Looks like a violent version of Grow Home, with the cute robot now voiced by Movie Trailer Guy
Are you going to be looking at Lone Echo 2? I’ve only played for just over an hour today, but it’s pretty fantastic so far
Are you going to be looking at Lone Echo 2? I’ve only played for just over an hour today, but it’s pretty fantastic so far
Looks like a violent version of Grow Home, with the cute robot now voiced by Movie Trailer Guy
Are you going to be looking at Lone Echo 2? I’ve only played for just over an hour today, but it’s pretty fantastic so far
I was gonna hold off until a sale deal. (Got a fair few things queued up: Walking Dead, Into the Radius etc. Plus no rush as it's pretty much the last PCVR AAA for the foreseeable :/)
Definitely up for jumping back into that world though
. I like the idea of there being more active threat from the biomass. (A little less sold on the apparent glacial pacing perhaps, but I got into that aspect in the original ultimately).Review: Townsmen VR
Despite an ultimate lack of depth, the tactile nature of this God-game’s interactions, and the self-sustaining bustle of the towns that you create, make it a little joy in many ways.
The zoomed-in world of tinkering that existed in the demo has been lost to a degree, now that you can't get as close as you could in the early builds. (You'd never know that you can play games with your fish food). But its legacy remains in the playful physics interactions between the various materials and beasts. (It is just a shame that some fun ideas, like squeezing lightning from clouds, have been seemingly shed along the way).
I’m actually fine with the build trees being on the 'arcade' end of the scale, and the strategic supply of constructions being just stone-ferrying busy-work at points. Because it’s often zen to execute in practice, and pleasingly automated once your towns start to flourish. (If anything you find yourself having to grab resources back off over-eager citizens as they try and lend a helping hand).
The biggest issue is the lack of a true, challenging, end-game mode. The 12 levels provided are glorified tutorials right up until the last handful. (You shouldn’t really have to build up from scratch again just to learn how to make cakes for some knights. It feels like filler.)
The challenge scenarios that finally arrive down stream are better, but don't feel like they have great replayability. It really begs for an open ended conquest mode. (Something with warring local islands feels like it would be particularly solid.)
Their system isn’t designed for proc gen maps, and their future plans are unclear, so an endless/challenge mode seems unlikely. And it’s perhaps hard to justify the £20+ price tag on those grounds.
But I had a lot of fun under these miniature clouds ultimately. (Although I did get it for EA prices, which always helps).
3.5+(++)
Source: https://youtu.be/EvssGO_wWNM
Despite an ultimate lack of depth, the tactile nature of this God-game’s interactions, and the self-sustaining bustle of the towns that you create, make it a little joy in many ways.
The zoomed-in world of tinkering that existed in the demo has been lost to a degree, now that you can't get as close as you could in the early builds. (You'd never know that you can play games with your fish food). But its legacy remains in the playful physics interactions between the various materials and beasts. (It is just a shame that some fun ideas, like squeezing lightning from clouds, have been seemingly shed along the way).
I’m actually fine with the build trees being on the 'arcade' end of the scale, and the strategic supply of constructions being just stone-ferrying busy-work at points. Because it’s often zen to execute in practice, and pleasingly automated once your towns start to flourish. (If anything you find yourself having to grab resources back off over-eager citizens as they try and lend a helping hand).
The biggest issue is the lack of a true, challenging, end-game mode. The 12 levels provided are glorified tutorials right up until the last handful. (You shouldn’t really have to build up from scratch again just to learn how to make cakes for some knights. It feels like filler.)
The challenge scenarios that finally arrive down stream are better, but don't feel like they have great replayability. It really begs for an open ended conquest mode. (Something with warring local islands feels like it would be particularly solid.)
Their system isn’t designed for proc gen maps, and their future plans are unclear, so an endless/challenge mode seems unlikely. And it’s perhaps hard to justify the £20+ price tag on those grounds.
But I had a lot of fun under these miniature clouds ultimately. (Although I did get it for EA prices, which always helps
).3.5+(++)
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That reminds me, I've gotta get to Freediver: Triton Down
Supposed to be a short affair, but pretty slick with it.
Liking the look of the parkour-esque leaping in Hubris etc though. Looks like it's got a decent set of core gameplay mechanics.
What game there is is very good and I really enjoyed it - until it reached a really cool “ooooooh!” moment and the credits came up
Imagine playing Lone Echo, but having the game finish when the big spaceship appears through the rift .
Keen themselves have said that a well-known modder is working on a VR port for Space Engineers. Keen supports this, but they themselves are not willing to invest the time and effort into what they say is only 5% of the market.
Personally, I would LOVE to walk around my bases and fly my personally-designed ships in VR, though I suspect my normal mode of play would remain 2D with VR being reserved for those "sit back and enjoy my hard work" moments.
Personally, I would LOVE to walk around my bases and fly my personally-designed ships in VR, though I suspect my normal mode of play would remain 2D with VR being reserved for those "sit back and enjoy my hard work" moments.
First Look: The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners
The eerie New Orleans vibe is spot on here.
I'm not that far in. Have just had a few cautious rampages through the first zone, against both zombs and a human crew, and expanded the graveyard a bit. So I still don't know exactly how I feel about the loot 'n craft loops, given the degradation of found items is pretty extreme, and the made items still eat through materials. Could definitely see some forays costing more than they gain.
Also don't know how I feel about getting barbed baseball bats stuck in human heads...
Zombs are fine though. The cartoon-ish sheen underneath all the mist and moon-lit convincers means it all falls on the right side of gamey. I might feel differently if they start mobbing me en masse down the line, but for now they're all pretty dispersed and manageable with an outstretched arm. (The shove thing is kind of satisfying too)
The story stuff and dialogue options all feel solid enough, but the character of the locations themselves feels like the main winner to date.
The eerie New Orleans vibe is spot on here.
I'm not that far in. Have just had a few cautious rampages through the first zone, against both zombs and a human crew, and expanded the graveyard a bit. So I still don't know exactly how I feel about the loot 'n craft loops, given the degradation of found items is pretty extreme, and the made items still eat through materials. Could definitely see some forays costing more than they gain.
Also don't know how I feel about getting barbed baseball bats stuck in human heads...
