In this post-apocalyptic world, hell has quite literally frozen over. A freak ice age has decimated humanity and given rise to the Snowbreed, kind of zombie ice-people that freeze you solid instead of eating your brains. Thankfully, it doesn’t need to make a lot of sense, as it’s all just a vehicle to scare your pants off and give you things to shoot at.

The campaign revolves around slaying Snowbreed and collecting Harvest as you make your way from one safe house to the next. Each time you reach a place of safety you can spend the Harvest on upgrades and consumables such as explosives, as well as top up your ammo. There’s not a great deal of gameplay variety, but then even titles like Back 4 Blood are focus-designed to produce a very specific gaming high and this is no different.

What gives it the spin is that, in VR, shooting rampaging hordes of zombies feels more desperate and at the same time more cathartic. But it does take some getting used to, especially if you’re not accustomed to fast-paced action in VR. If you can handle the inertia of smooth turning, it’s not a million miles from a normal shooter. If like me you struggle to keep your dinner down during long VR sessions, then the teleport movement will help but immersion takes a knock.

Yet, blasting away with two guns, reloading as you backpedal to relative safety, or hurling pipe bombs into a charging mass really don’t get old. Playing with friends elevates the experience further, as the feeling of companionship and camaraderie in the face of overwhelming odds is nothing short of addictive. There are several settings to adjust for comfort, too, such as the height if your gunbelt and how you select different weapons.

I played After the Fall on two different VR platforms during review, with varying results. On Vive Pro 2, the graphics are crisp and the engine runs like melted butter on a crumpet, but the Pro itself is an expensive acquisition and requires a significant time investment just to set up. It also asks a lot in terms of space, which was my main struggle. On the Meta Quest 2, the graphics take a noticeable hit, but the freedom of movement and room requirements just make it more convenient.

Either way, the sound design is more important than what the world looks like. Neither version is bad-looking and there’s enough ambient detail to bring the environments around you to life, but the sound is where the atmosphere really excels. You’ll hear the distant hordes coming closer, gunfire has a visceral, jarring kick to it, and it’s a really immersive experience.

Weapon acquisition in After the Fall is interesting, and adds an element of grind that works well with the relatively short missions. As you explore and survive you’ll find Floppy Discs (this being an alternate history where the world ended in the 80s, which for many will be pretty on-the-nose). Each one can be used to unlock new weapons or upgrade existing ones. The recent Shock and Awe update added a Tommy Gun to the arsenal, for example. Vertigo have done a good job making each weapon feel different and unique, but honestly I just have more fun John Wick-ing everywhere with twin twin pistols.

The lack of a dedicated melee attack is somewhat jarring though. While there are tactile elements such as opening lockers and interacting with the environment, you can’t pick up a piece of 2×4 or baseball bat and go ham. It’s especially noticeable when you’re surrounded and you can’t punch or push the Snowbreed and have to just keep trying to backpedal or shoot them. Of course this is where playing as a team comes in, as you’ll need to protect one another to stay alive.

The simple mission structure, replyability and overall catharsis of After the Fall make it a triumph of VR gaming. Whether you’re on a state-of-the-art headset or a more affordable version, the action is fast-paced, satisfying, and stylish.

The post After the Fall review appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

Developed by Purple Yonder and published by nDreams, Little Cities VR is one of the most relaxing and charming experiences I’ve had with my Quest 2. This is Sim City by way of Ballamory, a quaint, idling city-builder that keeps the endorphins working with regular rewards, soothing music, and colourful, almost toy-like visuals.

Your goal here is simply to build cities until you can build no more. You’ll begin with a small island that you can upgrade to Level 10 by constructing buildings and keeping your citizens happy. There’s very little to worry about though: you’re not going to be adjusting taxation levels or dealing with civil unrest. Each of the six available islands begins with nothing but a port and a spread of geological features such as thermal vents or mountains. One has a volcano, which we’ll get to.

From the port you construct roads, and on the side of the roads you plonk zones. You have three to choose from: Residential, Commercial, and Industrial. You’ll also need to build water towers, wind farms, and WiFi masts to keep the zones connected. The only challenge here is keeping the Residential zones away from the Industrial zones or any of the utility buildings. Each island has its own progression system that will see you unlock more buildings such as police and fire stations, an airport, thermal spa, a school, or a city hall.

The more you build and the longer you maintain civil happiness, the more you’ll unlock. Some islands have multiple regions, and some buildings must be constructed in certain areas (a geothermal power plant has to be built on a thermal spring, for example). It’s not particularly complex, and you unlock new buildings and regions at a fairly high rate.

