Some VR games almost sell themselves when you see their premise. Put the player in a strange workplace, fill the room with buttons, gadgets, and odd creatures, and let them cause a bit of chaos with their own two hands in Rick and Morty style. Space Control has exactly that kind of premise. It wants to be part sci-fi comedy, part interactive cartoon, and part workplace simulator, all wrapped in a ridiculous corporate space setting.
That is a strong starting point. VR is at its best when it lets you physically enter a world rather than simply watch one from the outside. Space Control understands that on a basic level, and during its better moments, it does feel like you have stepped into a strange animated show where everyone around you is slightly unhinged. This Rick and Morty-type humor fits the game pretty well, especially since you’ll get the weirdest jobs to do. The problem is that the game often feels more interested in pushing that humor instead of actually letting you become an important part of the madness.
A weird job in a weird universe
The world of Space Control is easily its strongest asset. The game drops you into a bizarre sci-fi workplace where alien co-workers, corporate nonsense, and absurd assignments all come together. It has the kind of setup that can carry a lot of comedy, especially in VR, where even simple actions can become funny when the objects and characters around you are strange enough. There is charm in the presentation, and it reminded me of the better Rick and Morty situations or High on Life. A big part of that is because the cast has personality, the setting has a clear identity, and the voice acting really sells the tone. The story itself and its writing feel a bit lackluster, but the voice action gives the game that weird energy it needs. You’d better prepare for a lot of random monologues and dialogues. The game loves to give its characters the time they need to be as weird as possible.
The humor is more hit-and-miss if I’m being honest. Sometimes the absurdity works, mostly when it comes from the situation itself or from the strange logic of the world. Other times, the jokes feel too easy and even forced, leaning on crude punchlines rather than aiming for more clever timing. I don’t mind stupid humor when it is delivered well, but here it does not always have enough punch to carry the longer dialogue-heavy stretches.
Touch everything
That being said, my biggest issue with Space Control is that its interactivity is more limited than the premise suggests. You can grab things, throw things around, operate simple tools, and mess with parts of the environment, which gives the game a pleasant tactile quality. At first, that’s enough and might even feel a bit overwhelming. It’s fun to simply exist in this world and see what reacts to your touch. On a control level, I’m not complaining; it’s all very natural and as immersive as they come. After a while, though, the routine becomes too clear. You listen to dialogue, perform a small task, wait for the next instruction, then repeat the process. The actions themselves are usually easy to understand, but they rarely evolve into something more interesting. There is very little pressure, very little consequence, and not enough room for improvisation.
That is a shame, because this kind of concept almost begs for controlled chaos. A bad day at work in space should feel messy. Machines should break, mistakes should have bigger consequences, characters should respond to your failures, and the game should make you juggle tasks until everything starts to fall apart. Instead, Space Control often guides you from one interaction to the next with little resistance. It is that it’s boring or predictable all the time. There are moments where the physical comedy works, and some tasks are silly enough to raise a smile. But the game rarely builds towards a real reward. It gives you plenty of props, but not enough systems to make those props feel more than just props or things to mess around with.
This could have been a fun show
What surprised me most is how passive Space Control can feel. For a VR title, that is a risky place to be. The whole appeal of the medium is presence, and while the game does place you inside its world, it does not always give you enough agency within it. This creates a strange tension. As an animated comedy, Space Control has enough personality to keep you curious. As a game, it feels thin. The interactive parts are not bad, but they often feel like pauses or fillers between dialogue rather than the core of the experience. When the writing is working, that balance is easier to accept. When it isn’t, you start noticing how little the game is asking from you.
I kept waiting for the moment where everything would open up, where the tasks would become more demanding, or where my performance would impact the scene in some small way. That moment never really arrived. The game remains light, guided, and fairly safe from beginning to end.
Visually, Space Control does a good job of establishing its cartoon sci-fi identity. It is not one of the most impressive Meta Quest games from a technical standpoint, but it has enough color and character to make its world feel lived-in and believable. There are some rough edges. Certain animations and interactions can feel a little awkward, and the overall polish does not always match the ambition of the concept. None of this breaks the game, but it does remind you that the experience is, once again, more modest than its premise first suggests.
I don’t dislike Space Control. In fact, there are parts of it I genuinely wanted to like more. The universe has potential, the cast has enough charm, and the basic idea of doing ridiculous space jobs in VR is a good one. The issue is that the game feels too pleased with being lightly interactive. For players who mainly want a short, silly VR comedy, there is enough here to enjoy. It is easy to play, it has a clear premise, and it does not overcomplicate itself. But if you are expecting a deeper workplace simulator, a chaotic multitasking game, or something with real mechanical escalation, Space Control will probably feel underwhelming.
Conclusion:
Space Control has personality, a fun sci-fi setup, and solid voice work, but it never becomes as interactive or chaotic as it promises to be. The world is fun to visit, and the humor works most of the time. That being said, the physical interactions lack variation to stay fun for longer periods of time. Overall, I think that the simple tasks and passive pacing hold the game back too much. In the end, it works better in short bursts than as a full game.
