Lights, Camera… Action!

Action Hero casts you as an actor/stuntman playing the lead on various movie sets, a clever premise that should breathe new life into Superhot’s time-manipulation mechanics. The game unfolds across five distinct “movies,” each broken into four acts. Each Act consists of five or six action-packed vignettes. Your director then encourages or chides you through sequences ranging from high-speed battles atop a moving train to Matrix-inspired showdowns.

The Hollywood setting proves genuinely inspired, offering a natural justification for the game’s segmented structure and repeated attempts at perfection. Each “movie” pays homage to different action genres—you’ll find yourself channeling Indiana Jones one moment and Neo the next. The aptly named “The Code” sequence, with its cyberpunk aesthetic and reality-bending set pieces stands out as a particular highlight.

While the concept and setting work well, there is definitely room for improvement. You can choose between two directors at the beginning of the game, but this choice seems to be entirely limited to the voice-over that pushes you through the game, which is a real missed opportunity.

Had the choice between the directors been integrated into the actual gameplay mechanics, the option between two distinct personalities could have been transformative rather than merely superficial. Had the stricter director imposed time limits, restricted the number of retakes before “firing” you, or demanded specific style points for a scene, the game would have been much improved. Similarly, the other director could have offered more generous conditions but lower score multipliers.

Implementing such mechanics would have perfectly aligned with the movie-making premise while adding meaningful replay value and, at the same time, offering the game at least one gameplay addition to set Action Hero apart from its inspiration. Instead, we’re left with little more than a voice pack selection.

A Time-Tested Formula

Let’s address the poignantly static elephant in the room: Action Hero‘s core gameplay is virtually identical to Superhot. Time moves only when you do, creating a strategic dance of bullet-dodging and precision shooting. This “bullet ballet” remains as engaging as ever, with each vignette playing out as a spatial puzzle where plotting your path through enemies requires both tactical thinking and physical prowess.

The game shines in its moment-to-moment gameplay. Consider a sequence atop a speeding train, where motorcycles leap through the air amid explosive chaos—time crawls to a stop as you map out your response, each movement a calculated risk. When scanning your surroundings, you learn to move with exaggerated slowness as any quick head turns accelerate the incoming threats. Players will use these temporal mechanics to master each scene, eventually blossoming from a cautious planner to an action hero who can handle real-time combat with practiced grace.

Individual scenes can be completed in seconds, but perfecting them becomes an addictive pursuit. The game includes a “normal speed” toggle that lets veteran players attempt runs without the time manipulation crutch, adding another challenge for leaderboard chasers. It’s the kind of game that can steal minutes or hours as “just one more try” becomes your evening’s mantra.

However, where Action Hero falters is in its reluctance to innovate. While Superhot’s mechanics were revolutionary, their direct reproduction here feels safe to a fault. The game could have explored new variations on the time-manipulation theme—perhaps scenes where time moves backward, where maintaining momentum is crucial, or where particular objects remain in real-time while others slow down. Instead, it settles for being an exceptionally well-produced clone of an exceptionally well-made original.

Blockbuster Flair

The most significant departure from Superhot comes in the visual design. Gone is the stark white-and-red minimalism, replaced with vibrant, colorful environments that pop in VR. The movie set themes allow for varied locations and spectacular set pieces—exploding barrels, mid-air motorcycle jumps, and Matrix-style environmental effects create memorable moments.

However, this shift comes with tradeoffs. While Superhot’s minimalist aesthetic achieved a timeless elegance, Action Hero‘s more conventional approach, though polished, feels less distinct. The blockbuster styling is well-executed but lacks the iconic visual identity of its inspiration. It’s a reminder that sometimes less truly is more. That said, this will come down to personal preference as there will doubtless be many who prefer the bombacity of the blockbuster aesthetic. I prefer the context and flair given by the action movie set motif, but I know that others (Ed.) will not agree.

Setting the Scene

The sound design effectively serves both form and function. Slow-motion explosions and gunfire sound satisfying and provide crucial spatial awareness cues. A barrel exploding in slow motion to your right naturally draws your attention. The audio mixing cleverly balances the needs of both slow-motion and real-time gameplay, ensuring important sound cues remain clear regardless of your temporal state.

The sound design also pulls double duty, simultaneously selling both the action movie experience and the “behind-the-scenes” setting of a movie set. The addition of director voice-overs adds personality, though as mentioned earlier, the two-director system feels like a missed opportunity for more profound gameplay variation. The overall soundscape successfully reinforces both the action movie premise and the core gameplay mechanics.

Cut! Reset! Let’s go again!

Action Hero presents a challenging dilemma for reviewers. Viewed in isolation, it’s an exceptionally well-crafted VR action game that delivers satisfying gameplay in digestible chunks. The movie set premise is clever, the execution is polished, and the core mechanics—borrowed as they may be—remain compelling.

Yet it’s impossible to ignore the game’s derivative nature. This isn’t merely inspired by Superhot; it’s essentially Superhot with a fresh coat of paint. While the original broke new ground, Action Hero seems content to merely redecorate it. The additions it does make—the movie set premise, colorful visuals, and director system—feel more like surface-level changes than meaningful evolution.

For players who have never experienced Superhot, Action Hero offers an excellent entry point into this style of VR action. Those craving more of Superhot’s unique gameplay will find a pseudo-sequel on offer and will likely relish it for its familiarity. However, veterans of the original may find themselves wishing for more innovation beneath the Hollywood glamour.

Concept: 4
Gameplay: 8
Graphics: 8
Sound: 7.5
Longevity: 8
Overall: 7.5

Color by numbers Superhot

A Tale of Two Games

Behemoth casts you as Ren, a lonely warrior travelling cursed lands to battle giant monsters and save his people. The narrative, while predictable, is well-delivered through an engaging mix of environmental storytelling and voice-overs. Unlike many other narrative-driven VR titles, the game respects player agency during exposition, allowing you to move and interact while absorbing the story rather than trapping you in static dialogue sequences.

The game’s lore is cleverly distributed through interactable items throughout the world. This optional approach to narrative depth works surprisingly well – you can engage with as much or as little of the background story as you wish, with voice-overs playing seamlessly as you continue your adventure. It’s a thoughtful solution to the common VR storytelling challenge of maintaining immersion while delivering plot.

Let’s Fight!

The majority of Behemoth plays as a medieval combat adventure with satisfying physics-based melee combat at its heart. The game offers a reasonable selection of weapons, from swords and daggers to axes and bows, as well as 3 special weapons that stay with the character and are upgraded throughout the campaign. Each of the weapons feels appropriately weighty thanks to a solid physics system reminiscent of Saints & Sinners. This physics system, along with great sound effects and crisp animations, delivers satisfyingly impactful combat that drives the action sequences throughout the campaign.