Being a VR game, Little Cities VR is pretty immersive once you start. You can zoom out so much that the entire island is directly below you like a weird-shaped rug, or zoom in so far you’re almost – but not quite – at street level. The joy comes from watching your zones develop. Sometimes two or more adjacent blocks will spontaneously fuse together. Houses might become apartment blocks, or two small shops might form a gas station. Industrial zones could be warehouse, factories, or huge refineries. The sheer number of randomised building types makes each city feel unique,

The world is full of little touches that more than make up for the low-detail graphical style. Birds wheel and dive in the sky, whales break surface; now and then you’ll spy a boat speeding along with dolphins swimming alongside it. Planes buzz by you, while the roads of your cities will be thronged with traffic as your little citizens go about their business. Some maps have hazards, such as a volcano or sandstorms, but even these barely trouble you. This isn’t a game built to create anxiety in the player.

Time passes in days and weeks, monitored on a wrist watch on your left wrist. This shows you which of the three zone types are in-demand, as well as your current level of power, water, and civil content. Sadly, it’s not always a great indicator of what’s actually wrong. Sometimes the happiness metre will say something like “Your citizens don’t like the view from their window”, which means you need to move a utility somewhere. It’s not always this clear though, and can require some experimentation.

One of my favourite details in Little Cities VR is the way you access the World Map. It’s presented as a model on an adjustable table, which is situated on a balcony of one of the buildings you constructed in your first city. You can look around and see familiar things, as well as buildings you placed yourself. It’s a really nice touch and one that was completely unexpected.

Player comfort plays a large part in making Little Cities VR so much fun. You can choose to move the camera by smooth turning or by snap, and you can opt to play sitting or standing. Physically it requires very little from you, but will greatly reward your time. If you have a Quest and are looking for something to help you relax and wind down, Little Cities VR is the perfect city-builder to while away a few afternoons.

The post Little Cities VR review appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

Taking over from original devs Creepy Jar, Incuvo had their work cut out translating the tense, unforgiving atmosphere of Green Hell’s jungle from the TV to the Oculus Quest 2. The jungle itself is such a major element of the game that lessening any of it, even slightly, could have had a truly detrimental effect. I mean, if we’re super honest, there are some concessions that stand out more than others. However, the use of sound to sell the environment is masterful, and it’s not long before you begin to settle in.

Green Hell VR: Quest Edition – A thrilling adventure

Green Hell VR’s story is the same as the original. As anthropologist Jake, you’re stranded in the jungle and your wife Mia is missing. Armed with nothing but your wits, your smart watch and whatever you can scavenge from the world at large, you must find Mia and escape this nightmare. And it is a nightmare, too.

Everything in the jungle can kill you or at least cause you serious harm. Even drinking the untreated river water can be deadly, and infections and disease are never far away. The VR jungle is smaller, more compact, though perhaps not particularly noticeably so. Being in virtual reality makes everything you do that bit more immersive. Gathering rocks, starting a fire, collecting water. At one point I even caught myself warming my virtual hands over the virtual flames. It’s not perfect, but the fact that the world is a little more streamlined is not an issue.

I tend to suffer from terrible motion sickness in VR, and so if there’s an option to move by teleport I usually take it. This in itself can damage the immersion, and yet I never felt it was much of a problem. The controls are intuitive and responsive, and it was easy to just relax and get into the spirit. Well, maybe relax is the wrong word. I almost hit the ceiling the first time I heard a hiss and shucka-shucka-shucka and found a rattlesnake at my feet. Likewise, that rustle in the undergrowth is as likely to be a capybara as a jaguar.

Jungle fever

Actions such as checking yourself for injury and applying bandages, cutting down trees with the machete, or constructing a fire take on a whole new dimension when completed in VR. The surround sound works pretty well, too, and I would often find myself looking over my shoulder at a sudden noise. Sadly, though, the Oculus Quest 2 does have some rather severe limitations in terms of visuals. Played on PC, the original Green Hell is a good-looking game. The jungle is believable, the detail impressive. On the Quest 2 it’s less so. Foliage looks a little blocky, objects are hazy at a distance, and the lighting isn’t as convincing as it needs to be.

I certainly wouldn’t say that it looks bad. I just went into it right from fifteen-ish hours in the PC version and it makes a difference. That said, it runs pretty flawlessly, so it’s a case of taking the rough with the smooth. One massive change that seems obvious now in hindsight is how physical this game is in VR. Chopping wood, gathering rocks, even simply tying logs together to construct a shelter – these things can be physically draining. Especially with a heavy VR headset strapped to your face.

What’s weird is that with teleports and comfort controls, it becomes a little easier. I stumbled down hills a lot less, was able to gauge jumps with more confidence. I encountered far fewer predators, too, and the reduced space between areas of interest meant I wasn’t running out of food half as fast. Of course, I wasn’t a newbie during my VR playthrough, and had learned to parcel my rations much better. I also knew what to take and what to leave behind, so I often had bananas and bandages handy when I started out. Finding a cave early on with a bed and spot for campfire was also a massive bonus.

