Unplugged
- December 14, 2021
- Anotherway
Unplugged is an interesting VR experiment that is bogged down by hand-tracking technology and strange design decisions. If you can ignore that, it's a whole lot of fun.
Get on Steam"Unplugged" is a single-player musical VR game where you can play air guitar to rock hits from famous bands like The Offspring, Weezer, and Ozzy Osbourne. With a virtual guitar in hand, match your movements to the chords, engage the crowd, and unlock songs, venues, and guitars on your journey to rock stardom. The game offers 50+ songs, 4 difficulty modes, and global leaderboards for competitive air guitarists. It is fully playable with controllers or finger-tracking technology.
PC
Virtual Reality
Windows
Oculus Quest
PlayStation
PlayStation VR2
Reviews
- The game offers an immersive and enjoyable VR experience, reminiscent of classic rhythm games like Guitar Hero.
- The song selection is diverse and features a mix of well-known and lesser-known tracks that are fun to play.
- Finger tracking works well on compatible controllers, enhancing the gameplay experience and making players feel like they are truly playing an instrument.
- The game lacks mod support and has limited song options, which may lead to a lack of long-term engagement.
- There are significant issues with audio and visual synchronization, making it difficult to play in time with the music.
- The finger tracking can be inconsistent, leading to frustration during gameplay, especially with more complex chords.
- music47 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The music in the game features a mix of well-known and lesser-known tracks, with around 18 songs that are generally enjoyable, though some players noted issues with audio levels and synchronization. While the quality of the soundtrack is praised, many users expressed a desire for more songs, custom song support, and improvements in gameplay mechanics related to guitar positioning. Overall, the music enhances the immersive experience, but the limited selection and technical issues detract from the overall enjoyment.
“The song selection is pretty good, more than worth the price of the game, recognizable hits mixed with other very cool songs I didn't know; honestly, I was surprised by the quality.”
“With such lively songs, you want to really bop around a bit even if it's just a little movement side to side, but I found any movement really just screwed up the guitar's placement.”
“Once you get the hang of how to play, you really can get immersed in the music and zone out in the rock you're creating.”
“You can't level audio and half the time the people cheering are louder than the music.”
“Not a single song in the tutorial actually puts all your fingers to work, so you might not know something's wrong until you've spent a solid hour in the game.”
“I always find myself progressively missing more notes the further into a song I go because the guitar keeps moving, and intentionally repositioning it mid-song makes me miss even more notes.”
- story11 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game is somewhat overshadowed by technical issues, particularly with the Oculus Quest 2 version, which has led to mixed reviews. While some players appreciate the narrative involving a guitarist, others find the experience frustrating due to compatibility problems and sub-par hand tracking. Overall, the story seems to be secondary to the gameplay experience, which varies significantly depending on the platform used.
“This game is really fun, better than I thought it would be by looking at some of the negative reviews, but you'll notice they are mostly from Quest users.”
“There's some story with Steel Panthers' guitarist, and damn does he just shout obnoxious guitarist.”
“I have not played the Quest version; I've heard mixed things about the way they use camera tracking in your hands.”
“Most negative reviews are worthless since they just complain that it doesn't work on Quest 2 despite the store page clearly stating that this version only works on Valve Index controllers.”
- gameplay10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a VR evolution of the classic Guitar Hero style, featuring an enjoyable song list and unique mechanics like cursed notes and quirky mini-games. While it effectively introduces players to guitar mechanics through a tutorial, some users noted issues with controller responsiveness and the need for better guidance on certain features. Overall, the experience is fun, particularly in lower difficulty settings, but it has room for improvement.
“The gameplay is classic Guitar Hero style, but in VR.”
“In terms of gameplay, this feels like a natural evolution of Guitar Hero, which is exactly what I wanted it to be.”
“The game also has some neat mechanics, ones that iterate on the plastic-guitar genre like cursed notes (note sections that, if you screw up, the notes become jumbled until just before they approach the bottom of the track), and more VR specific mechanics like the catch-pairs-of-underwear-for-additional-score minigame.”
“But, most importantly, the gameplay does not work.”
“I see what they're trying to achieve with the gameplay, but it's a miss as far as I'm concerned.”
“My only gameplay-related criticism so far is the way the guitar flops around if you move your hands in certain ways.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is primarily delivered through the narrator, a comedic 80's metal rock star character, who adds a fun and quirky element to the experience. However, while the character is entertaining, some users feel that the execution falls short, as the humor can be overshadowed by a lack of depth in gameplay guidance. Overall, the humor is appreciated but could benefit from better integration into the game's mechanics.
“The narrator, Steel Panther's own Satchel, is a hilarious 80's metal rock star with rock-star hair who guides you on your rock and roll journey.”
“The NPC is funny, adding a unique charm to the experience.”
“Satchel is funny to have, bringing a cool vibe to the game.”
- graphics2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The graphics of the rhythm game have received mixed feedback, with users noting a need for improved auto-calibration of visuals and audio. Additionally, the overall aesthetic has been described as unusual, which may not appeal to all players.
“For a rhythm game, there should be a better way of auto-calibrating both visuals and audio.”
“The aesthetic is weird.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been criticized for being poor, with players experiencing significant stuttering and glitches, which detracts from the overall experience. Some users noted that even basic features, like performance feedback, seem to be lacking compared to earlier titles in the genre.
“I don't know if it was because I played it through Virtual Desktop or what it was, but to me, this game was just a stuttering and glitchy mess.”
“Even the first Guitar Hero managed to cut out the guitar if you messed up, giving you a reason to improve your performance so you didn't butcher the song.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is not primarily affected by bugs, but rather by a lack of engaging gameplay, which diminishes the overall experience regardless of player performance.
“What really kills this game isn't that it's buggy, but more importantly, it just isn't fun to play. No matter how bad or good you play, it has no impact on the song you hear.”
Critic Reviews
Unplugged: Air Guitar review --- Shredding in VR has never been easier
Unplugged: Air Guitar is a great concept that works quite well despite using only Sense Controllers to mimic playing a guitar rather than requiring an unwieldy accessory but falls short due to limitations on the type of chord progressions and notes that the PSVR2 is capable of reproducing without hand tracking. A good song list will ensure that most players will remain entertained for a few hours, but despite the developer’s best attempts to ensure the game remains challenging by adding new techniques throughout and multiple difficulty levels, it still becomes rather repetitive.
75%Unplugged Oculus Quest 2 VR review -- Let's start with a C chord
Unplugged is actually a pretty cool way to bring the Guitar Hero format to VR. I was really impressed with the hands tracking, and the setlist is largely good, with a few nice big name tracks along with some lively lesser known ones. I could deal with plenty less Satchel, and would prefer in his stead more direction on what I'm doing, but all and all Unplugged is a rockin' fun time.
75%Unplugged: Air Guitar Review - Rekindle That Guitar Hero Magic
Unplugged: Air Guitar may not sell the PSVR2 hardware on its own, but it needs to be played by every PSVR2 owner. With a fun track list and immersive gameplay, Unplugged beautifully fills that void left by Guitar Hero. Issues aside, Unplugged is more than worth the cost of admission.
80%
