Gambit!

Gambit! is a game that wears its identity openly and unapologetically. Developed and published by XREAL Games, it positions itself not as a grounded shooter or a narrative-driven adventure, but as a loud, reckless, co-op spectacle built primarily for VR. The world it presents is exaggerated and chaotic, filled with gangs, improvised weapons, and a tone that thrives on irreverence. You choose one of four misfit criminals and charge headfirst into a series of over-the-top heists, raids, and firefights, all while exchanging quips and shooting anything that gets in the way. The story serves more as a framing device than a driving force—it sets the stage for violence and mayhem rather than attempting meaningful character arcs or emotional investment. The core appeal of Gambit! comes from its cooperative gunplay. Designed with four-player VR sessions in mind, the game wants players communicating, strategizing, and competing for loot while navigating wave-based encounters and multi-stage missions. Handling firearms in VR brings an inherent tactile satisfaction—reloading, aiming, dual-wielding, or scrambling behind cover feels personal in a way traditional shooters can’t fully replicate. The game offers a progression system filled with unlockable weapons, attachments, cosmetics, and upgrades, giving players a sense of accomplishment as they repeat missions or push deeper into the campaign. PvP arenas and side activities add extra modes to break up the campaign pacing, reinforcing the impression that Gambit! sees itself as a multiplayer playground rather than a structured single-player journey. Where the game falters most is in consistency and refinement. The level design—corridors, industrial yards, rooftops, and interior combat arenas—often repeats layouts and combat scenarios, leading to a sense of déjà vu as missions progress. Enemy types frequently behave similarly, relying on simple rush-and-shoot patterns that don’t require much adaptation from the player. For a game built around extended shootouts, variety becomes crucial, and the repetition of encounters can dull the sense of escalation. Its humor, while intentionally brash, occasionally crosses into one-note territory, relying heavily on profanity and exaggerated bravado rather than clever writing or situational comedy. Visual presentation reinforces these mixed impressions. The art direction aims for stylized grit—bright colors, graffiti textures, and comic-book sensibilities—but the technical execution doesn’t always keep pace. Environments may look sparse, textures flat, and lighting minimal, particularly on VR hardware with limited performance capabilities. Characters and weapons have personality, but the world often lacks the fine detail or environmental storytelling that makes a setting feel inhabited. Gambit! clearly prioritizes performance and readability during fast-paced firefights, but the trade-off limits immersion for players expecting modern graphical polish. As a solo experience, Gambit! feels notably less compelling. The campaign can be completed alone, but its structure, pacing, and mechanical focus are designed around shared chaos—reviving teammates, coordinating fire, calling out enemies, and celebrating loot drops. Without the social component, levels can feel lengthy, repetitive, and emotionally flat. This reliance on co-op becomes even more apparent when matchmaking struggles or player populations decline, making it difficult to experience the game as intended unless coordinating with friends. The progression systems help incentivize continued play, but they rarely rewrite how encounters function or encourage experimentation beyond trying new weapons. Despite these shortcomings, Gambit! succeeds at delivering exactly the kind of experience it sets out to provide. When four players jump in together, communicate, joke, and tear through enemies while juggling objectives, the game becomes genuinely enjoyable. Its exaggerated style and accessible VR mechanics make it ideal for short, energetic play sessions rather than marathon storytelling. It feels like an arcade cabinet brought into the modern era—loud, repetitive, funny, and best enjoyed with other people leaning into the absurdity rather than critiquing structure or logic. Ultimately, Gambit! is a niche title with a specific audience. Players seeking polished tactical combat, deep world-building, or narrative motivation will likely walk away disappointed. But VR users who want a cooperative shooter that prioritizes camaraderie, chaos, and simple gratification may find it hits the exact spot it aims for, especially when purchased at a discount or approached with modest expectations. It’s not a transformative VR experience, but it can be a fun one—as long as you bring friends and embrace the madness. Rating: 5/10