Tree’s a crowd

As VR becomes more mainstream it begins to feel less like gimmickry. There’s little in Green Hell VR: Quest Edition that feels like it was only put in to wow people. Simple acts like checking your watch, or pulling out your notebook and leafing through it for info feel tactile and natural. The occasional cutscene whereupon you lose control and the action is surrounded by a thick black letter box aren’t great for immersion, but these moments are rare.

Overall, Green Hell VR is a confident, highly competent take on the survival sim. The jungle is a dense, dangerous place, and the atmosphere is thick and believable. Glancing up to see birds wheeling in the sky, or watching fish dart away from your clumsy feet as you cross a river are beautiful moments that do a great job of breaking up the tension of day-to-day survival, and none of Green Hell VR: Quest Edition feels like filler. It takes some adaptation, sure, but it’s an immersive adventure into the unknown that may be a little less punishing than the original, but is certainly no less thrilling.

The post Green Hell VR: Quest Edition review appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

His particular brand mixes emotional trance with heartfelt lyrics and incredible collaborators, marking him out as one of the best DJs of the 2010s. Aviici Invector, released in 2019, was a tributary game, made in collaboration with Bergling’s family. Musical proceeds go to the Bergling Foundation, created in his memory to raise money and awareness for mental health issues.

We reviewed the original game at release and found it to be a forgiving, if sometimes off-kilter rhythm game. The Encore Edition released a while later, featuring more tracks for a total of 3 – and now that version has found its way to the Meta (Oculus) Quest 2.

Graphically simple, Aviici Invector Encore Edition features 35 stages and four difficulty settings. It follows Stella, a wise-cracking, fast-talking lone pilot on a nebulous mission through various worlds across the galaxy. What she’s doing isn’t entirely made clear, but nor does it really matter. She’s there to bring some form of context to what you’re doing when it doesn’t really need it.

All that matters is you hit the right buttons at the right time. Aviici Invector Encore Edition is a rhythm game, you see, which uses the face buttons and triggers on your Oculus controllers to swoop, roll and boost to the beat. Moving the action into VR adds a little immersion, but comes at the cost of the multiplayer element. It’s a strictly solo, offline game, although there is a leaderboard if you’re connected.

There are seven worlds to blast through, but in all honesty they’re not overly distinct. The Ice planet, for example, is different from the City, but not in anyway that matters. You won’t have time to take in the visuals, and even if you did the flashy effects of Invector’s pychadelic roller-coaster blind you to the details. It’s fast-paced and mesmeric, and that’s all it needs to be.

It’s not overly difficult though, even on higher levels. In VR, you have the ability to look around in a freer way than playing in front of a screen. You can see what’s coming, but not always in time to nail each press. You’ll alternate between A, B, LT, RB and X, which feels like a bit of the VR experience. With the controls the same as the other platforms, the only benefit of strapping on the Meta Quest 2 is 360-degree vision, which you don’t need.

Each stage asks that you hit at least 75% of markers, and even on hard I rarely dropped below 80%. It’s quite forgiving when you start to struggle, as the pace slows to compensate. When you’re nailing prompt after prompt in perfect time with the rhythm, though, it becomes euphoric. As you can play the entire game sitting (there are no comfort settings at all), it’s a fairly relaxing experience if you want it to be.

Ultimately though, fans of Aviici’s stirring club tracks will get the biggest kick out of Aviici Invector Encore Edition. It doesn’t do anything other rhythm games don’t, but the music here is almost all gold. Each of the 35 tracks selected is fantastic, with some I wanted to replay over and over and none I wanted to skip.

The story, such as it is, I could take or leave. Stella is written as a precocious teen who no one would leave in control of a space craft. The plot about her exploring the galaxy for reasons while some mysterious organisation sends her coordinates to the next place or attempts to bring her home is entertaining enough, but always feels superfluous.

Anyone coming to this game for story, though, is probably at the wrong club. This is a game made to celebrate Bergling’s talent, and remember his creations. It’s pretty to look at, sounds amazing, and plays well despite its lack of variety. It’s well worth the asking price, which you could easily double for fans of the man himself.

The post Aviici Invector: Encore Edition VR review appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

YUKI opens up in the bedroom of an anime-obsessed schoolgirl, enamoured by a fictional character called Yuki The Space Ranger. Flipping open a box in front of you reveals an action figure of the aforementioned hero. All wings and sleek anime design, Yuki could have been ripped straight from a Cave shooter. You are whisked into the fantastical imagination-world of the young lass, which means an incredibly intense third-person, rogue-like rail shooter.

