The excitement over mixed reality gaming on Meta Quest has certainly waned of late. The launch of Quest 3 (and Quest 3S) put the technology at the forefront of this generation, with some great MR games available. MR offers a new way to play and interact with your environment, and that’s certainly the case with 131XR’s latest review, Xploit.Zero.
Mixed Reality Tower Defense
Ten years ago, tower defense games were huge, offering easily accessible, immersive environments. While the genre isn’t as popular as it once was, the likes of Iron Guard: Salvation and The Smurfs: Flower Defense have kept the genre alive in VR.
Now it’s the turn of Xploit.Zero, with one crucial difference, the entire game is in mixed reality. The Smurfs: Flower Defense has an MR component, but Xploit.Zero can turn your entire home into a living battleground. Floors, walls, and ceilings can all be employed, giving almost limitless possibilities to the level structures.
Xploit.Zero Review
As 131XR finds in its review, rather than a traditional level with a fixed map, Xploit.Zero is entirely dynamic to the room. You place a hub point on the floor from which a route will spawn, drawing itself across surfaces. This is the route enemies will take, around which you place your defensive turrets. 131XR notes that because of this, smaller rooms seem to have a shorter path, whilst larger rooms have a longer path. Essentially, making the level easier as you’ve got more room to play with.
You have a variety of turrets to choose from, from machine gun placements to rocket towers. Each has its own effective range, and because the path angles across walls and ceilings, turret placement is crucial to cover all areas of the path. Xploit.Zero also throws in some additional extras to watch out for. The first are golden memory cards which fall from the ceiling. These serve as currency to buy new turrets, and have to be physically grabbed with your hand.
Another physical aspect is the incoming rockets that can destroy your turrets quite easily. These have to be swatted away by hand, the best way of discovering them is to listen for their telltale sound.
This all makes for an enjoyable MR game that effectively uses your play space.
What’s Next for Xploit.Zero?
The team at AAA Games Studios has already revealed a roadmap for Xploit.Zero, detailing new challenges and deeper mechanics, among other things. No timeline has yet been specified, but players can expect to see the addition of new levels, new enemies, new defensive turrets to expand your arsenal, the addition of powerups (some more useful than others) and achievements. Lastly, plans are in the works for a competitive Xploit.ZERO Major League, comprised of “official tournaments, multiple competitive tiers, and a structured ranking system.” Lots to be excited for there!
Are you a tower defence fan? Will you be adding Xploit.Zero to your Meta Quest library? Let us know in the comments.
