Sentenced VR

My heart is like stone. I played my first play through and did exactly as per my job description. No mercy. No wavering. My only regret is that after each execution I didn't have a lot of time to toss the decapitated head into the crowd. 10 out of 10. I will always become an unthinking instrument of the state again, as long as they've got a pointy hat.

[h1]Sentenced VR[/h1] Nada mal.. nada mal, eu tive uma ótima experiência, embora seja um jogo curto de realidade virtual, eu não tive aquela sensação de "a mais um tech demo de RV", pois achei tudo do jogo realmente interessante e confesso que tbm curti ficar decapitando pessoas como um carrasco ksksksksk e ainda o melhor de tudo é que o jogo te da a possibilidades de fazer escolhas que eu não vou me aprofundar muito sobre, pra não estragar sua experiência. [b]Não espere um jogo com gráficos e jogabilidade incríveis, mas no meu caso achei que o jogo tem uma proposta interessante e eu realmente gostei bastante, só uma pena que foi uma experiência curta, mas estou satisfeito, então recomendo, mas só compre em promoção por ser bem curto sendo que eu joguei só 75 minutos e acabei platinando fácil inclusive.[/b]

I played this on the Valve Index, so some of my criticisms might not apply to other consoles. I'm rather sad that I don't like this game more, seeing as I adore the concept. To take on the role of Executioner, not a hero or a saint, but a commoner tasked with doing one of medieval society's dirtiest deeds, is a brilliant idea for a medium as immersive as VR. I'm a huge fan of the screens between executions with historical facts regarding the profession as well, as it's a nice touch that some players will use to give context to their decisions. The voice acting is also really good; There's a lot of emotion and drama in these scenes, and the actors do an incredible job selling the player on their reality in this world in the few lines they're given before you kill them. I'm also very into the range of moral character in the criminals, as some are very easy to hate and others are sympathetic enough to make you question your role in the system. The issues with the game, however, are too serious for me to recommend. While VR is a great medium for conveying immersive stories, that very same level of immersion makes poor controls stick out like a sore thumb. Speaking of sore thumbs, the first issue with the controls is that the in-game hands don't line up at all with your real-life hands, which is immediately jarring. There is an option in-game to adjust your hands, but it simply rotates them around and doesn't seem to fix the issue entirely, though with some finagling there might be something someone can do to make it work. Movement is also challenging. I tried both teleportation and smooth movement, and both have their issues: Teleportation can be activated with inputs from either the left or right control sticks... even when you're just trying to use the right stick to look around, meaning you're constantly being displaced unexpectedly when you really just want to look at something or turn. Smooth movement is really, really difficult; It seems as though it only takes inputs that are **absolutely** in line with the four cardinal directions on the movement stick, so if you're even slightly off, you're stuck in place. Additionally, moving foreward seems to skew left a bit, and moving back skews right. These two factors in combination makes the game nigh-innavigable with smooth movement. Final control gripe: Two-handing the sword makes it very difficult to determine where your sword will end up when you swing. One-handing feels fine, though. I'm not a fan of the visual style of the game. Everything is dyed in odd blue and pink hues, which makes for interesting screenshots but becomes straining after a while. It also detracts from the realism of the world, which is a shame because it seems like the creators here have done their homework in terms of replicating the experience of being an executioner. If the odd filter / coloration was either not present or reserved for the scenes in which you clean and sharpen your blade, I think I'd enjoy the look of the game more. The creator and team behind this game are clearly a passionate, hard-working lot. Despite the missteps that made playing this game a bit of an odd challenge, I think there's a lot of potential here. I mean, if the controls for movement weren't so wonky and the hands lined up properly, I'd have a lot less to complain about. I look forward to seeing what else this team is able to accomplish, as this is a very impressive (albeit deeply flawed) project.

