Oculus Quest Previews – Page 2 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

April 12, 2022

Preview: Now There be Goblins – You Have my Hammer

Nobody likes goblins. They’re always getting into places, causing trouble, generally being a nuisance. I’ll tell you who really hates goblins; the king. As a blacksmith grafting for coin, apparently I’m on speaking terms with this smug-looking monarch. He commissioned me to craft a massive gold statue of him and the local goblins have taken a dislike to them. Or they want the gold. Either way, goblins are attacking, the king doesn’t like that and I have to defend the kingdom. I have no clue why we don’t have soldiers for this.

All I have are a shield and my trusty blacksmithing hammer. Thankfully I can build defences, which should clue you in on what genre Now There be Goblins falls into. This tower defence game plays like many others you will have seen or tried. The enemy enters an arena area and walks a predetermined path towards their goal, which is our failure point. As the hero, I build weapons and barricades to kill any and all goblins.

Across the opening levels I learn how to move around the playing area, plus how to select defence items. This early on, it’s the usual barricade that is placed on the paths to slow down the enemy, as well as a few weapons – crossbow, cannon and sharpshooter. These can be dotted around off the path to lay down damage. But you know this, I’m sure.

The goblins enter the kingdom in waves, variously armoured and kitted out with weapons. A highlight of Now There be Goblins is the ability to pick up the discarded weapons from the goblins, all of which feature differing damage stats and styles, such as bludgeoning or stabbing damage. It’s rather laughable to be standing behind a barrier, swinging both arms wildly to whack and stab horrible goblins.

Of course, in between waves placements can be repaired or upgraded, it’s all very much par for the course. Until the bosses show up, and then everything goes to hell. I was happily building items, looting corpses, defending the kingdom. I knew a boss was in this wave, but I underestimated them severely. They are huge, hulking enemies that seemingly know nothing except swinging a weapon and moving forward. I died. A lot.

However, even with those deaths, I was levelling up to unlock new weapons and items and slowly progress bit by bit. I began to admire the visuals and the wonderful little details that brought my role to life. I will happily write a paragraph about just the blacksmith hammer, which is attached to your arm via a chain. This means it can be thrown… and recalled. Like Thor with Mjolnir. I was lopping the hammer, snapping it back, catching it, taking a bit of a pose. It was glorious.

There were a few graphical glitches from the chain – sometimes it stretched across the entire map, other times it glitched through the placements. But I still felt like a God. And that theme continues in the style of Now There be Goblins, the developers have used a slick cartoon style, with daft, overly large proportions and pops of colour. The weapons and defences feel weighty and look chunky.

I’m still slowly working my way through the campaign. This is an early access title, so it’ll keep receiving updates over time. And I’ll definitely keep coming back. Now There be Goblins has a really delightful gameplay loop, and while the bosses are scary and tough, they feel fair enough to return to the mission and try a new tactic next around. I’ll be back for those goblins, and to protect the kingdom, but I’ve got a Godlike hammer and a bad attitude.

April 8, 2022

Preview: Pioneer: Endless Journey – The Armoury is Full

It seems as if roguelikes and roguelites are constantly coming thick and fast. It’s a popular genre due to the replayability offered, plus the seemingly endless customisation options on show. Pioneer: Endless Journey sells itself solidly on these two points.

It’s a first-person shooter which drops you into a world of ferocious creatures, where your aim is simple – get as far as possible by defeating enemies and bosses. I’d love to tell you what the endgame offers you, but honestly, the bosses here can be as tough as nails.

The first thing to notice with this preview build is the lack of variety in the level design and aesthetics. There are only a few templates to play through and all of them feature a dry, sandblasted look of the wild west. The enemies fall into this niche, too. There are anthropomorphic cacti, giant spiders, and poison-fanged snakes, among others. None of the low-level enemies poses much of a problem due to the game’s already deep weapon customisation.

It’s clear that the developer is focused on combat; the range of guns, and mods available for said guns, feels pretty extensive. Everything is modular here; you start with a barebones pistol and at the end of each level you receive a selection of upgrades, from which to choose, to transform it into something completely different. Each mod fits into the traditional selection – shotguns, grenade launchers, snipers and more rapid-fire choices like assault rifles and SMGs.

