Recent reviews by Virtuix_Marmot

I'm now ready to run a Fortune 500 company.

I love that there’s no tutorial in this game. Instead, the first stage conditions you to complete the objective, while the use of symbolism gives you something to ponder. I like the environments, music, and the payoff is satisfying.

This is a superior creepy mansion game. I've played a few of these, and this is my favourite so far. It didn't get off to the best start with the weirdly grey visuals, but that was a quick fix in the graphics menu - brightness 100% gamma 25%. The lack of IK is only a problem at first - once you realize it's not estimating the orientation of your arms you just don't bend your wrists much. I completed it in one session of about 2 hours and 10 minutes. I was not bored, as the mansion is suitably creepy, and I felt compelled to keep going and find a way out before I ran out of torch batteries - this was a really good mechanic IMO. I was only stuck for a few minutes, and the maps did help me towards the end of the game - but almost all the way through I was just hunting through the rooms collecting the things I needed to progress the story, not having to concentrate too hard or solve puzzles. It's not an action game, as clearly stated on the store page, so don't expect to shoot zombies, but there are enough jump scares here to keep you on edge, without getting too scary. Here's a video of the first 8 minutes, so it's spoiler free: https://youtu.be/HKKlDyEkr8k

I've been hoping someone would release a VR athletics game, and by Jove here it is!

Pros:
Runs silky smooth for me
Good locomotion - I'm not having to do anything unnatural with my hands, just move them as I would while I'm running
The throwing feels believable
Great crowd noises and nice to see 3D human models up there, really adds to the sense of presence
Good variety of events so far, with more coming (pole vault!!!)
Has some character customization options
I like the giant screen up in the arena (which is huge BTW)
Reasonable loading times

Cons
Still waiting for my medal, and sponsorship from a clothing company

10/10 would become a VR athlete again!

Some gameplay here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyYlc7XQB5Q

One of the best single-player VR games I've played! Just look at the trailers, they give a good account of what to expect in the game. This is a fun arcade shooter - you are not going to be slowed down by fetch-quests, a long intro / tutorial section, story cinematics, puzzles, etc.

Pros:
+ Not a wave shooter!
+ Non-stop arcade action - you will be shooting missles out of the air, and taking down attack choppers
+ Varied levels and enemies
+ Easy to play, hard to master - lives system lets you progress quite far through the level as a beginner, but the boss will probably kill you!
+ Great animations and cool visual style, reminiscent of Time Crisis, Metal Gear Solid
+ Some really good gameplay mechanics like the arcade classic "shoot power-ups to collect them"
+ Power-ups - e.g. your hands will morph into plasma cannons!
+ Challenging, impressive boss battles
+ Voice acting gives it that extra arcade feel

Cons:
Minor things like graphical glitches - I will leave these in the discussion section, as the developer will probably fix them but then I'll forget to update my review!

Playthrough of the three levels available at time of writing:

Level 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Stbzo5yR4SI
Level 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypS-FtWf9BA
Level 3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McCmpaekPwo

Each was the first time I beat that level, so I'm not playing that great yet.

10/10 - more levels please!

First Person Tennis is the best tennis game I've played - the stadiums are highly detailed, with modelled line judges, umpire, ball boys, spectators, and even camera crew; it looks great in VR, and it's hugely fun to play, as you'd expect. It brings back memories of Wii Sports Tennis, only this is the 1:1 racket control we wished we had back in 2006. It's packed with features inluding a choice of Arcade or Simulator mode, and more on the way including multiplayer for VR and new movement options, which I'm looking forward to. The developer is extremely responsive, as you can see. This is a game I know I'll come back to again and again, so I am very happy with the purchase. 10/10.

I found this to be a short but powerfully emotional and involving journey to a place I thought I would never go. With the Chernobyl VR Project, The Farm 51 have shown that virtual reality is capable of superseding television as the ultimate entertainment and informational medium. I believe this is a landmark achievement, and will inspire others to exploit the potential of VR for education and awareness. While some other reviews are quite critical regarding the video resolution, I found it did not prevent me from getting a sense of the place, and surely this is offset by the impressive scanned environments in the explorable areas. Indeed, physically exploring these scenes added immensely to the feeling of being there. I look forward to The Farm 51's future projects!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9SzvaG9j5g

I love this game.

PROS:
Performs very well on my 'VR ready' PC - smooth with high frame rates.
Looks gorgeous.
Nice music.
Refreshingly non-violent, emotional journey; with some really magical and relaxing sections.
Supports the Vive HMD natively.
Supports WASD input so I can use the Virtuix Omni and move naturally without sim-sickness.
Can quickly switch between levels from the outset.

CONS:
A recent update seems to have introduced a bug on the first level that makes my POV too high - hope that'll get fixed soon.
Doesn't have hand tracking via the Vive controllers (it was developed before these were available, so that's understandable).
The puzzle solving may not be to everyone's liking (this is not an action game, and is focussed on atmosphere - it may feel sparse to some), but I enjoy it and for me this game is more about the feels anyway.
Doesn't use the Omni's SDK for fully-decoupled navigation (this has only just been released, so wouldn't expect it to yet).
One of the mechanics in the game (where you get flung across distances by something) isn't very VR friendly, but again this game was not originally developed for VR, so this is to be expected.

Be aware this game has free-roaming locomotion (the best kind!) and so you may experience sim-sickness if you don't have a motion platform like the Virtuix Omni. Unfortunately, some people may be giving this game a worse review than it deserves because A) They're not playing it in VR, so not getting the atmosphere, B) They're playing it in VR but without a motion platform so they're getting sick. Not criticizing those reviews, just noting it's a bit sad to see this game get a lower score than I would expect from my experience of it.

I recommend getting an Omni to play this (and many other games), so you can turn off the chaperone lines safely, and there is even a way to remove the floor outline for maximum immersion. Here's a video of me playing some of the levels with it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOqRw1tiUO0


Overall, this is a must-have title for the HTC Vive.

9/10