Head to the Horizon Store for Meta Quest on any given day, and you’ll see an abundance of Gorilla Tag clones. It can be tiresome wading through, but every so often, so get one worth a moment of your time. And that’s what our buddies over at 131XR found when they encountered Animal Volleyball for their latest review.
Animal Ball Game
No surprises initially when it comes to Animal Volleyball, it’s a game that utilises Gorilla Tag-style movement mechanics to play volleyball matches. What the name doesn’t give away is the fact that Animal Volleyball serves as a hub for a collection of games, including Animal Football, Animal Soccer and Animal Baseball.
They can all be played through Animal Volleyball, or for additional features, you can download them individually as well. Best of all, they’re all free! However, being free doesn’t necessarily mean ‘good’, but it seems as though this collection isn’t too shoddy.
Animal Volleyball Review
As mentioned, there are four core sports in Animal Volleyball, including the titular volleyball. While these are based on their respective sports, they don’t try to offer an accurate simulation. For instance, in the volleyball mode, the ball is gigantic, roughly the same size as the character. Furthermore, rather than simply smashing the ball over the net, trying to hit the opponent’s court. Instead, you have to aim for a predesignated area.
Likewise, with the American Football mode, there is a ball you have to run to the endzone, but on the way, you have to pick up a flag, or else you can’t score. It seems as though the developer Fengu Studio has tried to gamify these sports, adjusting them to suit the Gorilla Tag movement system. And 131XR is on board with this. The graphics are simple and functional, with the gameplay suitably fast and frantic when other players are available.
And that could be Animal Volleyball’s biggest issue: populating these sports. Naturally, some are more popular than others. 131XR found no issues making up teams in baseball, yet the American football mode was noticeably vacant. As another Gorilla Tag knockoff, Animal Volleyball isn’t a bad one. And the fact that it’s free means it should be easy to entice a few friends to play a match.
The Gorilla Tag Clone Pile
Gorilla Tag has become a VR phenomenon, and naturally was going to get replicated countless times. Animal Company has proven to be the most successful of this group, combining Gorilla Tag and Lethal Company gameplay into one cohesive whole. While not at quite the same quality level, Animal Volleyball again proves that a Gorilla Tag clone can work when designed correctly.
Alas, hit that ‘New Releases’ button on Meta Quest’s store, and you’ll find an abundance of shoddy rip-offs. These are not only not worth your time, they litter the store like trash, making it harder for genuine games to get seen.
On a lighter note. If you are a Gorilla Tag fan, Another Axiom’s next game Orion Drift is now available in early access.
Will you be giving Animal Volleyball a try? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