Zombs are fine though. The cartoon-ish sheen underneath all the mist and moon-lit convincers means it all falls on the right side of gamey. I might feel differently if they start mobbing me en masse down the line, but for now they're all pretty dispersed and manageable with an outstretched arm. (The shove thing is kind of satisfying too
)The story stuff and dialogue options all feel solid enough, but the character of the locations themselves feels like the main winner to date.
Woot, this should be worth keeping tabs on
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/virtualreality/comments/qmzndn/deep_rock_galactic_has_enabled_vr_plugins_for/
Source: https://youtu.be/wfw3cfyvDS8
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/virtualreality/comments/qmzndn/deep_rock_galactic_has_enabled_vr_plugins_for/
First Look: Torn
I could play with this lil golden fella all day
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOBcW-aDE1A
I'm still too early on to know if the reviews are right on the puzzles being repetitive, but the pros of high production values and daft physics interactions are definitely there. (Smashing around a steampunk basement with a golfing iron and a gravity gun is diverting). As are the cons of dated motion mechanics and such.
I could play with this lil golden fella all day
I'm still too early on to know if the reviews are right on the puzzles being repetitive, but the pros of high production values and daft physics interactions are definitely there. (Smashing around a steampunk basement with a golfing iron and a gravity gun is diverting
). As are the cons of dated motion mechanics and such.I managed to get SE working with VorpX. It wasn’t bad actually. The interface isn’t entirely visible but you can press a button to zoom out and see it. I have only played it for about 30 minutes so can’t give much more detail, but can at least say it was passable in VR. Graphics not a patch on EDH/EDO though.
Review: Torn
It's worth getting the negatives out of the way first. The HMD-relative locomotion is dated and clunky (lacking even a strafe option). The locomotion is slowwww even when running. And the core puzzle system is a glorified game of snap, which never really evolves...
But...
Taken purely as an interactive walking sim, this is a fairly wonderful VR experience.
The dog-eared mansion is piled high with physics items for you to bat about and rummage through. Your physics gun heaves grand pianos through the air or snatches playing cards delicately from their distant resting place, while its torch function reveals hidden circuits and sets items of interest dancing.
Despite the repetition of the puzzle format (which mainly boils down to: 'Now where did I leave that record player with an X on it?'), there is a Sorceror's Apprentice vibe to the process which holds some appeal. There's something pleasing about foraging amongst the hat-boxes then magically steering a recalcitrant old grandfather clock into place. Or wrestling with giant cables, or teetering items into a pile to trigger a pressure plate.
Performance is somehow great despite this profusion of interactible junk, and the elegant decay arrayed around it. There are neat touches of quality everywhere, best highlighted by the tactile golden goo of your NPC companion:
Source: https://youtu.be/dOBcW-aDE1A
The art style in the other 'memory palace' location is depicted with cursive linear simplicity which is very effective. (A towering Eiffel tower, half remembered front yards etc, all traced in neon lines). And this strangely mesmerising device remains as an umbilical cord to their more sculpted classical world.
Aside from the odd bug (hanging on a white screen after a transition) the whole experience suggests a pursuit of quality overall, and a canny use of budget. From the shadowy final reveal of a character NPC, to the solid voicework throughout, effective musical backdrop, and occasionally cavernous settings, it's a great place to spend a few VR hours.
The positional audio is a bit brutal, cutting off abruptly whenever the spritely NPC sweeps behind you, or as you turn away from a noisy machine. And there was occasionally a bit too much traipsing back and forth to take lifts. But these are rare rough edges to the overall presentation and flow.
I was fine with the absurd ending, partially on the grounds that I didn't see that particularly twist coming. (It was almost entirely unpredictable, given it was spectacularly silly. But that fitted just fine with the silliness of the 1960s mind exploration technology already on display)
Rating: 3.5 (+/-)
It's worth getting the negatives out of the way first. The HMD-relative locomotion is dated and clunky (lacking even a strafe option). The locomotion is slowwww even when running. And the core puzzle system is a glorified game of snap, which never really evolves...
But...
Taken purely as an interactive walking sim, this is a fairly wonderful VR experience.
The dog-eared mansion is piled high with physics items for you to bat about and rummage through. Your physics gun heaves grand pianos through the air or snatches playing cards delicately from their distant resting place, while its torch function reveals hidden circuits and sets items of interest dancing.
Despite the repetition of the puzzle format (which mainly boils down to: 'Now where did I leave that record player with an X on it?'), there is a Sorceror's Apprentice vibe to the process which holds some appeal. There's something pleasing about foraging amongst the hat-boxes then magically steering a recalcitrant old grandfather clock into place. Or wrestling with giant cables, or teetering items into a pile to trigger a pressure plate.
Performance is somehow great despite this profusion of interactible junk, and the elegant decay arrayed around it. There are neat touches of quality everywhere, best highlighted by the tactile golden goo of your NPC companion:
The art style in the other 'memory palace' location is depicted with cursive linear simplicity which is very effective. (A towering Eiffel tower, half remembered front yards etc, all traced in neon lines). And this strangely mesmerising device remains as an umbilical cord to their more sculpted classical world.
Aside from the odd bug (hanging on a white screen after a transition) the whole experience suggests a pursuit of quality overall, and a canny use of budget. From the shadowy final reveal of a character NPC, to the solid voicework throughout, effective musical backdrop, and occasionally cavernous settings, it's a great place to spend a few VR hours.
The positional audio is a bit brutal, cutting off abruptly whenever the spritely NPC sweeps behind you, or as you turn away from a noisy machine. And there was occasionally a bit too much traipsing back and forth to take lifts. But these are rare rough edges to the overall presentation and flow.
I was fine with the absurd ending, partially on the grounds that I didn't see that particularly twist coming. (It was almost entirely unpredictable, given it was spectacularly silly. But that fitted just fine with the silliness of the 1960s mind exploration technology already on display
)Rating: 3.5 (+/-)
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On a positive note for PCVR...
Flatscreen Games I've Bought Recently Due to Classy VR Mods (with Motion Controller Support):
That's a lot of varied gaming right there
Throw in RDR 2 (although controller input for horses didn't capture me as it did for GTA V's cars), and a bunch of others doing the rounds (Subnautica 2 etc etc), the modding scene is looking pretty healthy.
