It has become oddly popular in modern offices to have a table tennis table in the break room. If you are not fortunate enough to work in a suitably trendy office building, then there is always a virtual reality (VR) alternative. In this case, Racket Fury: Table Tennis VR has made its way from PC-based VR to the PlayStation VR.
The premise in the title crafted by developer 10Ants Hill is that table tennis has survived into the far future where robots battle it out on spaceships for the grand prize of the Intergalactic Ping Pong Championship.
The PlayStation VR version comes with two modes, practice and championship mode. The multiplayer mode which can be found in the PC VR version is not yet available, but is planned to be patched in during a future update.
Practice mode is just what it sounds like, you can practice your swings and get used to how the tracking for the PlayStation Move controls work. Though the tracking for the PlayStation Move can sometimes be wobbly, here it works incredibly smoothly. Pleasingly, there is even an option for left-handed play, which is great for those of a southpaw persuasion.
Championship mode is clearly the main draw here. The aim is to win the most sets, which can be done by scoring the most points or getting two of the three sets. There are four ‘Cups’ available, which as you would expect, get progressively harder. There is a noticeable spike in difficulty around the start of cup three.
The physics are dead-on, it very rarely seems like anything is wonky in terms of angles, movement or weight. It all feels very realistic. The graphics are decent for the most part, the robot opponents look pretty cool, and the space backgrounds are quite nice to look at.
While there is sound that reproduces the whack and bounce of the paddles and ball, there is no other music to speak of, which is disappointing and makes it feel oddly empty. This is probably due to reduce distractions, but still seems odd.
As you play you can level up and get access to various different bits you can use to customise your avatar, which is a nice touch, but since you don’t see your avatar much, its a a bit of fluff.
The lack of multiplayer feels like a critical flaw, though it is planned to be included later, its lack now makes it feel unfinished.
Overall, Racket Fury: Table Tennis VR is a good table tennis simulator with great physics and a pleasant backdrop, but the lack of multiplayer and strange absence of music leave holes in what would otherwise be a very satisfying title. This is one of enthusiasts, though once the multiplayer comes out, it might be worth a second luck.
Awesome
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Verdict