I started playing this game like the silly idiot I am and then it got serious. Day 1) Went to the interview and the judge went on a rant about authority bla bla… didn't listen to him. Instead I touched his hat and accidentally dropped it. He told me to stop it. How dare he tell me what to do. Oh! Look a shiny knife. I wonder… OMG, I stabbed my future boss… I'm so sorry. Restart. Day 2) My first day at work. Not taking it seriously. Throwing the skull around and trying to hit the audience with apples… which somehow are impossible to pick-up. The victi… I mean the convict is a pretty bad person. Not as as bad as me, but still… head off… whoooo. Playing golf with the sword and head. I'm so graceful. Day 3) My second day at work. Figuring out that the bottle actually contains wine. Duuuhhh and Weeeee! I'm drunk. Checking out if I can stab myself. Nope. I'M INVINCIBLE! What? I have to execute that blurry thingy… hmwmeppff… aim… almost botching it… done. Day 4) Starting the day like the usual ass-idiot-donkey… hearing that this woman was being sentenced to death for stealing a dress and some coin. Wow. That is a bit harsh, isn't it? Pondering if I should do it… hearing a racist slur from the audience… you are all ***holes. You just want her death because she is a foreigner. I refuse to do your dirty work. Being yelled at by the judge. Not taking this from him… I execute the judge… OMG the guards are all over me. Why wasn't I expecting this? I'm being executed. Well f***. Restart. Day 5) Ok. Ok. I'm actually interested in what is in that book between the jobs. Contains infos about the history of executions. I'm learning something. Also I know were this is going… I just have to ignore my conscience and see what happens at the end of the game… the dev is just trying to make me feel guilty… … and the dev is succeeding. Slowly I feel more and more repulsed by the game (justice system). I don't want to do this, but I push myself on… but I actually start to hate myself or the character I'm playing. Every time I take the bag of coin I feel more dirty. I really really have to kick myself to get through the last few executions. The coin bag after the last execution is on the floor… after I've picked it up, I have the urge to shower. The game is short. Like really really short. Interesting concept but it could do with a few more moral/ethical choices. I was surprised to see that over 70% of the players rebelled too in their first try. Maybe there is hope? Tough I'm afraid that the few sociopaths will get one off in this game instead of learning a lesson. I'm a bid on the fence… not sure yet how to rate the game. (FYI you can restart without doing the entire story. There are milestones. Previous complaints from others were from an older game version.)

You know, honestly? I rather enjoyed this! It's simple and to the point with surprisingly good voice acting considering the budget the game probably had (good enough that there were a few times where I was almost convinced not to swing my sword; More on that later!) and while the gameplay itself is pretty basic and nothing to write home about, I found the little history lesson while cleaning my blade a nice touch and the ritual of cleaning and sharpening at the end of the day surprisingly enjoyable. It's the simple things in VR, huh? The game's art style - a complete lack of red in the colour pallet - reminds me of an old CRT I had when I was a kid that had a broken SCART, so that made me smile, but I have to say for a game that is pretty gruesome in concept, it seems odd to shy away from gore. Ultimately though, it's an unimportant part of the game. A big plus for me was the closing screen - seeing how you stacked up against other would-be executioners who played, and I have to say (remember when I said I had trouble swinging my sword sometimes?) seeing Millgram's Study being used to influence the game was an excellent little touch that made the Criminal Psychologist in me smile. Well executed, Samuel Gordon, well executed indeed. The controls are a bit fiddly (Though I hear that's been fixed since I played) and the hand rotation never felt quiet right, and sure, it's a bit repetitive... but for a few quid you'll get an excellent little gamified take on one of both History's and Psychology's most influential and important experiments. Don't go into this expecting deep mechanics or even really engaging gameplay, and be sure to play it alone with NO outside influence from friends or family. Once you're done though (or if you've finished this already) PLEASE go take a read of the Milgram's Shock Experiment (As well as the other books and studies referenced in the credits). I think it gives this game a lot more oomph, and I even feel the creator should put much more emphasis on this experiment post-credits.

This game would be good if you could skip the scenes. It's boring the second time around.

First of wall, this is not meant for the Quest 2. Controllers positions are wrong for this system and smooth movement with joystick are not working properly. Overall quality of the game is pretty sub par. The game is pretty short and half you time is wasted getting your money and wiping your sword from blood and having it against the grindstone. You have ''choices'' but it really, really does nothing, but end your game's short and be put in a different ''stats'' for players. It does not affect the story whatsoever.

Sentenced had some promise and does a great job with some marketing spin to make it feel like there may be more to the game than just beheading some folks. Alas, that is all that is really there at the end of the day. I was hopeful there would be some moral choices that might provide a deeper experience, however this is not the case. You essentially are forced to listen to a speech and are asked to do the job you signed up for. Sure, you can choose not to execute, or even rebel and attack the other lord npc's, however eventually choices other than performing the execution just end in a game over. It is a very repetitive slog through 10-11 execution scenes with little replay value. The only saving grace is the crowd NPC dialog can be a little comical. I wouldn't recommend at full price, but if you could snag it for $1-$2 on a sale then it might be worth the 60 minutes of gameplay.

I'll keep this review short and sweet, much like the game itself. The visuals are beautiful, bold and striking. The voice acting is really good. The movement can be a little janky. But this is one of those experiences that will stay with you, long after you're done with it. Definitely give it a go.