With Hitman 3 just getting confirmed for PCVR + motion controller in early 2022 (and the back catalogue being compatible too, if owned) things ain't looking so bad
Flatscreen Games I've Bought Recently Due to Classy VR Mods (with Motion Controller Support):
- Outer Wilds
- Valheim
- Deep Rock Galactic (WIP)
- Risk of Rain 2
That's a lot of varied gaming right there
Throw in RDR 2 (although controller input for horses didn't capture me as it did for GTA V's cars), and a bunch of others doing the rounds (Subnautica 2 etc etc), the modding scene is looking pretty healthy.
With Hitman 3 just getting confirmed for PCVR + motion controller in early 2022 (and the back catalogue being compatible too, if owned) things ain't looking so bad
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Review: Windlands 2
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzjZtxlAeUw
So I have to give this game a positive score, as whistling through the world, and fighting the late-game giant bosses, were genuine highlights. But it comes with a major negative at the end.
Once you learn not to bungee chord straight into the butts of tree branches, the grappling hook motion is solid. You've gotta get that swing-around-with-momentum pathing thing on, and then you start hearing the wind whistle in your ears as you navigate the colourful world. The low-gravity jumps and landings are also great in their own right.
Some of interim " fetch the 10 things" pathfinding is all a bit bread and butter, and just feel like filler between the main draw of the boss fights. The story & voice-overs which clothe them are also simplistic and cartoony, if a step up on the face-less-ness of the original. But as the hookable plantlife gets smaller (and deadlier), and the save points less frequent, the journey does get grittier. There's an almost puzzle-like 'that's impossible' impression given by some of the environment stages you have to scale, and figuring out a reliable path through to the next check point, which can be fun. (Or can be somewhat tortuous)
As the stages get bigger, there's also a sort of aimlessness, where you're not always sure if you're supposed to free-style to the destination icon, or whether you're scaling challenges that don't need to be overcome on the way. (Thankfully some of these occasions involved joyful stepping-stone leaps down from a great height instead, so that was more fun. Unless you overshoot...)
The boss battles are engagements worth scrambling towards though. As the large enemies become increasingly mobile, requiring you to stay on the move yourself to tag them, while snatching bow shots where you can, it's a sweaty and engaging business. Although they are set to a weird challenge tier, given you the die as often as you like but your hits stay counted. Which leads to some kamikaze strategies.
This sketchy approach to difficulty scaling is where the game totally fell down for me though. The game suddenly decides to chain all of its most difficult transitions, and a few extreme bonus ones, into a section which I absolutely could not pass. After 100+ goes (and lowering every difficulty setting I could) I gave up. Which is a shame, as I really wanted to fight the next boss...
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzbQKQXX4N4&t=72s
Rating: 3.5 ----
So I have to give this game a positive score, as whistling through the world, and fighting the late-game giant bosses, were genuine highlights. But it comes with a major negative at the end.
Once you learn not to bungee chord straight into the butts of tree branches, the grappling hook motion is solid. You've gotta get that swing-around-with-momentum pathing thing on, and then you start hearing the wind whistle in your ears as you navigate the colourful world. The low-gravity jumps and landings are also great in their own right.
Some of interim " fetch the 10 things" pathfinding is all a bit bread and butter, and just feel like filler between the main draw of the boss fights. The story & voice-overs which clothe them are also simplistic and cartoony, if a step up on the face-less-ness of the original. But as the hookable plantlife gets smaller (and deadlier), and the save points less frequent, the journey does get grittier. There's an almost puzzle-like 'that's impossible' impression given by some of the environment stages you have to scale, and figuring out a reliable path through to the next check point, which can be fun. (Or can be somewhat tortuous
)As the stages get bigger, there's also a sort of aimlessness, where you're not always sure if you're supposed to free-style to the destination icon, or whether you're scaling challenges that don't need to be overcome on the way. (Thankfully some of these occasions involved joyful stepping-stone leaps down from a great height instead, so that was more fun. Unless you overshoot...)
The boss battles are engagements worth scrambling towards though. As the large enemies become increasingly mobile, requiring you to stay on the move yourself to tag them, while snatching bow shots where you can, it's a sweaty and engaging business. Although they are set to a weird challenge tier, given you the die as often as you like but your hits stay counted. Which leads to some kamikaze strategies.
This sketchy approach to difficulty scaling is where the game totally fell down for me though. The game suddenly decides to chain all of its most difficult transitions, and a few extreme bonus ones, into a section which I absolutely could not pass. After 100+ goes (and lowering every difficulty setting I could) I gave up. Which is a shame, as I really wanted to fight the next boss...
Rating: 3.5 ----
Nice post, OP. Some inspiration here!Just dumping these here in case anyone's looking for a new VR game
Some of the older links lead off-site, just refresh the page if it doesn't jump straight to the review.
The ratings are out of 5. Sometimes I throw some pluses and minus in too
---
REVIEWS:
--SHOOTERS & BRAWLERS--
SUPERHOT VR 4.5 - Superhuman slow-mo super-antics. Short but pretty perfectly formed.
Robo Recall 4 - Gaudy teleportation shooter, short-ish but slickly executed. Its future-90s cities felt like a place you were scudding through, but the focus was on the high octane gamery. [Rift Freebie]
GORN 4 - Ludicrous arena melee-fest that deploys its cartoon hammers and bendy swords to great effect. [Early Access]
War Dust 4 - I love Battlefield, and I love this VR clone of it. Even if it contains many indie depravities that must be forgiven... [Nausea possible]
Pavlov 4 - Source-FPS homage that brings the old to the new. Solid gunplay, custom maps, TTT-silliness, and a bustling, irreverent community.
Onward 4 - Arma-style 'realistic' mili shooter that really places you in the moment! [Early Access]
Rec Room Arguably as much about the lobbies and chat rooms as the co-op and the pvp. 4 - [Free]
Hotdogs, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades 4-- - Ridiculously replete gun simulator sandbox with bonus zombie sausage scenarios. Even though it's more a suite of mechanics than a game it's surprisingly good. [Early Access]
Run of Mydan 3.5 (+) - A short but pretty & trippy flying platform shooter which ends up like a duel inside a 1990s microchip [Early Access]
Silicon Rising 3.5 -(-) - A slick cyberpunk sheen and some level variety helps this indie wave shooter up its game. Simple, sweaty, bullet-dodging hijinks at its core though.
