I’ve been playing the last couple days, and this game is a complete VR masterpiece. The graphics, the controls, the gameplay, all chef’s kiss.
I don’t care if you like the horror genre or not (I was never a fan), if you don’t pick this game up for $29.99, you are missing out on the best reason to get a PSVR2 and maybe any VR headset right now.
It may very well be an awesome game that is quite playable in VR, but after having played the RE4 demo, I definitely wouldn’t call it the best VR game in existence. It looks amazing and most likely is more than worth the money, but I noticed a few things that bothered me in the short demo time:
- reprojection is quite noticeable when looking around (runs great though)
- hardly any objects can be interacted with (only ammo & resources)
- No manually opening doors/cupboards, climbing ladders (button presses and/or cutscenes)
- 2D cutscenes and 3rd person VR cutscenes, which takes you out of the experience quite suddenly (I much preferred the 1st person VR cutscenes in RE8)
- Putting one shell in the Shotgun completely reloads it. I really liked the reloading in RE8, where he holds multiple shells in one hand and you just do the “pushing in”-motion to reload it
- No coat inventory, flashlight goes on automatically (loved the coat and in RE8)
I’d probably stop thinking about all of this while playing it, but I was definitely somewhat disappointed during the demo. In many VR-design aspects it feels like a step back from RE8 and I would’ve expected it to be at least on the same level, if not better (and 30 bucks is still something to think about).
I’m still happy they made the port and sooner or later I’ll definitely play it, but there’s loads of other games right now (Vertigo 2 and Asgards wrath coming out in a few days, still playing Assassins Creed, and tons of smaller games) and maybe there’s going to be another sale sooner or later.
All these may seem like nitpicks and I can certainly enjoy a game despite them, but watch this video on some of the HL:A game design aspects. It’s on a whole different level.
All fair points, I think I was desensitized to most of them in RE8 as I didn’t even consider any of them in RE4. The graphics and gameplay just keep me in awe. And I am able to play without any vignetting which is not possible for me in a lot of games, so I really haven’t noticed the reprojection.
Also fair, most of the gameplay is shooting, which works perfectly. Graphics are definitely top notch. I wasn’t expecting HLA levels of interaction, but I was expecting the same level of VR-nativeness that RE8 has and I think that’s been my main issue (during the first few minutes; again, only played the demo).
The missing coat inventory, reloading, menu-map (holdable in RE8), and most of all 2D cutscenes are all things that RE8 did better and the step back in RE4 is what’s giving me pause right now (but ultimately won’t keep me from playing it sooner or later).
I found coat inventory to be spotty, there were a lot of times I was frantically grabbing at it and unable to get it. I for one do not miss that. But I do find the gesture to get into the briefcase to be unnecessarily complicated as well. I also preferred the shotgun reloading in the old one, but it was tough getting enough cartridges in there in time, so it’s kind of nice to have it faster. Yes the 2d cutscenes are a bit of a bummer, but some of the 3d cutscenes in re8 were also wierd, things like standing in the floor and being flung about I didn’t much care for. And holding the map I found gimmicky and not so practical. I prefer a large easy to read one.
At the end of the day though, still the best mechanics in a VR game I’ve played (note I don’t have a VR PC so I’m only comparing to quest and Psvr games, HLA being the elephant in the room).
None of these things hamper my love of this game in the end.
Yeah you have some good points there. The coat had its issues as well, I just think it was such a neat and unique way of storing things and perfect for the character.
RE8’s VR cutscenes were definitely not a perfect solution, but they didn’t put me out of the experience the same way a 2D video does. It could’ve at least been a 3D video.
What VR mechanics are you talking about specifically? When I think of mechanics I mostly think of (object-) interactions and RE4 has basically just shooting, press button to pick up and 2D menus (over simplified ^^). I basically never play PC VR, but Quest has some great games with some awesome native VR mechanics.
Just to stress it again: pretty sure RE4 is an awesome game and I’ll definitely play it, but it still is a port and has a bunch of shortcomings because of that. Mostly mechanics as I see it (although mechanics is most likely a lot more than just object interaction).
The mechanics that I still think are great in RE4 are the reloading, shooting, grenades, knife mechanics. They were great in RE8 too, but for my money, they are a lot more fluid and reliable in RE4 (except shotgun reloading which is worse). Small changes like moving all the guns and ammo further out in front of your body makes them a lot more reliable and fluid to use for me. I feel super badass playing this game. The stuff you can smash is fun to smash too.
There are a lot of other games with good VR implementations, but for me, this one is just fluid and feels good to me. I suppose it’s just one of those personal things whether a game “clicks” for you, and this one does for me.
