Cosmonious High

Cosmonious High
Developer(s)	Owlchemy Labs
Publisher(s)	Owlchemy Labs
Platform(s)	HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, Oculus Quest 2, Valve Index
Release	March 31, 2022
Genre(s)	Adventure, Narrative, Space/Universe
Mode(s)	Singleplayer

Cosmonious High

Cosmonious High is a virtual reality adventure game developed and published in 2022 by Owlchemy Labs for Microsoft Windows, Steam VR, HTC Vive, Oculus Quest, and Oculus Quest 2, in which players attend a colourful and chaotic high school in space with a cast of quirky alien classmates.

Plot

Upon starting the game, the player takes on the role of a "Prismi", the first of their species to attend Cosmonious High. Their first day immediately begins with chaos when their space bus collides with the side of the building, due to a malfunction of the school's inbuilt artificial intelligence, Intercom. This turns out to be the first of many malfunctions encountered throughout the game, which the player can combat with a range of powers which manifest as and when they need them. Alongside the other students, the player attends a variety of different classes with humorous amalgamated names, such as "Chemosophy", "Visualetics", and "Astralgebra". The other students all belong to one of three other species already enrolled at the school: Flans, Bipids, and Trisks. They all must work together to get the repeated malfunctions of the Intercom under control, all while the school's principal is hiding in his office.

Once the Prismi has successfully rebooted the school using all of the powers they have developed throughout the game, it is revealed that the school's founder, Yuwin R. Cosmonious, had planned all the disruptions specifically for the Prismi's first day as part of the "New Kid Protocol". It had been his greatest ambition to foster cooperation between species in this way. The game's main storyline ends with a dance in the Sports Dome, for which all previously encountered characters are present, to celebrate the Prismi's arrival. Subsequently, the player can still complete any outstanding social quests as well as earn any remaining credits.

Gameplay

The plot of the game progresses in a non-linear manner as the player unlocks more and more parts of the school, being rewarded with credits for completing assignments, extra-curricular tasks, or for cleaning up the school using their array of powers. There are a range of social quests the player can complete for different characters, as well as 100 total credits to be collected. The Prismi's abilities, too, can be unlocked in a different order depending on how the game is played. They include water, ice, crystals (used to fix broken power cables by connecting to ends to one another), telekinesis, wind, telepathy (used to read other characters minds and extract items from their thoughts), resizing, and fire.

The player is given a large amount of creative freedom in how they complete a task. Using the motion controllers to represent their hands, players interact with the virtual environment similarly to how they would in real life. Most objects within the player's reach can be interacted with either through touch or through one of the Prismi's powers. They traverse the environment by teleporting using the motion controllers' joysticks.

Characters

Fren

The first classmate, and member of the Bipid species, the player meets as soon as their space bus crashes. Fren is very friendly, energetic, and encouraging, always cheering on her classmates and looking out for them. As such, she appears to be friendly with every other student, regardless of their differences. She delights in making puns, which are often badly received by other characters, and has a penchant for hot sauce.

Blort

A member of the Flan species, and a small one at that, Blort is presented as a loveable underdog; they love sports, most notably "Planetball", though they aren't very good. Another hobby they have is shipping characters from their favourite show, "Starlost", peppering in many contemporary pop-culture references into their dialogue. They have an all-consuming crush on Honk, the star of the Planetball team, and the player has the opportunity to help the two of them start a romantic relationship. Blort is one of several characters in the game who uses gender-neutral pronouns.

Speks

Out of all the energetic characters at Cosmonious High, Speks is the most frenetic. She is the first Trisk the player comes across – a small floating character whose limbs aren't technically connected to her body. As a Trisk, she is able to see and exist in multiple dimensions simultaneously. Speks is also tasked with protecting the universe from the "Worldender", an evil multidimensional being, although their relations seem more amiable than initially presented. She is somewhat scatter-brained and prone to misplacing her belongings, which the player can help her find.

Honk

The star of the "Planetball" team, this Bipid embodies the "harmless jock" stereotype. He is kind, if a little oblivious, and has something of a one-track mind, focusing all of his considerable energy on his favourite sport. As the only person at the school unaware of Blort's feelings for him, it turns out that he reciprocates them, once the player has helped Blort woo him.

Gleg

This Flan represents the goth stereotype in both appearance and mannerisms. Gleg wears dark colours and speaks in a monotone voice, making frequent references to depression, nihilism, and the inevitable heat death of the universe. He does, however, take joy in music and becomes inconsolable while the "Auditoriology" classroom remains inaccessible.

Dr. Mika Roscope

This Bipid is notably bigger in size than any of the other members of her species at the school. She teaches "Chemosophy" and "Astralgebra" and has a somewhat unusual speech pattern, omitting the subject and articles in most sentences. She can be seen as fulfilling the "mad scientist" trope, as she is more than happy to experiment on the player to try and bring about new adaptations in perilous situations. During a later lesson, it is revealed that she used to smuggle ice cream illegally under the pseudonym "Midnight Cinnamoon", with her dark past now catching up to her and again placing her students in peril. When she isn't on the run from the law, she likes to encourage independent learning by allowing students to come up with their own hypotheses and experiments.

