I am currently fixated on beating this new title:
https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/830475783742031/
I have yet to try the heart monitor feature. I plan to do so after I beat the game entirely without using one; in order to compare the difference. I can certainly say that this game is worth a second playthrough to test out the innovation of biometrics VR.
Nevermind falls in to the Horror VR category, although it is definitely more "thriller" than "horror" since it doesn't rely on jump scares to induce fear. I absolutely love this game for so many reasons, but there are some drawbacks with the current Build available on Oculus Home. So here is a quick mini-review...
The Ugly
There are many areas where the graphics simply do not render well, especially when the player is moving. Special emphasis on "text" which can often end up blurry. I've tried manipulating my graphic and game settings, which did get me to something "playable." However, I feel that the graphic issues (at least for the CV1 release) really hamper this games amazing experience.
Here is one example screenshot I took:
If you notice the right side of the screen where there are additional documents with writing... the text is very blurry. There is a bit of that in various parts of the game; certain textures may end up choppy, and the environment may exhibit judder.
The Bad
Movement is best performed slowly in order to limit game judder; which is unfortunate since so many areas are absolutely stunning otherwise. The visual defects are not overbearing nor constant, but they are encountered often enough to make justifying the current price of $20 quite difficult.
The Good
Okay now that the complaints are out of the way... Sweet Christmas, this game is an absolute must-have if you're a fan of adventure/puzzle games. I'm sure people are tired of hearing me say this by now, but the original Myst game by Cyan is my life-long obsession. It kick-started my love of the adventure/puzzle genre, and even in RPG's I prefer solving puzzles moreso than leveling up characters. With Nevermind, this beloved genre can be experienced in various forms: mazes, narrative challenges, hint-based puzzles, and story-driven deciphering obstacles. All combined with fear-based overtones, which adds a degree of adventure that's really hard to match.
This game is more than just a "walk around and click" type of experience. Especially when it comes time to beating the final stage in each area. If you are a fan of Annie Amber, then this game will take you to that next level quite proper.
When the graphics are rendered properly, the world is a beautiful sight and easily entices the player to stop and smell the virtual roses. Even the simple candy house in the tutorial is a treat to encounter:
Probably the best compliment to any game is when players are willing to suffer through bugs/defect just to continue on with the experience. A good example is a childhood favorite Dungeon Crawler named Stonekeep (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonekeep). This was a classic crawler RPG that tried to implement video footage in to the player experience. And boy did that cause quite a bit of game crashes, among other defects. Yet many players fell in love with this RPG despite its technical flaws - and beating the game granted a great sense of accomplishment.
This is how I feel about the current state of Nevermind. There are times where it's hard to focus on the walls around me because the judder starts to get rather annoying and painful on the eyes, but I'm so engrossed in the story and addicted to the aspects of the game that are devoid of flaws... that I simply force myself to push onward.
The horror element is very creative and original. I've played the game for over 2 hours so far and only encountered one very crafty jump scare. Yet I found myself more fearful walking around the room made of faces:
Personally, I have no problem with the $20 price tag. But due to the problems with the environmental rendering I would be hard pressed to recommend this to others just yet. If you are the type of gamer who shares a passion for adventure/puzzles, a love for all things horror, and a willingness to endure some mildly painful gameplay moments... then Nevermind is well worth the price of admission.
I truly hope the dev's are able to update the Oculus Rift version with something that renders much more smoothly. Because once the texture issues are resolved, all that is left is an amazing VR experience.
https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/830475783742031/
I have yet to try the heart monitor feature. I plan to do so after I beat the game entirely without using one; in order to compare the difference. I can certainly say that this game is worth a second playthrough to test out the innovation of biometrics VR.
Nevermind falls in to the Horror VR category, although it is definitely more "thriller" than "horror" since it doesn't rely on jump scares to induce fear. I absolutely love this game for so many reasons, but there are some drawbacks with the current Build available on Oculus Home. So here is a quick mini-review...
The Ugly
There are many areas where the graphics simply do not render well, especially when the player is moving. Special emphasis on "text" which can often end up blurry. I've tried manipulating my graphic and game settings, which did get me to something "playable." However, I feel that the graphic issues (at least for the CV1 release) really hamper this games amazing experience.
Here is one example screenshot I took:
If you notice the right side of the screen where there are additional documents with writing... the text is very blurry. There is a bit of that in various parts of the game; certain textures may end up choppy, and the environment may exhibit judder.
The Bad
Movement is best performed slowly in order to limit game judder; which is unfortunate since so many areas are absolutely stunning otherwise. The visual defects are not overbearing nor constant, but they are encountered often enough to make justifying the current price of $20 quite difficult.
The Good
Okay now that the complaints are out of the way... Sweet Christmas, this game is an absolute must-have if you're a fan of adventure/puzzle games. I'm sure people are tired of hearing me say this by now, but the original Myst game by Cyan is my life-long obsession. It kick-started my love of the adventure/puzzle genre, and even in RPG's I prefer solving puzzles moreso than leveling up characters. With Nevermind, this beloved genre can be experienced in various forms: mazes, narrative challenges, hint-based puzzles, and story-driven deciphering obstacles. All combined with fear-based overtones, which adds a degree of adventure that's really hard to match.
This game is more than just a "walk around and click" type of experience. Especially when it comes time to beating the final stage in each area. If you are a fan of Annie Amber, then this game will take you to that next level quite proper.
When the graphics are rendered properly, the world is a beautiful sight and easily entices the player to stop and smell the virtual roses. Even the simple candy house in the tutorial is a treat to encounter:
Probably the best compliment to any game is when players are willing to suffer through bugs/defect just to continue on with the experience. A good example is a childhood favorite Dungeon Crawler named Stonekeep (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonekeep). This was a classic crawler RPG that tried to implement video footage in to the player experience. And boy did that cause quite a bit of game crashes, among other defects. Yet many players fell in love with this RPG despite its technical flaws - and beating the game granted a great sense of accomplishment.
This is how I feel about the current state of Nevermind. There are times where it's hard to focus on the walls around me because the judder starts to get rather annoying and painful on the eyes, but I'm so engrossed in the story and addicted to the aspects of the game that are devoid of flaws... that I simply force myself to push onward.
The horror element is very creative and original. I've played the game for over 2 hours so far and only encountered one very crafty jump scare. Yet I found myself more fearful walking around the room made of faces:
Personally, I have no problem with the $20 price tag. But due to the problems with the environmental rendering I would be hard pressed to recommend this to others just yet. If you are the type of gamer who shares a passion for adventure/puzzles, a love for all things horror, and a willingness to endure some mildly painful gameplay moments... then Nevermind is well worth the price of admission.
I truly hope the dev's are able to update the Oculus Rift version with something that renders much more smoothly. Because once the texture issues are resolved, all that is left is an amazing VR experience.
I just finished the last "mission" offered in the current release, and it looks like more will come in the future.
I spent the better part of today committed to this game because I found the stories, puzzles, and VR innovation quite addictive (despite the ongoing graphic/rendering annoyances).
Here are a few more screenshots to showcase some of the wonderful artistic design of worlds this game creates...
Dream Sequence of a Ghost Carnival
Music (Sound) Puzzle Creativity
A world of hands, piano keys, and blood
Alien world with a retro rocket ship
I spent the better part of today committed to this game because I found the stories, puzzles, and VR innovation quite addictive (despite the ongoing graphic/rendering annoyances).
Here are a few more screenshots to showcase some of the wonderful artistic design of worlds this game creates...
Dream Sequence of a Ghost Carnival
Music (Sound) Puzzle Creativity
A world of hands, piano keys, and blood
Alien world with a retro rocket ship
