Dimensional
- December 13, 2016
- Brett Jackson
"Dimensional" is a first-person, narrative-driven puzzle game where you must save an alien race by navigating dangerous chambers using real-life movement. The game features physics-based puzzle-solving, hidden messages to discover, and mic support. With its comfortable design, the game is accessible to VR users with limited play space. The new Arcade Mode lets you easily access and share your favorite challenges.
Reviews
- The game offers unique and engaging physical puzzles that utilize room-scale VR mechanics effectively, providing a fun and immersive experience.
- Despite its simple graphics, the game is praised for its creative ideas and experimentation within the VR space, reminiscent of titles like Portal.
- The game is fairly priced, with many players feeling they received good value for their money, especially during sales.
- Controls are often described as clumsy and frustrating, leading to a poor user experience and occasional motion sickness.
- The graphics are considered low quality and reminiscent of amateur indie projects, detracting from the overall immersion.
- Many players found the gameplay mechanics and puzzle explanations to be unclear, leading to confusion and a lack of engagement with the story.
- gameplay24 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay is centered around unique VR mechanics that encourage full-body interaction, offering a slow-paced yet engaging experience. While some mechanics are innovative, others suffer from inconsistent execution and lack of clarity, leading to frustration with controls and teleportation. Overall, players appreciate the originality and potential of the gameplay, despite its shortcomings.
“This game incorporates the whole body, and the game mechanics are the selling point of this game.”
“It goes through many mechanics; you constantly learn to use them more and combine what you learned, and then you reach the end.”
“It's built especially for VR, using many mechanics only available on this platform.”
“Very simple, not much actual gameplay to speak of.”
“The pacing is slow, the sound is almost non-existent, and a few of the mechanics are actually meaningless.”
“Teleporting to beacons would seem a fine mechanic if it didn't also randomly re-orient your space for you--just bring me there in the direction I'm still facing!”
- graphics16 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 19 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players criticizing them as cheap and reminiscent of simplistic, blocky designs, while others appreciate the visuals, especially when settings are maximized for better detail. Despite the varied opinions, many agree that the graphics do not detract significantly from the overall enjoyment of the game. Recommendations for improvement include enhancing the graphical experience, particularly during transitions between areas.
“Lovely game, thoroughly enjoyed it so far, nice graphics and absolutely wonderful sound design.”
“I'm here to say, however, that the visuals are much better than what you see in the videos (if you have a 1080 crank those settings up to 'highest' and watch the texture detail jump out at you and all aliasing disappear), and the game is very fun to play.”
“Solid graphics, humor, excellent use of room-scale & moving your body around.”
“The horrible graphics often resemble a 6-year-old's imagining of a sci-fi romp, made in blocky polygons.”
“This game seems pretty simple at first glance; the graphics are rather cheap and the story is pretty flat.”
“The visuals are much better than what you see in the videos, but overall, they still fall short of expectations.”
- story14 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it intriguing and well-voiced, while others criticize it as flat and poorly integrated into the gameplay. Many feel that the narrative feels tacked on, lacking creativity and depth, and that the level-select format detracts from a cohesive storytelling experience. Overall, while there are elements that spark curiosity, the execution leaves much to be desired.
“The world makes me curious to find out more about the story; the voice acting is great; the controls are fairly intuitive.”
“Even though the game is divided by levels you select and try to get as much points for each level, it feels more like a narrative-driven story.”
“This game seems pretty simple at first glance; the graphics are rather cheap and the story is pretty flat.”
“I got the sense that there was some sort of attempt at a plot, but it felt like I was 'along for the ride' and the plot was unfolding elsewhere, with these floating robots occasionally clueing me in.”
“The story seems rather bolted on after the fact, not helped by the fact that you get tossed out to a level select screen after every level.”
- humor6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features a blend of rustic charm and humor, particularly in its "escape the alien lab" scenario, which is filled with creative ideas and amusing elements. Players appreciate the solid graphics and the effective use of room-scale mechanics that enhance the comedic experience. Overall, the humor is well-received and adds to the enjoyment of the gameplay.
“You get a load of ideas and tweaks thrown at you throughout its otherwise rustic but humorous 'escape the alien lab' scenario.”
“It has a good portion of humor, though.”
“Solid graphics, humor, excellent use of room-scale and moving your body around.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is described as both immersive and convincing, making players feel as if they are truly part of the environment. However, some users find it reminiscent of a modded version of another game, citing odd design choices and weird voicing that detract from the overall experience.
“The atmosphere is convincing; it feels as if you're really there.”
“Really annoying controls and just an atmosphere of 'this game feels a bit like a mod of another game' (weird voicing, odd design choices, etc).”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express a strong emotional connection to the game, likening their experience to physically navigating a narrow path, which evokes feelings of adventure and personal identification with iconic characters like Lara Croft and Indiana Jones. This immersive sensation enhances the overall emotional impact of the gameplay.
“This made me feel like Lara Croft and Indiana Jones had a child, and that child was me.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has been criticized for being bland and buggy, indicating a lack of polish and reliability in performance.
“I personally found it bland, buggy, and not very well done.”