--SIMULATORS--
Elite Dangerous VR 4 (+/-) - Flying a spaceship never felt so real! (Some queueing for parking required...)
Dirt Rally 4 + - 'Dark Soulsian' offroader that shows no mercy in its starter disciplines, but rewards with deep challenges.
Project Cars 2 4 (+) - This is all about the ludicrous Rally Cross antics in a Ford Escort for me. Or really any inappropriate car you fancy. Great sounds, great sweeping weather effects.
Lunar Flight: AE 3.5 (+++) - There is space serenity here when you win your stately battle with physics and gravity. And tense space panic when you lose it...
War Thunder 3.5 (+) - The excellent vibe and execution here, as you cajole your historical craft around cloud-dappled landscapes, is only undercut by the P2W pain as you advance through the tiers...
--ARCADE RACERS--
Source: https://youtu.be/EzWpLaxUGPo
BallisticNG 4 (-) - Retro Wipeout clone that makes you forgive its gritty pixels with its slick set of classic tricks.
Touring Karts 3.5 ++ - Mario Kart clone that nails its arcade flavour of drift-boosting, weapon-combo carnage. With added giant monkeys. Just let down by lack of soaring Mario tracks.
--SPORTS--
Echo Arena 4 - Challenging and super-slick Zero-G team frisbee multiplayer, Ender's Game style... [Rift Freebie]
Creed: Rise to Glory 3.5 +(+) - A bit rustic, bit when the Rocky fanfare blares you don't care. Some great sweaty cardio under the bright lights, with a simple story thread strung through it.
VR Sports Challenge 3.5 (++) - Ludicrous wish-fulfillment basketball and quarterback mini-games pitched as key moments thoughout a match.
--ADVENTURE / PUZZLE / WALKING SIMS--
Lone Echo 4 --- - A 'floating sim' where style, immersion & character trump the otherwise straight-forward puzzling
PROZE: Enlightenment 3.5 +++ - An atmospheric 'first chapter' of cold war fantasy/conspiracy, somehow managing to endear and engage, punching above its indie roots.
The Gallery - Episode 1: Call of the Starseed 3.5 +++ - '80s adventure' with some neat tricks and touches, just ultimately light on puzzles and length.
Pollen 3.5 +++ - Explore an abandoned space outpost in search of missing astronauts - Tactile, 70s-style, and not a little bit trippy by the end.
Robinson: The Journey 3.5 ++/-- - Visually lush AAA 'kid friendly' adventure through dinosaur-infested space wreckage. Amazing at points, but marred by annoyances throughout.
Torn 3.5 (+/-) - The dated walking scheme, simplistic puzzling, and silly conclusion can't dent the transporting setting and Sorceror's Apprentice fun of faffing with physics objects.
Scanner Sombre 3.5 (+-) - Slim on narrative, mechanics, and events, but its quiet journey into an unwelcoming cave is still tense and effective. And at one point dipped into wonderful.
Red Matter 3.5 --- - Visually glorious space 'spy' mission, which has its highlights, but suffers from the regular slimness of its puzzle staples.
The Gallery - Episode 2: Heart of the Emberstone 3 -- - A more fulsome follow-up, unfortunately hamstrung by its absurd load times and location re-use.
--ACTION ADVENTURES & RPGs--
Fallout 4 4.5 (+) - Everything that's good about FO4 is better here. It's a blind-firing, deep-diving, horizon-refining, hair-raising epic of a thing. Expect the jank to be cranked to the max too though
Half-Life: Alyx 4.5 (+) - A visually stunning VR reboot for the Half-Life series, which at its best is a stupendous, art-house, tricksy, horror-action sci-fi adventure wonderland. (And at its worst, just a very good VR shooter
Vertigo 4 ++ - Eccentric but pretty damn excellent 'escape the lab' adventure, with some stand out giant boss scenarios.
Downward Spiral: Horus Station 4 - - This budget space-station odyssey manages to punch above its weight throughout, mixing Aliens-esque environments with expansive zero-G robot battles.
Boneworks 4 --- - Indie 'escape the virtual lab' gun and puzzle affair, marked out, and held back, by its physicalised avatar...
PROZE: Enlightenment 3.5 +++ - A 3hr 'first chapter' that escapes its indie trappings to create an atmospheric roam through a cold-war fantasy-fusion realm.
Runes: The Forgotten Path 3.5 ++(+) - Stilted but also strangely slick spell-casting indie puzzler [FREE]
LA Noire 3.5 ++ - Absolutely amazing at points, and a laudable attempt at an experimental port, but often grinding its gears due to tech and design requirements :|
NeverBound 3.5 +(+) - Abandonware, but well worth a sale buy to experience its gravity-altering game mechanic. Both combat and puzzles approached the Escher-esque by the end. [Abandonware]
Yupitergrad 3.5 (+) - A short but satisfying space-station adventure, leaning as much towards action as puzzling with its spiderman suction-cup format. [Nausea possible]
Vanishing Realms 3.5 (+) - Satisfying melee and cartoony consistency make this dungeon crawler overcome it's short-ish length. [Early Access]
Edge of Nowhere - 3.5 (+) - 3rd person linear Cthulu-horrors don't tick my boxes, but the art and swirls of storytelling raised this above its more monotonous mechanics.
The Mage's Tale - 3.5 (-) - A 10hr dungeon diver with a slew of quality touches, but let down by some filler and wave-shooter sections.
The Wizards - 3.5 -(-) - It never soars, but there's just enough in the magic flinging, plummy narration and occasional set pieces to keep you opening the next door.
Windlands 2 - 3.5 ---- - There are some great aerial bow & arrow battles to be had here, but an absurd difficulty spike left me rage quitting.
Witching Tower VR - 3 +(+) - Lovely vibe, passable puzzles, atrocious combat. Get it on sale
--STEALTH GAMES--
Payday 2 4 ++ - Slick cross-play port that nails the carnage but really shines when you're sneaking with mates
--PUZZLE GAMES--
The Talos Principle VR - 4 +(+) - Physics-based 'eureka' moments aplenty here, all delivered via some retro-futuristic philosophising on free will
The Under Presents 4 - - A magic-realism 'murder mystery', wrapped up in a multiplayer sandbox where you learn spells from the gestures of others. Properly bizarre.