These mods swap out the barrel of the gun after showing you the stats which break down into the usual damage, fire rate and critical hits. Your gun becomes a lovely little monstrosity of weapons parts rather swiftly. Aiming devices boost accuracy, handles and stocks adjust the general handling, sometimes boosting the damage. But what’s probably most interesting is the crystal you slot into the core of the gun.

Across several playthroughs I tried the ice, arcane and electricity crystals, all of which confer a damage bonus against the enemies. There’s no fast swapping of elements so once you’ve chosen you’re locked in, at least until the next chest opens and a crystal hopefully spawns. There didn’t seem to be much to these elemental traits beyond extra damage, but given that the preview area is an arid desert, you have to wonder if future worlds will lean into elements and create a power hierarchy.

The game’s structure leans heavily into randomness – at the open of the game you’re presented with a map littered with joined icons, much like Slay the Spire. Some open into a basic level ending with a chest, others are upgrade stations where you can spend gold coins, earned through fighting, on tuning your gun. Many levels seem to have more than one exit, but it’s unclear if these can be opened in the preview.

Then there are the bosses. And at the moment, they’re a little unbalanced. Usually reaching the large and open boss arena will see it populated with many low-level enemies too. You’ll be happily plugging away these diversions before the boss creature spawns in and cranks up the damage dealt. While there are plenty of great weapons, which can deal with the boss enemies, there doesn’t seem to be a handy way to replenish shields and health, meaning a few unfortunate hits can spell death.

On the whole, Pioneer: Endless Journey is shaping up to be a great entry to the roguelike genre. With a greater variety of enemies and environments, there will be plenty to keep shooter fans happy.

April 7, 2022

Preview: Brisk Square – Swords or Pistols?

You don’t have to look far to see where the inspiration for Brisk Square comes from. After only a few minutes of playing, the comparisons to Pistol Whip come thick and fast. This isn’t a bad thing, Pistol Whip is a brilliant videogame, but the early access state of Brisk Square makes me yearn for a fully completed release or the polished inspiration.

After a brief tutorial – where we learn how to swing a sword, fire a gun and wield otherworldly powers in the form of telekinesis and the slowing of time – there are a plethora of options to choose from. There’s a campaign, with a very loose story, but it’s only two stages in this Early Access build. A dual-wield mode that does away with the gun and hands you an extra sword and multiplayer, which is currently devoid of players, sadly.

The multiplayer option looks to be a great spin on competitive play, where you and four mates can play together, moving forwards in your own lane. Chopping and shooting, as well as outliving the other player’s rewards points, leading to a winner. Hopefully, we’ll have full coverage of this in a future update.

Brisk Square is an ‘on-rails’ action game that propels you forwards, through streets, alleyways and cityscapes. As you move forward, enemies and obstacles will appear ahead of you. To attack, you have a few options; slice them, shoot them, crush them. Really, all I wanted to do was chop them up with the sword. Not only did it feel the most satisfying, but the sword animation is just lush.

The pistol, controlled with the off-hand, feels very underwhelming. Not only does each shot feel like it has no power, and lacks accuracy, but there’s a cooldown on using it again. It’s clear this is in place to urge you into using other options, but it robs the player of any real power. Especially when the spectral powers also have cooldowns to stop you from stomping on everyone.

Thankfully, playing through the game rewards you with XP which translates to skill points and these can be spent on a very extensive skill tree. This improves the cooldowns, gives you extra bullets for the pistol and extends time slow duration. This shows the game has scope and will eventually reach a point where everything comes together in a wonderful cohesion.

However, until that point, Brisk Square leaves a lot to be desired. The music is repetitive; the graphics – aside from the gorgeous enemy models and the blood spatter – are very hit and miss, switching from great 3D models to flat, uninspired textures; on top of these issues is an empty feeling to each level. The odd enemy pops up, shoots a couple of bullets, dies, rinse and repeat. The more persistent, and annoying, threat comes from random barrels which, if not destroyed in time, seemingly kill you by bumping into them.

At this stage of development, Brisk Square is brimming with potential, but it feels like there’s a long way to go. While it does suffer from flaws, it’s clear the developer knows what they want to produce and can do exactly that, given enough time. I’m very excited about the future of Brisk Square, for now, I’ll watch the updates with anticipation.

