‘Adr1ft’ Oculus Rift VR Review: Is The VR Pioneer Worth The Hype?

There has been so much hype on the new Oculus Rift VR game Adr1ft. After Oculus announced their venture into the virtual reality world, people have been looking out on their game launch.

Now that Adr1ft is out, the reviews about the game began to pour. Though many were amazed about the cool possibilities of Oculus Rift, some were disappointed by Adr1ft’s main gameplay. Let’s take a look at the roundup below.

Virtual Reality Integration

When the users start on Adr1ft, they are going to provide a tutorial on how to use the game and how the story will unfold. Adr1ft‘s protagonist is the sole survivor of a space disaster. Basically, one can imagine the storyline leaning towards movies like Gravity and The Martian.

Though the premise is good and challenging, the player will be shown the debris of this magnanimous spaceship that’s already collapsed. According to IGN, this is a “huge missed opportunity.”

Oculus demos VR selfie sticks and 360 photo spheres https://t.co/8Z499FQUGq by @joshconstine pic.twitter.com/MwHewxmsEk

— TechCrunch (@TechCrunch) April 13, 2016

Adr1ft could have featured the spaceship when it was still intact. This way, the gamers can truly experience the virtual reality world of the game. It would also be engaging if the actual destruction was seen during the introduction. Just as IGN noted, “an implied spectacular event just isn’t effective.”

On the other hand, there are some great features that can be seen in the Oculus Rift gameplay. Since the protagonists did not have a strong story foundation to begin with, the game challenges the players by keeping them busy. According to Kotaku, the detective part of the introduction seemed somehow pointless.

“Sure, they very broadly lead to an understanding of what caused the destruction of the station, but for the most part they’re all a bit mundane. You never feel like you’re uncovering a great mystery that’s going to impact your actions in the present, or reading backwards through a gripping tale. You just feel like you’re rummaging through a stranger’s sock drawer after they moved town in a hurry.”

Game Navigation and Progression

The beginning of Adr1ft has been somehow lacking in substance. However, Adr1ft follows up on the effects and navigation of the actual space station. It was beautifully made and most of the features in the station were filled with surprises.

The station also had this streamlined experience that feels like an actual living space. Just like The Martian, however, the environment is cold and empty. But that is a part of the game the users have to unravel.

With the almost perfect space station, some have thought it would be better if Adr1ft was just that — a space station experience game. For some reason, game developer Three One Zero seemed to have focused on this aspect of the game instead of on the overall theme.

The game progresses with more repetitive tasks. Since there are so many limitations in the game activities and storyline, the game revolved around mundane activities for the protagonist. Most of the menial tasks are simple “fix it” resolutions that do not make for a great space challenge.

In terms of science accuracy, the Oculus Rift game has also failed to be consistent. There was a part of the game where the thrust should have continued indefinitely, considering that the space station was travelling in space, but it capped.

Moreover, Adr1ft poses more challenges as the gamers advance into the game. There were more hazards, but the irritating directional pointers spoil the fun. It is not a feature you can turn off, so the part about independently solving the game has been taken away. Adr1ft also did not have a map for the user, so there’s really no way to avoid the pointers.

Overall, it seems the consensus within the gamin game is average. It could be because it’s the first game for virtual reality, but it was obvious that it could have definitely done better.

It just felt like a test game for Oculus Rift, but for 5 or 6 hours, the gamers can at least get a taste of what VR is all about.

Adr1ft is available for $20.

[Photo by Eric Risberg/AP Images File]