Powder VR
- December 17, 2020
- RainSoft
Powder VR is a physics-based snowboarding game that allows players to perform tricks and stunts in various mountain environments. With intuitive controls and a focus on creativity, players can grind rails, catch big air, and carve their own path through the mountain terrain. The game also features a level editor, enabling players to design and share their own custom runs.
Reviews
- The game captures the feeling of skiing and snowboarding well, providing an immersive experience.
- Controls are intuitive and allow for a variety of tricks, making gameplay enjoyable once familiarized.
- The developers are responsive and the game shows potential for improvement with future updates.
- The game is plagued with bugs, including glitches that can make it unplayable and affect the overall experience.
- Calibration issues require frequent adjustments, which can disrupt gameplay and lead to frustration.
- Graphics and physics are underwhelming, with many players noting that the game does not feel realistic compared to actual skiing or snowboarding.
- graphics18 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally described as decent but underwhelming, with many users noting issues such as glitchiness and a lack of optimization, even on high-end systems. While some appreciate the indie aesthetic and overall atmosphere, the visuals are considered simplistic and not on par with AAA titles. Players express hope for future updates to improve the graphical experience.
“The graphics are okay; I have it on ultra settings working on an Acer Predator laptop i7 with RTX 2070 Max-Q.”
“The overall atmosphere in the game and visuals are very indie but feel great.”
“I feel that the graphics engine is not optimized at this time for the eye-candy/performance ratio (I'm on an RTX 3070 and Oculus Rift).”
“I feel that the graphics engine is not optimized at this time for the eye-candy/performance ratio (I'm on a RTX 3070 and Oculus Rift).”
“Unfortunately, the graphics are far from AA/AAA gaming at this time.”
“The graphics are simplistic.”
- gameplay10 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally considered decent and intuitive, featuring an easy-to-pick-up, hard-to-master mechanic that encourages practice. However, players have noted some early access bugs that can disrupt the experience, though these are often resolved by restarting the game. While the medal unlocking process may feel tedious, the overall experience is enjoyable enough to recommend, especially if purchased on sale.
“The gameplay is really intuitive; the only thing is going to be all the medal unlocking (boring). I saw earlier videos of players getting on to ski lifts, but can’t seem to find that in the game yet.”
“Devs have managed to capture that easy to pick up, hard to master mechanic, so if you are struggling, keep practicing and it will click.”
“There are a few early access bugs that can impact gameplay, but restarting the game usually fixes them.”
“The gameplay is really intuitive; the only downside is the medal unlocking, which I find boring. I saw earlier videos of players getting on to ski lifts, but I can’t seem to find that in the game yet.”
“I absolutely suck at the game, by the way. I'm going to have to figure out the mechanics more because I got demolished in my first race.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Overall, users report significant optimization issues, with many experiencing CPU bottlenecks and poor performance even on high-end hardware that meets or exceeds recommended specifications. The graphics engine is criticized for not balancing visual fidelity with performance effectively, leading to frustration among players.
“My PC meets or exceeds all recommended requirements, yet the performance is awful even on minimum settings.”
“I feel that the graphics engine is not optimized at this time for the eye-candy/performance ratio (I'm on an RTX 3070 and Oculus Rift).”
“Performance on 3080 Ti/9900K with Valve Index is acceptable, but I'm recently experiencing a lot of CPU frametime bottlenecks regardless of settings.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers note that while the game's physics are functional, the necessity of recalibrating each time a new session is loaded significantly detracts from its replayability, making it less appealing for repeated playthroughs.
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Users generally find that grinding is effective in the game, suggesting it serves its purpose well.
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Users report significant stability issues, with frequent game freezes occurring during the selection of quick races, leading to a frustrating experience.
“Eventually make it past all that garbage and select a quick race... the whole thing freezes.”
- story2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The provided text does not contain any information about the story aspect of the game, focusing instead on the user's hardware setup. Therefore, no summary can be derived regarding the story.
- music2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is praised for its quality, featuring pleasant melodies rather than the typical explosive soundtracks often associated with the genre.
“The music is really nice, not the typical smash and boom type you would expect from this kind of game.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is characterized by a distinct indie aesthetic that resonates well with players, creating an engaging and enjoyable visual experience.
“The overall atmosphere in the game and visuals are very indie but feel great.”