Paper Beast 4 -- - Magical French fancy which sees you herding paper beasts to sculpt your way through a digital desert.
XING: The Land Beyond 4 -- - Super zen puzzler which sees you flipping environmental effects and pacing around various natural zones.
A Fisherman's Tale 4 (---) - Super slick, but super short, take on a Russian-doll reality. Not hard, but still ingenious.
Interkosmos 4 - Great little 'land the lander module' mini-adventure, featuring tongue-in-cheek Cold War stylings & audio story. Super short, and more on the 'experience' end of things.
I Expect You To Die 3.5 +++ - Giddy and gleeful physics puzzler, set in faux 60s Bond scenarios. Only let down by short content and some repetition mis-steps.
Virtual Virtual Reality 3.5 +++ - Joyful Russian-doll experience, with just a touch of the singular singularity about. As much physics plaything as puzzler in some ways. Only let down by some dead-end-ish dead spots between highlights.
The Room VR: A Dark Matter 3.5 +(++) - Another slick, 4 hour, escape the room adventure. Well presented, with a Holmes meets baby's-first-Cthulhu vibe.
Abode 2 3.5 (+) - A slick, if indie, de-puzzle-the-room affair, with pleasing Blade-Runner-style trappings, only bedevilled by the odd bug.
Just In Time 3.5 (+) - Cute if slight indie action-puzzler. Save lives in slow motion for your insurance company. More about the bullet-time than brain time.
VR Furballs 3.5 (+) - A decent Angry Birds rip-off that's perhaps more physics carnage than outright puzzler, but distracting for all that.
Abode 3.5 - - A simple escape-the-room with lots of prodable objects and a cyber-PI vibe. Indie with the edges rounded off.
Conductor 3.5 -- - Some uneven puzzles, a glitchy physics gun, and a manual steam-train conceit, all linked by a steampunk story of sorts. Has its moments.
Dimensional 3 +++ - A physical, physics puzzler. By turns maddening then actually kind of exhilarating. If you can tolerate the horrible indie trappings and missteps, this holds some unique fun.
Form 3 - - Evocative puzzler that is unfortunately all form and very little substance.
--JOB SIMULATORS--
Rick & Morty: Virtual Rick-ality 3.5 +(+) - Like an interactive episode of the show. Very short, but dense with silly...
--SURVIVAL GAMES--
Vivecraft 4.5 -
Excellent mutation of the survival classic, featuring a huge suite of options, leading to some surreally immersive results. A ton better than the official version. [Free Mod]
Star Shelter 3.5 ++ - Neat 'rogue lite' space scrounging simulator. Punishingly cruel at times, but has a certain something in its loops. [Early Access]
--REAL TIME STRATEGY--
Townsmen VR - Despite an ultimate lack of depth, the tactile nature of this God-game’s interactions, and the self-sustaining bustle of the towns that you create, make it a little joy in many ways - 3.5 +(++)
Deisim - Just incredibly chill. Like being a mountain-sized gardener - 3.5 (+) [Early Access]
--RHYTHM GAMES--
Beat Saber - Ever-escalating challenges push you into a zen zone of perpetual motion - 4 (---)
--LOCAL-MULTIPLAYER PARTY GAMES--
Puppet Fever - Super-cute interactive puppetry take on charades - 3.5 [Early Access]
--PLATFORMERS--
Source: https://youtu.be/pmBhO9s_aBg
Carly & The Reaperman 4 + - Creative and cute crossplay co-op with lots of freeform potential in its otherwise linear platforming... [Free for remote players]
Moss 3.5 +(+) - The cutesy story-book world is great, even if the VR interactions aren't the ultimate page turner here. Worth a genteel hop, poke and platform.
Herobound 3.5 +(+) - A pretty tight little combat/puzzle platformer, with some minor non-linear aspects. Gains almost nothing from being in VR, but hey it's 8hrs long and it's free. [Rift Freebie]
--MODS--
GTAV V R.E.A.L. Mod 4 -- - Its rough around the edges, but just about playable end-to-end. A whole new way to explore this world. Epic
--EXPERIENCES--
First Contact 5 - Just an exceptional and super-slickly designed intro to the tech. Highlights what's special but makes everything feel natural. [Rift Freebie]
Google Earth 4 ++ - The capture tech and motion freedom here can get pretty mind-blowing at points. Yes, it's blobby at human scale, and many bits of the earth are 'flat' scanned, but from flying like an eagle over natural formations, to settling in a favoured city dell, there's some strange joy here... [FREE]
Aircar 4 ++ - Another free super short experience, which is never-the-less properly epic. It's just a wonderfully rendered cityscape experience, which is immediately evocative of the original Blade Runner. [Free]
Batman: Arkham VR 4 - Super immersive, if super short, chance to don the bat cape and tangle with some dark Gotham dilemmas. On the light puzzle end, and more experience than game, but immersively good for all that.
Waltz of the Wizard 4 + - Lovely free physics plaything, with the odd mini-narrative hidden in its playful folds... [Rift Freebie]
Trials on Tatooine 4 - - Just five minutes of being a Jedi on Tatooine, with great production values. What more do you want?
Spider-Man: Far From Home Virtual Reality 4 -- - Great web-slinging, and a fun short boss fight with a giant robot which you can web around. [FREE] [POSSIBLE NAUSEA]
Quanero 2 - System Release 3.5 ++ - A slick 'analyse the crime scenes' future-punky set of scenarios. Surprisingly good for a student project, if ultimately unfinished. [FREE]
Blade Runner 2049: Memory Lab 3.5 +(+) - Too short, and slight on a gaming front, to even rate if it wasn't free. But as a demonstration of what full actor capture could do, and for slipping into the Blade Runner reboot neatly enough, it's definitely worth a reco. [Rift Freebie]
The Price of Freedom 3.5 (++) - Neat budget noir interactive about the CIA's MK-ULTRA project. Feels like a step towards involving VR stories. [V short, v cheap]
1943 Berlin Blitz 3.5 (++) - Visually smudgy but ultimately effective framing of audio recorded during a bombing run. A moment of history brought slightly more to life. [Free]
Easter Rising: Voice of a Rebel 3.5 (++) - More BBC history, this time with slightly clunky narration but a fairly lovely painterly style to evoke the contemporary audio. [Free]
Welcome to Light Fields 3.5 (++) - Posed 19thC photos meet the 21stC. Lightfield 3D world capture is very intriguing indeed. [Free]
Kismet - 3.5 +(+) - A slight but slickly-presented collection of Tarot reading, Astrology, & a fun little board game from Ancient Ur... well worth a sale snag, if missing hand control.
