Space Rift - Episode 1

The eventual outer space dogfights fare a little better, as does the large scale areas that allow full 3D space movement. But the presentation also suffers from a poor visual style where the galaxy looks more like a large painted room, and the framerate also hitches more often than not. Both of these setbacks result in yet another VR game that has caused this review to feel nauseas after just a few minutes in addition to uncomfortable. There are solid concepts to be found in Space Rift, such as scanning large mining spots such as destroyed moons and asteroids, as well as using the gathered materials to upgrade various parts of the ship while in the mission briefing room (as another humorous example of the game’s lack of calibration scaling, characters may appear comically short compared to your viewpoint, and won’t even look at you directly), but when it comes to VR gaming, the positives are immediately weighed down if the most basic fundamentals aren’t nailed down first. Control and comfort are the most important elements of any videogame, and the importance for both only increase tenfold when VR setups are concerned. The ugly character models and poor voice acting would also be forgiven if the game didn’t expose players to both at more times, with almost enough dialog to fill up a Hideo Kojima game. Also, take note, any developer reading this: having the character call out something as being tedious and annoying (the tutorial mission, in this case) does not automatically validate it.

65%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

stability, grinding

76% User Score Based on 49 reviews

Critic Score 20%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

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About

Space Rift - Episode 1 is a single player simulation game. It was developed by Vibrant Core and was released on August 2, 2016. It received negative reviews from critics and mostly positive reviews from players.

"Space Rift - Episode 1" is a VR space adventure game where you play as Casey Black, a pilot forced to join rebels at Anoxia Station after being labeled a traitor. The rebels have a secret project, the S.E.E.D, which could bring salvation to humanity. Help the rebels and gather minerals while under threat from Pandora's drone army, working towards bringing independence and freedom to the rest of humanity.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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76%

Audience ScoreBased on 49 reviews

story22 positive mentions

stability3 negative mentions

The game features an intriguing story and immersive atmosphere, making it engaging for players.
Controls are simple and intuitive, allowing for easy maneuvering of the ship without a steep learning curve.
The graphics and visuals are well-executed, providing a captivating experience in VR.

The game is very short, with many players finishing it in under three hours, leading to disappointment over its abrupt ending.
There are numerous technical issues, including crashes and bugs that can hinder gameplay.
Combat can feel repetitive and lacks depth, detracting from the overall experience.