In addition to the standard array of melee weapons, Behemoth also provides a grappling hook, which is a lot of fun to use. While initially finicky, it quickly becomes an invaluable tool for both vertical traversal and combat. Grappling an enemy’s leg and yanking the rope will pull them off balance, opening new opportunities to attack. The grapple can also quickly reposition the player during fights, pull enemies off ledges, or pull distant health pickups to you during intense battles. This versatility adds a welcome layer of depth to the combat system.

Combat in Behemoth employs a stamina system that, while not overly restrictive, adds a tactical element to combat. When depleted, your arms become notably weaker, the weight of your weapons becoming far more tangible as you can barely lift them to defend yourself. The system feels well-balanced and fair, giving you enough stamina for aggressive play while preventing endless flailing and encouraging a tactical dynamic that serves the game well.

All that said, the combat definitely struggles to find balance in other areas. The “strength” ability feels massively overpowered from the start. Once you get used to relying on this power, most combat encounters become trivial. This is compounded as you upgrade your weapons to the point that late-game human boss fights that should be climactic challenges can be defeated in under a minute.

The power in and of itself isn’t bad, but its implementation highlights a real misstep in progression. While the skill can be upgraded over time, all of the enhancements feel superficial when compared to the abilities base power. Had this been a skill that grew from more humble beginnings throughout the campaign, then waltzing through late-stage combat would have felt empowering and hard-earned. Instead, Behemoth effectively provides a built-in cheat code that makes every encounter almost game-breakingly easy from the outset.

Behemoth also undercuts the tension it otherwise creates by providing generous health pickups throughout combat areas. This abundance means you’ll rarely feel pressured in combat by the game’s latter half, knowing that healing items are always readily available.

The game includes an arena mode in beta, offering additional combat challenges for those seeking more action after the main campaign. While it provides a pure test of the combat mechanics, including encounters with the game’s human bosses at higher waves, its repetitive nature and inability to use upgraded weapons from the campaign may limit its long-term appeal.

Hardly a Head-Scratcher

Behemoth’s puzzle elements represent one of its weaker aspects. Most puzzles boil down to simple box-moving exercises that feel more like busy work than genuine challenges. While there are occasional clever moments – such as using the grappling hook to create swing points for objects – even these more innovative puzzles lack complexity and can typically be solved in just two or three moves. Compared to contemporaries like Asgard’s Wrath 2, the puzzle design feels particularly underdeveloped.

In fact, overall, there seems to be a noticeable decline in polish and performance as the game progresses. The first two-thirds of the game provides a high-quality and broadly stable experience, but the final third feels rushed, with technical issues occurring more frequently. Combat becomes less reliable, visual glitches become more common and things generally begin to feel a bit repetitive.

This sliding scale of quality is particularly noticeable in the later Behemoth encounters, where the combination of ambitious scale and technical instability creates frustrating experiences that fall short of the game’s early promise.

The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Oof

The titular Behemoth battles, which should be the game’s crown jewels, deliver mixed results. Of the four major encounters, only one or two truly capture the epic scale these battles promise. The second Behemoth battle, featuring a massive flying creature, stands out for its ambition. The concept is thrilling – fighting atop a giant bat-like creature as it soars through clouds, requiring careful climbing and tactical thinking. However, even this highlight suffers from scripted sequences that limit player agency and technical issues that break immersion (if you let it). Our team had mixed responses to this sequence, but I found it one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in VR.

Other Behemoth encounters prove less successful. The third battle, for instance, reduces what should be an epic confrontation to a relatively simple platform/climbing exercise. Where you should feel the tension of scaling a massive, dangerous creature, you instead find yourself comfortably hopping between static platforms or dealing with short, easily manageable climbing sections that never test the stamina system and so never actually feel like a threat. Couple this with excessively forgiving waypoints, which make dying almost meaningless, and you end up with an encounter that feels more pedestrian than the desperate battle against a colossal beast it should have been.

These sections also suffer from various and occasionally severe technical problems, including screen jittering, glitching grab points, and accidental holster triggers. These issues are particularly problematic during climbing sequences, where precision is crucial.

The disappointment is made so much worse by the fact that the Behemoths actually look amazing. At several points before battling each of them, you will see them ponderously moving through the world, and they are a sight to behold. Spotting a massive Behemoth in the distance while completing other objectives creates thrilling moments of anticipation – anticipation that isn’t seldom satisfied when you finally face them.

Pretty With a Side of Jank

Graphically, Behemoth is impressive on the Quest, particularly when compared to other Quest fantasy titles. The environments are varied, from snow-covered landscapes to lush castles and the striking Red Forest. Character models and animations are well-executed, though the lighting can sometimes feel murky, especially in underground areas.

The sound design stands as one of the game’s strongest elements. The score knows when to swell for dramatic moments and when to remain understated. Combat sounds are particularly well-implemented, with weapon impacts carrying satisfying weight through audio cues. Environmental audio adds depth to the experience, with footsteps and echoes changing appropriately based on your surroundings.

However, there are technical issues with the sound implementation, particularly in music transitions. Tracks can cut off abruptly between areas, breaking immersion with jarring silence before new music begins.

A Tale of Diminishing Returns

Behemoth presents a challenging case for reviewers. The first two-thirds of the game offers solid entertainment with satisfying combat mechanics, a well-told narrative and well-crafted environments. The combat system complete with grappling hook provides a nuanced take on melee combat (when not overshadowed by the overpowered strength ability

However, the game’s quality noticeably degrades in its final third, with a less polished level of design and an increasing array of technical glitches. Most disappointingly, the Behemoth battles, which should have been the game’s crowning achievement, on the whole fall well below their colossal potential.

Note: If you’re a fan of Shadow of the Colossus coming to this specifically for massive creature battles, you might want to adjust expectations closer to 7/10.

THE LAST ACTION HERO

At its core, Vendetta Forever is simple in concept. The game presents you with 60 short levels, each a bite sized action vignette built around a single goal: kill your way to the end using weapons dropped by enemies. What sets this game apart is a unique core conceit that places action at the centre of the experience. In order to move you must dispatch an enemy and as they drop their weapon grappling towards it becomes your means of movement—grab it, and you’re instantly transported to their location. This creates a dynamic, rhythmic flow to the gameplay that feels intuitive and utterly replayable.

The levels are designed for quick bursts of action, ranging from blink-and-you-miss-it two-second shootouts to more elaborate sequences that play out like mini action movies. While the premise may sound straightforward, the game’s real magic lies in its variety. Far from be 60 Shades of Same, each level feels thoughtfully designed to give an experience different from the last. Although not every level will land with every player, there is enough clever variation and nuanced action to ensure that there no doubt be something for everyone.

From quick-draw shootouts to melee-only challenges, every level keeps you guessing. One minute you’re flinging knives with deadly accuracy in a tight corridor; the next, you’re using colonial muskets each with only a single shot while holding off waves of enemies on a hillside.