April 5, 2022

Preview Little Cities – Raising the Roof Even Further

Way back in October last year gmw3 got its first glimpse of Little Cities, a city-building title for Meta Quest. The first virtual reality (VR) product from indie team Purple Yonder – who themselves are the first studio to be published by nDreams’ new third-party publishing arm – Little Cities was quite the welcome treat, scaling back all the heavy lifting these types of management sims can burden you with for a far more streamlined experience. So why the second preview you may wonder? Well, as Little Cities nears launch we’ve been given access to a whole new island to build on, a sand-filled desert with new buildings and environmental issues to deal with.

Rather than a huge expanse of land to build your bustling metropolis on, Little Cities sticks to its namesake by offering far more compact areas of land. Designed like archipelagos, these island retreats can range from a large singular island that gradually unlocks as your level increases or made up of several smaller isles that require connecting.

Testing out the new Desert location, it was the latter, a relatively large – for Little Cities at any rate – piece of landmass with some rocky terrain, cacti, and sandstorms. Those sandstorms are the main feature as you can’t simply drop a load of homes, schools, police stations and a solar farm into the middle of a dust bowl. Nope, you need trees and plenty of them.

I noticed during the first demo that Little Cities seemed a bit devoid of plant life, I couldn’t make a park or any sort of outside play space. So bizarrely, sandstorms are what introduce trees (and only trees) into the mix, placing them just like roads creating sun-kissed boulevards lined with tropical plants. It adds some much-needed greenery whilst adding that extra bit of town planning, do I go for more commercial property or add a little foliage. Fail to include enough and residents start to get angry and nobody wants that.

Trees weren’t the only new addition to this desert region. The Oasis Dome, Yurt Village, Research Institute, Concert Hall and Observatory are all new buildings, each with their own particular bonuses. The Yurt Village for example improves residential happiness whilst the Research Institute improves industrial income. All need to be placed in reasonably close proximity to their respective zones.

Little Cities has also seen further additions to the management information and ability to immerse yourself in and navigate the environment. The watch handles everything from building demands to resident happiness and now includes both water and electricity indicators so it is easy to see when they get low. The ability to zoom into your tiny city also works – it didn’t previously. Not particularly useful during the construction phase, once that city is built and thriving getting down to (almost) street level is highly satisfying, seeing emergency services whizzing around as a building catches on fire, planes coming into land or just the dinky cars going about their daily lives.

Few of these Sim City style videogames have made it into VR which is maybe why Little Cities has been a joy to play. All the gameplay mechanics are very easy to pick up with the whole experience so laid back and casual it could almost be meditative. That does raise the question as to whether Little Cities could be too overly streamlined, so those looking for a more hardcore building simulator may find the title light on options. For now, though, I’ve enjoyed my time with Little Cities ahead of its launch on 21^st April, priced at $19.99 USD/£14.99 GBP, which seems like a good price.

April 4, 2022

Preview: Altair Breaker – Sword Fighting GDC 2022 Style

The show floor of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2022 wasn’t exactly bursting with new virtual reality (VR) titles – as was the case in previous years – but there were one or two juicy videogames to be found. One of which was Thirdverse Inc.’s upcoming sword-fighting title Altair Breaker.

The Japanese studio has made a name for itself in the VR sword fighting genre thanks to its first project Swords of Gargantua. If you’ve played it then you’ll know the gameplay relies heavily on almost sim-like swordplay, where you have to be accurate with your attacks and quick on the defence. You can parry to gain an advantage over your enemy and even use a bit of magic to increase your damage.

While great for veterans or those simply willing to put the hours in, Sword of Gargantua can be brutal, so Thirdverse has decided to go down a more arcade-style route with Altair Breaker. This means greater accessibility, making those first less daunting because you don’t have to be as precise; having some fun in the process.

It’s easy to see the DNA in Altair Breaker though. The demo was built around arena-scale fights with a mixture of enemies a similar size to me as well as a giant mid-boss who wasn’t too much trouble to take down. The gameplay itself is light and fluid, with a single-handed sword available to slice and dice opponents.

GDC 2022 - Altair Breaker — GDC 2022 – Altair Breaker. Image credit: gmw3

Altair Breaker felt instantly accessible with each sword swing intuitive and accurate – which is always a good sign when demoing any videogame on a show floor. I was able to block and parry just as you’d expect but with the added help of a red indicator to tell me where the next enemy attack was coming from. Where the game starts to step away from its older sibling is with features like the distance slice, where you can unleash a bluish curved projectile at an opponent.