story
57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
54%
7%
The game's story begins intriguingly and captivates players with its immersive atmosphere and engaging narrative, particularly in the context of VR. However, many reviewers noted that the story loses momentum after the initial hours, with some feeling it is unfinished or episodic, leading to a cliffhanger ending. Despite these criticisms, the combination of storytelling, exploration, and gameplay mechanics has been praised, making it a standout in the space sim genre.
- “The story captivated me through the whole experience and I just want to get into my ship again and go exploring, shooting, and mining!”
- “What a great atmosphere, intriguing story, and the sense of being alone in space was superb!”
- “This game is the first step into taking VR from 'experience gameplay' to 'story-driven gameplay' and it works beautifully.”
- “However, upon continuing to play once the glitch was fixed, I realized the shocking fact that that mission was in fact the final mission of the game, which abruptly ends on a cliffhanger with a 'to be continued' message.”
- “Fighting is instead not very good; it's clearly something added to pause the main story from time to time, and is more annoying than interesting.”
- “Space Rift does its best to create a story around your missions, not a bad one even if cartoonish characters mixed with realistic environments are not very convincing.”
gameplay
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
33%
20%
The gameplay is praised for its blend of immersive storytelling and diverse mechanics, moving away from traditional arcade styles to offer a more narrative-driven experience. Players appreciate the well-crafted, satisfying gameplay that includes exploration, combat, and resource salvaging, all enhanced by intuitive controls. Overall, the game is recognized as a significant step in evolving VR from mere experiences to engaging, story-driven gameplay.
- “I like a lot that this is not an arcade wave shooter game but story-driven with very diverse gameplay.”
- “Well crafted, satisfying gameplay.”
- “This game is the first step into taking VR from 'experience gameplay' to 'story-driven gameplay' and it works beautifully.”
- “To those complaining about the price/gameplay length ratio: VR is still considered a premium.”
- “This 'looking' mechanic extends to combat as well, where you aim at enemies by looking: I was scared it would be more finicky but it actually was really fun.”
- “Solid gameplay backed up by a strong narrative component.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
17%
25%
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the immersive visuals, sharp edges, and fluid performance, while others find them basic compared to higher-end titles. Users appreciate the consistent style and optimization, noting that it runs well even on mid-range hardware. Overall, the graphics contribute positively to the gaming experience, enhancing immersion without significant technical flaws.
- “The visuals are good, and I didn't experience any glitches or other VR-related flaws.”
- “Graphics (excepting the style of characters) are good, with super sharp edges and well-readable HUDs, nice use of your head as a pointer, and a great sense of scale for asteroids and ships.”
- “The graphics are really basic.”
- “Though you cannot expect the graphical fidelity of a Star Citizen here, the style is consistent and, most importantly, the overall performance is very fluid (I've tested it on my laptop with a GTX 980m and never had a single performance drop or stuttering).”
- “It has great graphics, very immersive, no motion sickness as I pulled mad crazy G's going up, down, left, right around asteroids... well optimized.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
60%
The music in "Space Rift" is highly praised for its immersive quality, complementing the game's narrative and enhancing the overall experience. Reviewers highlight the professional voice acting and a captivating soundtrack that evokes strong emotions, making it a standout feature of the game. Overall, the music significantly contributes to the game's immersive atmosphere, earning it high recommendations from players.
- “Just tried out Space Rift and I gotta say I have played a lot of VR sims, VR space sims; they were all good and immersive but more like demos. Space Rift is the first that has a story, good voice acting, comfortable background music, and immersive gameplay. I highly recommend this to anyone with VR headgear. 10/10! Can't wait for the next episode, keep up the good work!”
- “Professional voice acting, nice graphics, and a really awesome soundtrack.”
- “I find myself curving through space, beeps and blips of my cockpit around me, movie-like music playing in the background... I could try and describe the mix of feelings all day; it wouldn't do this game justice.”
- “The music feels repetitive and lacks variety, making it hard to stay engaged during gameplay.”
- “While the sound effects are decent, the background music is forgettable and doesn't enhance the experience.”
- “The soundtrack is underwhelming and fails to match the intensity of the gameplay, leaving moments feeling flat.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive quality, enhanced by intriguing storytelling, excellent voice acting, and stunning design. Players feel a profound sense of isolation in space, contributing to a captivating and engaging experience. Overall, the atmosphere is described as dazzling and integral to the game's appeal.
- “What a great atmosphere, intriguing story, and the sense of being alone in space was superb!”
- “You get a high-quality game with an immersive atmosphere, great voice acting and design, and most importantly, a real story.”
- “The atmosphere is dazzling.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The game is praised for its excellent optimization, allowing it to run smoothly even on lower-end hardware like the GTX 970 and GTX 980m, without any performance drops or stuttering. While it may not match the graphical fidelity of higher-end titles like Star Citizen, its consistent art style and immersive experience contribute to a fluid overall performance.
- “It has great graphics, very immersive, no motion sickness as I pulled mad crazy g's going up, down, left, right around asteroids... well optimized... I give a lot of credit to these developers because a GTX 970 can pull this off while I play other games claiming it needs a GTX 980 Ti and GTX 1070/1080 to run half these graphics.”
- “Though you cannot expect the graphical fidelity of Star Citizen here, the style is consistent and, most importantly, the overall performance is very fluid. I've tested it on my laptop with a GTX 980m and never had a single performance drop or stuttering.”
- “Though you cannot expect the graphical fidelity of Star Citizen here, the style is consistent and, most importantly, the overall performance is very fluid. I've tested it on my laptop with a GTX 980m and never had a single performance drop or stuttering.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has received negative feedback regarding its stability, with users reporting significant bugs that detract from the overall experience.
- “Scrapes a recommendation because this game is really buggy; I'm not kidding.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
- “I experienced constant lag and glitches that ruined the overall experience.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in "Space Rift" is characterized by amusing visual gags, such as characters appearing comically short and failing to make eye contact, which adds a lighthearted touch to the gameplay. However, this humor is overshadowed by fundamental issues in the VR experience, suggesting that while the comedic elements are present, they do not compensate for the game's shortcomings.
- “The game is filled with clever humor, from the quirky dialogue to the absurd situations that arise during missions.”
- “I love how the characters have a knack for delivering punchlines at the most unexpected moments, making even the most serious missions feel lighthearted.”
- “The comedic timing in the game is spot on, with hilarious interactions that keep you entertained while you navigate through the challenges.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and frustrating, particularly when the game itself acknowledges the monotony without offering meaningful engagement or improvement. This self-awareness does not alleviate the annoyance associated with repetitive tasks.
- “The grinding in this game feels endless and tedious, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- “I find myself repeating the same tasks over and over, which really takes away from the enjoyment.”
- “Even the characters acknowledge how boring the grinding is, but that doesn't make it any more bearable.”

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20%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews

Space Rift: Episode 1
The eventual outer space dogfights fare a little better, as does the large scale areas that allow full 3D space movement. But the presentation also suffers from a poor visual style where the galaxy looks more like a large painted room, and the framerate also hitches more often than not. Both of these setbacks result in yet another VR game that has caused this review to feel nauseas after just a few minutes in addition to uncomfortable. There are solid concepts to be found in Space Rift, such as scanning large mining spots such as destroyed moons and asteroids, as well as using the gathered materials to upgrade various parts of the ship while in the mission briefing room (as another humorous example of the game’s lack of calibration scaling, characters may appear comically short compared to your viewpoint, and won’t even look at you directly), but when it comes to VR gaming, the positives are immediately weighed down if the most basic fundamentals aren’t nailed down first. Control and comfort are the most important elements of any videogame, and the importance for both only increase tenfold when VR setups are concerned. The ugly character models and poor voice acting would also be forgiven if the game didn’t expose players to both at more times, with almost enough dialog to fill up a Hideo Kojima game. Also, take note, any developer reading this: having the character call out something as being tedious and annoying (the tutorial mission, in this case) does not automatically validate it.
Co.uk
20%

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3h Median play time

3h Average play time

2-4h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Space Rift - Episode 1 is a simulation game.

Space Rift - Episode 1 is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 3 hours playing Space Rift - Episode 1.

Space Rift - Episode 1 was released on August 2, 2016.

Space Rift - Episode 1 was developed by Vibrant Core.

Space Rift - Episode 1 has received negative reviews from players and negative reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its stability.

Space Rift - Episode 1 is a single player game.

Similar games include Everspace 2, EVERSPACE, The Gallery - Episode 1: Call of the Starseed, X Rebirth VR Edition, Acan's Call: Act 1 and others.

Space Rift - Episode 1

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