Red Matter 2 Review – An Immersive Answer to Quest’s Arcade Offerings

Crimson Matter 2 has arrived on Quest 2 and stands out as an immersive single-player journey towards a backdrop of Quest’s arcade-focused library. However does the gameplay of this sci-fi puzzler match its stand-out graphics? Learn our full evaluate of Crimson Matter 2 to search out out.

Crimson Matter 2 Particulars:

Accessible On: Quest 2, SteamVR
Launch Date: August 18th, 2022
Worth: $30
Developer: Vertical Robotic
Reviewed On: Quest 2

Gameplay

Crimson Matter 2 is linear sci-fi puzzle recreation with a narrative backdrop to maintain the motion shifting alongside. Whereas there’s a style of projectile fight within the recreation, the actual showcase is the sport’s wealthy immersive interactions and persistently robust technical and inventive presentation that’s best-in-class on Quest 2, whereas nonetheless remaining spectacular on PC VR for the likes of a VR recreation from a small group.

Crimson Matter 2 is a direct continuation of the primary recreation and has considerably comparable gameplay. In case you didn’t play the primary you’ll be a bit out of the loop on the story, regardless of the sport making efforts to remind gamers of what occurred.

In brief, you journey by means of a largely lifeless area station, following the trail of a comrade who is decided to thwart the unhealthy guys who’re utilizing the mysterious and harmful ‘purple matter’ as a weapon.

Alongside the way in which you’ll discover some actually distinctive and imposing brutalist structure, stunning visible particulars on each small & grand scales, and tons of interactivity with objects on the earth.

The sport’s puzzles are available a fairly wide range. When you’ll definitely do lots of lever pulling, button urgent, and energy redirecting, there’s additionally some extra artistic and attention-grabbing puzzles like determining find out how to function sure equipment, utilizing objects from the surroundings to prop open doorways, and even utilizing a remote-controlled upkeep blimp to perform essential duties. Whereas some duties are pretty widespread (open the door with the damaged button), I didn’t really feel like several single mechanic overstayed its welcome.

Other than the puzzles that you simply’ll accomplish largely along with your arms, as a participant you even have a jetpack which is used for the occasional platforming part (in contrast to the primary recreation, gamers have full handbook management over their jetpack motion). Whereas I like the thought in concept, I discovered the jetpack motion too sluggish to be participating, and in some instances irritating if you come up actually two inches in need of the planform you needed to succeed in (whereas having no capacity to make use of your arms to drag your self up).

Past the usual easy puzzles in Crimson Matter 2 are just a few artistic ones, providing up that ever satisfying ‘ah-ha!’ second, however these have been equally balanced out by a handful of puzzles that felt obtuse or had different points like essential objects not being obvious sufficient. Just some of the puzzles relied on the sport’s Alyx-like force-pull mechanic, but it surely was utilized so minimally that on a number of events I forgot I even had that energy which left me quickly caught.

For many of these obtuse puzzles, a single piece of dialogue or textual content clue might have saved frustration. Even a easy ‘present goal’ readout would have been useful to remind gamers what they’re making an attempt to perform (particularly helpful if it’s important to take the headset off in the midst of a puzzle after which return and forgot precisely the place you’re within the puzzle course of).

Maybe the only most useful software within the recreation is the scanner, which analyzes objects to supply clues and translate the sport’s completely Russian writing. For higher or for worse, you’ll make in depth use of the system, and you may scan nearly any object within the surroundings—be it a ineffective prop or a pc show with data that’s essential to fixing the puzzle at hand.

One other obligatory software that you simply’ll purchase half method by means of the sport is an power pistol, which is the one weapon you’ll discover within the recreation. It’s used for a handful of fight encounters towards safety drones. Whereas I respect the need to separate up all of the puzzling with some fight for a unique tempo, I finally discovered the fight to be extra of a chore than enjoyable, largely resulting from the truth that the enemies felt annoyingly tough to hit.

Particularly the humanoid bots you struggle—which have to be hit in particular weak spots to be destroyed—which always moved to dodge your pictures. And it doesn’t assist that the pistol’s projectile velocity and accuracy didn’t really feel as much as the duty. With solely a single offensive possibility, fight devolved into peaking the identical nook for all the struggle till touchdown sufficient pictures in the correct place to kill the bots.

I ended up turning the fight problem down from Regular to Simple (the one two choices) which made it extra tolerable. I like difficult video games, and particularly shooters, besides, I’d suggest going to Simple proper off the bat to make Crimson Matter 2’s fight sections extra tolerable.