PaulPaul - 3.5 (+) - A short, strange comingling of Moon and 2001. Perhaps. Decent tone, simple contextual 'puzzles'. [FREE].
The Tear - 3 ( + + ¯\(ツ)/¯ + + ) - More art installation than puzzler, sitting on the floor with indie inter-dimensional experiments was still intriguing though.
Farlands 3 + - Delightful alien locations mixed with deeply tedious gameplay. Worth a download for the initial transporting sections though. (Warning, includes chirpy robot guide...) [Rift Freebie]
Mythos of the World Axis 3 - Super-short early proof of concept that makes your feel like you're controlling a tiny hero in a cavernous room of adventure...[Free]
Cycling Pathways to Mars 0 + 5 = ? - Buzz Aldrin in hologram form. Need I say more...? [Free]
Moriarty: Endgame VR - 3 (+) - Neat-enough opening chapter of a future-Holmes graphic novel with solid audio.
--SHORT STORIES--
Gloomy Eyes - 4 + - A lovely, Burton-esque, tale of zombie love in the apocalypse. Colin Farrell narrates as the living cartoon dioramas spin and unfold.
Age of Sail - 4 (-) - A strangely moving short journey with an old ship hand, played by Ian McShane. I can't quite pin down why 'being there' elevates this, but it does. The painterly style looks rough initially, but the overall production values smooth that all away. [Free]
Bonfire - 3.5 +(+) - Closest thing to a 'VR cartoon' I've seen to date. Lovely toy rocket style and cute characterisation at points. Minor 'heroic' interactions. Short but sweet.
The Book of Distance - 3.5 (+) - An impressionistic recreation of Japanese Canadian internments during WW2, told through the lense of one family's experiences. [Free]
Pearl - 3.5 - Sit in the passenger seat throughout the life of a family car, as a father and daughter go from the Spring to the Autumn of their relationship. That's it. It's kinda hokey, technically solid, but gave my parental heartstrings a twang by the end. [Free]
Dear Angelica - 3.5 - The painterly style and dark spaces work well enough for these melancholy traces of reveries and daily debris. Geena Davis adds some cinematic sheen. Doesn't take off completely, but does brood. [Free]
--EDUCATIONAL--
Hold The Earth 4 -- - The venerable David Attenborough talks and gestures you through some natural artefacts, before they come to life at full scale.
Mission:ISS 4 -- - Another high class freebie, featuring solid zero G locomotion, the sci-steeped setting of the station, but what's genuinely glorious is the ability to space walk outside it all... [Rift Freebie]
The Dawn of Art 3.5 +++ - A great way to appreciate the fire-licked, pristinely preserved, 3D art tracing the curving walls of the Chauvet cave. [Free]
Buzludzha VR 3 (+) - Slick if slim little tourism title that allows you to nose around the Buzludzha building in its pomp, while hearing about its past, and revealing its current state with sweeps of your magic torch.
Hololab Champions 3 (+) - Very slick attempt to make beginner's chemistry disciplines involving. Presentation is great. Measuring liquid levels by the miniscus can only be so exciting though.
Historium VR 3 -- - An earnest, if very brief, attempt at historical recreation. The fact that they made the trade of 15thC Bruge in anyway interesting is a plus point.
The Body VR 3 -- - A hint of what education VR could become, but not there yet. Some of the scale as you passed over and into the mechanisms and environments of the inner cells was pretty cool though. [Free]
--CROSSPLAY CO-OP GAMES--
IE games that VR players can play with classic PC or console players
See:
- Payday 2
- NMS
- Carly & The Reaperman
- Elite Dangerous
- Minecraft
- Rec Room
- Touring Karts
---
Did you try VTOL yet? (I did a forum search and admittedly only scanned the first page to see if it was in this thread...)
It runs super-smooth for me, like Horizons did and Odyssey doesn't (your mileage may vary!), and is very immersive. I don't think it works with a Hotas setup, but I'm not sure it really needs to. If you like to fly, it's definitely worth a look. From the moment you load up the game you're sitting in an aircraft carrier tower looking out the window, and planes are taking off and whizzing by - what an intro! It's not too complicated, but doesn't feel arcade-style either.
btw. as a slight extension to the VTOL theme I also tried DCS for the first time last night, admittedly only for an hour and without any paid add-ons. Looks very nice, although my graphics settings must be a long way from tweaked as my FPS wasn't great. So I need to fix that before I can give it another go. Perhaps if MSFS and VTOL had a baby, it would look like DCS? (ok, I don't know what I'm talking about - sorry DCS fans!)
One other mention, although early-access but in my opinion early-promise... "Lo-fi". I'd describe it as Cyberpunk meets Bladerunner. It's still very early days for it, but the world is ready enough to look around in, has a really cool soundtrack and visuals. There doesn't seem to be much to do other than look around though, but I can imagine one day it will be good.
If it wasn't for such lacklustre VR in Odyssey then I probably wouldn't have tried the games above (and a few others you already reviewed). Every cloud...
Cheers
I haven't tried VTOL yet, but it's definitely on my list. Love virtual cockpits (Ultrawings, War Dust etc), and like the idea that it's sim-lite rather than full blown.
Haven't tried DCS yet but did have mainly good times in War Thunder. Performance was also pretty decent from what I recall, despite the pretty clouds and such.
Yeah have been keeping track of that. Kinda waiting to for it to hit full release, but it looks good. (A shame that the bizarre Lord-of-the-Rings-guy NPC won't make the final cut though apparently)
There are some other great cyberpunk freebies out there if you're interested:
Possibly this deranged bullet hell game too. Although it's really just a cyberpunk sheen:
Ay, that's the thing. ED introduced me to VR, so it's entirely their fault I'm off playing other VR things. (But on the plus side, there's enough out there to keep us amused for now. Can always come back if EDOVR ever becomes a full blown thing )
I haven't tried VTOL yet, but it's definitely on my list. Love virtual cockpits (Ultrawings, War Dust etc), and like the idea that it's sim-lite rather than full blown.
