Protocol VR

In Protocol VR, you are a soldier tasked with making "first contact" with an alien life form as part of the Protocol program. Set in the near future, you'll be dropped off in the Arctic Circle and make your way to the Terminus research complex. With a gameplay time of 9-12 hours, the game promises challenging deadlocks and the potential for frustration, but with the fate of humanity at stake, there's no room for error. Violation of the Protocol will lead to elimination. Good luck!

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

14%

Audience ScoreBased on 13 reviews

humor6 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game has a quirky and different charm that some players find enjoyable.
The puzzles are fun and can be challenging, providing a good sense of accomplishment when solved.
The story attempts humor and has potential, with some players finding it engaging despite the issues.

Controls are frustrating and poorly designed, making gameplay difficult and unintuitive.
The game is plagued by bugs and performance issues, leading to crashes and unplayable moments.
Many players find the game boring and slow-paced, with a lack of engaging content in the early stages.

story
13 mentions
15 % positive mentions
62 % neutral mentions
23 % negative mentions
The story presents a promising premise with a mix of humor and seriousness, particularly in mission 1, which features basic gameplay focused on exploration and puzzle-solving. While mission 2 shows improvement in comedic elements, some environmental details can feel flat. Overall, players express a moderate intrigue to continue the story despite some gameplay limitations.
- “The story and plot at initial glance are good.”
- “While I can't say I am bursting at the seams to play mission 2, I am sufficiently intrigued to see what happens in mission 2, and how the gameplay evolves.”
- “The story makes multiple attempts at in-your-face humor, and some more subtle attempts.”
- “Gameplay through mission 1 is fairly basic, and largely consists of slight exploration and problem/puzzle solving.”
- “For myself, the humor provided welcome relief from the overall serious tone of mission 1.”
humor
6 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with mission 2 delivering better dry humor compared to the more varied attempts in mission 1, which includes both in-your-face and subtle jokes. While the humor may not be universally hilarious, it offers a welcome contrast to the serious tone, particularly through the protagonist's recent divorce. Overall, players may find the humor enjoyable, though its effectiveness will vary by individual.
- “Nothing that will have you rolling on the floor, but there is some good dry humor.”
- “The story makes multiple attempts at in-your-face humor, and some more subtle attempts.”
- “For myself, the humor provided welcome relief from the overall serious tone of mission 1.”
optimization
4 mentions
25 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is notably poor, with significant performance drops to around 3fps in specific areas, such as the containment cell and control panels, making gameplay nearly impossible. While performance improves outside these areas, the overall experience suggests that the game is not fully optimized and still feels like it is in early development stages.
- “However, I don’t think it’s fully optimized to be out of early development stages.”
- “After a little more play, I've found that performance tanks completely down to the 3 FPS range when entering areas with containment/isolation cells and control panels, making it impossible to play. It's sad, considering the time and money spent.”
- “Overall, I can get past the controls, but the overall game doesn't feel optimized.”
- “Once I left the area, overall game performance seemed to stabilize.”
gameplay
4 mentions
50 % positive mentions
-25 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
The gameplay features solid controls and teleport mechanics, with a focus on exploration and puzzle-solving. While the initial missions are basic, they successfully engage players enough to spark curiosity about future developments in the game.
- “Games like Arizona Sunshine have been out for a very long time and have great controls and teleport mechanics.”
- “Gameplay through mission 1 is fairly basic and largely consists of slight exploration and problem/puzzle solving.”
- “The gameplay consists of puzzles that you need to solve.”
- “Gameplay through mission 1 is fairly basic, and largely consists of slight exploration and problem/puzzle solving.”
- “While I can't say I am bursting at the seams to play mission 2, I am sufficiently intrigued to see what happens in mission 2, and how the gameplay evolves.”
graphics
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
-50 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
The graphics are generally considered adequate, effectively creating an immersive outdoor atmosphere, particularly in snowy environments. Some users noted a 'blurry' effect that resembles the experience of wearing snow goggles, which adds to the ambiance but may initially confuse players.
- “The graphics are adequate and do a good job of setting the mood and ambiance of being outdoors, especially when navigating through the initial corridors.”
- “When outside in the snow, the graphics seemed 'blurry' at first, but then I realized the effect was similar to wearing snow goggles with droplets running down them, even though I had no impression that I was wearing goggles.”
- “When outside in the snow, the graphics seemed blurry at first, but then I realized the effect was like that of wearing snow goggles with droplets running down the goggles, although I had no impression that I was wearing goggles.”
stability
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
The game is plagued by significant stability issues, including frequent crashes and glitches, which frustrate players. Despite these problems, many users feel compelled to continue playing due to the game's potential.
- “Quite possibly the most frustrating, buggy, and crash-prone game I've played in VR (Rift S). That said, I got it cheap, and despite the issues, I am utterly compelled to keep playing (weird, huh). There is much potential for this to be a great game; I just wish the issues with crashes and glitches could be fixed.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable at times. It's disappointing because the gameplay is enjoyable when it works.”
- “I experienced constant glitches and stability issues that ruined my immersion. I really wanted to enjoy this game, but the technical problems are a major setback.”