Although it picks up the place the prior recreation left off, the story in Crimson Matter 2 appears like little greater than set-dressing. It’s offered in a style that’s by now nearly a certainty in VR video games—a ‘radio play’ that comes within the type of voices by means of your headphones. With nearly no direct character interplay—and no character improvement—I discovered it straightforward to neglect the names of the important thing characters and locations related to the story. Granted, the story did its job as a backdrop for enjoyable puzzles, stunning vistas, and a few trippy supernatural moments, but it surely sadly didn’t really feel prefer it stood up by itself.

And whereas the puzzles have been usually entertaining, the sport lacked a ‘mechanical climax’ the place every thing the participant has discovered comes collectively in a synergistic method—which is attribute of the perfect puzzle video games on the market.

Crimson Matter 2 took me nearly precisely seven hours to finish on my first playthrough. And whereas there’s not a lot replayability available, it was a usually enjoyable expertise and a stable worth on the $30 value level—to not point out it was technically sound with nice efficiency, sharp visuals, and no crashing or main bugs.

Immersion

Although Crimson Matter 2’s puzzle gameplay doesn’t fairly come collectively in that joyfully synergistic method, the expertise is considerably bolstered by a wonderful sense of immersion. Crimson Matter 2 is definitely one of the vital immersive video games accessible on Quest 2, and to that finish feels just like nice immersive video games loved by PC VR gamers like Lone Echo and Half-Life: Alyx.

Developer Vertical Robotic has continued to lean on its ingenious ‘grabber’ instruments—which it pioneered within the unique Crimson Matter—as the idea of interplay within the recreation. Merely put, within the recreation you maintain a multi-tool that appears to be like so much just like the controller that’s in your arms in actual life. The software can toggle between grabbing, scanning, hacking, and a flashlight. It’s shocking to say, however having ‘grabbers’ that appear to be your controllers feels far more immersive than utilizing digital ‘arms’ to work together with issues within the recreation.

The rationale for the added immersion is twofold: for one, as a result of there’s a software between you and the article, you don’t anticipate to really feel the type of haptics that you’d when you have been grabbing the article along with your precise fingers (and thus realism is preserved). And second, since you’ll be able to’t dexterously manipulate and exactly goal digital objects along with your precise fingers, the grabbers way 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, nearly every thing 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 Crimson Matter 2 is certainly interacting. And as an apart, Crimson Matter 2 might need the perfect paper physics I’ve but seen in a VR recreation—little particulars like that actually add up!

Past the sport’s wealthy interactions, Crimson Matter 2 is a persistently good wanting recreation with robust artwork, lighting, and environmental course. There’s sufficient attention-grabbing visible particulars sprinkled all through the sport that simply wanting at stuff is usually an interesting expertise. Even the Quest 2 model of the sport is graphically on par with the common PC VR recreation; subsequent to native Quest 2 video games, it’s best-in-class.

With a recreation world that feels extra interactive than not, and environments and particulars which are price , the world of Crimson Matter 2 feels ‘stable’ in ways in which not many VR video games obtain.

One second whereas taking part in actually bolstered to me simply how immersive the sport may be.

At one level I wanted to press a button to open a door whereas wanting within the different course (ie: I used to be reaching for the button whereas not it). As I used to be reaching blindly towards the button I used to be confused when my arm felt prefer it went ‘by means of’ the wall—certainly if I had missed the button then the wall would have stopped my hand. However in fact there isn’t an actual wall there, regardless of my mind anticipating that there was one.

That degree of digital embodiment is rarer than you may assume in VR—particularly within the Quest library—and Crimson Matter 2 is considered one of a handful of video games that delivers it.

Consolation

Crimson Matter 2 makes use of typical joystick strolling with some sluggish jetpacking sprinkled about. For essentially the most half I discovered the sport snug, however for lengthy classes I might really feel a creeping sense of movement discomfort. Fortunately the sport helps a teleport possibility which felt a lot snug and is fairly ‘defined’ because the participant utilizing their jetpack to maneuver (although it does trivialize among the platforming sections). There are a choose few components of the sport the place you should use stick motion, even when you’ve opted for teleport, however they’re comparatively transient.

Whereas the non-teleport jetpack motion might be a problem for individuals who are extremely delicate, I discovered it largely snug because of its sluggish and regular velocity. Optionally you’ll be able to select to lose altitude shortly by holding down on the stick, however when you’re very delicate you may be higher of with the default sluggish descent.

The sport’s consolation choices cowl almost every thing on our consolation guidelines, so a particular shout-out to the developer on that font.