Tetris Effect Connected

Truly a beaufiful Tetris Jouney

Game no: 543
Genre: Puzzle
Platform: VR (Meta Quest 3)
Release Date: 2020

I've played this game before on the PC (review here) and I really enjoyed it. It the colours and the visuals made this an elevated version of Tetris. This time playing it on VR is a whole different beast. Using the Meta Quest 3 you are really immerce in that game. You can be as close or as far from the block. The best part of it is that you can see all the visual in 3D. The only issue I had with this game is that controlling the Tetris blocks with the Quest controllers can be a bit tricky since it involves 2 different sides of input. But after a while you'll get used to it. But really this game was supposed to be played in flat screen rater than in 3D. 3D I can only play in short chunks and sessions. Overall this is a great experince and it saves me a couple of dollars buying this game on pc. A-Rank for me

Batman Arkham Shadow

The game that made me buy a VR

Game no: 541
Genre: Action
Platform: VR (Meta Quest 3) 
Release Date: 2024

After seeing this gameplay online and the premise of being Batman. I really need to get myself a Meta Quest 3 just to play this game. So after playing this game I can say that this game is one of the best game that showcase why you need to play in VR. This story takes place after Batman Arkham Origins where Batman is starting to work with the police and District Attorney to hunt down a new bad guy called the Ratcatcher. This game takes place in Gotham city and most of the game takes place in Blackgate Prison which you have been before in the past games. As far as the story goes, it is very engaging. There are a lot of Batman deep cuts for died hard fans and for nomal people you would enjoy it as well. A couple of familiar faces also return and you can see their origins before they be who they are. In terms of story this is a good one. This is the fourth of the Arkham games (City, Asylum, Origins, Shadow, Knight and Blackgate) 
 

So gameplay wise, you really are the dark knight. Everything you think Batman can do, you can do it in VR. Using your gadgets such as the Batarang, Shock Gloves, Sequencer and Portable Explosive helps you in your quest. Other than that detective mode returns and there are a lot of areas that you need to scan in order to solve the crime. The basic Arkham mechanics are back. The freeflow system in previous Arkham games is translated well in VR. You put your hands like a fist and push the bad guys one by one. You also have to be quick into dodging other attacks and making different combos like cape toss and 180 flips depending on the enemy type. Returning as well are also the stealth sections where you need to clear a room full of enemies with different perches and grates to navigate 

The thing I love about playing this in VR is the sense of immersion that you get playing at Batman. When you walk and hit and punch you do feel that you are the Caped Crusader.  The use of the gadgets are also well excecuted. As a VR game I didn't get motion sickness at all since I set it to not immersive. The combat was hard but bareable since I set it to easy, and even that I got a good beating. There are a couple of puzzles and climbing sections that I enjoy as well. The Meta Quest controllers comes in 3 buttons so its either a thumbs up, air pistols or a fist. So the hand tracking isn't that preceise. There is also a scene that reminds me of the first Arkham game which is awesome. 

There are a couple flaws in the game as well. Mainly the switch between Batman and Matches Malone. I get that it is part of the story but for evey 20 minutes of being Batman, you spend another 20-30 minutes of being Malone. After a while it really gets old and the Malone sequences are not as fun as becoming Batman. It does however moves the story forward. Besides that, the stealth sections of the game are okay but doing stealth in VR is not as great as playing it on the flat screen. Other than that this game is a perfect VR experince 

Overall I am glad my first VR game was a Batman experince. I really enjoyed every moment of it and eventhough that the game is over, I can say this is the most definitive way to experince becoming Batman. This is going to make my game of the year for this year. I give this game an S-Rank

Beat Saber

The number 1 game on every VR unit

Game no: 539
Genre: Music
Platform: VR (Meta Quest) 
Release Date: 2019

I've been seeing Beat Saber videos on youtube since this game came out. In my mind that this game looks like fun. After getting the Quest 3. This was the second game I tried and boy it did not dissapoint. In Beat Saber you control two light sabers and hit blocks in a direction of the beat of the music. The game requires fast reflexes and skills in order to complete a stage.

First of all, I love the songs. The songs have a lot of vareity ranging from pop, sync beats, jazz. Everything is caerfully curated to give you the best Beat Saber experince. The game gives you multiple modes such as Easy to Expert+. Other modes includes One Saber, No Arrow cubes and my favorite 360 (where the cubes will come from all angles) The best part of beat saber for me is when you reach the zen mode you can hit the cubes with precesion to get your combo meter to go up. This game is really a workout, playing it on hard makes your heart rate increase to around 160 beats per mintue. The suddent burst of adreneline is a good way to keep your blood pumping. There is also other songs (or packs) from different artist like Lady Gaga, Billie Elilsh, BTS, Linkin Park and more. They provide you with a different set of challenges that is not in the base game. I like the Daft Punk song which is 10 minutes long. That is a complete workout on its own. 

The only thing I say it a problem in this game is the campaign mode. You need to complete the challenges in order to proceed. The problem is that the challenges gets progessively harder each time. I also think it is my age where my limit is a 3 seconds speed. Anything more than that my reflexes gets a little slow and I usually fail the course. This mean that I can't complete teh campaign after level 24 since its on expert and it is getting too frustrating. 

So what does that mean. That means this game is great without the campaign. You can play every songs and you try to get the best score. in my opinion 30 mins a day is good enough to burn a couple calories. This is one of my games of the year. I give this game an S-Rank

First Encounters

Virtual Reality is here to stay 

Game no: 538
Genre: Shooter (Mixed Reality) 
Platform: VR (Meta Quest) 
Release Date: 2023

After months of just looking at videos and reviews I finally went and pick myself up a Meta Quest 3 (review will come later) and the first game I thought I want to try is the in app Frist Encounters. This is basically a mixed reality game where it blends the real world with a 3D game in it. This game is fairly simple. Little cute furballs has invaded your space and its up to you and two guns to shoot them back to the spaceship. The game is simpla and its teaches you how to navigate in the virtual world. I find this game really fun even its just a simple shooter. The creatures are cute and I can see me playing it again and again. Overall the first VR game I can give it a S-Rank