Stranger Things VR Review: A Surreal Journey Into The Upside Down

Stranger Issues VR gives pioneering studio Tender Claws the possibility to undertake certainly one of Netflix’ beloved properties for VR. How do they do? This is our evaluate.

One of many hardest issues to drag off as a developer is efficiently remodeling a beloved TV sequence or film right into a online game. We have seen our fair proportion of those licensed video games fail miserably. I salute Tender Claws for tackling such a colossal job for VR and even experimental combined actuality, making an attempt to carry iconic settings of Hawkins and the Upside Right down to life in a contemporary and authentic story.

Stranger Issues VR gives an enticing storyline that performs true to the spirit of the unique sequence, solely this time you are enjoying because the villain, Vecna. Sadly, this journey may also shortly really feel repetitive or extra like a nightmarish strolling simulator by way of the Upside Down.

Stranger Issues VR is usually set in The Upside Down and does a superb job of constructing you are feeling like a part of this universe. It allows you to really feel a tiny slice of the twisted story of how Vecna got here to be. Additionally, to nice reduction, this expertise is not utterly spent on this darkish, dismal alternate dimension, as a result of there are moments all through the place you see acquainted places and animated variations of the present’s characters.

The gameplay and motion type show each immersive and intuitive. Controlling otherworldly vines is simple to study and thrusting your self excessive into the air feels nice. Stranger Issues VR’s presentation can be top-notch and appears nice on Quest 3, whereas some properly drawn cinematic narrative sequences made this seem like a graphic novel.

I typically discovered myself mesmerized, both by the occasions occurring round me or by the sheer scale and perspective-shifting nature throughout sure segments. Some spectacular audio design between the Upside Down’s eerie sounds and the enduring Stranger Issues ’80s type synth-infused theme music provides to the darker, typically spooky ambiance.

The voice appearing here’s a combined bag. The builders introduced in Matthew Modine as Dr. Brenner and Jamie Campbell Bower as Vecna to voice their respective roles from the TV sequence. Nevertheless, I hoped for extra authentic dialogue from the present’s different returning characters, which was largely offered by way of captured sound bites and voice overs that do not match the unique forged.

Stranger Issues VR has many positives, although it is also removed from flawless. About that nightmarish strolling simulator? The sport’s major focus appears to be simply transferring you alongside to the following cinematic sequence and this turns into repetitive in a short time. For instance, a core aspect of the sport is a mechanic referred to as thoughts invasions. These sequences contain you probing the minds of different characters to uncover their secrets and techniques, and they’re a key a part of the story. Nevertheless, they typically contain fixing comparable puzzles or overcoming the identical challenges, which will get boring exceedingly quick. Fight additionally looks like a one-trick pony the place you telekinetically seize random environmental objects and hurl them at your enemies, or seize smaller foes with telekinesis to crush them. As an 8-foot-tall villain with telekinetic powers, I wished extra fight selection, and Tender Claws might have finished extra.

In relation to the story’s pacing, I felt like I used to be attending to the nice half when it abruptly stopped and credit rolled. I stood there questioning if I had actually reached the top. Stranger Issues VR is damaged up into 9 chapters, a few of which had been fairly brief, that means you would probably end the sport in a single devoted play session.

Combined actuality ranges in Stranger Issues VR are an additional bonus that provides a vaguely attention-grabbing twist to the expertise. Sadly, they do not dwell as much as their potential. Since they happen in your individual play house, these segments do present a novel visible perspective, however in addition they do not appear to have something to do with the precise storyline. This is sensible as a result of they solely develop into playable after ending the marketing campaign, however presenting it that method has the impact of underscoring the texture of this addition being an absolute gimmick. These ranges do not truly affect the VR storyline in any method and, as an alternative of utilizing combined actuality help to proceed the narrative and adapt the gameplay mechanics to your bodily world, it completely feels extra like a superficial addition.

Stranger Issues VR Evaluate – Last Verdict

Stranger Issues VR is a commendable effort from Tender Claws and a pleasant instance of VR’s potential as a storytelling medium, letting you expertise Hawkins and the Upside Down in a model new method that expands on the Stranger Issues universe. Sadly, all that’s hindered by extraordinarily repetitive gameplay components and poor fight.

When you’re a fan of the TV present and may look previous the absence of the voice actors for a few of your favourite characters, you will probably get pleasure from your time exploring Vecna’s twisted thoughts whereas traversing the Upside Down. Even when you’ve by no means seen the Netflix sequence and easily need get pleasure from trippy and infrequently spooky VR experiences, you may think about giving Stranger Issues VR a glance.

UploadVR makes use of a 5-Star ranking system for our recreation evaluations – you may learn a breakdown of every star ranking in our evaluate pointers.

Editor’s observe: We retracted a evaluate of Stranger Issues VR from a distinct creator which appeared at this URL for about three hours. We apologize, and are updating our ethics coverage to obviously limit using textual content technology instruments.