[h1]Very Underrated VR Shooter - Fun Gunplay and lots of collectables - However, its short/unfinished[/h1] I avoided this game for quite some time seeing the mostly negative reviews on Steam. This is yet another game that was completely underrated for what it is. I very much enjoyed my playthrough of the game. The game definitely does not deserve the negative reviews it has gotten. Yes, there are some technical problems and the game is quite short (less than 4 hours), but I had a blast for what the game offered. [b]What does this game play like?[/b] The game plays like if you took TMNT and mixed it with the shooting and linearity of Call of Duty along with the style of Borderlands and a hint of Payday. Put it into VR and you have GAMBIT! The game is very arcady with waves of enemies in each section you progress into. It feels like a game you would play in an arcade, pumping quarters into as you progress the game. [b]Voice Acting[/b] The voice acting is pretty good, although, I am not sure what the story was about as I really did not listen to it. But, the quality of the voice acting was pretty cool. It was like listening to a cartoon for adults. Something you would see on Adult Swim or something. There were some funny lines that did have me chuckle a bit. [b]Gunplay[/b] The gun play is fast and arcady. There is manual reloading, but its handled loosely as you can slap the pistols to your waist to reload them. There is a fairly good selection of weapons, however, you have to unlock them first by playing through the campaign. You also have to collect money in order to afford them. [b]Sound Effects[/b] One thing that is largely underrated in this game that makes this game stand out is the sound effects. XREAL has talent in this field. With their other games like Zero Caliber, they do not skimp out on sound effect quality. The guns, reverb effects, and even footsteps sound great here. [b]Multiplayer[/b] There are 3 multiplayer modes this game offers. The first is Municiple Mayhem which is a survival mode that has you verse 3 other players. The last player standing is the winner. Rounds usually last under 30 seconds in this mode. If there are no players online, you verse bots. Then you have traditional deathmatch and team deathmatch, which is typical. Nothing really stands out. The other mode, of course is Coop which allows you to partner up to 3 other players to play through the game's campaign. [b]Graphics[/b] This is where the weaknesses to the game start taking effect. The graphics are nothing great. You can definitely tell this game was originally developed for Quest. Quite unfortunate. I would love to imagine an alternative timeline where devs developed for PCVR primarily and trickle down to Quest. I bet this game would have been better if that happened. [b]Too Short[/b] The game is quite short, no doubt. It took me about 4 hours to complete the game, however, I did take my time and looked around for collectibles. Realistically, someone could complete this game's campaign in less than 2 hours. It seems the devs had 2 other parts planned, but since the game was just review bombed, they gave up. Pretty sad. I think part 1 was fun, would have loved to play part 2 and 3. Maybe someday? Not holding my breath though. [b]Overall[/b] If you find this game on sale, pick it up! This game was a blast to play, in my opinion. If you want an arcady shooter that you can play with a friend or two, this is your game. Definitely give it a try!

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Aucun problème de crash pendant le jeu. Et honnêtement je le trouve pas si mal que ça. Si vous voulez un jeu vraiment claqué au sol regardez du côté de Samurai Slaughter House. Là les graphismes sont pas trop mal. Beaucoup d'options pour configurer le gameplay. Pas mal de secrets a trouver. Des sous titres en Français ce qui devient de plus en plus rare à la sortie. L'option multi que j'ai pas encore testée mais qui devrait me plaire vu que j'aime After The Fall. Après est ce qu'on aura les nouvelles map ? Est ce que les problèmes de tracking seront résolus ? En tous cas moi je lui donne sa chance et je vais le garder.

EDIT: Re-bought the game and they have fixed a lot with what I was having issues with. Game play feels really smooth now! It is def fun with friends or other players. Im not sure why the made Zero Caliber 2 turn into this as I like the Zero Caliber line more. I can only guess that they decided to update ZC / ADD features then release a MP only type of game. Changed from NEG review to Positive as all my main issues are now fixed. Thank you Xreal you guys did good. Hope to see more put into this bare bones game keep up the awesome work! OLD NEG Review had 20 helpfuls so I hope that ppl can see Xreal is making an effort. The worst Xreal game I've played. unpolished turd.. Ive been waiting for this game too.. If you want a good MP game buy Ghost Of Tabor SP Vertigo 2 Stay away from this nasty quest port.

Fun but needs improvments

Honestly the game didn't match my expectations, To me it sounded like borderlands in VR but its not that at all Although the other reviews are criticising it for running bad and that didn't happen on my end.

GAMBIT is QUIRKY and FULL OF ATTITUDE and if you OPEN ITS MOUTH and LOOK CLOSELY you can see a BORDERLANDS-SHAPED IMPRESSION on its TONSILS.