Now it feels like there are two system seller VR games. Unfortunately, they are on completely different platforms.
I want this game.
There way more than 2 great games. And if any is a system seller that's probably Beat Saber, not the two you mean, lol. Anyway, it's wrong to just look at what some media hype as THE killer apps and miss out on everything else, VR is a medium with tons more great stuff to offer.
I love VR and wish to promote it any way I can (see PC VR thread) but this game was underwhelming to me. People can hype it all they want if they like it but we don't need to put it on a pedestal above all other great VR experiences which are then considered inferior when they may simply be different! Especially if that means some people might try it, see it's not their thing after all for whatever reason, then believe VR as a whole has nothing for them yet if its "best" didn't do it until the next "best" comes. Whether that's an Astro Bot or an Asgard's Wrath or whatever else.
Anyway, I think Journey of the Gods is a better game (it's pretty comparable since it does so many of the same things, even the "god mode" gameplay). It's far more modest in scope, scale and visuals but it's also a "complete" package and every aspect of it compliments the next so it remains fun to the end. The combat in particular which you do a lot of in both feels better, maybe with simpler mechanics but they all work as intended every time and it never feels off after you get to grips with it, the impact/damage points in Asgard's Wrath never feel quite right to me compared to almost any other reputable game with melee combat. Indie RPGs like Vengeful Rites play better in my opinion but they do lack in the amount of content and the feel of a cohesive adventure (the way Vanishing Realms separates chapters in particular is laughably bad and Vengeful Rites isn't far behind).
Karnage Chronicles can also be a better game if they ever finish it/add enough content. It has solid combat, cool dungeons, some loot aspects, but just too little content for now and I'm not sure they have the means to add enough to make it feel like a "complete package" or if it will end up feeling cut short like the games mentioned above only to be clumsily expanded later if at all (no problems with expansions as long as they feel right and not like a game that was abruptly cut up in pieces and broke its cohesiveness at the same time).
Anyway, in the end I don't think the amount of content and the high production values overcome Asgard's Wrath's low points which are found in many areas, from the combat system to the inventory system to the puzzle and level design to every single facet of it. I can't recommend it.
I hope Stormland is better but it does appear to be so, with Asgard's Wrath my fears from all the footage were confirmed when I played it, with Stormland I have far less fears as it looks to be way better designed for what it attempts to do and far more focused on being a great game than being a flashy VR experience with lots of novel-the-first-time-only "touches" (which it also manages mind).
Other "complete experience" type games on the horizon I feel will do things better overall (in their own way/genre/whatever) are Espire 1, Panther VR, Phantom: Covert Ops possibly, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, Medal of Honor, maybe Sniper Elite, Vertigo 2 and others.
Existing "complete experience" type games I think are better are games like Windlands 2, The Wizards, Lone Echo, Budget Cuts, or even multiplayer games like Vox Machinae, Contractors, Space Junkies, Sparc and Echo VR/Arena/Combat thanks to their polish and intuitive/fun systems.
I don't think "smaller" scale games like SUPERHOT VR or Beat Saber or The Thrill of the Fight or Ultrawings lack in value for not being open world/free roaming/whatever either, they serve their intent well and provide tons of fun and playability with great design without feeling like tech demos like Blade & Sorcery and other wave attack type stuff might (I still like some wave attack games like Raw Data where the levels/progression are more complex and less static than say, Space Pirate Trainer though) . The same goes for rogue-lite games like In Death which I've played tons.
And then there are the VR Compatible (as opposed to VR Only) games to mention too, like Elite Dangerous (cockpit game, use with proper space game controls, hotas, joystick or gamepad at worst), DiRT Rally (another cockpit game, for obvious reasons), No Man's Sky (great port), Skyrim VR (which works pretty good, unlike Fallout 4 VR), etc. There are also some truly (for real, not like legit games are accused of being) tech demo-ish experiences that are too early to call full games at the moment but are already worth your while if you're into that like VTOL VR and A Township Tale.
In short, there's no shortage of varied, great VR experiences for me. And I can play non VR games too of course, those haven't stopped being fun. I don't need to settle for Asgard's Wrath just because it appears to be one of a kind from certain very particular points of view just like the pitfalls of Shadow Legend didn't leave me as impressed as most people that hyped it to hell and back (though it's probably more impressive for not having an Oculus backed budget and such and it does have clever elements).
Well that's my 2 cents but maybe I don't have your average VR user's taste as I also wasn't impressed with the Star Wars Vader games (well, experiences, they're not even in the games section) either, to me they were a far clumsier Lone Echo type experience with way less to do and see in far dodgier ways (go stand here on this glowy floor bit or you can't trigger progress or interact with the target object etc.) and the dojo wasn't enough to save it (the lightsaber wasn't
that well done).
Basically I agree with much of the
VR Scout (p?)review though they also seem to avoid putting it down as much as it deserves out of some obligation to help such high caliber VR games do well to help promote the medium as a whole. It seems to be the case with most of the VR focused media which simply can't remain objective I guess. Me, I'll do that when I feel they deserve it for the results, not the possible intent. Sanzaru proved again that they have a lot to learn about game design, gameplay design, level design and VR in general. It also sucks that as mentioned by others we already have games that do this or that aspect (if not the whole) a lot better and they could have learned from it all but chose not to.
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