WHY IS EVERYTHING STICKY?

If there’s one word to describe Vendetta Forever, it’s “sticky.” nDreams have successfully made a game that has a knack for hooking you with its mechanics and holding on tight. Levels like Knives Out, a 15-second whirlwind of throwing weapons are so addictive that it’s easy to lose ridiculous amounts of time replaying it, chasing a coveted spot on the leaderboard.

The game also cleverly bends its gameplay to allow for players to focus on whichever element suits their mood. The leaderboard is split between score-based and speedrun categories, providing a competitive edge while catering to multiple playstyles. Whether you are playing for a high score or a fastest time the gameplay holds up which is a testament to the developers focus on balanced, exciting and well executed mechanics.

What Vendetta Forever also excels at is presenting challenges that are difficult but never feel insurmountable. Every failure teaches you something new, urging you to refine your approach and try again and it’s that perfect balance of frustration and fulfillment that keeps you coming back for more.

It’s worth noting that while Vendetta Forever excels at delivering short bursts of excitement, it won’t appeal to everyone. Fans of narrative-driven epics or games with complex mechanics might find its focus on arcade-style action too simplistic. The short levels and leaderboard-driven replayability are a double-edged sword, offering endless fun for score chasers but potentially feeling repetitive to players looking for deeper gameplay loops.

HAVEN’T I SEEN YOU BEFORE?

It’s impossible to talk about Vendetta Forever without acknowledging its influences. Stylistically, it borrows heavily from Superhot and Pistol Whip, with a minimalist neon-drenched aesthetic that emphasizes clarity over complexity. Its vibrant, high-contrast environments are a joy to look at, and its minimalist art style ensures smooth performance even during the most chaotic firefights. While it doesn’t push the limits of what VR can achieve graphically, it nails its aesthetic, evoking the clean, polished vibe of Superhot while adding a splash of arcade energy.

The game also leans into subtle pop culture references, with levels themed after action movie tropes. Knives Out has the outrageous intensity of a Kill Bill fight scene while other levels channel the gritty energy of an old-school spaghetti Western. These thematic nods add a layer of charm that makes each level feel familiar and exciting.

The audio is equally well-crafted. Every weapon feels satisfying to use, thanks to punchy sound effects that make each kill gratifying. The soundtrack keeps the adrenaline pumping, with driving beats that enhance the action without overshadowing the gameplay. That said, the soundtrack while good, could still be improved upon. It gets the job done but fails to deliver a level of energy that elevates the gameplay the way Pistol Whip does.

THE VERDICT

nDreams have delivered a VR shooter that is stylish, addictive, and unapologetically fun. With its intuitive mechanics, varied levels, and competitive edge, Vendetta Forever is one of the best arcade style short-session action games currently available on the Quest. It’s not for everyone, but for those who value instant gratification and love the thrill of leaderboard climbing, it’s an absolute must-play.

Now, as Fracked makes its way to the Quest, the question is: Will nDreams update their design choices to once again play to the strengths of the hardware? If not, will the design choices from 2021 hold up, or will Fracked feel like a relic of the past?

FRACK TO THE FUTURE

At its core, Fracked is a narrative-driven shooter with a straightforward premise. Players step into the boots of a lone soldier who unwittingly stumbles upon an isolated mountain fracking operation. This isn’t your typical energy extraction site, however. An alien corruption has spread throughout the camp, turning miners into grotesque enemies and threatening the very world itself. Alongside a trusty “eye in the sky” sidekick, players are tasked with investigating the mysterious outbreak and eradicating the alien menace.

The story unfolds over a 3 to 3.5-hour campaign, taking players through a series of 8 fairly linear levels. The game’s structure alternates between intense action set pieces, thrilling skiing sequences, and climbing sections that, while serviceable, don’t add much to the overall experience. The action sequences, particularly those where players ski down slopes while shooting enemies on snowmobiles, are exhilarating at first but quickly lose their novelty.

Despite the initial bursts of excitement, the campaign’s short length leaves much to be desired. What could have been an epic, sprawling adventure feels more like a bite-sized thrill ride—fun while it lasts but over too soon.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE CLUNKY

Fracked offers an interesting mix of classic run-and-gun gameplay with elements of traditional cover shooters. The game’s cover system is one of its standout features, allowing players to physically move in and out of cover using their off-hand. This adds a level of immersion and physicality that a simple button press fails to achieve. The action is fast-paced, with set pieces that serve up waves of enemies for the player to mow down. However, these set pieces often feel like filler content, with limited objectives beyond surviving the onslaught.

Unfortunately, Fracked is hampered by some clunky design choices that feel inherited from the PSVR controllers and detract from the overall experience. Holstering weapons, for example, is far from intuitive. Rather than the accepted standard of using the grip button to grab and holster weapons from intuitive locations on the body, switching weapons is done via a button press. New weapons instantly materialise in your hand in a way that is jarring and immersion breaking. Holstering involves an awkward long press while holding the gun by your hip, a process which felt cumbersome at best.

The inability to dual-wield or two-hand weapons seems to be a deliberate way to force players to engage with the cover mechanics, but it makes the gunplay feel one-dimensional. For the cover based elements it makes sense, but the run-and-gun elements are sorely let down by the inability to rush into a situation guns akimbo.

WHO NEED’S STAIRS WHEN YOU CAN ZIPLINE?

The game’s limited weapon selection further exacerbates this issue. Players have access to only two main weapons and three special weapons, the latter of which cannot be holstered and can only be used for a single clip. This severely restricts the variety of combat encounters, especially when paired with the limited enemy types. There are only three main enemy types, and while they are mixed up by arming them with the same limited weapons available to the player, the overall combat experience can feel a little repetitive.

On the plus side, Fracked does incorporate some enjoyable environmental interactions. Zip lines and exploding barrels are scattered liberally throughout the levels, providing ample opportunities for creative kills and quick escapes. However, the sheer abundance of these elements raises questions; what does a fracking operation need with so many zip lines, and why the hell are there explosive barrels absolutely everywhere?!?!

The climbing sections, though present, are mercifully few and far between. They serve as brief interludes between the more action-packed sequences and do an ok job of delivering a few cinematic thrills. But, like so many games that incorporate a superficial climbing mechanics, these sections lack the tension and nuance delivered by more dedicated climbing games like The Climb series. As a result, these sections lack the impact that could easily have delivered.

THE FRACKED AND THE FURIOUS

If there’s one area where Fracked truly excels, it’s in its visual presentation.

The game’s art direction is nothing short of fantastic, making superb use of a stylized cel-shaded art style. Textures are bold and vibrant, with strong outlines and a thoughtfully conceived palette that make the game pop that ensures the world feels consistent and vibrant. One odd quirk, however, is the giant hands that seem to be nDreams’ calling card (Ghostbusters, I’m looking at you). While not a deal-breaker, it’s an unusual design choice that might take some getting used to.

The audio experience in Fracked is equally impressive. The soundtrack dynamically shifts with the action, adding to the intensity of firefights and the tension of quieter moments. Voice acting is top-notch, showcasing the difference that a proper budget can make when securing professional voice talent. Sound effects are crisp and impactful, and the use of spatial audio helps players subconsciously navigate the chaotic battlefield, adding another layer of immersion to the experience.

FINAL ACT

Fracked is a game that oozes style and accessibility, serving as an excellent entry point for players new to VR shooters. With outstanding art direction and some thoroughly engaging set pieces there is a lot to enjoy in the Quest port of nDreams’ 2021 PSVR hit.

That said, Fracked can’t help but feel slightly hampered by its heritage and struggles to keep up with more modern VR shooters. Despite this, Fracked is a still a fun and engaging experience, especially for those looking for a short, stylish romp through a visually stunning world.

Ballin’ Like a Pro

At its core, Blacktop Hoops is an arcade basketball game that draws inspiration from the classic NBA Jam series, but with the added immersion of a first-person VR experience. Players can choose between half-court and full-court games, each offering a unique set of challenges and strategies. The game’s mechanics are intuitive and fun, with a learning curve that rewards dedication and practice. A series of tutorials guides players through the essentials of ball handling, shooting, dunking, stealing, and defensive techniques, ensuring that even newcomers can quickly pick up the basics.

One of the standout features of Blacktop is the “on fire” mechanic, a nod to the iconic NBA Jam power-up. By executing a series of flashy moves and building up your trick meter, you’ll earn the ability to perform an unstoppable Super Dunk or drain a shot from anywhere on the court. This adds an extra layer of excitement and strategy to the game, encouraging players to showcase their skills and take risks.

The single-player campaign mode is where this game truly shines, offering a series of challenging matchups against AI opponents across a variety of American and international courts. As you progress through the ranks, you’ll face off against increasingly skilled rivals, each with their own unique playstyles and abilities. The campaign mode is a thrilling power fantasy that allows players to live out their dreams of being an NBA superstar, complete with jaw-dropping dunks, ankle-breaking crossovers, and clutch buzzer-beaters.

Taking on the World

For those looking to test their skills against real-world competition, Blacktop Hoops boasts a robust multiplayer suite with options for 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, and 4v4 games. The online community is thriving, with thousands of players ready to hit the virtual hardwood. However, newcomers should be prepared for a steep learning curve, as many veteran players have honed their skills over the game’s two-year early access period.

While the multiplayer experience can be exhilarating, it’s not without its flaws. The smooth, stylized animations of the campaign mode are replaced by the occasionally janky movements of real players, which can be jarring at times. Additionally, some users have reported minor connectivity issues and glitches that can impact the flow of the game. Despite these hiccups, the multiplayer mode remains a fun and engaging way to showcase your abilities and compete against players from around the world.

Stylin’ on the Streets

One of the most impressive aspects of the game is its vibrant, stylized graphics. The game’s art direction perfectly captures the essence of street ball culture, with colorful courts, larger-than-life characters, and a bold, cartoony aesthetic. The character models feature exaggerated proportions and unique designs, adding to the game’s arcade feel and visual appeal.

While the animations are generally smooth and fluid, there are occasional glitches and inconsistencies that can be noticeable during gameplay. These issues are relatively minor and don’t significantly detract from the overall experience, but they do leave room for improvement in future updates.

On the audio front, the game delivers an immersive soundscape that complements its street ball theme. The satisfying sound effects of the bouncing ball, the swish of the net, and the squeak of sneakers on the court all contribute to the game’s authentic atmosphere. The soundtrack is a fitting collection of hip-hop and urban-inspired tracks that perfectly capture the energy and attitude of the blacktop.

The voice acting in Blacktop Hoops is generally solid, with a variety of colorful characters and memorable performances. However, there is one notable exception: a real-life trick dunk champion who makes an appearance in the game. While his dunking skills are unquestionable, his voice acting leaves much to be desired, serving as a reminder that not all athletes are cut out for the recording booth.

Room for Improvement

While Blacktop Hoops is an impressive VR basketball experience, it’s not without its shortcomings. The ball handling mechanics, for example, can take some getting used to. The hand and wrist positioning of your virtual avatar doesn’t always align with what feels natural, which can lead to moments of confusion and frustration. It’s crucial to remain conscious of which hand is holding the ball when driving to the hoop, as it’s all too easy to lose possession mid-dunk due to an awkward hand position.

Another minor issue is the occasional animation glitch, particularly in the campaign mode. While these glitches are infrequent and don’t significantly impact the overall experience, they can momentarily break immersion and disrupt the flow of the game.

A Slam Dunk for VR Hoops Fans

Despite its minor flaws, Blacktop Hoops is an outstanding VR basketball game that offers an immersive, engaging, and highly replayable experience. With its intuitive mechanics, vibrant graphics, and wealth of single-player and multiplayer content, this title is a must-play for any VR enthusiast with a love for the game of basketball.

The single-player campaign mode is a particular highlight, offering a satisfying power fantasy that allows players to live out their dreams of being an NBA superstar. The multiplayer suite, while occasionally marred by technical hiccups and a steep learning curve, provides a thrilling way to test your skills against real-world competitors.

While there is certainly room for improvement in terms of ball handling mechanics and animation consistency, these issues don’t detract too much from the overall package. Blacktop Hoops is a slam dunk for VR hoops fans, and with its recent full release on the Quest store, there’s never been a better time to lace up your virtual sneakers and hit the blacktop. As a lifelong basketball fan and VR enthusiast, I wholeheartedly recommend this title to anyone looking for an exhilarating, immersive sports experience.

Real-time strategy games are among my favourite genres. They are also dramatically underserved in VR. Despite notable PCVR iterations of the genre like the outstanding Brass Tactics or the “quite good” Air Mech Command, not to mention the amazing MOBA-infused offers like Glassbreakers and Final Assault, standalone has seen very little in the genre.

The Quest does indeed have a few contenders. Games like Eternal Starlight, Battlegroup VR, or even Gods of Gravity all have their place, but overall, they all seemed to get Lost in Space. So, when a new addition to the genre is announced, particularly one from a well-established pancake franchise, I sit up and take note.

So, travel with me now, dear viewer, into the inky void, and let’s see if developers Farbridge have given us what we so richly deserve or if we’ll end up floating rather aimlessly amongst the stars…

Mother is My Ship

For those familiar with the source material, Vast Reaches slots neatly into the period between the events of the first two Homeworld games. In this instalment, you are tasked with leading a fleet during a crucial time after the Kushan reclaim their Homeworld.