Li Tahn

The player first meets Li Tahn in her favourite location, the "Visualetics" classroom. She is very artistic and loves to experiment with different methods of painting. Her personality appears laid-back and cool, but still approachable, taking the player under her wing like a big sister of sorts. Despite her otherwise calm and collected demeanour, she has been known to set her own artwork on fire if she feels dissatisfied with the outcome, claiming this is all part of the process.

Professor Plapew

The teacher for "Visualetics" and "Auditoriology" has a decidedly dramatic streak: when things start to go wrong in her classroom, she declares unequivocally that "art is dead". This tendency for drama is rooted in her genuine passion for her subjects, and her desire to familiarise her students with everything her chosen field has to offer. Much like Dr. Roscope, she also has a hidden past, having been part of a popular "Gooth" band called "Forgooten", with whom she may or may not be embarking on a reunion tour.

Xip

It is a running joke that this shy Trisk often gets mistaken for a plant, due to their green colour and timid nature. They mostly keep to themselves and can be encountered in out-of-the-way locations. Xip's biggest passion is collecting, caring for, and think about "blebs", small spherical creatures that can be encountered throughout the game. With their guidance, the player can collect all the different types of blebs by interacting with them in different ways (e.g. freezing them, spraying them with coffee, etc). Xip is another character using gender-neutral pronouns.

Zanesha

A mysterious and somewhat chaotic Bipid who often speaks in the third person, referring to herself as "Detective Z". This switch to her noir detective alter ego is accompanied by her donning a fedora. She shares many conspiracy theories with the player, some of which are decidedly outlandish, while others turn out to be true. She is friends with Oog, whom she likes to pull pranks with, but who also joins in her game, adopting the alter ego of "Boss Oog", a mafia boss foil to her detective persona.

Penk

This preppy Trisk is the current student council president and takes her job very seriously. She is very organised but also very caring, and has lots of school spirit. When Prismi first arrives, Penk is the one to fill in for Principal Glob and give them their orientation. Sometimes she appears irked by her fellow students' chaotic behaviour. Li Tahn is her closest friend, and they are working on the school yearbook together – a task the player can also assist with by taking pictures of all the characters.

Principal Glob

The principal of Cosmonious High is an easily scared Flan who runs and hides in his office as soon as things start to go wrong around the school. Not only is he shown to be a coward, but his total lack of authority means he gets bullied by one of the students, Oog. Though this bullying is largely light-hearted, he obviously internalises a lot of what is said, and he can be heard listening to a relaxation tape to combat his anxieties.

Oog

Effortlessly cool and laid-back, Oog is the school's most notorious prankster. After talking to this Flan for some time, they will divulge stories about their many past exploits, the most legendary being the "Oogcident", which several characters refer to but never wish to elaborate on. They have a close friendship with Zanesha and go as "Boss Oog" when joining in her fantastical games. In the running to be Penk's successor as student council president, Oog is in direct competition with Prax, who also has his heart set on the role. Oog is another character using gender-neutral pronouns.

Prax

A trisk with a square-shaped head and a fondness for bowties, Prax is also in the running for student council president. He strongly disapproves of Oog's antics and believes himself to be a much better candidate. His speech and mannerisms come across as self-important and stuck-up, not least because he often declares that his "fathers will hear about this". Later in the game, he is shown running a bake sale, having created his own currency for the occasion. It appears that in the setting of the game, currency has been made obsolete; this is alluded to in a humorous way by Prax saying he is "only experimenting with capitalism".

Coach Leti

Filling not just the coach position, Leti also acts janitor, IT support, substitute teacher, secretary, as well as many other roles around the school. A is a true jill-of-all-trades, she is also very energetic, like most Bipids.

Jalam

This female Flan speaks using a strong valley girl intonation and seems generally disinterested at what anyone else has to say. Instead of fully representing the "mean girl" stereotype, however, Jalam's true passion lies in a competitive trading card game known as "Gooniverse". The player is able to collect cards she has left around the school, hoping to recruit a worthy nemesis. M. Nesk describes her as "very empathetic", though Jalam goes to great pains to hide that aspect of her personality.

M. Nesk

The teacher for "Socionics" is a Trisk who becomes displaced in time as he is meant to be teaching his class, leaving the students to once again take matters into their own hands. His classroom has a very relaxing atmosphere and includes tea-brewing, meditation, music, and general relaxation and self-care techniques. He also has a pet "feesh" named "Sunspot", who the player can pet and interact with.

Intercom

The school's chronically malfunctioning AI is in control of everything from the space bus to the door mechanism. It continually causes problems for the player and their classmates, until it is successfully rebooted in the final sequence of the main quest.

Yuwin R. Cosmonious

The founder of Cosmonious High appears to have been a slight oddball during his time as principal of the school. He did, however, care greatly about cooperation and friendship between alien species.

Reception

Video game review website Use a Potion! gave Cosmonious High 8/10, praising the game's unpredictable versatility, saying "It’s a wacky game, but in that brilliant way where you just don’t quite know what you’ll be doing next." However, they also acknowledge that the game's "lack of challenge and the focus on experimentation might not be for everyone." UploadVR calls it "Owlchemy’s latest – and greatest – iteration on how best to introduce newcomers to the medium [of virtual reality]." Common Sense Media rates it favourably for children specifically, saying it "stands out for positive messages and positive role models."

External links

• Official website
• Oculus website
• Steam website