YUKI: Bullet-hell in VR

Some of the gameplay recalls the likes of Rez or the Panzer Dragoon titles, however the way that danmaku stylings have been implemented her is borderline genius. You control Yuki using two Move controllers. The right looks after movement, aiming and shooting, whereas the left controls a feline-styled floating orb that is used to hoover up power ups and collectables. You know how in a 2D bullet hell game you have to collect all kinds of medals, gemstones and other stuff that spills from your defeated foes? This cute cat ball thing does that here.

Apart from some impressive and memorable boss designs, the enemy grunts, AI and movement patterns are for the most part pretty dull and uninspiring. The shooting and weaponry could do with a bit more grunt and oomph, it needs to feel meaty and destructive. What isn’t dull are the swathes of bullets you need to twist, turn and negotiate. This aspect of the game is incredible fun. It becomes quite physical as well – you will need plenty of room if you are to attempt to play this one standing up. Yeah, my arm hurts, but I just burned off that half a box of mince pies I had earlier.

Randomised reality

Every run is ostensibly different – however there’s not a huge amount of variety on offer. As can often be the case with randomised levels, sometimes you end up in situations where you have no hope of progressing – such as being thrown into a crazy maze of beams and structures whilst a bunch of enemies fling balls of ordnance at you from every angle. Thankfully this doesn’t occur that often.

What is cool is the way that once you get wiped-out on a playthrough you can spend the in-game currency you have hoovered up on pimping Yuki with improved firearms and abilities. Once you rub out the end boss, there isn’t a great deal left to play for, but what you do get is fun, looks terrific, and gives a high-octane approximation of what it would be like to vicariously spend a day inside a Japanese TATE arcade cabinet.

The post Yuki review appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife: A creeping sense of dread

Familiarity with the source material is far from essential here. The narrative-driven plot is easily enjoyed without understanding the lore and history. Eschewing vampires, werewolves and quasi-historical settings of other Darkness tie-ins, this one is set in a sprawling modern mansion. It is the home of elderly Hollywood actor Howard Barclay, and is one of the most unsettling places I have ever explored in a videogame. The game begins by introducing our protagonist Ed, who has been on an assignment at Barclay’s gaff to photograph a séance.

Anyone with even a passing acknowledgment of the horror genre knows that messing with seances and the mysteries of the unknown usually leads to some bad stuff happening. And lo and behold, poor Ed has woken up to realise he somehow pegged out during this attempt to communicate with the dead, and is now a Wraith. Donning the VR headgear, it is up to you to help the ghostly ex-snapper find out what the hell happened, in the crumbling, disturbing setting of a bizarre shadow-version of the Barclay Manor. Brrrr.

Something strange in the neighborhood

I don’t want to give too much away, as the plot and the slow trickle of abilities and surprises are key to what keeps this one fresh and interesting. Essentially, Ed is not alone in this vile, decaying palace. He encounters the Shadow version of himself, who helps him come to terms with the new crazy ghost abilities he can now harness, borne of the more negative aspects of his living personality. And then of course there are some nastier, altogether more evil denizens patrolling the mansion.

These Spectres will attack Ed, and it is up to you to either employ stealth to avoid them, or use your meagre array of weaponry to defend yourself. Sneaking past them is far from easy, as they can pick up on the slightest noise, like when I triggered an attack by messing up and stepping on some broken glass. You soon begin to feel terribly vulnerable, which increases the sense of foreboding and dread. It is immersive VR horror at its best – helped immensely by a deliberately slow pace, exceptional sound design and music, and well-earned moments of action amidst the tension.

The Spectres are absolutely horrifying, and every encounter with them is a ghoulish, pulse-quickening highlight. Amazingly, you also find yourself almost empathising with these poor wretched creatures, as you discover their fate in death, and how they ended up with their grotesque physical appearances. The story is exceptionally well constructed, even if the voice acting can sometimes be a bit dopey. It brings in loads of elements from the source board game that long time fans will recognise, but tells a blinding story that explores the nature of life after death, and gives proper humanity to its cast of tragic characters.

Afraid of the dark

Fast Travel Games have actually gone on record to acknowledge that the lengthy cutscenes and dialogue may not always be ideal in a VR game. But if you get as absorbed by the atmosphere and plot as I did, it shouldn’t be too much of a chore. There are intuitive controls and comfort settings that allow you to play seated or standing. With options around the amount of blur, I had no issues with nausea or discomfort in the six or so hours I spent being suitably panic-stricken in Barclay Manor.

