“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”- Neil Armstrong
One of the quotes that marked an important pillar for science, mankind and technology. Before this pillar was achieved, there was a lot of ignorance when it came to science in that era and it came with a bunch of failures. The Space Race to land a man on the Moon wasn’t an easy one, but eventually, America got there first. VR gaming is just like the Space Race, trying to be the first one there, the first one that can deliver an awesome game that includes good storytelling, interesting features, unique characters and pleasant gameplay. Of course, this race isn’t an easy one…
Before you read any further…
This review will consist out of 2 parts. The first part is my thoughts on “developers and their crazy way of developing” and my second part is a summary of my impressions of the VR game “Downward Spiral”
First part:
…because there are different elements to keep in mind. Developers are constantly pushing their boundaries with the technology that’s available to them. Virtual Gaming still has its baby shoes on and it’s the developer’s task to direct and redirect their VR baby into the right perspective. The gamers of this era are a tough crowd, we criticize a lot… We constantly want something to our liking and that’s where the developers are scared to innovate and releasing their products the way THEY want them to be. We should give them all our support and give feedback if we can, but it’s their job to release a decent game when they’re asking money for their product. Once developers ask for money, they have to give us a game and not a demo…
“Demo” in the dictionary: A version of something such as computer software produced to demonstrate its capabilities or for use as a trial. “There’s a demo to try before you buy”
…but developers have changed as well, they have become cocky and are convinced that we’ll buy anything that they present to us. Developers these days don’t release a full product anymore either it’s in the form of “future expansion packs”, “DLC”- packs, “Early Access” or “splitting up a game into different pieces”. I don’t think this is the right way. Gaming is a luxury and people play games for relaxation, to get their mind out of things and asking a big amount of money for an unfinished product, that’s just wrong. In some cases, splitting up a game into different sections or giving players access can become something great, if developers are willing to listen. Let a selection of people play your game, listen to their feedback, adapt and release top notch content. No harm’s done and it’s for the greater good but charging people for something that’s unfinished and not tweaked to “perfection” (in a way that’s possible) that’s just asking for trouble. Developers have this awful mindset about striving towards perfection. “We’ll patch the game up, when people notice our faults, who knows, maybe they’ll notice, maybe they don’t… we’ll see!”
But enough of these thoughts…
Second part:
The question still remains, will Downward Spiral: Prologue be our first man on the moon?
First man on the moon? Probably not, but it may become our first unmanned spaceship on the moon. If the developers, keep up the work and listen to feedback. Downward Spiral begins in an unknown space station/ space ship where you can clearly sense that something went wrong. The movement option is very limited, as you’re moving in a “no gravity”- zone and you’ll have to use your hands to grab onto stuff and swing yourself around. This becomes easier in the end when you’re retrieving a “thruster blaster”. This blaster fills itself with air and blasts the air out through small vents which gives your body a little bit of a thrust. You’re also able to equip a gun very fast, just in case some blasting droids come your way. The graphics are decent and the movement feature is a nice touch but it sometimes feels very clunky. In the beginning, you’re constantly grabbing your environment and swing from A to B, but when you’re able to get the “thruster blaster” movements become simple.
You have an inventory which can be accessed by the touchpad. Selecting and using your trigger will allow you to equip/ unequip equipment with the touch of a button. Each hand can hold a different item. In this episode, you’ll be able to use a gun, light stick and the thruster gun. The atmosphere seems cool since you’re thrown into the dark literally and try to make sense out of everything in your environment. It was a fun experience but it was short-lived, it will take you around 20 minutes to finish. The game only offers some “target practice”, “grabbing”, “button pressing” and “opening doors”. Hopefully, we’ll be seeing some more puzzling in the future and a bit more information on what’s happening. I’m excited about the next part but I do hope for some more content because otherwise, I wouldn’t recommend the game. It’s the prologue, so I have to be mild and consider the idea that more will come but this doesn’t feel like it’s worth the money… yet! This feels more like a demo or showing off their technical capabilities.
Conclusion:
If you’re planning on buying this game, I wouldn’t recommend it, not at this moment because it lacks content. Wait for it, until there’s more content to experience. We’ll be keeping you informed, as the game develops itself.
To be continued…
For now, I’ll give it the following score:
