Survivorman VR The Descent

Les Stroud for Order of Canada

[Valve Index review] Watch Bear Grylls or Les Stroud, the experience is better... Don't watch them in VR. GOOD - [Goof] Bigfoot appearance - [VR UI] Guided objectives on handy watch MIXED - [Survival] To survive I learned to -- always wait for Stroud to appear and mono what to do next -- steal blubber from seals being eaten by polar bears -- light a fire with frozen poop BAD - [Controls] This is 2018 quality VR: No full finger tracking, shoddy grab and continuously hold controls - [LackOfGameDesignOrImmersion] Walk around the wrong way to the objective? DIE Without warning - [HardResetBugs] Pole collision not detected once in 10 min? die without warning AND reset back to 10 min ago - [Unclear controls] There's a tutorial on how to run with the stick, but when you pick a backpack and figure it would extend slots on your belt it talks about running back to camp to heat up instead. With 2 planks in hands and belt out of 8. THEN halfway up the 5 min walk mountain you figure out yourself you can swing a handy 10 slots backpack out. Summary There is about 1 hour of mostly boring "content" out there, the rest is filled up with buggy, frustrating gameplay causing you to redo parts of the buggy gameplay, I wouldn't recommend this if it were free. For polished VR experiences check out Vacation Simulator For survival VR experiences try Valheim VR mod or The Forest For Les Stroud, open the browser/turn on your TV and watch

Ultimately a little silly and very short. I got it in a Humble Bundle and it was worth playing I'd say, if only due to its somewhat unusual gameplay and setting and actual survival tips being incorporated. Unfortunately, it lacks coherence and logic. Guy says that you'll die when you get out of the orange boundaries, but you can't even do that (so much for immersion...). Then again going up to the helicopter before finishing your other tasks is an immediate death, even if you're implied otherwise (so much for immersion...). Often, your next steps are kind of unclear at the beginning, although you DO have a task log. The calorie and warmth game mechanics become almost irrelevant after the first level and even there, it feels somewhat tacked on. That one time where you rappel, there's suddenly a cable box just lying there, kilometers from the crashed heli! And then the cable ends halfway down aaaand...you're just down there! If that sounded incoherent, that's because the game is incoherent. Even stlll, in all its jank and incoherence, it's kind of memorable! The survival tips make sense (if partially only in the Arctic...) and the presentation does have a certain charm to it! It's actually quite beautiful and aesthetically pleasing for a lot of the game. The whiteout in level 3 is an interesting experience, for instance! I had fun...but to be frank, I was somewhat glad it was over. I am torn, but it's ultimately a thumbs down. And that's mostly due to the glaring issues and the price. This isn't worth 15€. This isn't worth 10. If you can get it lower and want a unique experience that you might still remember a year down the line, even though you only spent two hours....well, it might be a decent buy. Also, obviously, if you're into survival stuff. If you do: Keep the pole horizontal and dip it in the snow to your left and right to steer. Sitting on the floor seems necessary. You'll thank me later...