Haven't tried DCS yet but did have mainly good times in War Thunder. Performance was also pretty decent from what I recall, despite the pretty clouds and such.
Review: War Thunder
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aZJPzo209M&feature=youtu.be
Ok, with 24hrs under my belt in WT already somehow, I'm gonna go ahead and review it
I'm really not feeling the bite of the P2W structure at the moment. Yes you do get one-shotted by guys periodically, and can get absolutely dominated by fighters with absurd speed, agility & DPS. The starter tiering gives you a decent soft entry to find your feet though, and I do feel like my freebie-earned vehicles can do their bit in the arcade matches. (And more importantly, are mainly fun to fly while doing it
The main selling points for me currently are:
The arcade modes:
These are all almost exclusively fun. I love the main war front objectives, where you normally find yourself doing a bit of everything throughout the match. Bombing runs, fighter interceptions, land strafing, defending objectives. Maybe even taking out a torpedo ship once you've unlocked more specialised stuff.
The 'capture the airfield' variants also invite some decent tactical decisions (including which ships from your roster you might sacrifice to seize an early airstrip), and a ton of low-flying dog-fighting. (With a bit of bonus, desperate airstrip bombing once you start running out of rides
The only round I'm not super fond of is the 'hold the aerial location' one, purely because it plays out in a narrower, dog-fighting-alone, fashion.
The damage model throws some extra variety your way in every round as a rule, with a damaged wing to nurse or a faltering engine. And the ability to low fly through obstacles like trees means you'll see some spectacular plane disintegrations too
Overall, despite the odd fist waved at an uber-fighter slicing me in half with one pass, I'm generally having a blast
The locations & environmental touches:
The new cloud tech, sea reflections, glancing sunlight, and varied locales, all really evoke a sense of place beautifully at times. And the maps themselves invite all kinds of ill-advised stunts and escape shenanigans. Great for all of the above online play, but also very chill to just cruise around in using the test flight mode
---
At some point I should totally try the single player campaigns. And the tanks and stuff. But I'm still happy as a pig in mud unlocking bizarre British planes of yester-year right now
3.5(+)/5
EDIT: That P2W Bite:
Ok, nowwww I'm feeling it. So it seems that unlocking planes of a higher tier matches you with guys who have at least one plane unlocked to that level. When I accessed the top end Spitfire IIb (with lovely 20mm cannons), I suddenly found myself in a pool of guys who mainly had tricked out planes of that type in their roster...
That was a bit of a shock to the system. TTK is suddenly a lot quicker as all the big guns come to bear, enemies can close on you and gain position with greater ease, bombers can reach heights that you struggle with and lay down much stronger covering fire. It was a much bigger step up than when I moved into the '2.7' plane tier with my mid-range Spitfire etc. I've recalibrated, and settled back into small victories and improving my little fleet. And adopting strategies to fit. (My more lowly bombers are absolute floating ducks, so I at least make sure I tag along with a willing fighter, or vainly try and keep up with the shinier models ahead of me. And pairing up with my squad partner for fighter runs has suddenly become much more appealing!)
So there is a certain fairness to aspects of it, in that strategies are available (and if you do get a pimped out ship in your sights, you can still do similar damage). But the road to parity feels a lot longer now, and I can certainly see why someone might pay to speed some of it up...
EDIT2: That P2W Bite Gouge:
Ok yeah, I just have to lower the score. From tier 3.7 onwards the unlock rate slows pretty dramatically, and the 'lion' credits required to access and update the vehicles get mopped up by ever-increasing costs. The grind quite deliberately ramps up.
Add in the uber-craft for each tier that can only be unlocked via money (you will no them by their many guns and dancey-mobility), and the bonus ways to splash the case (make your pilot more bullet resistant, more aware of threats, more able to maintain performance over time etc)... and as fun as the game is, it finds too many ways to make you pay if you don't... pay
Yeah have been keeping track of that. Kinda waiting to for it to hit full release, but it looks good. (A shame that the bizarre Lord-of-the-Rings-guy NPC won't make the final cut though apparently
)There are some other great cyberpunk freebies out there if you're interested:
Possibly this deranged bullet hell game too. Although it's really just a cyberpunk sheen:
Ay, that's the thing. ED introduced me to VR, so it's entirely their fault I'm off playing other VR things
. (But on the plus side, there's enough out there to keep us amused for now. Can always come back if EDOVR ever becomes a full blown thing )![[VR] optimal_909](https://forums-cdn.zaonce.net/data/avatars/m/109/109067.jpg?1553781733){kind=avatar}
DCS is fantastic, it became my go-to VR app and sim at the same time.
It is very demanding though in terms of commitment. While I was absolutely OK flying in Elite with KB+M, for DCS a complete HOTAS is a must with a rudder pedal also strongly suggested. Plus the simple planes of Flaming Cliffs don't have clickable cockpits so in VR I felt like forced to go to full fidelity aircraft.
The learning curve is nothing short of intimidating, but it feels so great to accomplish things. I decided to get the MiG-15 as it relatively easy to pick up, and try to learn the F-16 aside which is much easier to fly but has very complex systems.
On the standalone version (which can be run under Steam as well, there is a guide about it under the community section) you can 'rent' all modules for two weeks every six months, so you can try various planes and have a blast in the training sessions. Also there is an opportunity to get a first 50% off on most modules, which is way more than standard discounts on most of them.
Actually I couldn’t care less about the first-person stuff in Odyssey, I just want the VR performance in the spaceships back! At least Horizons is still live for now. (I just installed Sniper Elite VR, that’s my first person itch sorted)Cheers
I haven't tried VTOL yet, but it's definitely on my list. Love virtual cockpits (Ultrawings, War Dust etc), and like the idea that it's sim-lite rather than full blown.
Haven't tried DCS yet but did have mainly good times in War Thunder. Performance was also pretty decent from what I recall, despite the pretty clouds and such.