Stand and face an enemy for a few moments and a red crosshair will appear so you can focus all attacks on that singular foe. In the early stages of a battle when several opponents surround you it wasn’t as helpful due to it constantly relocking, becoming far handier in the latter stages of the fight. Plus, when I had a spare moment I could use my off-hand to run across the blade to empower it for a moment. Although this only worked about half the time!

Another notable addition was the ability to interact with the environment, more to the point, climbing it. Yes, that’s right, just like you can in videogames like Population: One, in Altair Breaker there’s the option to climb nearby walls or pillars for a better vantage point, jump off and then glide to a new point in the arena. This really has the ability to open up the strategy options, especially where some of the bigger bosses are concerned. Lastly, there’s a quick dash – helped by that lock on – so you can knock an opponent into the air and then dash in to deliver a final blow as they come crashing down. Always a satisfying end.

Oh, and Altair Breaker will offer co-op multiplayer so you can get four of you together. The demo only offered a look at playing solo, so gmw3 will have to get back to you on the multiplayer aspect. Even so, Altair Breaker was a blast, less hamstrung by accurate physics and pinpoint sword timing. That doesn’t mean to say veterans won’t find it challenging or varied, there seems to be enough to mix up your play style and the big dudes can certainly take a beating.

Altair Breaker is due out this summer for Meta Quest 2 and PC VR headsets, for further updates keep reading gmw3. And don’t forget to check out our other GDC 2022 coverage including our hands-on with the Skinetic Haptic Vest.

March 30, 2022

App Lab Roundup: Chess, Ninjas and Skaters

Each fortnight we will be taking a look at some of the upcoming videogames, demos and unique experiences available through Oculus App Lab for the Meta Quest headsets. Many of these games come in varying states of completion, so each title is subject to change.

In this edition, we look at chess, ninjas and skating.

Chess VR

Have you ever wanted to play chess in a vast medieval castle? Against a knight in full armour? Me neither, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t happen. Though if you answered yes to those above questions, you’re going to want to download Chess VR immediately, because it has castles, knights and, obviously, Chess.

There isn’t a great deal to say beyond the above because it’s chess, what more needs saying. However, scratch beneath the surface and there’s a surprising depth to be found. Away from the standard chess against a CPU opponent, you can choose to play online or complete puzzle boards. The latter sets up a board mid-game and requires you to win, usually from a disadvantageous position. As a complete chess noob, I merely walked myself into checkmate all the time and watched as the CPU battered me, but your results may vary.

Each match is played in a grand and wonderfully rendered environment that feels both immersive and grandiose. There’s enough depth here at this early stage of development and it is a must for anyone seeking a great chess game with a sense of escapism.

Void Ninja

Void Ninja shares a lot with old school ‘on-rails’ shooters, minus the guns. Played in first-person view, you’re a cyber ninja who auto-moves through The Matrix-inspired environments, drenched in digital glitches. It’s an impressive visual playground that leans heavily into sci-fi trappings. With no story available, it’s hard to parse what we’re actually exploring, but it leaves a lot to your imagination.

Using a static standing position, Void Ninja relies on hand movements to interact with the environments and effectively move within the space. Sweeping a hand side-to-side turns corners, holding the grips enables a wall run. This being a game about ninja escapades, there’s plenty of fighting. Reaching up to your shoulder pulls out a katana to eliminate bots throughout the levels. On the surface, everything feels great, but there are a few hiccups.

Personally, I was a bit torn on Void Ninja overall. It looks lovely, it sounds great and the mix of combat and parkour works really well. However, some movement options are severely lacking; turning a corner by waving your hand is spotty and there were too many times I fell off the platforms. Leaning left and right forces the ninja to sidestep and ducking takes care of obstacles, but neither of these a viable for seated players.

There’s a lot of potential here, particularly with such striking visuals and a level editor available to all players who fancy creating new areas.

District M

District M is a colourful punch in the eye attached to a pair of rollerblades. Here, you control a skater making their way through District M; swinging your arms side-to-side moves the skater, while buttons control jumping and other actions. The demo on offer is limited but gives a great view of what’s to come.

