank ambiance—a bit too casual for long Quest sessions.

Now, if you’re a fan of games like The Sims or Townscaper, you might see my perspective and think I’m the issue, not the enchanting Wall Town Wonders. That’s fair!

However, an objective view reveals Wall Town Wonders relies a bit too much on point-and-click laser pointers for interactions—picking up villagers for brief exploration missions or using wrist gadgets to shoot arrows at bugs or water plants.

Hand-tracking input is prioritized, but the precise nature of point-and-click interactions made me revert to controllers for ease. The laser pointer user interface simplifies engaging with your village from afar, yet it feels like a missed chance to craft more immersive gadgets beyond the random one-time-use items offered during mini-games.

Comfort

The myriad of buildings pushes you to stay on your feet, encouraging you to explore every bit of wall space available. While sitting is an option, wandering around is likely the norm.

You can adjust most buildings to a convenient height, but some ground-level activities might strain your neck if you’re particularly sensitive. Wall Town Wonders innovatively positions your village on your walls, offering a comfortable perspective compared to bending over a tiny map or frequently adjusting the virtual world for a better view. It’s a setup I’d love more town simulation games in XR to adopt in the future.

‘Wall Town Wonders’ Comfort Settings – November 21st, 2024

• Turning:
  • Artificial turning: No
• Movement:
  • Artificial movement: No
• Posture:
  • Standing mode: Yes
  • Seated mode: No
  • Artificial crouch: No
  • Real crouch: Yes
• Accessibility:
  • Subtitles: Yes
  • Languages: English, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish
  • Dialogue audio: No
  • Adjustable difficulty: No
  • Two hands required: No
  • Real crouch required: No
  • Hearing required: No
  • Adjustable player height: No