Yeah have been keeping track of that. Kinda waiting to for it to hit full release, but it looks good. (A shame that the bizarre Lord-of-the-Rings-guy NPC won't make the final cut though apparently
There are some other great cyberpunk freebies out there if you're interested:
Possibly this deranged bullet hell game too. Although it's really just a cyberpunk sheen:
Ay, that's the thing. ED introduced me to VR, so it's entirely their fault I'm off playing other VR things
On a positive note for PCVR...
Flatscreen Games I've Bought Recently Due to Classy VR Mods (with Motion Controller Support):
- Outer Wilds
- Valheim
- Deep Rock Galactic (WIP)
- Risk of Rain 2
That's a lot of varied gaming right there
Throw in RDR 2 (although controller input for horses didn't capture me as it did for GTA V's cars), and a bunch of others doing the rounds (Subnautica 2 etc etc), the modding scene is looking pretty healthy.
With Hitman 3 just getting confirmed for PCVR + motion controller in early 2022 (and the back catalogue being compatible too, if owned) things ain't looking so bad
Ach damn, added Cyberpunk to my list of sale buys for WIP mods :/
Steam sale gets it for £25, and the GTA V / RDR2 guy is working on a VR mod in Patreon-land...
Cyberpunk VR Mod Set To Launch Next Month From GTAV Modder
Enthusiast VR modder Luke Ross says he’s working on a Cyberpunk VR mod, and it should be out soon. PC Gamer reports that the mod is next on Ross’ ‘to do’ list after Pateron followers voted for the game in a poll. Ross, who previously released headset conversions of
uploadvr.com
If it pans out anything like the GTA V one then that's a 100 hours of gameplay right there :/. (I still wish he'd go big on a motion controller version for one of these, but get why he opts for controller only for these mammoth games. Plus I don't mind so much in the driving/city ones, as controller fits well enough for the transitions / regular gameplay)
Review: Boiling Steel
This budget shooter doesn't excel in any area, but has a workmanlike core beneath its indie skin. From the tidy dash system for strafing amongst the chaos, to the escalating spread of enemies, weapons and upgrades, to the rogue-like specials & debuffs which roll the dice for each round.
There was definitely some fun to be had in electing the robot body with the broken hand, and the ability to slow time, then seeing if you could fight your way down the next array of platforms.
Upgrading new weapons from particularly crappy starting points, and experimenting with new enhancements, added intrigue in the later stages. (Not that I ever actually died officially along the way. Although I did crash 5+ times, which were counted as deaths, and put me at a slight risk of losing the whole game, annoyingly).
Gameplay is ultimately straightforward (head shots, tag explosives, prioritise that guy before he releases his drone, etc), but they do change things up with each level, and throw novel surprises in, so there's a certain ratcheting challenge which keeps pretty good step with your levelling. The slow nature of the projectiles (or the forewarning provided by targeting lasers) also meant that even at its most bullet-hell-ish it felt 'harsh but fair'.
Thankfully the linear maps only occasionally indulged in total 'wave' chaos showdowns. (Which, while amusing enough, as you spam saved specials and kite enemies into turret fire, would have got old if overused).
The opening sections were fairly clunky, but once I reached the greater loadout tinkering of the late game, with its longer levels, I was happily spending a session playing out 3 stages or so. It was a bit disappointing to find some of the locations re-used eventually (if still varied somewhat by the randomised threat options - turrets, mines etc - and the loadout chosen). Especially when they were the more kit-bashed sky platform stages. But this was counter-balanced somewhat by the more claustrophobic, tailored cave levels running into the finale.
The story trappings are often hilariously bad (with some bonus deliberate humour thrown in from the station AI), but they just about do their job. There's a feeling of the devs doing the best with what they've got throughout. (I'm still not sure if the narrator from the clunky intro disappears for budget reasons, to be replaced by text-to-speech NPCs, but I could totally believe that's the case)
When a game ends on a plot reveal, and with the dialogue: "We have to figure this out", you know full well that they ran out of money. But if you can get by with the budget banalities, there is a solid shooter to blast your way through here.
rating: 3.5 ----
This budget shooter doesn't excel in any area, but has a workmanlike core beneath its indie skin. From the tidy dash system for strafing amongst the chaos, to the escalating spread of enemies, weapons and upgrades, to the rogue-like specials & debuffs which roll the dice for each round.
There was definitely some fun to be had in electing the robot body with the broken hand, and the ability to slow time, then seeing if you could fight your way down the next array of platforms.
Upgrading new weapons from particularly crappy starting points, and experimenting with new enhancements, added intrigue in the later stages. (Not that I ever actually died officially along the way. Although I did crash 5+ times, which were counted as deaths, and put me at a slight risk of losing the whole game, annoyingly).
Gameplay is ultimately straightforward (head shots, tag explosives, prioritise that guy before he releases his drone, etc), but they do change things up with each level, and throw novel surprises in, so there's a certain ratcheting challenge which keeps pretty good step with your levelling. The slow nature of the projectiles (or the forewarning provided by targeting lasers) also meant that even at its most bullet-hell-ish it felt 'harsh but fair'.
Thankfully the linear maps only occasionally indulged in total 'wave' chaos showdowns. (Which, while amusing enough, as you spam saved specials and kite enemies into turret fire, would have got old if overused).
The opening sections were fairly clunky, but once I reached the greater loadout tinkering of the late game, with its longer levels, I was happily spending a session playing out 3 stages or so. It was a bit disappointing to find some of the locations re-used eventually (if still varied somewhat by the randomised threat options - turrets, mines etc - and the loadout chosen). Especially when they were the more kit-bashed sky platform stages. But this was counter-balanced somewhat by the more claustrophobic, tailored cave levels running into the finale.
The story trappings are often hilariously bad (with some bonus deliberate humour thrown in from the station AI), but they just about do their job. There's a feeling of the devs doing the best with what they've got throughout. (I'm still not sure if the narrator from the clunky intro disappears for budget reasons, to be replaced by text-to-speech NPCs, but I could totally believe that's the case
)When a game ends on a plot reveal, and with the dialogue: "We have to figure this out", you know full well that they ran out of money
. But if you can get by with the budget banalities, there is a solid shooter to blast your way through here.rating: 3.5 ----
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