At its core, District M is a rhythm game, rewarding a score for picking up collectables that sway back and forth with the melody in the soundtrack, and jumps must be performed on the beat. The tutorial guides you through the absolute basics, but a ‘sneak peek’ at a future level shows off much more depth, with drifting, boosting and longer jumps through speed-boost hoops.

The developer has added a nice touch with a first-person view available, otherwise, the game controls from a following camera, which is perfect for those who still get a bit of motion sickness. What’s perhaps most striking is the audio-visual package on the whole; huge bold objects in all kinds of colours, music that is endearingly toe-tapping. District M has a wonderful carnival atmosphere that clicks right away.

Since I first tried the game a week ago, the developer has updated the game to include the ‘sneak peek’ so it seems clear development is going well. District M is shaping up to be an infectiously fun ride.

March 10, 2022

Preview: Till Tomorrow – Not a Relaxing Day at the Beach

The concept of Till Tomorrow is a familiar one; protagonist washes up on a deserted island and attempts to stay alive in a dangerous wilderness. This preview build, available through App Lab, doesn’t show too much of the future content. It seems as though the development team are happy to let you wander around, experiment and explore. However, they also hint, through dialogue, that a loose story will guide players through the future release.

So, for now, it’s worth wandering the island and playing around with the crafting system, in between horrific deaths. I died a few times while attempting to set up camp. The first time was due to dehydration. Of hunger. One of those two, the sections of my watch that inform me of my health were all looking pretty bad right before I croaked.

The second time I died was while chopping down trees; I aimed to use the wood to build a campfire but a venomous spider had other plans. The third time was also due to venom, this time from a snake. It seems that in Till Tomorrow, everything wants to kill you. For my fourth attempt, I chose to start the game on ‘leisure’, which is much like peaceful on Minecraft – no beasties to murder me, but also no need to monitor my vitals (fatigue, health, hunger, thirst).

With imminent danger on hold, I could truly explore the island. As this is a limited experience, there’s not a vast amount to do beyond basic survival. I started out by creating tools; I could use my knife to slice the top off coconuts and guzzle the milk; my axe chopped down trees into useable sticks; the pickaxe allowed for breaking down mysterious gems in a cave.

There’s flora and fauna to examine, harvest and eat – yes, you can eat the snakes – and looking through the crafting manual, there’s plenty to unlock as you earn experience through actions. As a survival playground, Till Tomorrow lets you manipulate plenty of items for a good level of interactivity, but this early look does lack full immersion. For example, swinging an axe at a tree produces a satisfying thunk sound and topples the tree, but it lacks any tactile feedback. Given the level of detail elsewhere, I’m hoping these actions get fleshed out nearer a full release.

On the flip side, there are some great mechanics that give a sense of realism, despite the cartoon aesthetic. When I’d finally built my campfire there was no clear indiction of how to produce fire. Of course, all it took was holding a stone in one hand, flint in the other and crouching by the pile of wood while smacking the two together.

Till Tomorrow is a game I will be keeping my eye on. There is a great deal of potential, not just for crafting and difficulty in surviving, but also in the story. The wrecked ship which sits just off the coast, the mystery of how we’re the only survivor, plus the huge skeleton of a monstrous creature, there’s a good chance this title will strike a great balance between narrative and survival.

March 9, 2022

Preview: Peaky Blinders: The Kings Ransom – Be a VR Gangsta

If you’re reading this then there’s a good chance you’re a Peaky Blinders fan or have (at the very least) a partial interest in the 1920s gangster show. Back in 2019, the British virtual reality (VR) team behind Doctor Who: Edge of Time, Maze Theory, revealed that its next project would be based on Peaky Blinders, taking players inside the grim and dangerous world of post-war Birmingham. Called Peaky Blinders: The Kings Ransom, gmw3 has taken an early peek under the cap and it’s as hardnosed as you’d hope.

Firstly, Maze Theory was honest in stating that the short demo gmw3 played was a year old but it still showcased the basics of what the project was aiming to achieve; offering a rich narrative of its own for those new to the IP whilst giving fans plenty to get excited about.

And that’s instantly on show as the demo opens out onto the infamous Garrison Street with the Garrison Pub at the end. A slow walk (no teleporting) down the mud-covered road felt familiar and daunting, with the 20s factories towering either side and doorways belching out flames as if a monstrous dragon lay just inside. Reaching the end it was time to open the outer and inner double doors of the pub, grabbing the door handles with both hands to swing them open for a dramatic entrance.

