EXD - Extra Dimensional

[h3] Pros [/h3] [list] [*]Has magic and combat [*]Full game, not a tech demo [*]Has modern graphics and options [*]Made for vr, not just a mod [*]New story and premise, not based on old IP [*]Fusion of genres that make it feel unique [/list] [h3] Cons [/h3] [list] [*][b]Locomotion is too slow.[/b] I'm constantly pained by how long it takes to walk anywhere. Run would be very much appreciated. Jump would also be nice. I see that I can move ever so slightly faster if I keep moving forward while teleporting often as the interface will allow, so that's what I've been doing. But it's still agonizingly slow. I appreciate that when being chased and in fights, the movement speed is automatically increased but that doesn't make up for the slow walking speed and lack of running. [*][b]Teleport is too slow and short.[/b] Engaging it takes a long time and the distance I can hop is disappointing. It's apparently the only way my character can jump up to things. These limitations make it terrible for trying to be agile or move faster. [*][b]Throwing feels terrible[/b]. Things drop instead of getting flung. [*][b]Unsure how much I can carry.[/b] I've discovered 2 belt pockets for objects and 2 shoulder holsters for weapons. I don't seem to have any other places to carry things but I'm not sure. I'd like to carry more. [*][b]Not sure what I'll need later.[/b] Supplies, weapons, etc. could be important but I have no way of telling weather I should try to bring it or leave it. [*][b]Save points are frustrating[/b] Needs quick save at least. No fun replaying parts I don't mean to. [*][b]Death puzzles aren't fun.[/b] These are made worse by the lame save points. [*][b]Combat feels weird.[/b] Blocking and stabbing with swords doesn't seem to work. Using powers doesn't feel very powerful. Slower frame rates appear to make accuracy harder. [*][b]Aiming with hand magic is difficult.[/b] I get that it's supposed to be a challenge but some slight thing to help me tell where I'm aiming would seem natural. [*][b]Interaction jank.[/b] Movement in a lot of places (bumps, elevators, etc.) creates motion and sticking points that don't appear to be intentional. [*][b]The internal monologue is a bit cringe to me.[/b] I'm guessing it's supposed to be, as an homage to the movie genres that are fuel for magic. Fortunately there isn't too much of it so far and I can turn down that volume. Voice actor accent variation is also confusing, where it's hard to tell if the same person is supposed to be speaking. [*][b]Graphics settings vs performance isn't easy to deduce.[/b] Default settings were blurry and slow. Turning everything off and low made it better and lowering Steam VR render rez made it a lot faster. But then turning some things back on and higher didn't seem to get as slow as before. It would be nice to get dramatically better performance somehow. [/list]

I've played enough VR games now that I know what I like. The best VR games have a combination of stunning graphics, some conflict that requires the use of weapons, puzzle solving, and a soundtrack that provides atmosphere as well as audible clues of impending threats. EXD checks all the boxes. When I was looking for my next VR game, I typed those exact requirements into the AI prompt and the first game that came up was EXD. This was before the game was released. I bought it within a week or two of it coming out. Since the game was new to everyone, I had to figure things out on my own. The fact that I was able to proceed through the game without resorting to a walkthrough or discussions is another positive for the game. Though, I did get stuck twice and finally resorted to seeking help. More on that in a minute. There is some humor in the game. For one, throughout the game there is the ongoing dichotomy of being the "chosen one" while also being a delivery truck driver. There is also some internal dialogue when you successfully dispatch an attacker or attackers. Internal dialogue is also used to provide subtle clues. I did run into a few technical hurdles. The biggest one was that after a couple of hours of continuous game play my hands would freeze. I contacted Pimax support for my Crystal Light headset, and they reported back that the loss of hand tracking was the result of a lack of computational power. I have an older machine, but it still packs a punch - I9, Nvidia 3090 RTX, 64 GB Ram. The fix was to exit the game and return after a restart. I also inadvertently entered an area in the game I could not recover from. There was one point in the game in the last half where I was looking for the way forward and seemed to find a part of the game that had not been walled off, because once I entered this dark area, I sensed myself falling, and once I landed, I was below the playing area unable to move. Lastly, the interaction with the phone on my wrist was sometimes difficult because my left hand would be repelled away as I tried to interact with the screen. I avoid spoilers in my reviews, but I do offer tips. Tip number one is that besides continuous motion there is also the ability to teleport short distances. Practice the teleport every now and then because there are instances where teleporting is either the only way forward or it is the easiest way to proceed around obstacles. Tip number two: Some attackers have the ability to throw fireballs at you. Rather than trying to avoid the fireball, use your sword to deflect them. Also, take every opportunity to store batteries, candy bars, and use reclamation to gain access to weapons like fireballs, ice crystals, and lightening. Now for the two times I got stuck. The first is when I came across the hover craft. When you approach it for the first time, the internal dialogue says something about it missing parts. Here is where I got thrown off track. Nearby is a room with several parts that look like they could be those required parts. I wasted countless time trying to figure out how to get these random parts to fix the hover craft. I finally gave up and watched a walkthrough to help me get through that section. My note to the developers would be don't give a clue about missing parts and then provide parts that have nothing to do with solving the puzzle. The second instance where I needed help was in defeating the giant spider. I'm not a fan of the concept of boss battles. To me, they just bring things to a grinding halt, which is what happened when I encountered this monster. The biggest problem for me was that there was one spider nest that I could not determine its location. Once I saw it on a walkthrough, I defeated the big ass spider on the first try. The game is a little on the dark side. The developers do offer a flashlight and other lighting sources, but better lit scenes would have helped. It took me 34.5 hours to complete the game. I played sitting, which is how I play all of my VR games. The game ends with a reference to EXD 2. Sign me up.

