RAGER

This game is a great Rythm game that has unique features I have not seen in other games. It has different weapons that require you to perform different actions such as smashing with the club or slicing with the sword. There are boss fights that require you to move in 360 degrees which caught me off guard but was interesting. The game is hard a word of warning but manageable for me on the easy mode. The music and visuals are really good. Recommend for sure

A fun musical brawler, great music, engaging action, the works. If you ever wished for combat that flows with the music around it, this game works well for that. When you get into a good flow the combat just flies by smooth as butter. Boss fights are enjoyable, the difficulty differences are noticeable and well tuned, the music keeps your energy up and the levels keep you moving but don't outstay their welcome. There aren't too many levels yet but the ones that are there are enjoyable and the freestyle mode adds a lot of replayability as you can use all different combinations of weapons on a single song.

i received a copy for testing and I play on the Quest version of this mostly as its not practical for gameplay when tethered, so I have more experience with the game on my quest than my playtime suggests. First off, this game is EPIC and you WILL burn alot of calories. It adds a whole new and exciting twist to the beat rhythm genre with the intensity of melee combat mechanism so feels more like a Tron combat simulation. So definitely consider this game as a workout depending on the difficulty. Each round you're fending off waves of enemies all around you with precise strikes and in rhyme to the music. There are different colors like yellow when you have to strike in a certain direction whereas Red you can strike however. The music is awesome but pretty limited. I'm sure they'll be continuing to add to the library as this is Early Access.

I received a copy for testing and I have tested the Quest version of this previously, so I have more experience with the game than my playtime suggests. I think this is a pretty solid rhythm game and it feels unique compared to the others. It has an Until You Fall style of mechanic with slashing enemies, some directional bonking, plus a staff weapon for some Darth Maul style action. Each section has a boss, which technically doesn't innovate on the game [i] but it feels like it does, [/i] and I find the boss battles to be quite enjoyable. There are plans to include 180-view for the campaign as well as freestyle levels where you can choose your weapons, which will definitely improve the game--especially for those who have a small play area. Wacking enemies instead of blocks or balls feels pretty good as well. I'm really looking forward to watching how this game grows as it has been growing A LOT since I first played it on the early builds of Quest version. The devs have been very responsive and I love the changes they've made so far. That being said there are a couple things that make me hesitate to recommend it at full price in Early Access. One is that the weapons are really just three types: red, yellow, and staff (and that's being generous since staff just feels like another way to swing). Red requires slicing any direction at a line on the enemy and yellow requires a direction (sometimes). The only distinction otherwise is the angle the weapon is held which is not, in my opinion, enough of a difference (e.g. sword versus claws). A dev responded saying there might be a planned alternate game mode where the types have more of a distinction and I hope that happens. (I'm very biased in hoping it's a roguelite mode.) The other big issue I have right now (and I will edit if this proves to be incorrect) is that the songs seem to be generated using AI. At a bare minimum I get the impression that "Dark Energy" lyrics are generated and the vocalist is potentially AI considering how weirdly he says "avenue" during part of "Industrial Avenue" and I can't think of any musical warping/effect that would cause it. If actual humans are behind everything, I'm sorry and don't intent to be rude. This is a serious issue because Steam requests you to disclose use of AI (and for good reason) and the only thing listed on the store page is the narration. Using AI as a placeholder during EA-status is fine so long as the final game has none of it in the core content of the game (narration of the tutorial is fine though) and it should be disclosed. All that being said, this game is in Early Access and things can change and I do honestly believe they will be changing for the better based on everything I've seen so far as a tester. I look forward to watching this game grow and adjusting my review accordingly. Especially looking forward to the future-planned level editor and what people come up with.

RAGER is an intense VR rhythm game that focuses on close-quarters combat. Unlike other music/rhythm games I have played, the playing field here is 360 degrees around you. It is a full workout to keep track of the enemies coming at you, but that is exactly what makes this unique and fun. The campaign doesn't get boring because there are many different weapons and combinations that you'll use. Murdering my enemies to the beat with different weapons feels very satisfying. On top of that, the boss fights are very cool. I'll definitely be playing this again in the future once there are more levels (or custom levels)! I recommend this if you like Beat Saber and have the necessary room space. Note: I received this game for playtesting.

A fresh take on the beat saber formula, while the game doesn't have a lot of content right now it shows plenty of promise. Do note that by default this is a 360 degree battlefield, and enemies come from all sides (and sometimes jump side to side too) so having a wireless headset with no cables in the way, and plenty of room all around you is highly recommended. The good: - Visual quality is very good, very stable high refresh rate on my PC. - 6 different types of weapons for more variation. - On higher difficulties enemies come at you hard and fast, plenty of thrill. The bad: - The narration and perhaps some songs are AI-generated. Especially narration lacks emotion. - Fist weapon on my PSVR2 controllers lack precision, often reads an input way too early or not at all. - Content is limited right now. Definitely shows lots of promise, with more polish and content this can be a great game.

