Funktonic Labs is a developer known for its colourful games like Starbear Taxi and Fujii. So, the arrival of The Light Brigade is a welcome one, seeing the team stretch their VR skills into new territory. Namely, a stylish roguelike with a strong narrative and plenty of action. The roguelike genre has seen an explosion in VR in recent years thanks to its replay factor, encouraging players to keep returning for more. It’s this factor that puts The Light Brigade among the top of its class.
Reviews
Reviews of all the latest XR hardware, software and games.
Peaky Blinders: The King’s Ransom Review – More TV Show Than Game
The virtual reality (VR) industry went through a stage of releasing movie and TV show tie-ins that were more “interactive experiences” than actual videogames. The Martian for example or Vader Immortal: A Star Wars Story, both fall into that category – although the latter is far better than the former. British VR studio Maze Theory is well versed in skirting this line having previously created Doctor Who: The Edge of Time in 2019 which was more tailored to fans than newcomers. In this Peaky Blinders: The King’s Ransom review I find that similar issues persist, even when wrapped in the glorious atmosphere of 1920s Birmingham.
Desperate: Vladivostok Review – Streets of PSVR RAGE!
You’ve got to applaud virtual reality (VR) developers for continuing to support PlayStation VR, seven years after the headset’s launch. Especially when PSVR 2 is so close to launch. Mirowin is still doing just that, having released Desperate: Vladivostok this month – a PSVR 2 version is also in the works. With the old VR device fading out for the next generation, can this latest game give it one last hurrah? Erm…no not quite is the honest answer in our Desperate: Vladivostok review.
PathCraft Review – A Crafty Block Puzzler
Some of my favourite virtual reality (VR) puzzle games are the ones that have simple yet brilliant mechanics, rather than overcomplicating things. Titles like Cubism, for example, or in this very recent case PathCraft from Devil Cow Studio. Published by VR veterans, Vertigo Games, PathCraft is a delightful puzzle experience all about moving blocks to get a little character to their destination.
Windlands 2 Review – A Late Swinger to the Quest 2 Party
It was 2018 when Psytec Games first released the swinging franchise sequel Windlands 2 to PC VR, followed by a PlayStation VR edition in 2021. Now, five years later, Meta Quest 2 gets a long-expected version. But after all these years, can a videogame with intense swinging mechanics through highly stylized worlds with dangerous bosses to fight still hold its own in our Windlands 2 review?
Silhouette Review – No Shady Hands to Hold
When a VR game for Quest 2 says it’s going to add hand tracking to its control scheme there’s a nice novelty factor to the experience. But I tend to still revert to the traditional controller setup as it tends to be a smoother experience. When a videogame like Silhouette comes along, I take a breath of apprehension. Fully hand-tracked experiences tend to have a great concept, however, the execution never quite delivers.