(DISCLAIMER: I was split between 2 and 3 stars here)

I think nobody expected Groundhog Day to eventually have some kind of sequel at this point. And even fewer people would have expected it to be a video game, even if the premise actually makes a lot of sense in this medium. But here we are now, with a video game sequel that's also a VR exclusive, and though the result isn't as satisfying as it could have been, it still has its charms.

The game has a very stylized and angular look to it that may not appeal to everyone, but actually makes a lot of sense as a PS VR game since the graphics must be dialed down a lot for this system. Voice acting and music are very solid and fit the setting and tone pretty well, so the presentation is mostly successful here, at least for me. What drags down the game is the gameplay itself. It consists mainly of solving puzzles and choosing dialogue options that may help other people and, in the end, help the main character (son of Phil from the original movie) improve as a person and eventually have a chance to stop living the same day over and over. Having some repetition here kinda makes sense because of the plot itself, but it gets really annoying over time having to sit through the same cutscenes, dialogues and loading screens over and over just to redo a later section of the day. From time to time you get special choices that allow you to skip some sections, but you still have to endure some dialogues and all the loading screens. It's really tiresome. Some kind of scene selection system with branching options would have been really welcome here, allowing us to jump to any scene we've already experienced.

The puzzles range from decently fun to very frustrating, mainly because of the tracking limitations of the PS VR. The guitar and dancing mini games are the main offenders here. One silver lining is that repeating the mini games until you actually get good enough to clear them is accompanied by new dialogue that reflects the fact that the main character is actually getting better by doing the same stuff over and over, like in the original movie. That was a very nice (and meta) touch, in my opinion. Still, doesn't make those mini games less frustrating.

In the end, we are left with an uneven selection of puzzles and mini games accompanied by a charming but predictable story wrapped in a very fitting presentation. With better tracking and more options for skipping scenes and dialogues this could have certainly gotten a better score, but the current end result is what it is. Having to endure the same dialogues and sequences over and over in order to get to the good stuff may make sense in this context, but just like it happens to Phil in the original movie, it can certainly drive you mad and make you give up hope of not having to wake up in Punxsutawney every day of your life.