The visuals are far from a tour-de-force, but the fact you know you are in a shadowy nether-realm and the wonderful creeping sense of dread mean that it is easy to suspend your disbelief. Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife is probably the best VR horror game you will play this year. Treat yourself to a disturbing outpost of the World of Darkness.

The post Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife review appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

Quite cleverly, Armature have made few changes to the storyline, leaving it almost completely intact and focusing instead on translating the action segments into 1st person. This perspective shifts back outside of Leon’s head for cutscenes, which at first is jarring but makes a lot of sense. It allows you to see cinematic moments like diving through windows or kicking doors instead of having to envision a disembodied leg in front of you or, say, smashing your own head through a sheet of glass while tumbling.

Resident Evil 4 VR: Immersive and thrilling

As you traverse the gloomy, creepy wilderness in the early moments, the sound effects are what really set you on edge. Leon S. Kennedy might be a highly trained operative on the trail of the President’s daughter, but I most certainly am not. I’m in a chair at a desk and yet, when I hear something breathing behind me, or the scraping sound of a dragged weapon, I’m almost on the ceiling every time. The game itself is not particularly scary or even jumpy, but investigating the mist-shrouded woods or, notably, the lofty halls of Salazar Castle feel much more tense in VR.

Running this on the Oculus Quest 2, it’s not the best-looking version of Resident Evil 4. Yet still, having to be aware of your surroundings at all times, constantly looking back over your shoulder, and checking every corner – even if you know already where the enemies are going to come from – heightens the tension. And frankly, anyone who doesn’t shriek like a girl when Del Lago charges you head on through the water, huge maw gaping wide, is a far braver soul than I.

CHECK IT OUT: House of Ashes is a brave new direction for The Dark Pictures Anthology

But it’s these moments that make Resi 4 such a triumph in VR. The fact that you know what’s coming, but aren’t sure how it’s going to look until it’s staring you in the face, makes a massive difference. Rather than necessarily fearing the unknown, instead you fear the familiar, because a couple of shambling Ganados are a different prospect when you’re fumbling to reload your pistol in real time.

Lake Placid this ain’t

Weapon management is handled well here, too. There are two modes: Immersive and Quick Select. In the former, you select your weapons by reaching to different areas on your body and holding the grip button. You can pull your knife, pistol, rifle or shotgun, and first aid spray from specific holster points, with ammo sitting on your left hip (or right, if you’re a lefty).

If anything I found the shotgun a little ungainly: having to use the pump action never felt completely natural, and I’d often fail to fully load the breach, leaving myself vulnerable. The pistol, though, always feels accurate and weighty, and the Quest 2’ stellar controllers performed admirably as always.

CHECK IT OUT: Monster Hunter Rise PC vs. Switch comparison video

Quick Select mode transfers control to the left trigger and stick, opening a more traditional weapon wheel with which to switch guns and items. It doesn’t feel much less immersive, to be honest, as other things make up for it, such as taking your calls in first person and manually reloading your weapons. But Quick Select is just that, much faster and less clumsy.

Kill in comfort

With a full range of comfort options it’s also very easy to avoid motion sickness or fatigue. I played for several hours at a time sitting down, using teleport movement instead of locomotion. Snap turning also helps to keep me feeling happy and comfortable. I had to fiddle with the height settings a little, but beyond that I really had no complaints in this area. One thing it’s worth pointing out is that, if you play with full motion, it alters one of Resident Evil 4’s core conceits: you can now move while shooting and aiming.

I’m one of those annoying folks who will argue forever that a trained operative should be able to run and shoot at the same time, but I know there’s an argument for atmosphere and immersion when playing the original (and Resident Evil 5, for that matter). However, it feels more natural here, as holding you in place while you shoot could actually work against the immersion.

Horror in a new dimension

As with most VR games, solving puzzles felt much more involving. Being able to physically interact with objects while fighting the urge to look over your shoulder elevates even simple puzzles, and the fact that most haven’t really changed helps. The lack of any additional game modes may disappoint some, though. Other than a straightforward firing range practice mode there’s no multiplayer or Mercenaries mode, but I never felt much of a loss not having them.

If you’re a fan of Resi 4 and you have access to an Oculus Quest 2, this is an absolute must-play. The change of perspective is enough to make this feel like a completely new experience, even if the broad strokes and story are familiar. It looks okay for a VR title, though I doubt either the environments or character models will blow you away – but the sound design is the star of the show. This is no lazy VR port from Armature, and instead genuinely adds another dimension to what many consider to be the best game in a series that’s pretty consistently great. If you can play it, you really, really should.

