Recent reviews by THIEVIUS FOX

I feel that the devs behind Oodlescape have a lot of potential, but I think they can do something a little bit better than this.

First of all, the Minecraft style graphics are fresh and definitely gives the game a uniqueness that you don't see much of these days in VR games. The lighting is surprisingly great. The enviroment (aka the room you try to escape from) feels well constructed and I can see the time and effort that they've put into making it into something that doesn't feel bland and boring.

But unfortunately when it comes to the actual puzzle solving part of the game there doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason as to what you're doing. In most escape room games there's a rhythm to what you're doing: solve a minor puzzle which gives you access to some tool that helps in the next minor puzzle which gives you another tool or clue to the next minor puzzle, etc. In Oodlescape it was just kind of a random mess.

Right off the bat I knew I had to find 5 items that had letters on them that I would have to plug in into a machine that would allow me to escape. Finding the letters wasn't a problem at all (and to avoid possible spoilers I'm going to skip on how I got them) and I got all 5 of them within the first 15 minutes or so. A problem arose when I had to plug them into the machine... I, for the life of me, could not figure out which order they go into and I spent the next 30 minutes searching high and low in this room desperately trying to find some sort of hint and found nothing.
It was at this moment when I realized that I couldn't recommend the game, not because I couldn't solve the the combination of letters, but because there was no rhyme or reason to what I was doing, there was no rhythm to what I was doing.
When it comes to escape room games you want to be following a challenging trail of bread crumbs; meaning, you don't want the game to hold your hand, but you also want to experience that eureka moment when you overcome a challenging puzzle and have that excitement drive you into the next puzzle or objective. I didn't get that at all. I solved the scattered challenges around me with no problems, then hit a brick wall with the letters.
No rhythm, no eurekas.

BUT, I'm still very much interested in seeing what else comes from these developers. I feel everything was executed very well, up until the actual puzzles. I strongly believe that if the devs can make a more rhythmic puzzle solving experience that it'll be a hit.

I am really disappointed to say I cannot recommend this game.
Everything about it looked great in the videos! Graphics looked good, environment was underwater which reminded me of Bioshock, it looked like a horror game which I love. So everything looked like it was good to go so what happened?

Well first thing is the graphics. While the graphics itself is not the deal breaker, on the highest graphic settings everything was just a blur making it hard to read text and, overall, the blur just made it difficult to feel immersed.

Graphics aside there is a fair amount of bugs. From things glitching, being able to see through certain textures and walls, locomotion controls not working like it should, and some others. For the price I was expecting something polished and so far that wasn't what I was getting.

So what was the final deal breaker for me, and keep in mind it might just be that I'm an idiot, but I could not figure out what to friggin do. The tutorial gave you a rundown of the controls, but nothing on how to encounter enemies, weapons, what you're objective is, etc.
*Possible Spoilers Ahead* So I'm in the first area you start in, alarms are going off, "Evacuate", so "okay let's get the hell out of here". Open a door, put out a fire, end up in a hallway. One end is blocked, no way to get through, the other end has a door I can open, "okay lets open the door". Open the door, mermaid is standing right there, freaks me out, kills me. Start all over thinking maybe I run away from it and try to hide and eventually sneak by? Lets try it. Open the door, there's the mermaid, but it turns out the game prevents you from running away and I die. Okay, so I find something that kinda looks like a weapon thinking maybe I can kill it, I open the door, mermaid kills me again, doesn't work. So I walk around in circles trying to find SOMETHING to help me out and after awhile I find a locked axe. PERFECT! If I find the code I can kill the mermaid with this axe. Find the code, grab the axe, go to the door, open annnnnddd mermaid kills me again... axe did nothing. F*CK!! So what the hell is this axe for?! So I spend another 5 minutes walking around the small area trying to axe things and nothing works. At this point I'm almost 30 minutes in and I'm done. I spent $20 on this game I had high hopes for and I'm not having the slighest bit of fun, and it was so disappointing.

So here's the tl;dr: The game is not finished. Graphics need improvement. Bugs need to be fixed. And most importantly I need some kind of idea as to what in the hell I am suppose to do. I can appreciate not holding the players hand, but sometimes there's comes a point where pointing me in the right direction can go a long way.

Homebound is by far one of the best looking VR experiences I have ever seen. Running on ultra with a 2.00 supersampling really made this game shine. Absolutely beautiful. If you have a decent rig and decide to do maybe high settings with lower supersampling the game will still look good for you.

Controls are about what you would expect for being a floating-in-space sim, a little tricky but you get it after awhile.
The whole entire part of the game where sh*t hits the fan was breathtaking and nerve racking. I was so immersed that when alarms started going off I was in a panic! I had to survive.

The only down side to this game is that there are some bugs. Some minor ones here and there like with your hands disappearing, but I did encounter a pretty big bug towards the end and if a dev is reading this I would really appreciate the support. Basically what happened was after I got back to the shuttle I was still given an old previous objective to fix something, went to the item and nothing could be done. I eventually found the escape pod, hopped in, a cut scene played and then it went dark. I waited awhile and my controllers went crazy with vibration, but nothing else loaded. I restarted the game but now I had no sound, I had sound from everythig else just not the game which forced me to restart my computer to resolve the issue.

