Due out in simply two weeks, Pink Matter 2 is promising to up the ante over its already nicely regarded predecessor, this time being constructed from the bottom as much as look pretty much as good as doable on Quest 2. We obtained to pattern the sport to see the way it’s shaping up forward of launch.
Developer Vertical Robotic has boldly claimed that Pink Matter 2 would be the finest wanting (realistically styled) sport on Quest 2, and as we’ve performed to this point they seem like nicely on observe to make {that a} actuality. In some ways Pink Matter 2 working on Quest 2 appears pretty much as good or typically higher than many smaller PC VR titles, which isn’t any small feat given the efficiency constraints of the platform.
‘Good graphics’ is a very broad idea; it isn’t nearly how excessive decision the textures are or what number of polygons are on the display screen. It’s a synergy of each technical and creative efforts that make graphics look nice.
And Pink Matter 2 is admittedly delivering on that. Not solely is the sport sharp and filled with graphical particulars like reflections and lighting, there’s additionally a really nicely executed creative path, with some areas wanting so visually distinct and with such nice lighting composition that you simply’d swear the studio employed an architect reasonably than an sport surroundings artist.
The sport has a definite retro-futuristic vibe, combining ’60s sci-fi sensibilities with brutalist structure, resulting in many spectacular wanting areas that may be the right villain’s lair from an outdated worldwide spy thriller.
However in the case of VR, it’s by no means nearly appears. For the world to really feel immersive it additionally must be interactive. And that is one other place the place Pink Matter 2 clearly understood the project.
Vertical Robotic has continued to lean on their ingenious ‘grabber’ instruments—which they pioneered within the unique Pink Matter—as the premise of interplay within the sport. Merely put, within the sport you maintain a multi-tool that appears so much just like the controller that’s in your fingers in actual life. The device can toggled between grabbing, scanning, hacking, and a flashlight. It’s shocking to say, however having ‘grabbers’ that seem like your controllers feels far more immersive than utilizing digital ‘fingers’ to work together with issues within the sport.
The rationale for the added immersion is twofold: for one, as a result of there’s a device between you and the thing, you don’t count on to really feel that form of haptics that you’d for those who had been grabbing the thing along with your precise fingers (and thus realism is preserved). And second, since you may’t dexterously manipulate and exactly goal digital objects along with your precise fingers, the grabbers far more precisely characterize the coarse enter limitations of your VR movement controllers. Frankly, it’s wonderful many extra VR video games don’t use this method.
Along with your multi-tool in hand, virtually all the things that appears like you possibly can work together with it may possibly certainly be picked up and performed with. And that’s a giant plus as a result of, merely put, the core gameplay of Pink Matter 2 is certainly interacting.
And for those who can’t truly choose one thing up, there’s a really robust probability you should utilize your scanner device to scan it for added info. And as an apart, Pink Matter 2 might need the perfect paper physics I’ve but seen in a VR sport—little particulars like that actually add up!
To that finish the studio has completed an amazing job of making satisfying interactions which might be enjoyable to execute. You’ll press buttons, flip knobs, and pull levers, all in service of fixing environmental puzzles that transfer you thru the sport and progress the story.
The sport isn’t simply puzzling… there’s some motion in there too, however I can’t discuss that simply but.
From what I’ve performed of Pink Matter 2 up to now (a few quarter of the sport by my estimation), it’s been a really spectacular expertise that stands out from the remainder of the Quest 2’s largely arcade-y library. It feels so much like a PC VR sport that simply occurs to have the ability to run on Quest 2. And for Quest 2 gamers who wished Lone Echo would have made it to the headset, Pink Matter 2 seems like the following smartest thing given its tempo and deal with immersion and interplay.
If I needed to give the sport a ranking from what I’ve performed to this point, it might be an apparent thumbs up. However the large query is that if the gameplay will keep contemporary by way of your entire sport or turn out to be stale, and whether or not the story will really feel integral to the expertise or merely a superficial backdrop for puzzling.
You will discover out in our full overview when Pink Matter 2 launches on Quest 2 and PC VR on August 18th.