With the original hero guiding you and the classic mothership at your command, you are set about defending yourself from a race of sneaky traders after your hypercore. The plot is well delivered through cut scenes and in-game dialogue, bridging the two main titles and adding a new layer of threat.

Harvesting The Void

Like many RTS games, Homeworld: Vast Reaches has you commanding various units, each with its strategic strengths and weaknesses. As expected, you will also dedicate mental energy to resource collection, which, in this case, means harvesting asteroids for…something.

There is no base building or upgrade pathway to manage, so there is limited depth on offer compared to more traditional RTS games. Vast Reaches simply gives players a set of prescribed skirmishes to complete within a specific resource limit (be it time or otherwise). Once the objective is completed, you move on to the next.

This resource management element effectively acts as a set of guide rails through each mission in a way that feels comforting at first but ultimately becomes frustratingly linear. Each level sees you begin with access to what feels like just enough resources to move on to the next section, whereby you are delivered a similarly adequate number of asteroids to move on again. In fact, most of the times that I had to replay a level, it was not because my fleet was defeated but because I accidentally used all my resources on assault units and didn’t save enough to buy whatever specific craft was necessary to finish the objective.

While it was a mild annoyance at the time, with the hindsight of having finished the game, it is a significant design flaw that robs the game of any incentive to come back and try again.

Command & Conquer

What Vast Reaches does well is how it puts you in control of the fleet. The controls are easy and intuitive, making navigating your ships through multi-fronted space battles an enjoyable experience. Players can assign units to form battlegroups, which can then be commanded to move together. Ships can be moved easily from one group to another to reinforce after sustaining heavy losses or provide an additional ship type that may swing the balance of a skirmish.

Lifting your palm up allows you to select the battle group you wish to command. From there, dragging a path through the heavens or pointing at a target will send them on their way. One of the major design constraints of playing an RTS in VR lies in the challenges of giving players control over a range of troops with much fewer buttons than most other gaming platforms, and Vast Reaches achieves this admirably.

Similarly, moving through space uses the control conceits that have become standard for tabletop games of this ilk. A combination of gestures and the grab buttons to scale, rotate, and move through the world works as expected, capitalizing on techniques perfected in games such as Demeo.

As you progress through the game, more advanced ships become available for the fleet you command. Some of these ships have special attacks that need to be manually activated and have a cooldown. I had a lot of fun with these mechanics when they came into play later in the game.

The gameplay ceased to be merely a matter of paper-scissors-rock style unit selection, and suddenly switching between battlegroups to activate ion blast, defence shields, and deploy engineering craft to repair damaged frigates became an engaging cognitive dance. Balancing the requirements of 5 battlegroups while micro-managing their specific tactical advantages was a truly excellent experience, and it made me pine deeply for more iterations of this genre.

Sadly, the game’s short length saw the end to this enjoyment, with the campaign finishing just a few levels after the gameplay finally reached the level of complexity that made it feel worthwhile. With no skirmish mode, ship upgrades, or, in fact, any other options other than to replay on a harder difficulty level, Homeworld: Vast Reaches turned all too quickly from an enjoyable exercise in exponential potential growth to a short, sharp punch in the disappointment gland.

E=MT Space

In terms of graphics and Sound, Homeworld Vast Reaches falls into the same cavernous trap that most space-themed RTS games do. With a battlefield that stretches through an inky, empty void, there is very little to make the playable environments interesting. While there are planets or swirling gases looming in the background, the actual gameplay occurs in what is essentially empty space set against a cosmic backdrop.

Despite all the ships having a decent amount of detail, the scale at which you command your fleet is so vast that you seldom see them up close. The best tactical vantage point reduces your highly detailed ships to tiny dots that you command around an uninteresting patch of empty in a way that robs the physical world of resonance with the gameplay. I was playing the game at a scale that made it more difficult to make clear strategic decisions that feel connected to the world, a compromise which detracted from the overall experience. There is a Mixed Reality mode, but it offers nothing new other than changing the background to your actual space, making it more difficult to find and control your ships.

The voice acting that links the missions is good and goes a long way to filling the emptiness of space with some character and connection. In fact, the sound design overall is well delivered, but as with the graphics, it suffers at the hands of its own subject matter. Despite a good array of Zaps! And Booms! And Whooshes!, ultimately, the sound fails to fill the space with a gravity that creates any kind of rich or rewarding sense of tension.

Insufficient Resources

Homeworld: Vast Reaches does a wonderful job of demonstrating how satisfying a polished and well-thought-out RTS game could be in VR. With excellent controls that immerse the player into the challenge of simultaneously managing a fleet and micro-managing a battlegroup, Farbridge has displayed a lot of potential. Sadly, an undercooked resource system, short campaign and lack of options mean that Vast Reaches falls short of living up to what it could have been.

I began by dissecting the individual components of the game, weighing their merit, cataloguing their strengths and weaknesses, comparing elements with notable peers, and mentally scribbling down a list of bugbears to discuss. It was a tedious business, really.

After my first session, I had amassed a reasonable list of irksome traits, but I was enjoying myself. Diligently, I continued. A short time later, however, something unexpected occurred. Even though my gripes remained intact, they barely registered anymore. My former complaints now seemed trivial—the small and petty nonsense that bearded folk say to appear credible.

By this stage, I knew better, for I was no longer Pete, the reviewer. Transformed, I was now Pete, the 7-year-old sitting cross-legged on my loungeroom floor playing Super Mario World. I was Pete, the smelly 15-year-old dodging my homework to play Crash Bandicoot again. Finally, I was Pete, the 44-year-old forever child standing inside a video game while Max Mustard gently reminded me to sit down, shut up, and have fun. 

ASTROBOT OR ASTRONOT

Max Mustard is an immersive 3D platformer that mixes inspiration from games like Super Mario 64 with the universally loved Astrobot Rescue Mission. Developers Toast Interactive have aimed to deliver an experience that captures the charm and excitement of a traditional platformer, fused with the immersive elements that only VR can provide. For the most part, they have succeeded. 

Max Mustard launches straight into the gameplay, offering only the most rudimentary preamble before having you bounce your way into the fray. The game is intuitive from the first instant, a fact that Toast Interactive seems to be counting on, as the game offers almost nothing in the way of a tutorial. Instead, a masterful combination of the genre’s most notable conceits eases the player into the action with the unconscious comfort of putting on a well-worn pair of slippers.

Within moments, you will find yourself guiding your plucky heroin through a range of cleverly creative and forever-changing obstacles as you work your way towards…something. Thanks to an entirely superfluous narrative set-up, I don’t know your character’s motivation, nor do I care. Max Mustard gracefully (and perhaps unintentionally) sidesteps the need for cramming in a redundant plot and proves that when the gameplay is so utterly delightful, none of that stuff matters.