The post Resident Evil 4 VR review appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

It’s storytelling is fairly clumsy. While I commend Rebellion for bothering, the issues arose early. As the game opens, your Italian sniper is reminiscing about his past, watching a family cavort in their garden while reminding us that, no matter how cool a slow-motion kill-cam is, war is hell. Only I’m not listening. Like, at all. Instead I’m faffing with the stuff in front of me, wondering if I can pick any of it up and throw it at the family. Not out of malice, but because that kind of thing is cool. Sadly I can’t, and by the time I’ve come to terms with it, the tableau is fading and the scene is seguing into some military base or another.

Sniper Elite VR: Exhilarating kill-shots

Now I’m in more familiar territory. Things are exploding, people are running. As I fumble with my rifle I half-hear the word “tank” and my ears prick up like a dog hearing the word “walkies”. Unfortunately, the opportunity to one-shot a Panzer from the nearby rooftop does not present itself. Obviously Sniper Elite VR thinks I came here to sight-see. It’s fine. There’ll be heads to pop later.

Sure enough, it’s not long before my prayers are answered. After roughly four attempts I grab the handgun the game offers me with the air of a man who has a burger in one hand but must also burden himself with celery. I also follow the on-screen instructions on how to load my rifle, and learn that I must chamber a round between each shot on this particular gun. I will then proceed to forget this fact every three seconds for the next forty-five minutes.

Anyone who has played a sniper game in VR will know that it’s not easy. You can’t correctly triangulate the rifle without a solid grip, and so achieving a steady hand is about as likely as slicing the top off an egg while on a rollercoaster. Instead, you have to rely on the fact that you can squeeze the left trigger to enter Focus Mode. This slows your character’s breathing, forces the reticule to move less, and allows you a better chance to hit your target.

Snipe train

My biggest problem with the shooting in Sniper Elite VR is that immersion simply goes out the window. I played on Oculus Quest 2, and whenever I automatically crouched with my real legs, I’d lose vision or find myself stuck in my own ammo belt. Instead you have to push a button to crouch, which isn’t the end of the world. Much more of a problem is that when I brought my hands up to a point that the imaginary rifle felt somewhat comfortable, I’d lose vision down the sight. I was constantly compensating for this, which ruined my enjoyment over and over again.

I hasten to course-correct this review before you begin to think I didn’t like the game. In actual fact I really enjoyed a lot of it. Nailing a long distance shot is an exhilarating feeling, especially as there’s an option to leave bullet-tracking on. And yes, that means if you want to shoot a Nazi directly through the spleen and follow the bullet’s entire journey like you’re an unlucky fly with a high calibre round stuck up its arse, you can. Really, the narrative becomes less and less important in direct parallel to how competent you become with the rifles. You just don’t need it. All you’ll want to do is get back out there and snipe. If you want to turn the accessibility options off and contend with wind resistance and bullet drop, etc, you can do that too. I didn’t, because I have the hand-eye coordination of a drunk gibbon.

Reverting to snipe

That said, it becomes irritating every time Sniper Elite VR stops you sniping and makes you shoot people with handguns and machine guns. I’ve played plenty of VR games with shooting mechanics, from Arizona Sunshine to SuperHOT to Pistol Whip. I know how satisfying it can be to put virtual holes in virtual heads. Sadly, unless you’re sniping, Sniper Elite VR misses the mark more often than not. Other weapons feel imprecise and sluggish, and don’t even bother with the melee attack. As a result, any time I had to indulge in close combat I got really apathetic towards the whole experience.

I will commend the comfort options though. As someone who gets motion sickness from walking to the loo too quickly, having the option to teleport and snap-turn was a plus. You can also play the whole game sitting down if you want to, though try to avoid slamming your head down on the desk when you instinctively duck a tank round. This hurts almost as much as an actual tank round in the face. Believe me.

Sniper Elite VR: Make every shot count

Graphically, Sniper Elite VR does a decent enough job. Obviously you’ll have a better experience on Rift than on Quest, but it’s not awful either way. Textures are a little feathery and the level of detail is low, but the important things are there. The slow-motion Nazi kill-cam, for example, is still great. Ultimately, Sniper Elite VR has the goods where it counts. If you can find the right level of comfort or, perhaps, the right position, the sniping is very good. Moving through the stages is easy regardless of your preferred comfort level. And it’s exciting.

Popping up to nail that perfect shot while bullets click-clack off the wall by your face is thrilling. Hitting the perfect trajectory to smash another sniper’s eyeball to mush like that one bit in Saving Private Ryan is excellent. It’s just a shame that any time you’re not actively sniping, you’ll be really, really wishing you were.

The post Sniper Elite VR review appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

Cloudhead has created a rhythm shooter with a unique psychedelic aesthetic that combines bright, pulsing environments with a playlist of exceptional music, travelling the gamut from synth-rock to trance. Each stage is an on-rails journey through a variety of locales, as you blast away enemies left and right with your handgun. Enemy bullets must be dodged, and foes must be killed quickly to mitigate damage. It’s an intoxicating and addictive loop, as cathartic as Beat Saber in its simplicity.