All of that aside! This game is fantastic and the price point is a gift and beyond fair for what you get out of this game. It's a short experience, but one that you will definitely want to show to your friends.

New Retro Arcade: Neon is hands down one of the best and most unique titles I have come across in my time with my Vive.
NRA:N is allows you to take a blast to the past and plugs you directly into a high end aracade from the late 80's/ early 90's. From there you can play from 30 arcade cabinets, 18 console cartridges, and 10 handheld games from your childhood. When you're done spending hours in your favorite arcade games there's also skeeball, bowling, hoops, air hocket, and a custom movie theatre. Do it all alone or jump online and play with friends. This game has it all.

The game does asks a bit more from it's consumer, requiring you to download the ROM files, artwork, videos, controller schemes, etc. yourself (to avoid legal issues on their end), but once you take the time to fill the cabinets and cartridges with your library of classic games you have yourself an amazing nostaligia trip that no other form of media can provide.

The first time I got NRA:N loaded up and ready to go I spent 3 hours straight in there playing classic games from my childhood like Mortal Kombat, Time Crisis, Donkey Kong Country, Street Fighter 2, and so much more. To me nothing could beat that feeling of being a kid again and spending hours in an arcade.

NRA:N has now become one of my go-to games for demoing the Vive right alongside theBlu, Old Friend, and the Lab.
You cannot go wrong with this title. The time I spent into getting all the ROMs, artwork, controls, etc. was definitely tedious, but was well worth it in the end. Beautiful and polished graphics and lighting, bumping 80's like techno music, and hours of custom made content makes New Retro Arcade: Neon a must have for any 80's or 90's kid.

My experience with Containment Initiative has been limited to only the asymmetric multiplayer section, but, with that said, Conatinment Initiative manages to be one of the top local multiplayer games that a Vive owner could have in their library.
What you have is fairly simple: The HMD user is on the ground playing one of two game modes where they either survive increasing hordes of zombies or fetch supplies around a city while an increasing number of zombies appear. The pc player has the task to protect the HMD player from injury from the undead using a sniper rifle. What's great about the game is that there are various maps with their own specific objective, you earn money depending on how well you do, and with that money you can purchase upgrades for both the HMD and PC user so nothing ever gets old. My buddy and I would catch ourselves saving up for a new assualt rifle, but in the end determining that an upgraded sniper rifle might be a better investment. It's this progression system that keeps the game fresh, challenging, and rewarding in a market of coop VR titles where this depth is lacking.
For an early access title created by a small team, this game has so much potential.
There was been complaints about some bugs, as far as I know I haven't come across any.
I saw a complaint about graphics, but one of the things I love about the graphics is that they remind me of an early PS2 game and while some might see that as a huge deal breaker, I embrace it and love that sort of nostalgia it brings.
Another complain I saw was that in the map where the HMD can move around and gather supplies that it was a let down that the PC player could not move around. I personally feel that this static position adds to the difficulty in a good way as I believe the game would be too easy if you could move around.
I understand that my opinions might be the minority here, but for a small team this is some fantastic work. What you have here is a simple, enjoyable, and a unique gameplay experience for friends that has plenty of replay value to it. I know I only have a little less than a hour and a half of time put into it at the time of me writing this review, but I see my friends and I playing this game for hours to come.

Kindled Cavern is a very enjoyable and relaxing experience. The art style is straight up cute (for lack of a better term) and is very pleasing in it's own artistic uniqueness. At most the game will take you half an hour to complete, the puzzles are fun, require a little bit of thinking, but overall doesn't present anything too challenging. Overall is it worth your money? For $4.50 you don't have much to lose, I enjoyed my time in the cavern and will definitely be showing this to friends and family who enjoy puzzles.

In short time I was playing I was having a blast. The game is like a combination between Unturned and a classic Arcade Cabinet Shooter. Really solid, satisfying gameplay.

Don't understand the mix reviews for this game.. Graphics are amazing, 3 different fun mini games to keep things fresh and enjoyable, awesome atmosphere, and oh.. IT'S FREE!! You have nothing to lose unless you truely value 20 minutes of your time.

With just under 15 minutes of gameplay (time may vary depending on nerves), The Bellows is a great demo that leaves you wanting more. If you're a Vive owner and have been curious as to what a true horror experience would feel like for you, well now's your chance. The atmosphere and sound design is top notch, took me 3 trys to leave the first room because I was just so immersed and terrified, I kept turning it off. Unfortunately the full release does not have the same effect, so the demo is your better choice.

If you were ever curious as to how Micky felt during "Fantasia 2000" well here's your chance.. but replace it with neon "Tron" colors and a set of HIGH tempo songs and you have yourself a one-of-a-kind experience!!! I was a little hesitant paying for this, but I'm so glad. By FAR my favorite VR game out of the 32 I've played!
You get so immersed into the music, I felt like I was some kind of "future cyber DJ" and I LOVE THAT!! I'm moving around everywhere, dancing, and punching, it's insane. I work up quite the workout, at the end I catch myself sweating and eager to drop the next beat.
Recommend for ALL music enthusiast!