BOUNCY, BOUNCY. STILLETTOS ARE A NO NO

Max Mustard is a well-designed and expertly delivered platform experience. From the first bounce, the game focuses on simple, intuitive controls that “feel” good. As in most classic platform adventures, the protagonist can jump on their opponents or use a spinning attack to vanquish them. There are a few other attacks, but these feel more like window dressing than meaningful additions to the gameplay. Jumping and jet boosting will get you through almost every challenge.

What sets Max Mustard apart in the ambiguous world of “feel” is the implementation of weight and bounce. Traditional platformers are all about timing, and how Max jumps, bounces and uses her jet boots are delivered more or less perfectly. Jumping on boxes or enemies results in a pleasingly buoyant response, and mastering the glides and pseudo double jumps administered by the jet boots is simply joyful.

ASTROBOT OR ASTRONOT

The level design in Max Mustard is fantastic, with each stage offering a new range of environmental traps to navigate. For a game that exists entirely to see players jump from platform to platform, there is plenty of variety to prevent things from becoming boring. The difficulty is pitched just right, offering enough challenge to be compelling and achievable enough to never become frustrating. Throughout the game, every interaction remains consistent, fun, and fair.

Mixed into the traditional 3d platform faire is a smattering of first-person interactions that are the hallmark of modern platformers in VR. Rather than the interactive puzzles of the Moss franchise, Max Mustard implements these elements in more of a carnival shooting gallery style affair. Although there were a few sections where this worked, overall, they felt less like a thoughtful blend of first and third-person gameplay and more like an obligatory addition to justify the game’s place in VR.

This is not to say that the game is bad. Far from it, Max Mustard has provided me with the most enjoyable third-person platform experience I’ve had in decades. It’s excellent; it’s just not setting a new benchmark in hybrid VR gameplay. 

GRAPHICS & SOUND

Max Mustard has a great visual style reminiscent of the classic 3D platformer of the late 90’s. Bright and vibrant environments are well defined with a clear visual language that makes everything easy to interpret, no matter how busy the screen gets. The camera is set closer than many similar games, which makes seeing everything slightly challenging at times, but it goes a long way towards immersing the player in the game world. 

Where Max Mustard trips over slightly is in its delivery of character. Max herself lacks the small interactions and details that make you connect with her in the way that characters like Quill or Astrobot did. Sure, Max will look at you while idle or walking nearby, but she does it with the absurdly lifeless intensity of a ventriloquist’s dummy, and it just runs short of completing what is, otherwise, some really top-notch art direction.

The sound is similar insofar as it is broadly very good but just missing something that stops it from being excellent. The sound effects are spot on, landing all the right notes to immerse players into a living, breathing game world. The end-of-stage music is gloriously triumphant without being cheesy or annoying and makes that sense of satisfaction from completing the level all the more impactful.

However, with no voice acting, most of the game’s sense of sonic character rests on the soundtrack, and while there are moments that really work, for the most part, the score feels slightly muted. There is nothing wrong with it per se other than, at times, the music lacks density or urgency in a way that muffles the playful, energetic tone that the game otherwise creates.   

FINAL BOSS

Max Mustard is a delightful platforming experience that melds heartfelt nostalgia, rock-solid mechanics, and the wonderment of modern technology. Despite some broadly superficial shortcomings, Toast Interactive has delivered a masterclass in solid fundamentals. Put simply, Max Mustard is about as close as I’ll ever come to stepping into the dreams of my 9-year-old former self, and I’m all the happier for the experience. 

If you’re anything like me, you were probably excited by the trailer and early gameplay footage. They were enthralling, showcasing innovative mechanics that see you battling through a stylised adventure set in the world created by the hit TV show. 

What the trailer doesn’t show is how much of that experience takes place around you, operating at times more as an immersive psychological thriller than an actual game. In fact, at the core of reviewing Stranger Things VR sits a ponderous, elephantine question; Is this really a game at all or is this an interactive experience?

It seems that Tender Claws have set themselves the lofty ambition of combining the two, hoping to transcend both and become greater than either. As such, it is difficult to answer the question of what Stranger Things VR is, so perhaps we should focus on a different question; is it any good?

TOO MANY HATS

Stranger Things VR is a narrative-driven adventure with a much heavier focus on the narrative than the adventure. For those familiar with the source material, you take on the role of Vecna following his exile into Dimension X (sorry nerds, it’s no longer ‘the upside-down’). Here, you join him as he grows within his new powers and attempts to subjugate the sentient hellscape to his will. Fun times.

Interspersed within this prequel-style narrative are interactive vignettes that overlap with the characters and events of the popular television series. As the experience progresses the story increasingly unfolds around the player, with the gaming mechanics added in seemingly to give you the illusion of participation as the dialogue rolls on regardless of your actions.

Some sections incorporate an element of combat, but these are neither frequent nor varied. Similarly, there are innovative movement mechanics that almost take on a platforming element, however, neither of these elements offers enough depth to carry the whole experience as a “game”. 

BYSTANDER SYNDROME

What gameplay elements do exist in Stranger Things VR have the hallmark creativity that Tender Claws have previously displayed in The Under Presents. As the first few chapters unfold, the focus leans toward the gaming elements, which initially show potential. 

Players can use one power to spread a vine-like ‘corruption’ along the ground, which can then be used to anchor the stilt-like tentacle movement mechanics. This can then be used to vault into the air, allowing you to spread more corruption that you can use to traverse upon, like some kind of demonic Tarzan. 

What action there is comes by way of telekinetic battles. There is a fairly intuitive system for bringing objects close and hurling them at the various lurking monsters, but this is the sole attack the player is capable of throughout the entire affair. While it works, the requirement to always bring items towards you before being able to launch them is cumbersome and halting, failing to create anything resembling a fluid combat system. 

Combining these powers takes a little practice but works well enough that you can see it could have been quite engaging had they been developed and expanded upon. However, Stranger Things VR is only partly a ‘game’ and, as such, the gameplay never evolves beyond this early stage. As the story unfolds these mechanics are shelved in place of increasingly limited interactions within static scenes, dashing any early hopes for an action-packed adventure in the Stranger Things universe. 

THE STRANGEST THING

Set in the Stranger Things universe, the 3.5-hour immersive experience encompasses elements of all four seasons of the show. It even throws in a few nods to the stage show prequel. Familiar scenarios from the series are revisited from a different perspective, giving the spotlight to the internal struggles occurring in these pivotal moments. It’s a strange narrative construct as it requires knowledge of the source material to resonate, but having that knowledge makes the story immediately feel overly familiar. It’s also so intrinsically linked to the show that it’s difficult to imagine Stranger Things VR being even vaguely engrossing to anyone without a strong working knowledge of the series.

The narrative devices are often deliberately obtuse, with a diegetic use of time and space labouring the psychological tension between two characters locked in conflict within a single psyche. The story suffers terribly from pacing issues, and the narrative gets lost within its own distorted framework, often feeling aimless and repetitive. This is particularly notable in elements hinging on player interactions and it’s often confusing trying to assess if you need to do something, or just wait until the dialogue has run its course. 

