I’ve seen the future. I’ve been gaming for almost my entire life and it happens rarely that a game catches me by surprise. Rez Infinite had that honor, it showed me something I haven’t seen before. It’s a very spectacular game that benefits from Virtual Reality in ways I didn’t think were possible. Since the very first day I entered the virtual world of Rez, I fell in love, I’m returning to the chaotic mesmerizing world on a daily basis and I want to see more every time. Rez Infinite is the perfect example of what a PlayStation VR game should be.
Welcome back Rez
Rez Infinite isn’t a new game, it once started as a Dreamcast game that was ported to the PlayStation 2 and later Xbox 360. Rez Infinite marks the return of the franchise on PlayStation and is actually a remaster of the first one. If you’ve played it before, you know what to expect. If you haven’t, prepare to be blown away!
First things first, Rez Infinite isn’t a VR-only game, you can perfectly enjoy the game without having to buy the rather expensive PSVR. Rez is an on-rail shooter set inside a futuristic ‘supernetwork’ computer. The AI of the system (Eden) needed to collect as many data as possible. Eden became overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge she gathered on the network, resulting in her doubting her existence. In order to solve her problem, she forced the supernetwork to shut down. This would have disastrous consequences for the entire world. It’s up to the player to infiltrate the network and destroy any viruses or firewalls along the way. It’s a rather familiar story if you’re a fan
It’s a rather familiar story if you’re a fan of sci-fi movies but Rez Infinite handles it perfectly. You won’t get a lot of information before you enter the last world. In here, the truth will be revealed and you’ll be left behind with doubts and wonder. It’s an amazing performance and we can only recommend everybody to play it in Virtual Reality, since it makes everything so much better!
Enter the virtual world
If Rez Infinite is your first Virtual Reality game, it can be a bit overwhelming. Rez is filled with vibrant colors, tons of enemies and great music. If you’re used to Virtual Reality on the other hand, this is one of the first games to really demonstrate the power and potential of this new technique. Once you enter the world of Rez, it feels like you walked into some kind of TRON world on steroids.
This is the future!
You start off with a basic character but the more you advance, the more your character will advance as well. By defeating enemies and grabbing upgrades along the way, your character will ‘transform’, giving you a new design and one extra life. It works like the rings work for Sonic, meaning that you’ll lose some of your power again when an enemy hits you. And that will happen a lot since there’s no way to block their attacks.
As said before, Rez Infinite is an on-rail shooter with only one catch, offense is your only defense. Unlike other popular on-rails shooters, you can’t dodge or block an attack, the only way to do so is by shooting it down. Shooting happens when you release the X-button after you targeted up to eight different characters. Locking those enemies in VR works like a dream, you just need to turn your head, look at an enemy and automatically lock onto him. You can still use your controller if you please but turning your head works significantly faster and better.
To make things even more intense, Rez Infinite is a 360-degree shooter, meaning your enemies can appear everywhere in the world. By turning your head around, you can look behind you or lock onto that enemy that was trying to flee. Again, it’s a very intense experience but I never suffered from motion sickness or pain in my neck. It really is incredible that the developers managed to create such an intense and yet ‘safe’ Virtual Reality.
Those bosses will blow your mind
The arcade mode is the first mode you’ll be able to play and it’s the most important one as well. It’s not a very long mode, only including five levels but if you manage to reach the end, you’ll have fought hard battles. Each level is divided into ten stages, the tenth featuring a giant boss to bring down. It doesn’t sound like much but Rez Infinite isn’t an easy game whatsoever. You’ll need to trust on your reflexes in order to bring those enemies down and the bosses will likely take multiple attempts to defeat. If you don’t like to be challenged, you can switch the damage off to experience the game without game over screens.
If you’re struggling too much, there’s no shame in using this option since the world of Rez Infinite is definitely worth exploring. The bosses are very challenging and truly are impressive in Virtual Reality. If you see those giant bosses right in front of you, you’ll feel small and weak. Fighting those can result in some very intense scenes filled with explosions and vibrant colors. If you’re sensitive to sound or light, this isn’t something you’ll like but most of the players will truly enjoy this true immersion for sure.
Besides the arcade mode, the developers also included the so-called ‘Beyond’ mode. In here, you’ll play some conceptual levels that demonstrate how a new, Virtual Reality-only, Rez would look like. These levels are fun to play and offer a more open approach since you’re no longer bound to the on-rails mechanism. If that still isn’t enough, you can also compete in the addictive score attack mode.
Incredible music
Probably the best part of Rez Infinite is its brilliant music. Each level starts as a single layered music piece, but the more you advance, the more layers are added. When you reach the later levels of the stages, you’ll be hearing incredible tunes that even assist you by pointing out in what kind of rhythm you should take out the enemies. If you manage to time your attacks exactly with the music, you’ll enter that momentum the Rez franchise got famous for. You can literally lose yourself in the music.
Conclusion:
Rez Infinite is a very impressive game that truly benefits from the PlayStation VR. Thanks to the device, you can truly lose yourself to the incredible futuristic world of Rez. The music, graphics and gameplay are all perfectly adapted to the Virtual Reality experience and it’s a feeling you simply can’t explain on paper. The game is playable without VR but there’s no way around it, Rez Infinite is one of the best Virtual Reality games on the market and you should try it out as soon as you got the chance!
