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Even then, you’re limited to a ten-foot-square-ish area in which to play - not exactly a grand stage for your rampage through Hell.ĭrop a grenade and zip back to where you were to watch two bewildered monsters marvel at their sudden lack of arms. Moreover, the technology, while impressive, still requires a miniature super-computer (which we totally have) to run well on high settings. Even at normal speed, VR game developers routinely struggle with the basics - like not making their players sick. The things that are great about Doom, generally speaking, do not translate to VR very well. Which is what makes Doom VFR, developer Id Software’s arcade-style VR adaptation of the recent reboot, so surprising. Bethesda’s 2016 reboot of the 90s classic first-person shooter deftly walked that high wire: In Doom, you have the ability to blast demons at high speed, and feel immensely powerful for doing so. That simple premise belies the complex balancing act of making big, dumb action not just compelling, but satisfying for the more primitive lobes of the brain. The armies of hell stand before you, and you have one mission - destroy them all. The initial mission forces them to clear out the hub, and from there, they take a teleporter to different sections of the research facility as they repair broken sections of the site. It does a good job of easing newcomers into the gameplay. Thankfully, “Doom VFR” has more than enough content for players to get their virtual-reality sea legs. All of this requires a new skill set, and adjusting to the speed and style of this quick-twitch shooter takes time. Other times players need to teleport to flank a demon, so they can shoot it from behind or dodge a rush from a Hell Knight. Maneuvering requires that players have the map layout in their mind’s eye, so they can figure out where they are exactly to avoid danger when they blindly teleport. Sometimes players will teleport into a wall, and they’ll have to press the 180-degree-turn button to see what’s behind them. In addition to the time dilation, players have shield burst to push back enemies who mob them.ĭespite these efforts, playing “Doom VFR” can be disorienting. It also gives players an advantage with aiming in combat. That gives them time to survey their surroundings in order to find a better spot to move.
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To mitigate this, id Software slows down time whenever players are jumping to a new area. Players will teleport, and sometimes they’ll be facing in the wrong direction for their intended target. It’s functional, but the problem with “Doom VFR” is that there’s no way to straighten out the perspective. Fortunately, the survivor’s consciousness is transferred to a robot, and the machine has to find a way to seal the portal to hell.Īs the robot, players have the ability to dash in different directions with button presses, but they mostly rely on the teleportation ability to move around. Players take on the role of a UAC researcher who is killed during a demonic invasion on Mars. “Doom VFR” is essentially a prequel that sets up the events in the “Doom” reboot. The team deserves credit for creating a fleshed-out standalone campaign. It’s a clumsy effort, but one that shouldn’t go overlooked. The controls are complicated on PlayStation VR, and that makes the learning curve steep. It’s a workable solution that lets “Doom VFR” mimic the run-and-gun gameplay the franchise is known for, but it’s far from perfect. It’s a gameplay concept that studios such as High Voltage Software used for shooters such as “Damaged Core.” With “ Doom VFR,” id Software tackles the movement problem with teleportation. Other have let players mimic the running motion to get around the conundrum. Some developers have tried to solve the issue by stuttering the movement. The disconnect between speeding around a map and being fairly stationary in the living room leaves some gamers looking for the nearest toilet.

Running and gunning as one would do in “ Call of Duty” is a recipe for nausea.
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Review: 'Doom VFR' doesn't translate in virtual reality Close Menuįiguring out how to move around in virtual reality is one of the biggest problems facing the medium.