Compounding these issues is an overuse of repetition, with scenes looping back to a single point before branching into slight variations with frustrating regularity. 

Perhaps the worst sin in all of this is that Tender Claws seem to have completely missed the tone and character that made the source material so popular in the first place. As a TV show, Stranger Things is hardly high art, and sadly this VR adaptation feels, in places, like a ham-fisted attempt to cram Avant-garde sensibilities into what is, essentially, popcorn drama.

LESS IS MORE

There seems to be a trend at the moment that sees MR sections being shoehorned into games regardless of whether it is even vaguely relevant. Sadly, Tender Claws seem to have succumbed to this as they offer two entirely superfluous mixed reality chapters. In fact, the optimisation and execution in these sections are poor enough that their presence actually lowers the game’s overall score.

Staying in theme, the first MR section introduces interesting mechanics before getting bogged down in poorly paced dialogue sections which, again, make it unclear as to the player’s ability to impact events. 

The final chapter is essentially a telekinesis-based wave shooter that sees players using hand-tracked gestures to close portals and fend off enemies. However, the MR implementation is finicky, with objects misaligned or clipping through the real world in a way that breaks any immersion garnered from seeing the virtual world appear in the real one.

PRETTY STRANGE

One thing Tender Claws does consistently well is create a unique visual language with which to tell their tales. There are places where Stranger Things VR looks fantastic, benefitting from excellent lighting and a superb overall sense of artistic direction. The sections of the game that overlap with the main cast offer character models that are unique and stylish. 

However, many of the game’s sections occur within the ill-defined realms of the upside-down or the dark expanse of a character’s tormented psyche. These seem to cash in on the murky aesthetic and, as a result, feel less polished.

The sound is also very well delivered, with a tense, atmospheric score that captures the show’s ambience far better than the overall narrative tone. The voice acting is high quality and is the main attraction as the story plays out, standing out in contrast to the frequently protracted dialogue.

Despite my criticisms, a few scenes use these audio-visual components to excellent effect, creating an intensely brooding atmosphere. In these moments, it is obvious that Tender Claws have some real talent, demonstrating a deep potential far beyond what has been realised in Stranger Things.

FINAL CHAPTER

At its core, Stranger Things VR feels conceptually confused. Interesting mechanics are squandered as diversions, feeling like a sideshow attraction amongst the disjointed progress of the narrative. Conversely, the gamified elements confuse the storytelling, poorly defining whether the player has agency to affect the events unfolding around them or is merely a spectator.

Despite some well-wrought and original gaming elements, there is a limited amount of actual gameplay on offer, and those looking for a traditional gaming experience may be disappointed.

Taking to the skies as a mighty superhero or wandering through an apocalyptic wasteland killing zombies with your best good boy, for example. Hell, even fishing in an idyllic setting or cooking up a storm in a demanding fast-food restaurant can fulfill otherwise unachievable fantasies.

Within the boundless possibilities available through the wonders of VR, it’s never occurred to me that I might want to don my escapist goggles to role-play as a mid-level bureaucrat. Could it be possible that Border Bots VR has found a way to make professional purgatory a viable recreational pursuit?

Go stand in that queue, and I’ll have the answer with you in 5-7 working days… 

ROBO RED TAPE

Border Bots VR sees the player embody the first human to re-enter a previously automated workforce to help regulate an influx of erratically behaving robots. There is enough of a narrative set up to justify why you have been granted the honour of manning the robotic equivalent of a customs booth, but it is rudimentary at best. Nonetheless, the plot unfolds as you progress through your career, offering occasional narrative devices that will have you navigating hostile colleagues and mechanised mobsters along the way.

In between work days, players retire to an apartment with various interactive components and house bots with which to engage. These sections are doubtlessly designed to add character depth to the game, similar to those found in the fantastic Startenders. However, Border Bots’ implementation of these activities misses the mark as there is little reason to engage with them. Sadly, in the end they prove to be utterly pointless.

In fact, after about an hour or so the story and home settings become less of a vague distraction and settle into annoyance. There are a few minutes of mandatory time-wasting between the levels that separate you from playing the game. Dialogue scenes are unskippable which compounds the frustration, and eventually, the well-intentioned world-building that the developers set out to deliver just ends up detracting from the core gaming experience.

ACCESS DENIED!

The core gameplay loop of Border Bots VR sits somewhere between a time management and a job sim-style game. Each day, the player returns to work to find a line-up of robots trying to enter the city. Your job is to check that they are eligible for entry by checking several criteria before dutifully stamping their documents. 

Initially, you will just be checking simple things like the expiry date on their passport or their designated classes, but as you progress further the checks become more numerous and time-consuming. From removing counterfeit badges and testing for fire resistance to searching for contraband hidden in secret compartments – there is a broad range of ways for rascally robots to evade detection. 

New requirements are continuously added, and rules will change daily, keeping you on your toes and keeping the gameplay relatively fresh. By the time you hit about day 15 of your career, there is so much going on that trying to move quickly requires some fervent concentration. For gamers who enjoy games like Traffic Jam, Startenders or Job Simulator, there is some good, clean casual fun to be had with Border Bots VR, especially when played in smaller doses. 

JOBSWORTH SIMULATOR

Where Border Bots really trips over itself is in some fundamental design choices that effectively rob the game of tension and create strangely apt “art imitates life” scenarios. 

Seven minutes are allotted to each level, during which the player attempts to correctly process as many robots as possible. Points are rewarded for correct assessments and compounded for streaks of accurate work. At the end of each day, a score is determined and a place on that level’s leader board assigned, but herein lies the game’s undoing.

After a several hours in the game, I have yet to find any way to return to these missions to either check my place on the leaderboard or try the level again to compete for a higher score. What this does is effectively remove any impetus for you to work swiftly.

Work fast and achieve great results? Who cares!?!?!

Without the chance of meaningful recognition for being successful, I quickly found myself going through the motions, riding out the clock until my shift was done. Pedantically luxuriating over each detail with no care for how that impacted my queue of patiently waiting robots. Soon enough I actually felt like a jaded frontline bureaucrat, effectively becoming what they call in the UK, a Jobsworth.

And what reward awaited me at the end of my day? Token appreciation before returning to my small apartment with nothing exciting to do but take a nap, shower, and go back to do it all again the next day. Sorry, but even with cute mechanics and zany bots, a few hours of this cycle had me walking right up to the edge of a virtual mid-life crisis.

COLORFUL CAPERS

Border Bots VR is a bright colourful affair that uses a vibrant cartoonish style that is an excellent match for the game’s tone. The art direction and overall design of the game world are thankfully clear and distinct, a necessity for the attention to detail required for the gameplay. The futuristic cityscape that adorns the game is compelling despite being pure window dressing. 

