There’s something deeply satisfying about being a giant invisible hand that shoves trees out of a kid’s way. Not in a mean way — in a “I’m your imaginary friend and we’re finding your dog” way. That’s the entire pitch of Along Together, and honestly, it’s enough.
Turbo Button — the same studio behind the excellent Floor Plan — released this in 2018 across pretty much every VR platform that existed at the time. PSVR, Rift, Vive, Go, Gear VR, and eventually Quest. The concept is simple: a child has lost their dog, Rishu, and you’re their imaginary companion, a disembodied presence who can manipulate the environment while guiding the kid through puzzle-filled levels. It’s a third-person platformer where you don’t platform. You enable the platforming.
The God-Hand Experience
Here’s what actually happens when you play. You’re hovering above a small, toybox-like level. The kid runs and climbs automatically to wherever you point your cursor, but they can’t move boulders, raise bridges, or rotate cranes. That’s your job. Objects marked with a diamond icon respond to your giant ghost hand — you grab, lift, slide, and power machinery while the child navigates the path you’ve just opened.
The perspective is locked to the kid’s position, which means the camera glides along fixed paths as they move. There’s no artificial locomotion, no smooth turning, no chance of motion sickness. You can play this seated, relaxed, with a drink nearby. For anyone who gets queasy in VR, this is about as safe as it gets.
The puzzles start almost insultingly simple — move a tree, push a button — but by the final world they get genuinely elaborate. The third world introduces machines that require chaining multiple hand-interactions while the kid is mid-jump, and the timing gets tight enough that you’ll actually have to stop and think. The difficulty curve is one of the best I’ve seen in a VR puzzle game. You feel clever without ever needing a guide.
Three Worlds, One Tone
The campaign spans three themed areas: a bright forest, a dark mine, and a cluttered junkyard. Each looks distinct, and the art style holds up surprisingly well — bright, low-poly, storybook colors that feel intentional rather than dated. It’s the kind of aesthetic that works in VR because your brain fills in the charm without the headset needing to push polygons. Everything looks like a toy you want to pick up.
Between levels, you’re hanging out in a treehouse hub. The stages are laid out like pages in a pop-up book, which is a nice thematic touch that reinforces the whole “imaginary friend” premise. Hidden in each level are collectible toys that get added to your treehouse, and a few of them are actually interactive — one reviewer mentioned a Gameboy-style toy with a playable mini-game inside it. It’s a small detail, but it shows care.
Where the Hand Stumbles
Look, I’m not gonna lie — this game is short. The main campaign runs about two and a half to three hours. For a $20 title, that stings. The puzzles are quality, but there aren’t many of them. If you’re the type who measures value in hours-per-dollar, wait for a sale.
The camera can also be a pain. Because it tracks the kid along fixed rails, interactive objects occasionally end up positioned far to your left, right, or even behind you. On PSVR especially, this meant fighting the tracking boundary to grab something just out of view. On Quest and PCVR with full 360 tracking it’s less of an issue, but it still happens — you’ll occasionally need to physically turn or crane your neck to reach a lever that the level designer tucked in an awkward spot.
Character animation is another weak point. The kid moves with a slightly floaty, stiff quality that doesn’t ruin the experience but does break the immersion now and then. And the controls, while functional, have a loose feel — the free camera can zoom unexpectedly, and the child character has just enough autonomous behavior that guiding them precisely requires patience.
Who This Is Actually For
This is one of the best entry points into VR for newcomers, kids, or anyone who wants a low-stress evening in a headset. There’s no combat, no fail states that punish you, no complex mechanics to memorize. The Meta Quest store currently sits at 4.8 stars with over 300 reviews, and Steam reviews are Very Positive. John Carmack publicly praised it, which tells you something about how well it respects the hardware.
But if you’re looking for a meaty campaign, replayability, or any kind of action, this isn’t your game. It’s a puzzle platformer with no platforming challenge and no multiplayer. You finish it, you appreciate it, and you probably don’t return.
The technical requirements are so low that literally any VR-capable PC from the last decade can run it. It’s an 850 MB download. Performance is a non-issue on Quest, and it plays identically whether you’re on a Quest 1, 2, or 3.
The Bottom Line
Along Together is a polished, clever, genuinely charming VR puzzle platformer that knows exactly what it wants to be and doesn’t overstay its welcome. The problem is that it barely stays at all — a few hours and it’s done. At full price, that’s a tough sell. On sale, it’s an easy recommendation for families, VR newcomers, or anyone who wants to remember why they bought this headset in the first place: to do things that only make sense in virtual reality. Like being a giant invisible hand helping a kid find their dog.