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 story is a jumble of ethereal nonsense. The enemies are defeated by rather dull button-mashing. And…
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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 you like that sort of game mechanic; I'm happy for you. But it just turned me off the game so much…
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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. https://shkspr.mobi/blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/mossout.mp4 It is like playing with a dolls house. And …
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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 on the ceiling to adjust your perspective. The UI is, thankfully, not chunder-inducing. You point…
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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 pea-shooter: After every level you can upgrade your weapons - which last until you die. But every few levels, y…
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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 to explore, there are no choices to make, and no puzzles to solve. Parts of the game are gorgeous. …
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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 quick whirl: It's... pretty good! For £35-ish you get a sturdy docking station, a 15W USB-C charger, …
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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 Facebook, you get what the experience is like. Games are different. While having a parasocial relationship…
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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 puzzles. The developers have made sure not to repeat the same puzzles over and over. The story, such…
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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. I went through the usual dance of getting a 2FA code from my card provider and was successfully…
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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 - but would you want to sit in a virtual waiting room for a couple of hours waiting for your name to …
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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 going out of alignment with the lenses or the focus suddenly changing, the mask clings tight to…
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