Willowisp VR

[h1]The Good[/h1] [list][*] Really solid gameplay. Though the difficulty starts on "Hard" it's in the "Tough But Fair" camp. Playing story mode I failed once each of the first five levels before beating it on my next try. [*] Constant introduction of new mechanics. On the first level I was thinking, "Huh, there's more that could be happening here." By level 5 I was like, "There's a lot to keep track of!" [*] The focus so far is on fun. There were moments I felt as graceful as I sometimes do in SUPERHOT VR, slicing through three wisps with one sword while positioning my other sword in the mirror to intercept one sneaking up from behind and figuring out how I was gonna dodge that bomb I know is to my right... [/list] [h1]The Could Use Some Work Still[/h1] [list][*]The dressing. Definitely a 1993 shareware aesthetic right now, though the developer has hired an artist so it'll be cool to see how that develops. Even a consistent color palette would help at this point though. [*]While I enjoyed that a story was being told, it wasn't always clear how seriously it was taking itself. Sometimes it was certainly winking, sometimes it wasn't winking hard enough. [*]The sense of progression is mostly being accomplished by the game mechanics, at least as far as I am in the game right now. While I'm pleased to feel more skilled at the game after even a short while, I don't feel my character has become more powerful, and while the story has moved forward, I'm still in the same place looking at the same trees. Special abilities or choices on how to upgrade my swords would add a level of strategy, and different environments would really reinforce the story. [/list] [h1]The Verdict[/h1] Buy this game if you ever walk around your apartment swinging a yardstick or a broom handle pretending it's a sword, or if you are Neal Stephenson, or if you have ever been a 14-year-old boy, or if you've never understood why fencers only use one eppe because wouldn't the first one to use two at once just own everybody? (Also, no way those one-lightsaber jedi could have ever held out against a two-lightsaber jedi, that is just ridiculous, Star Wars.) The gameplay is polished, the challenge is real, and there's no way I found to easily cheat (yes, that was like the second thing I tried).