Yet inside there was no one to make that grand entry to, the pub was quiet albeit for one single, solitary figure; that of Tommy Shelby, the head of the Peaky Blinders gang. As you may already know, this VR experience is an official collaboration so Maze Theory could use not only the likeness of Cillian Murphy, he also recorded lines for the videogame. So there he was, stood in the middle of the pub, flat cap on and ready to talk business.

The Garrison Pub is a dark imposing place, even more so with Shelby looming inside. He gestures to an empty table to discuss his plans and what he want’s you for. Time for a taste of Peaky Blinders: The Kings Ransom’s immersive qualities. It can sometimes be the smallest of features in VR that adds that feeling of presence and authenticity to a scene. In the Garrison, Shelby tells you to pour you both a drink, gesturing you to grab a bottle of whisky from the bar. Rather than some generic bottle, you have to remove the cork out with a satisfying “pop”, recorking it if you so wish. He’ll also offer you a cigarette, dashing a lighter across the table.

It’s here, sitting across the table from Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby, drinking a virtual glass of whisky whilst smoking a cigarette that the feeling of being inside Peaky Blinders really became apparent. It felt glorious, dark and most truthfully, gangster, it was time to do a job. Before moving on though, it was a moment to savour, smoking rarely appears in games because the general consensus is not to promote the habit. However, in the right setting like smoking a cigar in I Expect You to Die after surviving a mission or as you’re accepting a job from your new underworld boss, sometimes, just sometimes, there is a right time and place.

Shelby isn’t just going to let anybody into his organisation though. You have to prove yourself and it’s here where Peaky Blinders: The Kings Ransom introduces the mechanic of choice. Shelby asks (tells) you to pick up a gun and shoot a guy in the next room. Shelby leaves and it’s just you with a bloke with a sack on his head. Do you shoot or let him live? The demo ends either way but Maze Theory assure me there will be more pivotal moments like that. Importantly, this is still a Peaky Blinders videogame so it has an overarching narrative set between seasons 4 and 5, therefore whatever decision you make all roads lead to the same conclusion.

All demos should leave you wanting more and this taster of Peaky Blinders: The Kings Ransom has done just that. Considering how old the content was it felt robust and authentic to the franchise so with another year under its belt gmw3 can’t wait to see what Maze Theory has in store. Currently, Peaky Blinders: The Kings Ransom is slated to arrive in 2022 for Meta Quest 2 and PC VR headsets so hopefully there won’t be too long to wait for more info.

March 8, 2022

Preview: Tentacular – Living the Kaiju Dream

As I reach the two-hour mark of Tentacular, an important plot point is dropped and I’m shown a title card reading ‘to be continued’. And I’ve never been more disappointed. Because by this point I was hooked. I would happily spend hours and hours flinging objects, building ridiculous wobbly towers and generally waving jelly-like tentacles around.

If you haven’t watched a trailer of Tentacular yet then you should do so now. I’ll wait… Right, so what you will see there is a whole host of silliness; throwing cars, catching shipping containers, utilising power lines as a makeshift slingshot. The aim of this cephalopod simulator is to aid the people of La Kalma in their everyday life.

One day you might be asked to help excavate the city dump, the next you’ll be tasked with helping test launch rockets with almighty throws. What’s important is that each activity is incredibly enjoyable, even when the game asks for a bit more precision. To start off, the mayor and his staff ask to test your monster appendages. It’s the usual tutorial of picking things up, throwing them, placing them neatly. These small situations reveal a vast oceanic depth to come.

The preview build allowed me to play through the opening chapters of the game. I met the monster’s sister, a human who discovered the monster’s egg washed up on the shore. She talks to me about life and her lighthouse home. The game signals that to speed up the human speech I can tap them on the head with the tip of a tentacle. It’s farcically funny.

Upon reaching the city to be tested for the best career path for my monster physique, it’s hard to stick to the game itself because everything is interactive. I started petting the random dogs, knocking over objects strewn around the port or picking up people and dropping them wherever I saw fit to. Thankfully there’s a playground area where the game provides props and assets to simply mess around with.

In the end, I got on with the story, pulling switches and tapping buttons to transport myself to playing areas. I thought moving around would be cumbersome, but using the thumbsticks added a level of intricacy, which is needed for the main crux of the game; building.

