VR Paper Star is a virtual reality game that you go through your home town as the paper boy. In this game, you are tasked with delivering as many papers to as many white doors as possible. For each door you hit with your paper, you are rewarded points. If you don’t get the points necessary to pass the level, you will be redoing the level. If you do get the points needed, you will be moving onto the next level. For each paper you throw, you are going to lose one point, so be careful of how many papers you are deploying!
In this game review, we will touch on every part of the game you will need to know about to make a decision to download and buy it or not. If we think it might impact your ability to play or buy this game, we will all of the information about that in this in-depth review. From the quality of picture to the throwing mechanics in this game, you will know it all. This game can be found on the Steam and Viveport stores for $19.99 and it is a part of the Viveport Infinity subscription.
Getting Up and Running
VR Paper Star isn’t a large game like many popular games, but its doesn’t need to be. This game only has 21 levels and a couple different modes, so making it a small file size was brilliant. With only 1 GB of disc space taken on your computer, this download will take anywhere from 30 seconds to 10 minuets, all depending on your internet speed. Although this game won’t be taking up storage on your computer for too long, it is going to be worth clearing up a GB of memory for it.
Installing the game is as easy as any other VR game. If you have Viveport, it will become a local file within that app. If you are buying this game through Steam, you will need to choose where the file saves. This game says it doesn’t support any controller other than the Vive and Cosmos controllers, but thats not true. It will work perfectly with the new Touch controllers and the Valve controllers as well. There won’t be any tinkering of controls inside the Steam app for this game. It is incredibly easy to get up and running.
Type of Game
This is generalized as an action game, but if you know about other VR action games, Paper Star doesn’t really fit the bill. This game is more an arcade frenzy game that is level based. You will be in a constant movement as you are trying to throw as many papers at as many doors, people, cars, cats, and lawn mowers as possible. Each of the characters play a role in this game, so it is important to not be skipping any levels.
If you have played this game on your iPhone or Android, you already understand how it works. If you haven’t, we have a refresher. Each paper you throw, you lose a point. For each door you hit, you receive either 10 or 20 points. As levels progress, there will be objects trying to stop you. By the third level, you will have to save cats on you paper route. By the last level, level 21, you will be fighting off lawn mowers, neighbors, and cars on your way to the 500 point mark.
Don’t be fooled by the friendly and soft gameplay. This game is an arcade game that is packed full of action that is going to leave you physically and mentally drained early on. Remembering where the white doors are while trying to fight off your distracting enemies is as fun as it gets, but it can also lead to some action-based stress as well.
Player Perspective
This game, like many other VR games, is going to be in first person. You aren’t going to see your legs and face ever, as the only thing you will see is either your hands or controllers, depending on what controllers you choose to play with. This perspective is perfect for this game, as you are going to need to be as precise as you can with your throws. Each paper means something. As you get further into the game, you are going to become more comfortable with your perspective as the paper boy.
Theme and Story – Score: 5/10
There isn’t much of a story mode in this game that is going to throw you for an emotional roller coaster, but there is multiple cut scenes that are going go give you some context. These clips will tell you how you got there, what your objective is for that specific levels and how you complete it. It seems the developers were trying to mix a story in with instructions, and it didn’t go unnoticed. For a $20 game, we were hoping for more of a story, but it still gets the job done for an arcade virtual reality game.
Controls – Score: 6/10
There is one control in this game. To grab the newspaper in this game, you pull the trigger on either hand. To select something on the menu, you pull the trigger. Everything in this game is done by the trigger. You aren’t moving manually, so the controller is essentially just a big trigger. The control(s) work perfectly and there are no complaints there. You can’t mess anything up if you don’t do it, right?
Music and Sound – Score: 9/10
The sound is this game is impassive to passing the levels. You are going to let the cat die or get ran over a lawn mower if you can’t listen to the game, so having your speakers on is huge. You are able to listen to music as well, making this game a fun place to be in with audio all around. It is only original tracks in this game and every level feels like it is a new track. The music isn’t repetitive and the developers ensured the sound was important by adding to the most deadly characters in the game.
Player Movement – Score: 7/10
When you jump on your first paper route, the movement takes for your a quick trip down ‘motion sickness lane’. Halfway through the level, you are adjusted and you feel great. The player movement in this game is all automatic. It is a constant speed and isn’t moving too fast but isn’t too slow where you think its not moving. The speed is perfect. It is a lot easier in this game to focus on the paper tossing and not on moving. The throwing motion in this game is amazing. By the second level, you are going to feel like Tom Brady on a Monday night. It is crisp and smooth, making you feel like you can accomplish anything with a paper in hand.
Kinetosis – Score: 8/10
This game cares about how you you feel, as long you can adjust to the constant motion around you. If you cant, you will feel sick often. If you can, this game will feel like it is one of the best. We were able to adjust fairly quickly because we have our VR legs underneath us, but we understand that isn’t the case for everyone with a VR headset. Depending on who you are, this game is either great or awful for motion sickness. Grade this one on your own in this game, but we though it was great.
Environment and Immersion – Score: 5/10
This game wasn’t the most in detail in the world, but it got the job done. The houses are blocky, as well as everything else in the game. If you are looking for a game with better graphics, it won’t be hard to find one. The sound does a good job immersing you, but it isn’t enough for it to overlay the quality of the game. The developers could’ve done a better job, but it isn’t the end of the world for this game.
Overall – Score: 6.6/10
This game is incredibly entertaining and fun, and even provides a good workout. It isn’t the most in-depth game in the world. We don’t recommend buying this game for the full $19.99, but we do recommend playing it if you have the chance. Whether it be on the Infinity subscription or a discount sale price, this is a game you don’t want to miss out on.