Prior to this latest update, there was no campaign. Instead, you chose from an impressive selection of 18 standalone stages presented like movie posters in the menu screen and then assigned a bunch of modifiers. For example, you can have two guns, or be invincible, or increase the number of enemies, thus increasing or decreasing the challenge as it suits.

2089 adds a campaign mode with a story, a new handgun that fires 4-round bursts, and a grizzled protagonist in Dr John H Azimov, a soldier in a future war against an army of machines called the Metal. As Azimov you’ll face down hordes of Terminator-like machines to a kick-ass soundtrack while spitting out one-liners like Jason Momoa, take on a huge boss, and ultimately attempt to turn the tide of the war. Unfortunately, the entire campaign can be completed inside an hour – and that’s with a few restarts and the half-dozen static cutscenes to boot.

As cool as it is to play the role of a meathead scientist with half his body made of robot parts, and as intoxicating as the soundtrack and visuals are, there’s not enough of it to get overly excited about. When the credits rolled I was hungry for more, but a little unsatisfied despite the unashamed bombast of the final boss. Pistol Whip 2089 is simply too good to be done with inside of 60 minutes, and yet not varied enough to warrant an immediate replay.

As a complete package, though, this is an easy recommendation, and the groundwork is laid for other bite-sized, episodic campaigns, or even a continuation of 2089. Playing on Oculus Quest 2, I experienced no inertia or discomfort, though I’d recommend playing it standing up. There’s a lot of ducking and dodging in the latter half of the campaign and in the tougher stages of the original line-up. I rarely finish a session without breaking a sweat.

The puddle-deep campaign of Pistol Whip 2089 needs more fleshing out, more weapons, more story, more everything really – but what’s here, to be clear, is exceptionally good while it lasts. But even without the campaign, the variety of musical and visual treats offered by Pistol Whip’s other modes, and the level of challenge and sheer moreishness, balance out a phenomenal package for newcomers. However, those who have spent countless hours already with Cloudhead’s game may have difficulty getting excited over so small an expansion.

The post Pistol Whip 2089 review appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

In VR, it’s even cooler, being able to use the Force and wield a lightsaber in a way that has meaning and feels tactile. Vader: Immortal, for example, is a fantastic – albeit short-lived – experience. And it’s telling that the most memorable and intoxicating part of Star Wars: Tales From the Galaxy’s Edge is the half an hour so that you play as a Jedi Padawan alongside Yoda himself (and yes, that’s Frank Oz’s voice) in one of the titular Tales.

The rest of Star Wars: Tales From the Galaxy’s Edge is more than decent, don’t get me wrong. But it’s almost like developer ILMxLAB brainstormed the most pedestrian means of having an adventure and went with that. And so you play a deckhand aboard a smuggler’s ship who gets in over their head trying to deliver a shipment of highly suspect and highly valuable cargo before the local mob gets hold of it – and you.

As a plot, it’s fine. For around 4 hours you’ll navigate various locales both inside starships and on the surface of Batuu, fighting your way through corridors and canyons, using cover and training drones and thermal detonators to defeat your enemies. And it works, y’know? For the most part Star Wars: Tales From the Galaxy’s Edge is a pretty solid and immersive experience. Gameplay is a mix of combat and light exploration, using a wrist-mounted tracker to follow objectives and a handy multi-tool to power-up, cut through and unscrew obstacles.

And boy, is it Star Wars-y. Fans will eat this up – perhaps even more-so than Vader: Immortal. When you look out the window of the cantina and see the Millennium Falcon anchored in the spaceport, or brush shoulders with the rogue’s gallery of races and characters. Brevity is the curse of many VR games, and what Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge needs is more content. It needs a storyline, and a proper arc for the protagonist. I hoped it would be the tale of a lowly deckhand who discovered their Force-sensitivity and trained under a Master – I guess something like Fallen Order, only in VR and with fewer of those giant frog bastards.

Instead, it’s a shooter, interspersed with brief moments of calm, stuffed with Easter eggs for the fans, and broken up by one oh-so-brief foray into Jedi territory that feels like a nothing more than fan-bait. The shooting is good though; in fact it’s all very good. Picking up and using items, solving simple puzzles. Holstering weapons, reloading, ducking behind cover (and you will have to duck for these moments if you’re standing up, so make sure you have enough space), it all works very well – although there are some annoying bugs. On more than one occasion my gun completely disappeared, on another I couldn’t get a wave of enemies to trigger after I died and respawned, and had to load an earlier save.