Building requires the use of M.A.G.N.E.T.S, a quirky invention by our scientist boss. Using the tentacles you’re asked to use girders, shipping containers, large steel plates and these small spherical magnets, to create buildings. This being a ‘physics’ game, the buildings become as floppy and bendy as, well, a large tentacle. It’s a bit like playing World of Goo in its precariousness.

As the preview went on, the game began to introduce items that cancelled out a magnetic pull, or the ability to change the magnet sizing. This opens up the ‘solutions’ of building levels because you can use any tactic or plan to fulfil the objectives.

Between levels of construction the story is drip-fed, always with an eye on interaction, whether that’s tapping the humans or hitting a projector remote to control as a slideshow, or just idly fiddling with the environment while an NPC chats away.

I was having an obscene amount of fun. Even interacting with the menus carries a level of satisfaction – pulling large chunky switches with a satisfying clunk, or lifting the roof of a building like a jewellery box revealing buttons to press, or people to talk to. Tentacular promises a huge amount of things to do, all underpinned by a sweet story focusing on family. I can’t wait to be able to pick up where I left off, though there’s a chance I’m going to replay those two hours because it’s the most fun I’ve had in VR for some time.

March 3, 2022

Preview: Off the Chains Disc Golf – Not Just Another Throwaway Sports Game

It’s official, I suck at Disc Golf. There I am, standing in the perfect stance, arm drawn back with the correct flying disc in my hand. I whip my arm out, rotating my body into the throw, releasing the trigger button of my controller at the apex of the arm extension. It feels graceful, yet powerful. The disc falls to the floor a few yards in front of me. Deflated, I click the prompt to move on to the next throw. It’s not the game’s fault, it’s mine.

How do I know this? Because sometimes that action results in a beautiful arc through the air as the disc flies outward. My hand must have tilted at the last moment. The game’s engine is sharp enough to notice the difference between my hand being held flat, or at an angle, or even completely vertically. After each throw, along with a delightful cutaway video of the disc travelling towards the chained net, there are the stats breaking down the throw.

On the surface, this looks like it could be a game with more of an arcade feel, but it definitely leans towards simulation, especially when held up against other disc golf games available. As the videogame initially opens, you’d be forgiven for thinking this is just a throwaway sports game. Due to the physicality of virtual reality (VR), there is always a wealth of sports-based titles.

With Off the Chains Disc Golf, there’s a surprising amount of depth to be found as play progresses; by unlocking new discs with varying speed and turning stats – playing well rewards you with links, which are spent in the game store – also unlocking new courses which pose steadily increasing challenges. This depth can also be found in the accessibility options, particularly in the throw sensitivity.

When I first started playing, my arms ached from constantly throwing. Within the options menu, you can adjust how sensitive the throwing action is. On realistic, you can expect to really put your effort into lobbing the disc, whereas setting it to low allows for a more gentle physical throw, translating into power within the game. Not only does this help with those sore arms, but it allows for sitting play also.

There are a few flaws to this otherwise entertaining videogame. The visuals are often lacking in differentiating the courses from each other. There’s hardly any sense of place for each course, which can be frustrating as it seems a lot of effort went into the sound design; everything from the whip of the wind to animal calls or babbling brooks add to the peaceful backdrop. There also seems to be a line across the field of view which moves up and down with your head. Above this line the graphics lose fidelity and become incredibly muddy, removing any sense of immersion.

In fact, most of the complaints can be levelled at the presentation of Off the Chains: Disc Golf; the menus are a bit of an eyesore and the avatars look out of place with their cartoon aesthetics – although I adored the tutorial robot who was incredibly creepy with its staring eyes.

This disc golf title is far from a bad game. The simulation aspect gives it legs as there’s plenty to learn and master. I only wish the game’s visuals matched up with the depth found within the gameplay. For a fully-fledged sports title made by a small developer, Off the Chains: Disc Golf excels in many areas, but don’t expect it to be the next ‘pass the headset’ party game.

Despite my lack of talent, I enjoyed much of my time with this App Lab release. Sure, it could be improved in places, but, as with every game I play in VR, I try to leave my feelings to one condition: was it a fun experience? In this instance, yes. After lots of practice and plenty of playtime, I got better and started to score more birdies and par efforts. And when you do nail a throw, it feels great. Though I’ll forever lament my loss of turning pro at disc golf.