Great Instructed motion "rythm" game ! Graphically, the game is good. The music is excellent too and puts you in the heat of the action! It can be played by beginners and veterans (no motion sickness). The EA currently consists of three stages, each divided into four levels, each last with a boss fight. The content can be completed in less than an hour, but the duration is easily extended by the three progressive difficulty levels (easy/medium/hard) and depending on your desire to advance in the leaderboard. You have a Free mode too that adds 4 new levels and where you can customize the experience (choice of weapons, 180-degree playing surface, etc...) which has its own leaderboard depending on the modifiers chosen. The roadmap includes the ability to add your own music, which would theoretically lead to an infinite lifespan, but this isn't currently available. Unlike classics of the genre such as Beat Saber, Pistol Whip, etc... whose levels are built on rails, Rager constructs its static levels where you face waves of enemies in 360 degrees, which drastically changes the approach and requiring more sustained attention. You play with predefined melee weapons according to the level (sword, hammer, fists, mini-blades, staff, etc.) and whose sensations are quite different from each other. It requires you to either attack by performing the movement marked on the screen (slash in a given direction), dodge barriers, or parry enemy attacks (align weapons as indicated). It's quite similar to Until You Fall (instructed motions). There are no really unnatural movements that will require you to make an unnatural gesture, which is worth noting. The notion of scoring is solely induced by the timing of your strikes/blocks (indicated on the screen by the marker), and the score is largely based on this. The game has a fairly narrow field of view and the on-screen markers sometimes appear too quickly or too close to the eyes - making it more of a reflex-based action game with simple sequential patterns to know than a pure rhythm game where you have to learn sometimes precise long sequences. This is probably intentional in the game design especially since the 360-degree construction deconstructs any notion of reference. The pros : +Excellent Instruction motion "rythm" game (based more on reflexes than memorizing entire sequences) +Good graphics +Good music +Good workout in hard mode +Leaderboards are available for those who enjoy competition +The game runs perfectly +The game is very well polished (0 bugs encountered) The negatives : -Limited content for now -If you have no desire to improve your score, there is no real replay value -Not a pure rythm game Conclusion : The game has good art/sound direction and a very clean gameplay based primarily on reflexes. There is a lack of content at the moment but the game is in early access and the studio is active (this must be taken into account) but the foundations are there and very solid. I recommend at this stage without hesitation for short cardio sessions (especially on hard mode). Good job !

Great game. Beat saber with enemies and 360 movement. The environment and attackers are nice, but the boss fights shine. For the most part, the music was good, but my only request is MORE! By the time you get your heart rate up and feel confident in your abilities, the campaign is over. I did not try to the Free-Mode. I imagine that would satisfy some of that request, but I will update the review when 1.0 drops. Hopefully, there is more banger content and the devs keep up the hard work.

DISCLAIMER: I received this product for free to playtest and review, thanks! Before I get into my review proper, a HUGE disclaimer: you should REALLY have a full 360 degree playspace with good clearance in all directions! Some levels will require you to be able to rotate around, and quickly sometimes at that, so you may not have time to adjust properly if your playspace is restrictive! With that out of the way, onto the review: The pros: The gameplay loop is fun and creative. You are given weapons in each level to fight and block with, much like many other VR rhythm games, and have to move your arms and body to match directional inputs and dodges. The enemies are synced very well to the music, and it feels fun and rewarding to really get a grip on playing. I felt like I was getting a genuinely good workout with each level I played, even on the lower difficulties, and the music is fun and easy to get into, getting me immersed and pumped up very quickly. The boss fights are fun and challenging, requiring you to have a proper understanding of the mechanics the levels leading up to them have taught you, while not usually feeling unfair in any way. The game was visually appealing, with all actions both direction and colour-coded based on what weapon or action you were meant to be doing, giving you just enough time to see what's coming and react accordingly if you're on the ball. The cons: There were times where the game felt a little unresponsive to my inputs, especially when attacking on my right side using my left hand (non-dominant) since some levels have you using specific weapons in each hand, and on occasion those inputs will overlap to the other side. I'm not sure if this was my own skill or the game not registering, but it seemed to be a mixture of both. There were a few times, especially in boss fights, where I felt insanely overwhelmed trying to keep up, because the bosses could do practically full 180s in frustratingly regular intervals, and trying to avoid stepping on a cable or tripping myself up with said cable while spinning around rapidly AND trying to focus on the game was very difficult, leading to a few unfair-feeling hits. The tutorials drag on a little too long in my opinion. Your control is routinely taken away by the game during tutorials (it warns you of this in advance) to demonstrate the "perfect hit" version of whatever move it's teaching you, before having you practice it yourself, but at times this began to feel repetitive when I was really just itching to get back into the game, but wanted to learn the new mechanics the next levels were going to throw at me. TL;DR: - an insanely fun game with great music, fun gameplay and an enjoyable challenge - had some issues with input from my non-dominant hand when overlapping to my other side, but there's a good chance that's my own failure not the game. - boss fights feel challenging and enjoyable, although sometimes move a little too fast for a wired headset to safely keep up with unless very accustomed. - PLEASE have enough space in all directions for 360 gameplay! Very fun game and I can't wait to see where it goes from here! Thanks again for the free copy for playtesting.

amazing! way more intense than the demo. great workout don't know why there's a weight calibration though also hoping they come out with custom songs and/or allow mods for them. for a new game it has potential.