Terence Eden. He has a beard and is smiling.

Terence Eden’s Blog

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VR Review: Moss 2

· 200 words


A mouse in a clockwork puzzle.

Did you enjoy the game Moss? This is a sequel which is identical to the original. The graphics are identical, the gameplay is identical, the puzzles are identical. There are a couple of slightly new mechanics and a new playable character (also a mouse). But it is fundamentally more of the same. So I suggest you read my review of the original. Seriously, there isn't much else to say here. The…

Beat Saber is gaming without the bullshit

· 1 comment · 550 words


Beat Saber logo rendered in neon lights.

Several years ago, at the start of the pandemic, I tried using Nintendo's Ring Fit as an exercise method. It didn't last long. I felt I was spending too much time earning in-game currency, making choices on what to spend it on, crafting, managing inventory, choosing power-ups, and all sorts of other tedious nonsense. In short, I constantly felt like I was working rather than working out. If…

VR Game Review: Moss

· 1 comment · 350 words


A large hall with squirrel statues.

It is impossible to describe just how cute this game is. Most VR games take place at "human scale" - you play as a human inside a building, or other human-sized space. But Moss lets you play as a mouse named Quill with you (the player) towering over her. You are a human literally peering down into a mouse-sized kingdom. It is one of the most stunning uses of VR in a game that I've seen. …

VR Game Review: Labyrinth deLux – A Crusoe Quest

· 1 comment · 200 words


In game graphic show lots of lasers flying around.

I love single player VR puzzle games. Especially ones with no timers, baddies, or jump-scares. I just want to play against myself. Labyrinth deLux is brilliant. The puzzle is simple enough - point lasers at mirrors, then align mirrors until they point at the target. You've almost certainly played a 2D version of this. But it has a mind-bending 3D layout which requires you to continually walk…

VR Game Review: Get The Heck Out

· 300 words


A colourful loading screen showing upgrade stats for a game.

You don't need to pay £££ and download GB of files in order to have a good VR game. It turns out that the Web is perfectly capable of serving a decent VR experience. You can open up your VR rig's browser (I use Wolvic) and start playing instantly. I've just completed "Get The Heck Out". It's a fun and free shooter. The twist is, you are expected to die. A lot. You start with a puny pe…

VR Game Review: Vader Immortal

· 1 comment · 500 words · Viewed ~311 times


Point of view shot inside a cave with a lightsabre in the foreground.

I'm a sucker for anything Star Wars. So when my Oculus Quest told me I could fight Darth Vader in VR, I leapt at the chance. I kinda wish I hadn't bothered. There is very little "game" here. It's barely an interactive movie. Walk forward until you step on a trigger, watch a very slow cut scene, wave your arms until something happens, repeat a few times, roll credits. That's it. There's nothing …

Review: ZyberVR Meta Quest 2 Recharge Station

· 1 comment · 350 words


Product show showing all the parts.

Without a doubt, the most annoying aspect of using VR is that the equipment eats batteries. On the Oculus Quest, the headset is rechargeable via USB-C - but the controllers take plain AA batteries. By default, there's no way to recharge them 😭 So a whole industry has sprung up to fix Meta's mistakes! The good folks at ZyberVR have sent me this smart docking station to review. Let's take a qu…

Let's (not) share our VR headsets

· 2 comments · 400 words · Viewed ~1,528 times


Tall retail unit with a CRT TV on top - it has Sega Dreamcast branding.

It is hard to get people excited about VR. Even at its best, it is an isolating experience - that's why Zuck is pushing the social features of The Metaverse so hard. But, worse still, it's hard to show people what the VR experience is like. If your friend buys a 4K laser projector, you can immediately understand the appeal of the massive screen. Even if you only see the photos of it on…

Game Review: Red Matter 2 for VR

· 400 words · Viewed ~225 times


A cosmonaut stands in front of a glowing orb.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first Red Matter VR game, so I leapt at the sequel when it was on offer. What's it like? Exactly the same as the first. Lots of creepy corridors, a range of puzzles, and a sedate-ish journey. You're exploring an abandoned space-station, looking for clues and trying to figure out what happened. It's a completely linear journey, and consists of a series of locked-room…

You can't make secure payments in the Metaverse

· 4 comments · 300 words · Viewed ~402 times


VR screenshot. the Oculus is complaining that the authentication mechanism of my credit card is too strong and cannot be used. It suggests using PayPal.

Another in an occasional series bemoaning the shitty user experience of Zuck's Metaverse. I have an Oculus Quest 2 and wanted to pay money for an in-app purchase. This seems like a normal thing to do. There's no way to add a credit card while your head is strapped to an overheating Android device. So I emerged into meatspace opened the Oculus app on my phone and typed in my credit card details. …

Would you go to the Job Centre or DMV in the Metaverse?

· 6 comments · 950 words


A VR headset.

I'm just getting started with the Oculus Quest 2 from Facebook Meta. It is amazing. OK, that's a lie. It's a pretty good tech demo of what one vision of the future could look like. But it is making a little bit of my brain itch. What Government services could / should be run in the Metaverse? Obviously, the answer is "none". Sure, you could create a virtual job centre, housing office, or DMV…

You can't smile in the Metaverse

· 4 comments · 250 words · Viewed ~226 times


Robot faced Mark Zuckerberg is wearing a VR headset - it digs painfully into his smiling cheeks.

I'm playing with the Oculus Quest 2. It's quite good fun. I was wandering around the International Space Station, delighting in being unshackled from gravity's harsh bonds. I came to the cupola observation module and it was so beautiful that my face broke into an involuntary smile. And it hurt. The current range of VR headsets have to be strapped tight to your face. In order to prevent your eyes …