The Burst
- August 8, 2024
- GoRapid Studio
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam"The Burst" is a high-speed VR shooter set on a desert prison planet, where you must eliminate an infamous warlord and restore order. With an array of weapons, enemies, and explosive parkour movement, players can experience intense action and let their creativity run wild. Ditch the traditional stick movement and use your hands and body for a full range of motion in this wild and intense world.
Reviews
- The game features a fun and satisfying movement system, with enjoyable parkour mechanics and a variety of weapons and enemies that keep gameplay fresh.
- The art style and environments are well-designed, creating an engaging atmosphere reminiscent of post-apocalyptic settings, and the game has a solid story with voice acting.
- Despite some rough edges, the game is praised for its ambition and potential, with many players expressing hope for future updates to improve its technical issues.
- The game suffers from janky controls and inconsistent mechanics, particularly with jumping and vehicle handling, which can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences.
- Enemy AI is often criticized for being unresponsive and lacking challenge, with many players noting that enemies can behave in nonsensical ways during combat.
- There are numerous bugs and design flaws, including issues with reloading weapons and long, empty driving sections that detract from the overall experience.
- story17 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The game's story features characters and voice acting, which enhances the experience compared to many other VR titles, though some players found the pacing and relevance of certain plot points confusing. While the main narrative is generally easy to follow, there are moments where players felt lost regarding their goals. Overall, the presence of a substantial story adds depth to the gameplay, despite some technical issues and bugs that detract from the experience.
“I like that there is an actual story with characters and voice acting.”
“The main parts of the story were easy to understand and follow, which makes for a good playable game.”
“I am not sure if I fully understood the story; the pacing is a little odd at times, but there was a pretty good amount of story here, not just mindless action.”
“The burst VR suffers from problems that most indie games do on their launch: bugs that everybody will see (but the devs somehow didn't), tanky and buggy enemies that stand around and yell at you, crappy controls, confusing puzzles, and a story that only the devs with their insight can enjoy.”
“Not sure if I fully understood the relevance of all the parts of the story, or what my goals were at times, but the fact that it has a story at all puts it above a number of other VR games.”
- gameplay15 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by engaging parkour mechanics, including arm swinging, sprinting, and wall running, which enhance the immersive experience. While the level design and continuous gameplay are praised, some players note issues with inconsistent edge grabbing and janky remote grab mechanics. Overall, the game successfully combines various VR mechanics to create a fresh and enjoyable action experience, despite some drawbacks.
“The parkour gameplay is quite fun.”
“Every time I played it, I had very positive feelings about the immersive mechanics and new ideas, as well as the story.”
“I actually like the sprinting and wall running mechanics; they work the same as stride, and I think for an action parkour type game, it works well. It's a VR action game, and I expect there to be a little activity required.”
“Anytime there's a praiseworthy mechanic, there are two awful mechanics to go along with it.”
“Especially with the inconsistent edge grab mechanics.”
“Whatever it is, the demo worked perfectly in this regard, but now the grabbing mechanics are incredibly janky.”
- graphics12 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game feature a charming art style that enhances the overall aesthetic, particularly in urban environments, but they are hindered by low-resolution textures and noticeable object pop-in. While the visuals are not graphically intensive and draw inspiration from post-apocalyptic themes, many players feel that improvements are needed in texture quality and level of detail to elevate the experience. Overall, the graphics are appreciated for their design but are seen as lacking in fidelity.
“They are not necessarily the most detailed, but the art style still looks nice and everything is well designed and constructed.”
“Love the art style.”
“When it comes to visuals, while it's not graphically intensive, it does have a nice art style that makes the world feel interesting, especially as you make your way into the denser, more urban areas.”
“Graphics could be improved; there are a lot of low-resolution textures on objects you get very close to or walls that you need to climb, which look more like set dressing. Additionally, the level of detail (LOD) needs improvement as there are far too many objects popping into view.”
“There also seems to be some regression from the demo in terms of graphics, as I am noticing a lot more pop-in. However, it seems to be mostly in the right eye, so perhaps the error lies in the spectator camera - just a guess.”
“The art style is neat, but the texture quality leaves much to be desired.”
- music3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised, with many users highlighting its great quality and the fitting use of metal tracks during combat, which enhances the overall experience. The soundtrack complements the game's cool style and adds to the excitement of gameplay.
“The sound design is fantastic, and the metal music for combat is a must-have.”
“The game features an otherwise cool style with great music and pretty good gunplay.”
“Awesome music!”
- optimization2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is commendable, with users reporting smooth performance at 120Hz and no significant issues. The simplistic graphics contribute to its efficiency, allowing for a seamless gaming experience despite not being the most visually impressive.
“Performance was good; I played at 120Hz with no performance issues.”
“The graphics and style are good but not the best; however, due to their simplicity, the game runs smoothly.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is marked by occasional stutters and freezes during transitions between sections, though gameplay remains smooth during action sequences. Additionally, players have reported various bugs and control issues typical of indie game launches, which detract from the overall experience.
“There were some stutters and freezes when transitioning between sections and loading new areas, but never during the action.”
“The Burst VR suffers from problems that most indie games face at launch: bugs that everyone will notice (but the developers somehow didn't), tanky and buggy enemies that stand around and yell at you, poor controls, and confusing puzzles and storylines that only the developers seem to understand.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players express that the grinding in the game is excessively time-consuming, often requiring a significant investment of time akin to having a second life to fully engage with it.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“The grinding feels endless and tedious.”
“Grinding takes away from the enjoyment of the game.”
