Recent reviews by St1mpy

Bridges can be hard to build (and expensive), and the AI (and audio quips) can be very annoying. Other than that a solid game in the same vein as OpenTTD and more so Railroads!

This is like a Michael Cera film set in a Vector zootopia.

More specifically I'd say it's half way between Juno and Scott Pilgrim Saves the World.

I really like it, and the game description doesn't really do it justice. It is easy to play, and has made me laugh, cry and grin stupidly all in the first hour.

This is a tower defense game at its simplest and most refined. 15 levels, with tower placement locations around the map. However depending on the map only 5 or so of these are useful.

From what I have played your tower choice does actually matter though, with different enemies having specific vulnerabilities. For example armored kittens need high powered laser beams. Some kittens run fast and you need fast firing weaponry to take them down. There are many upgrade paths, although some of the towers are very similar visually, and it is unclear which upgrades are available.

The navigation is what makes this unique. You can free move round the whole map. This isn't very accessible however, as it requires a bit of time to get used to the motion. It will make you sick at first if you make the wrong movements, but through negative re-enforcement, you learn to stop doing things that make you sick. You are entirely in control so it works!

I am about 5 levels in, and typically keep my play sessions to one level max.


It is very satisfying to see your base as a scale model and then zoom into ground level and back up again at will. It feels like the kind of thing VR was made for as when zoomed out, units appear as toys, and then appear as full-size cats.

The guns are well modelled, and the environments are detailed, if a little too 'sand and rock' based for the time being. Like I said, I am not too far in, but maybe it improves later on.

The sound is good, with technical issues I will mention later.


I am having audio-problems on a freshly formatted PC with the Vive audio output. This is on the latest OS, with a GTX1080. Maybe the issue is my 2700k sandy-bridge is a bit out of date and is a bottleneck, but the crackly audio is an issue.

There are no bosses in this game so far. Maybe they have yet to come, but a main feature of tower defense for me is stronger units which take way more damage, with unique models/skins. This would break up the gameplay as the waves can get a bit repetetive.

Also it does take a bit long for the game to get going. You start with only 2 or 3 turrets and no upgrades, but the scope expands after about 3 maps.

Also, this is a VR that has lots of standard interface elements. IMHO we should be pushing for interfaces which are not boxes on screens, but that is a personal gripe with the current crop of VR games more than anything.

Okay, my first review wasn't very helpful apparently, so here goes again.

Do not buy this game for the Vive support.

If you liked WipeOut, F-Zero those kind of games, and are fine playing it on a monitor, then I recommend it. You will enjoy this game.

But if you saw the Vive logo, and want a proper game in VR as opposed to the many short experiences available, this is not it

1. Vive support is lack-luster. There is no room-scale here. It is a seated experience with no motion controls. A wireless gamepad is needed. Loading screens appear like a sticker stuck on a bike helmet, and random spurts of the VR dashboard.
   
2. This game is badly optimised for VR. Whilst my PC can run 4k content, it struggled on the Vive with many settings turned down.
   
3. Extreme Motion Sickness. I am not being dramatic by saying I had to recouperate in bed after playing this game. If you know or have achieved VR legs, then maybe you will be able to handle it, but I ended up with sweatiness, nausua, itchiness, dizzyness. I have played many other VR experiences just fine, but without a constant frame of reference, it just made me feel sick. Not pleasant to play at all.
   
4. No 3rd person view at all. This game is 1st person only on the Vive. The ship designs may be lovely, but I had no visbility of my own ship.

Notice I haven't said anything about the gameplay itself, but that is not why I am writing this review. I was able to manage 17 minutes before I needed a breather.

I wish there was a third option between yes and no. This game is okay! That's it. There are lots of free flash and HTML games that don't get any attention, but VR is new and shiny. :)

Yes, it is free, and yes I feel guilty giving it a thumbs down. It's a free game when we are solely lacking in free VR content.

But once the magic has died down, you are left realizing that it in essesnce a virtual jigsaw puzzle with a slighly condescending commentator.

If you have spare time, by all means give it a play, but ultimately there isn't much here. Plenty of items to pick up and interact with, but there is very little that serves a purpose other than the (admitidly kind of cool) skeleton.

Specific thoughts. The tutorial is very 'drawn-out'. Although you may understand what to do, you can construct the whole skeleton before he has finished telling you how to put the head in place. I would recommend giving up on the tutorial if the rib-cage has been used.

Oh, and I barely used the reference chart. It's easier just to bash things together till they turn green given the sense of urgency of a timer.

Maybe guide the player put it together once at his own pace, and then once he has completed it suggest using the timer.

The ranged interaction with the pointer and trigger, is not very inuitive either. It serves its purpose of allowing you to interact with things outside your chaperone, but the effect is very dramatic, and disconcerning.

Don't worry about the locked cabinets, there is nothing in them yet. I stuck my head in.

Please don't be offended, there is promise here, and it is very polished, but ultimately very shallow.

You play as a Dinosaur. You get stars to unlock levels. You jet-pack around and the controls are really good.

This game is worth it!