This is a masterfully crafted VR game with exceptional graphics and fluid well designed gameplay. This is very demanding on hardware and I wouldn't approach max settings without a at least a RTX 4090 or RX 9070 XT, and even those cards run close to max load with this game.

A very solid VR game. Exploration, story telling and environments were top notch. Puzzles were struck a good balance (i.e. not annoying, never had to look up a guide, but still engaging) The combat was decent. It would have been nice if some sort of tutorial on "how to do combat" was in the game. Like does swing speed matter? Does the angle of the blade affect damage? Never really figured that out. I found standing during sword fights made it them feel much better (I usually play seated). Overall, if you're into dungeon diving I would say this is a "must play" P.S. Devs you might want to make the gargoyle near the start of the game a bit less "stiff". It gave me a good laugh watching the flying animation.

This is the best new PCVR game I have played in years. Unfortunately the bar is very low, but I hope people support this game so we have hope of getting more of this quality in the future. The story has been good and the combat is solid. I am about half way through and I have really enjoyed the gameplay so far.

[b]Моя первая VR игра! Купил VR ток что бы в неё поиграть. После того как увидел видосик где чел лапал секси воительницу за сиськи и потом ей надоело и она его прибила =) Супер крутая игрушка. Графон топчик, юморная, если понимаешь анг речь на слух. Но в принципе можно и сабы вкл на русик. Ппц сложная. Мобы ваншотят на раз. Короче будет подгорать. Но оно того стоит. Да ещё, если тож никогда не играли в VR и это ваша первая игра. Укачивать будет, мало не покажется. Мятные конфетки и жевачка вам в помощь. Cо временем эта херня пройдёт 100%. У меня прошло за сеансов 10. Но меня даж в автобусе укачивает. Игрушку однозначно рекомендую. P.S Фима спс за подгон. Ты красава =) [/b]

This is the only made for VR game that has released in the last year that has been good enough to stop me playing UEVR. Looks incredible, atmospheric and defo worth a purchase!

I really hate to leave negative reviews about VR games especially those who clearly have passion behind them but I cannot recommend this game in good faith. The good: -unique world: This is almost a negative because of what it could have been, how can someone which such creative ideas got everything else so wrong is beyond me -PCVR graphics: It's a PCVR title and it shows, graphic is not incredible but you can see it's not meant to be played on a stand alone headset The meh: -combat: Just unsatisfying and meh -story: while the setting shows the creativity of the developers the story is itself is simplistic and ruined by flat characters -Level design: The whole game is just cave after cave. Some may like it, I personally found it really boring The bad: -the main character: Flat voice acting and a compilation of the most unfunny jokes I have ever heard. They are cringe and out of place and immersion breaking 10 times out of 10 -Longevity: The game is super short having a length of about 5 hours -The ending: No spoilers but the game is not a full story it is a part 1 of N -Speed: for some reason they decided to lock the sprint to only one specific section that last a minute and for the rest of the game you are walking -Teleport: the range of the teleport is literally 1 meter making it pointless The super bad: -Bugs: this is basically the only time in all of my vr games where I had to quit a game before finishing and watch the rest online because I was soft locked by bugs. Which bug you ask? Very simple every time I tried to use a specific magic I would just hurt myself making the game impossible to progress