Undead Citadel is an undead hack-and-slash sport first launched on PC VR in 2023, and it is now accessible on Quest. Learn on for our full evaluation.
The sport is technically story-driven, although the narrative yields little when it comes to character improvement or precise plot. You embody Sir Anvil Capheus, a foul-mouthed mercenary who finds himself for no obvious motive stranded within the wilderness cursing the gods. Stumbling upon an previous citadel, it quickly turns into clear that every one will not be nicely; buildings have fallen to smash and the city is inhabited by the undead!
What’s it?: An arcade-style medieval hack-and-slash journey that pits gamers towards a military of the undead.
Platforms: Quest, PC VR, Pico (evaluation performed on Quest 3)
Launch Date: Out now
Developer: Darkish Curry
Value: $19.99
From right here, the sport proceeds to embark upon a roughly five-hour marketing campaign of arcade violence, spattered intermittently with low-rent spatial puzzles, some lackluster looting, and a good bit of dangerous language. There may be additionally a Horde mode consisting of three maps that provide lasting replay worth as soon as the story mode is lifeless and buried.
The protagonist goes from being a self-serving, vulgar mercenary who cares solely about his personal speedy must an altruistic hero risking life and limb to thwart an unknown menace with out even the slightest exposition. It’s a bit of jarring to comprehend so early on how skinny the storytelling is, however it’s hardly essential. Undead Citadel is an motion sport in any case, so maybe it is higher that it simply focuses on the motion.
Solely a Flesh Wound
Undead Citadel has discovered a distinct segment throughout the melee-based gore-porn market. Providing physics-based fight with over 80 unlockable medieval weapons, developer Darkish Curry has pitted itself boldly towards VR stalwarts comparable to Blade & Sorcery: Nomad and Swordsman VR. Regardless of some elementary similarities, Undead Citadel takes a faster-paced, extra arcade-style method to the fight which does nicely to distinguish the sport from the competitors.
The physics system used will not be as deep as that utilized in Nomad but it surely features nicely, delivering intense, over-the-top carnage. There may be some physics-based jank current with the odd skeleton getting caught in your sword, however for essentially the most half, the system runs nicely sufficient. Apart from any time you might be required to hold a barrel – which occurs extra usually than you’d suppose – or open a padlock, that are unnecessarily arduous and finicky affairs.
Precise swordplay is pretty mild. Every enemy has a variety of assaults that may be difficult to anticipate because of some intelligent animations. These are largely single assaults telegraphed by some grand, twirling motion versus being flurries of strikes that require precision parrying. Consequently, the very best protection is usually a robust offense. Blindly pushing the assault will see success as a rule.
In comparison with the extra nuanced swordplay on supply in Swordsman VR and the extra elaborate physics engine of Nomad, Undead Citadel feels much more like an arcade hack & slash journey than a fight simulator. That’s not essentially a foul factor although, because the less complicated, faster-paced fight on supply right here is extra accessible and, in some ways, extra enjoyable.
Come Again, I am going to Chew Your Legs Off
Undead Citadel gives a very good vary of weapons for gamers to experiment with, scattering uncommon, hidden gadgets all through the marketing campaign. Every undead nasty you face drops their weapons when felled and gamers are free to select up no matter they’ll carry. You may additionally discover a respectable selection between one and two-handed weapons alongside ranged choices like bows and magical power-ups administered through consumable potions.
The sense of weight utilized to two-handed weapons is nice; heavier weapons can’t be raised with a single hand however do large injury when swung with each. You additionally want to change between blunt and bladed weapons relying on the opponent sort you face. Skeletons and armored foes are extra simply dispatched with skull-shattering blows from blunt weapons, whereas fleshier baddies may be simply run by means of with a sword.
It is an ideal premise for fight, implying a must differ your weapons and magnificence on the fly. Nonetheless, the implementation is barely missing. A sword thrust, which seems to journey straight by means of the fleshless physique of a skeleton will nonetheless take the enemy down, which detracts from this tactical aspect that would have given the fight a bit of extra depth.
Tis Solely a Scratch
Sadly, Undead Citadel hides some critical design flaws that hamper the general expertise. There are a number of fundamental mechanics that you’d count on in a fast-paced fight sport which are sorely lacking, with the flexibility to leap or dash being foremost amongst these. Few issues break the immersive fantasy of being a mighty warrior greater than the entire incapability to step over a log.
Sprinting might be the extra egregious omission nonetheless and its absence was tough to take care of. Sections of the marketing campaign require important backtracking to resolve puzzles or discover loot, and being compelled to stroll the sport on the tempo of somebody out for a pleasing afternoon stroll was past irritating. This additionally made navigating fight really feel a bit of one-dimensional; there isn’t any sprint or comparable mechanic whereby you may shortly reposition your self in battle.
Moreover, climbing exists in solely two or three particular sections. Bricks and beams jut in formations that simply scream “climb me”, but the one factor you may really climb is a really specific set of glowing yellow vines. It’s oddly immersion breaking to haul your self up a stone wall by some flimsy vegetation when you are compelled to disregard the solid-looking handholds that encompass you.
Undead Citadel is mild on consolation choices. Past supporting seated and standing gameplay, the sport requires a tolerance for synthetic stick-based locomotion and there aren’t any movement vignettes, so you’ll need some resilience to VR movement illness to proceed. Snap turning is the one actual concession, whereas the sleek turning digicam has completely different velocity settings.
If Appears May Kill
The PC VR model of Undead Citadel is an efficient trying sport, so the Quest iteration has a excessive bar to reside as much as. On this case, Undead Citadel would not a lot clip the bar because it does stroll proper beneath it.
Even from the calibration menu, issues have an oddly low-res high quality to them. The textures all through the sport really feel muddy, though the extra open and brightly lit areas fare significantly higher than their gloomier counterparts. When in comparison with Nomad and Swordsman although, Undead Citadel would not fare too badly.
Along with murky low-res textures, gadgets pop out and in of existence in an extremely distracting approach. Rubble will seem as an vague mass after which pop into focus as you method. Moderately than simply an overlay of texture, typically the form of the entire object will change utterly. It is jarring, ugly and one of many worst examples of texture popping that I’ve skilled on Quest.
The audio design is respectable however hardly triumphant. Weapons clang and conflict with affordable drive and heads make a satisfying crunch whereas collapsing below a blow, but the sounds lack a sure weight and resonance to make them shine.
Spatial audio is dependable, indicating the place attackers are coming from nicely. It is really glorious within the catacombs degree; the splashing sounds of approaching enemies echo down corridors convincingly. This easy audio element contributes quite a bit in direction of making that sequence top-of-the-line components of the entire sport.
That stated, the voice performing is overdone and the undulating rating that underpins the motion is solely forgettable. Very similar to different points of the sport, a number of inconsistent components distract from what might in any other case be nice.
Undead Citadel Evaluation – Remaining Verdict
Undead Citadel is an motion sport redeemed solely by its fight. Darkish Curry’s sport includes a raft of graphical points on Quest, a story that provides little in the best way of plot or development, and a marketing campaign mired by repetition. There’s nonetheless some nice moments and good enjoyable available, and that’ll be sufficient for some. In the event you’re after a extra arcade-style tackle physics-based melee, this will likely have sufficient to maintain you .
UploadVR makes use of a 5-Star score system for our sport evaluations – you may learn a breakdown of every star score in our evaluation tips.