But these are fairly minor complaints. Especially given that ILMxLAB have put a lot of effort into the Comfort settings. You can adjust everything from the position of your utility belt to your character’s height. You can adjust a variety of options to reduce motion sickness, including toggling a Teleport more instead of Free Movement. You can also change whether you need to keep the button pressed to hold an item or not, and adjust visual elements like motion blur, and toggle snap turning on or off.

Unfortunately, a lot of the coolest stuff in Tales From the Galaxy’s Edge is skin-deep. It looks, feels and sounds like Star Wars, and the campaign is an enjoyable enough adventure while it lasts. But it simply doesn’t do enough with the ridiculously vast array of options that the Star Wars license affords. Enemy AI is non-existent, and there’s no option to collect and upgrade weapons, unlock new abilities, or make any form of narrative choice. As a VR shooter it’s decent, as a slice of immersive Star Wars fiction it’s great, but it doesn’t feel like a full game, and fails to plumb the depths of what makes Star Wars so loveable and enduringly popular.

The post Star Wars: Tales From the Galaxy’s Edge review appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.

Having purchased the Oculus Quest 2 in order to leave the tangle of wires behind and experience VR plus freedom of movement (honestly, there’s nothing worse than getting your hand caught in a cable as a headcrab zombie staggers towards you), I’ve been trying a handful of different titles. Being able to move the Quest 2 to a different room away from the fairly confined space of my PC set-up has allowed me to sample a variety of VR games, such as The Climb, Vader Immortal, and this, In Death Unchained, a roguelike bow shooter from Superbright.

First things first, I have a history of suffering inertia after prolonged sessions in VR, but thanks to the Quest 2’s wonderful head-tracking tech and the fact that many VR devs actively work to assuage these problems, it’s been getting easier. In Death Unchained, for example, I can play for hours and the only complaint is that my arms are knackered.

In it, you play an unnamed fallen angel fighting their way back up through Purgatory to reach Heaven, which for some reason involves taking a bow and arrow to the heads of a parade of ghastly monsters, corrupted knights, cherubic nasties, and massive bosses. Combat is all bow-based, and you have a shield to block incoming attacks and a nifty dodge move to slip out of harm’s way in a pinch.

Set across a network of floating battlements, towering spires, and shadowed archways, In Death Unchained features a roguelike structure that gives you one life per run, though once you unlock additional areas they stay unlocked. Interestingly, though it does support free movement, I found that the alternate mode works better. This allows you to fire a teleport arrow wherever you want to go and, provided you can land the arrow, you’ll teleport there instantly. It’s handy for getting around the place fast if you want to, but it’s also the ideal way to take your time, too, picking your way through the corridors to assess what lies ahead.

All enemies have an audio tell, so you’ll know what type of monster is ahead of you but not the quantity. Some will charge you, others will stagger towards you, launch arrows from afar, fly at you, or float through walls seemingly out of nowhere. A variety of special arrows that free, burn, or launch a burst of ammo at the enemy can help turn the odds in your favour, but things like healing grails and save points are few and far between.

Sooner or later you’ll unlock the crossbow, which is more powerful and arguably more accurate, but it never felt to me as much fun as using the bow, though it’s certainly easier on the upper arms. It makes boss fights that much easier, too, as you can do more damage and equip special bolts that, for example, explode on impact.

The boss fights themselves are possibly the weakest element. There’s no doubt that they’re incredibly tough, and massively tense as a result, but they also feel weirdly at odds with the creeping dread of the minute-to-minute gameplay.

At certain points in each randomly-generated area, you’ll find a point where you can save and take a break, or buy ammo and health if you have enough gold. And at the end of a mission, you’ll see the progress you’ve made towards a huge variety of milestones which take the sting out of the relatively sparse character progression by at least making you feel like you’re achieving something.

But it’s in the rhythm of the raw combat that In Death Unchained really sinks its claws in. The shuffle of approaching enemies, the physics of each soaring arrow, the elation when you speedily clear the room or land a distant headshot that you were sure was impossible. It’s not the most beautiful VR game, but the latest Oculus Quest 2 patch has improved the draw distance and texturing, added in extra details, atmospheric touches such as roiling mist, and made the whole experience run smoother than before.

I’ve played for well over 8 hours in teleport mode and I’ve experienced no discomfort, no dizziness, and no little spacial accidents (which could occur if you’re not careful as there is potential to get spun around a bit in the heat of the moment). The sound direction is wonderfully immersive and the atmospheric visuals make it feel like you’re the unfortunate protagonist of a Dark Souls game, and makes me wonder what Superbright could do if they built a sequel using fully modern VR tech. For now, this is a great bow game that’s still a lot of fun despite a dark, unsettling atmosphere.

The post In Death: Unchained review appeared first on GodisaGeek.com.