The audio is solid, offering a satisfactory range of bleeps and bloops to sell the futuristic setting. The voice work is well delivered, with a tone and delivery akin to a Saturday morning cartoon. This all works well in the context of the game’s character and despite not offering anything exceptional the game’s audio-visual components are resoundingly adequate.

COMPUTER SAYS NO

Border Bots VR is a unique twist on the Job sim/Time management genre that offers a casual, `fun for the whole family’ experience. From a technical standpoint, Border Bots VR achieves what it sets out to do, delivering a light-hearted gamification of frontline bureaucracy. Despite a variety of novel mechanics that do their best to add some frivolity into the proceedings the reality is that even in a colourful, whacky, robot-filled setting, being a low-level civil servant is just not that much fun.

Click here for our video review of Border Bots VR.

Having played the game to completion, we feel it would be fair to describe Hubris as “a narrative-driven sci-fi shooter that utilises a range of made-for-VR mechanics to create a varied gaming experience spanning a range of beautifully crafted futuristic landscapes. From platforming sections to underwater missions and even a fast-paced hoverbike sequence, Hubris will keep players wondering what’s next as they battle their way across a hostile alien world..”

Sounds cool, right?

It would also, and without contradicting any of the above in any way, be completely fair to describe Hubris as “the gaming equivalent of watching a remarkably physically attractive person completely misunderstand the concept of fun and then spend six hours explaining to you why they are the most fun person they know.”

Let’s unpack that, shall we…

GOOD LOOKING… ON PAPER

Hubris begins with the player embodying a character known only as “recruit,” a newbie cadet joining an intergalactic law enforcement organisation known as the “Order of Objectivity.” Rather quickly, your routine transfer to your training facility goes awry. With only the most cursory of establishing narrative, you begin to navigate a strange alien environment steeped in an entirely theoretical mystery.

The story then proceeds to methodically expose itself throughout a 5-6 campaign. As you make your way through the game, you will encounter a trio of characters who, despite being well-voiced and reasonably animated, somehow collectively carry the emotional resonance of a single beige sock. 

While each narrative section makes sense in context and serves to progress the campaign, the dialogue is dull. In fact, the entire story feels as though it was designed entirely to set up a series of missions rather than creating the sense of foreboding intrigue that the game seemed to be aiming for. The story vaguely hints at something deeper in the final chapter but never explains it, perhaps as a setup for a sequel. Up until then, it would be fair to summarise the entire narrative as “Oh no! Bad guys!”

STYLE OVER SUBSTANCE

Throughout the game, the player will switch from straight combat to platforming in a way that makes perfect sense for the flow of the gameplay. The only issue is; both the jumping and grabbing mechanics are so inconsistent and unrealistic that they demean any sense of immersion gained by the rest of the game.

The jumping feels weightless, occupying a physics system that feels distractingly alien, even considering the extraterrestrial context. Grabbing clearly marked edges in mid-air is so hit-or-miss as to become a masterclass in frustration, although it fares slightly better on PSVR2 for some inexplicable reason. Mixing the gameplay by interspersing platforming sections amidst the combat missions is a great idea, but it’s let down by the poor execution of the jumping and grabbing mechanics. 

Also mixed into the proceedings are some underwater sections. Thankfully these are a great success. Swimming works well, and the gear change in play style accompanying these sections is rewarding and engaging. These sections really highlight the potential of the varied gameplay the developers were going for. Had the other sections been equally well delivered, things might have been different for Hubris.

PRETTY…PRETTY EMPTY THAT IS

Despite all the sub-genres stuffed into its missions, Hubris remains, at its heart, a sci-fi shooter. If this core conceit had been delivered to a class and standard that matched its presentation, all other criticisms would have paled against a set of basics done well. Unfortunately, as a shooter, Hubris feels vain and shallow.

Players quickly acquire a starting weapon, a humble space blaster that can be upgraded by an infuriatingly slow collecting and crafting system. This system also allows players to transform their beloved pew pew into a broadly ineffectual semi-automatic or what is, quite possibly, the worst shotgun yet to grace VR. With the expanded arsenal quickly proving lacklustre, players will find that the bulk of the action is best serviced with the rather mundane but well-upgraded starter weapon.

Thankfully, the range of enemies you will face hardly requires an audacious arsenal to be dispatched, so that starting pistol should do you just fine. The variety of enemies is slim, as is the, and I’m being generous here, ‘AI’ that drives them. Although not as bad as the likes of Gambit, flanking enemies felt far easier than it should be, and much of the action felt reminiscent of Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge.

That is not to imply that combat is terrible. There were definitely a few of the less linear combat sections that had me enjoying myself, but it did all feel like something that we have already seen, and a few years ago at that. Couple that with the lack of grenades, drones, shields, or anything creative or interesting to bring to the combat, and you have an action game that feels disappointingly one-dimensional.

OOOOOH, SHINY

Let’s not beat around the bush; Hubris is a good-looking game.

In fact, it’s the type of game that makes you realise how far developers have come since the Quest 2 was initially released. From the futuristic internal environments to the cavernous underwater sections and onto the strange alien skies of the twin planets, the world of Hubris is an impressive sight to behold.

There is some artifacting around the hands, and sometimes the heads of characters, which is mildly distracting, and the surface water effects don’t quite match the insane standards set in Breachers, but overall Hubris occupies a place at the top tier of what players can visually expect from the Quest 2. The art direction is clear and consistent, and the visual world-building is far superior to its narrative counterparts. In terms of visuals, there is much to appreciate and very little to complain about.

On PSVR2, the graphics clearly outshine those on the Quest 2, which is to be expected. Hubris also benefits from superior haptics.

The sound design in Hubris also speaks to a game with high production values. The sound effects are consistent with the world, and most would feel at home in a high-budget sci-fi film. Some of the critter sounds are a little weak, particularly when compared to the masterful work of games like Crashland, and there is little in the way of ambient sounds in the bigger open areas. But overall, the sound design complements the graphics well, and the two elements together go a long way to distracting you from the gameplay issues, successfully putting some glossy lipstick on our hubristic little pig.

IF LOOKS COULD KILL   

Hubris has a list of features and gameplay mechanics that should make it one of the most engaging single-payer VR games of all time – had they been done well. But, perhaps fittingly for a game called Hubris, it seems that pretty graphics and a laundry list of features were assumed to be enough to satiate players. They aren’t.

The general concept of mixing climbing, swimming, platforming, and driving sections with a traditional linear action game is brilliant. In fact, the pure potential of using all of these techniques to fuel an epic story-driven adventure is intoxicating. However, when compared with the various best-in-class mechanics that already exist in each of these auxiliary genres, Hubris sadly proves that being a jack of all trades but master of none is not an ideal proposition for a VR action game.