Battlewake VR is one of the more original titles we have reviewed, and it is no accident that it is gaining more and more popularity each month it is on the virtual stores. This is a battle game with you controlling your fleet of ships as you battle off the queens navy. Not only do you have to battle that navy, but you will be facing different fleets throughout the game that are sure to give you trouble on the ever-changing waters.
Survios, the developer and publisher of this game, are no stranger to making popular and successful virtual reality games. In fact, they only produce hits. Raw Data and Creed: Rise to Glory have solidified their spots in the industry, and Battlewake is well on its way too. This game is far more expansive than most games inside of VR and it shows with each and every wave you are going to hit.
Getting Up and Running
This game is available wherever you buy your copies of VR games. The Oculus Store, the Steam Store, PSVR Store, and even Viveport are going to be carrying this game. It is going to set you back $30, so being a part of the Viveport Infinity subscription is going to be a fantastic investment if you are wanting to play this game without having to spend too much money on it. The game does go on sale from time to time, but it is going to be a part of Infinity for some time we are expecting.
The file size of this game is right in the middle of the pack. It is going to require you to have at least 5 GB free on your PC, and while that may seem small compared to other games this price, the download time is still going to vary. If you are connected to the internet that is slower than the average, you will be waiting upwards of a half of an hour to get this game downloaded and installed onto your computer. If you have faster internet speeds, you could have this game downloaded in just a short couple minutes. Getting into this game doesn’t take any additional setup outside of regular VR experiences.
Type of Game
This game is tagged as a number of different types of game, and it serves it right. How would you categorize commanding a fleet of ships while you use your own powers to impact the outcome of the battle? There are plenty of ways. From an action first-person war game to a strategy adventure, you can box this game up into one specific category.
There are three different game modes for you to love from Battlewake. You can master the waters and take down the 4 major fleets in the campaign mode. The campaign is also playable with an online buddy. You can do co-op online games as well as you fight various naval groups from across the world, a fight that could last nearly an hour. Lastly, you can play PvP online with matches that can hold up to 10 players. Although the community is small right now, it is growing rapidly and the games are becoming more populated and complex than ever.
Player Perspective
This game, much like all fantastic VR games, is going to be played by you in the first-person perspective. Unlike most games though, you will be able to see your entire body, other than your face. From head to toe, you will be able to see the pirate captain you are in the game. Each movement in the game will only emphasize and show off the detail they put into your character and the details of playing as a captain in the first-person.
Theme and Story – Score: 8/10
The theme and story of Battlewake VR is obvious and clear throughout the game. Although it is not the most expansive game we have seen inside of virtual reality, it provides much more detail in the story than most other games dream of. You won’t be stuck in this game for hours trying to beat the story, but you will be staying because of the theme in the online games being captivating as well. Not perfectly done, but a good score here for theme and story.
Controls – Score: 8/10
To really nail the controls inside of a VR game, a lot has to go right for both the developer and the player of the game. We felt like the controls in this game were simple enough to use during the heat of battle, but complex enough to make it feel like we had a wide variety of ways to interact with the virtual worlds and seas that were placed in front of us.
Music and Sound – Score: 10/10
We have never fought as a pirate out on the ocean, but what we heard in this game impressed us to a point where we had no choice but to give the game a 10/10 in this category. There was upbeat music throughout your battles, and it seemed to never repeat itself. The sound effects in this game were on par with everything we were hoping to hear, and you could tell that the developers wanted this game to be top of the line in the audio game. The presence of spatial audio made this game much easier to understand as well.
Player Movement – Score: 8/10
Your player never is going to take a step in this game while you are controlling him, but you are going to be moving a lot. All of the movement in this game is coming from the ship and the direction you send it in. You steer the ship with your off-hand and it is very responsive to where you are trying to go. You are going to experience some odd turns here and there, but that reflects the odd nature of controlling a boat and not a car.
Kinetosis – Score: 6/10
Looking at the cover art for this game is going to give you bad vibes when it comes to motion sickness. Seeing that this entire game is on water isn’t a great start, and learning you will be controlling a boat the entire time at high speeds is not a great place to not get motion sick. With that being said, this score is luckily going to get a 6 and not a 2 or 3 like we thought it would be. The devs did a great job of giving a stable reference point the entire game with the boat, even when everything else is moving at insanely fast rates.
Environment and Immersion – Score: 8/10
Not a perfect score here, but it reflects what we felt perfectly. The audio and visuals were fantastic, but the lack of interaction options played into the score not being a 9 or even a 10. Some work could be done here, but the audio and what you are seeing the entire game is going to carry this game to the promised land in the mind of many.
Overall – Score: 8/10
Survios did a great job of making this game, and they did enough in each category to make it a game that is going to stay on the top charts for some time. We don’t think this game is worth the full $30 they are asking for, but if you can get it on discount, it would be a smart purchase. This game is a part of the Viveport Infinity subscription, so downloading it there is going to give you your best bang for your buck and will be worth your time and motion sickness.
