Oculus Quest tested version
At least once in your life you will have dreamed of a smuggler's adventure in a distant galaxy: interstellar fighters, strange creatures, artifacts in which a supernatural force flows able to change the fundamental laws of life and death, a tyranny to to oppose to reaffirm the right to freedom; These elements would be enough to make a videogame production incredibly interesting, yet the title in question goes even further by offering us the opportunity to cross our swords with one of the most iconic antagonists who remember and mostly in a game world created with VR in mind. But this is really enough to make this Immortal Vader an essential title for Oculus Quest?
A Star Wars Story
Vader Immortal is a three-part adventure set between the events narrated in the movie Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One and which is part of the official Star Wars canon
Vader has now lost his Padmè and is looking for a way to bring it back to life and we, a small-time smuggler who lives by tricks on the edge of the galaxy, due to our unexpected ancestry, could be the key to achieving his goals. It will be our progeny, completely unknown to us, to put us at the center of events that could change the fate of the galaxy forever.
The narrative aspect is certainly one of the most successful of this production which, although devoid of memorable moments, flows well until the end, also leaving room for a couple of well thought out twists. It is no coincidence that the development team of ILMxLAB, a studio of Lucasfilm ltd that deals exclusively with creating virtual reality experiences, made use of the collaboration of David S. Goyer (former co-author of The Dark Knight and Blade) and of directed by Ben Snow (Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire) to create a work that appears consistent with the rest of the Star Wars lore and therefore a true fan cannot ignore.
Atmospheres, sounds, supporting characters like your droid ZO-E3, "Zoe" more simply, are so closely reminiscent of those of the films of the first and last Star Wars trilogy that, when you find yourself face to face with Darth Vader, imperious in his might, you will instinctively feel the urge to lower your gaze so as not to meet his so threatening face. For a lover of the series it is pure ecstasy. If what has been said was enough to "sell" the game, you can stop here and catapult yourself to the Oculus Quest store to buy the three episodes at a price of € 7,99 each which thanks to the cross purchase, will also give you access to the version for Rift S.
Unfortunately, once the narrative and scenographic aspect is exhausted, we cannot fail to mention what we believe are the criticalities of this production with enormous unfulfilled potential. First of all the longevity. Although divided into three episodes, the entire narrative can be concluded in just 4 hours, too few really even for those used to the "times" of VR games. In the absence of collectibles, character development modes and side quests, just when you begin to savor the power of force flowing through your fingers, you will find yourself reading the credits, with a bitter taste and a want to have even more.
Fortunately, all three episodes are joined by one "Dojo" mode where you will learn to use the powers and skills acquired during the episode and above all a handle your lightsaber. The Dojo mode will put you in front of fairly interesting objectives and challenges able to keep you busy at least a few more hours in the game world after the endgame. The Dojo mode is based on a set of challenges in which you are required to eliminate a certain type of enemies in the shortest possible time. Obviously the most interesting challenges come only in the third episode where once you have acquired all the available powers you can give vent to your Jedi (or Sith?) Arts in levels like "unleashed".
The reward for your dedication will be the chance to unlock some iconic light sabers, such as Darth Maul's laser lance or Kylo Ren's fiery lightsaber.
Precisely the presence of such a complete Dojo is one of the aspects that most leaves a bad taste in our mouth considering that much of this gameplay could have found space during the main adventure of Vader Immortal. After a first phase essentially focused on solving environmental puzzles, and in particular on hacking doors and searching for crevices in which to sneak, with the second episode and without revealing much of the plot, we will learn to use force and above all the lightsaber . Things at this point could get extremely interesting, yet the game is struggling to take off and the clashes and the possibilities to use our skills remain extremely limited, while slicing enemies, which use extremely predictable and repetitive attack patterns, will soon become an unsatisfactory operation.
It is better for the fights with the stoormtroopers, but these are really too few and too simple to be considered a real challenge. And, as we said, all this despite the Dojo offers a good dose of challenge in some situations that we would have liked to have also been proposed again in the main event.
Like in a movie
The technical aspect is one of the most interesting elements of this Vader Immortal: the evocative settings of the planet Mustafar - the same one on which the battle between Anakin and Obi Wan was fought - as well as the aseptic environments of the imperial ships, are reconstructed to perfection and if the Rift S version is only good as regards the graphic impact, it is the version for Oculus Quest to amaze.
Considering the limited technical capabilities of Oculus' stand alone viewer, in fact, the graphic rendering is really good even if this causes some problems in terms of frame rate stability and therefore in gaming comfort (see the next paragraph). Excellent, as you would expect from a Star Wars title, the soundtrack and effects that exactly reflect that of the film saga. Even the dubbing, only in English but with Spanish subtitles, is excellent thanks to the use of professional actors.
Playing comfort
A problematic aspect of Vader Immortal is the comfort of play, especially in the Oculus Quest version. The ILMxLAB developers have done an excellent job of making the Oculus Quest version as similar as possible to the Rift S version, however the limitations of the portable platform are increasingly an obstacle to the potential of VR.
The graphic impact of the title, in fact, in some cases determines a lowering of the frame rate below 72fps, making it necessary to use a technology developed by Oculus and called Asynchronous Space Warp. It is a sort of frame interpolation that occurs when the frame rate drops below the optimal values, which could determine either the unplayability of the title or could cause motion sickness; with ASW the user gets the impression that the title continues to have a stable frame rate of 72fps.
The intervention of the ASW is painless for most users, while for others, more sensitive to motion sickness, it could cause a slight sense of dizziness that disappears after a few seconds.
Another problematic aspect of the title is the reading of the subtitles. This aspect is problematic in all VR titles but in Vader Immortal it certainly represents a greater problem, given the importance of the narrative aspect. In particular, we found it really annoying that these moved left and right with every slight movement of the head.
On the other hand, controller tracking is good. After the recent Oculus Quest tracking software update, we also noticed an improvement in in-game tracking, especially in Dojo sessions where we were required to parade more often. This, forcing us to bring the controllers closer to the viewer's cameras, is one of the most complicated gestures for inside-out tracking headsets like Oculus Quest (if you don't know what inside-out tracking is, this article could help you understand something) . Fortunately, now the problem has almost completely disappeared or in any case significantly reduced.
Final comment
Despite some technical problems mostly related to the limits of the Oculus Quest hardware, to a not exceptional longevity and to some deficiencies in the gameplay, Immortal Vader represents one of the most interesting VR experiences available on the market and above all one of the most important for the development of the sector. The game is in fact one of the first productions to use an IP as recognizable and loved as that of Star Wars, with a story that is even included in the official canon of the saga and therefore capable of attracting the attention of users who are currently unrelated to the world of VR. It is ultimately an extremely enjoyable product from start to finish and, thanks to the Dojo, also fairly replayable. If you are a fan of the series and have a virtual reality headset, it is a must buy if only for that shiver down your spine that, we are sure, the first encounter with Darth Vader will make you try.
