Yupitergrad
- August 27, 2020
- Gamedust
- 2h median play time
Mixing a heavy dose of Cold War and Dieselpunk aesthetics, Yupitergrad is the grapple motion game you didn't know you wanted to play.
Get on Steam"Yupitergrad" is a single-player comedy platformer game known for its masterful gameplay and fantastic graphics. The game features over 50 levels of dieselpunk-inspired space exploration using grappling hooks and boosters, with a focus on crazy stunts in a minimal motion sickness design. Players can also enjoy Slavik humor, spatial puzzles, and a time attack mode with global leaderboards. Additionally, the game offers an original soundtrack and a training mode where players can swing and perform tricks.
PC
Virtual Reality
Windows
Oculus Quest
Oculus Rift
Oculus VR
PlayStation
PlayStation VR
Reviews
- The game features incredibly satisfying and responsive swinging mechanics, providing a thrilling sense of movement akin to being Spider-Man.
- Yupitergrad offers a unique blend of humor, engaging puzzles, and a vibrant cel-shaded art style that enhances the overall experience.
- The time attack mode and various challenges add significant replayability, making it a fun and addictive experience for players.
- The campaign is relatively short, typically taking around 2 hours to complete, which some players feel does not justify the price.
- There are reports of lag spikes and motion sickness, which can detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- Some levels feature overly complex puzzles or excessive traps that can lead to frustration, making the gameplay feel tedious at times.
- story39 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The story in the game is generally considered serviceable and humorous, with a light-hearted space-soviet theme that complements the gameplay. While some players found the narrative lacking depth and relatively short—around two hours—others appreciated its charm and the engaging AI companion reminiscent of Portal. Overall, the story may not be the main draw, but it effectively supports the fun mechanics and vibrant art style, making for an enjoyable experience.
“The cell-shaded art style really works overall, the space-soviet storyline stays suitably silly, and they manage to shift you through a decent, simple, space-station disaster arc by the end.”
“Great value for the price... the story and humor and art style all tie in with the fun VR mechanics to make this feel like a fun, well-polished game rather than yet another barebones glorified tech demo.”
“At the moment, this is about as close to a VR-Portal-like game that is out right now - it follows a similar theme in its story and presentation that I can't help but feel there are parallels, especially with an AI companion that isn't quite as evil as GLaDOS, but still cracks jokes about the superiority of the motherland vs. 'the capitalists', which are still very ironic considering the circumstances for you being there, as well as the ending.”
“Story mode leaves a lot to be desired, but the plethora of extra modes more than make up for it.”
“But I got to the end of the story far more quickly than I'd have liked.”
“I expected a story mode that played like speedrunners but got something closer to Portal.”
- gameplay39 mentions
- 64 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay is highly praised for its responsive and fast swinging mechanics, often compared favorably to other VR titles, including Spider-Man. Players enjoy the diverse movement options, challenging time trials, and well-designed puzzles that enhance the overall experience. The combination of engaging mechanics, artistic design, and humor contributes to a polished and enjoyable VR platformer, despite its relatively short length.
“Movement mechanics are top notch: swinging is very responsive and fast, allowing to travel through giant levels at breakneck speed.”
“The spiderman-like gameplay is pure joy with a good progression in challenge and difficulty.”
“Very fun aerial (& subnautical!) gameplay that had me swinging, swaying, twisting, and ducking.”
“Although comfort level is relatively low, the game design inherently breaks some of the basic rules of VR mechanics, which can cause dizziness.”
“Maybe I just had a leg-up from playing a good deal of Jet Island (another game with similar VR hookshot mechanics), but I found myself flying through the levels pretty quickly, hoping that the difficulty would continue to ramp up.”
“If you want to keep playing, the time trials are actually completely different levels and also include more mechanics than the campaign, which surprised me, and they can be very challenging!”
- graphics38 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their clean and sharp cel-shaded art style, which enhances the comedic and lighthearted tone of the experience. Players appreciate the unique visual aesthetic, likening it to other successful titles while noting its effective use of color and physics. However, some critiques mention occasional bugs and drab visuals in certain environments, suggesting a mix of impressive design and areas needing improvement.
“By far the best VR movement game I've played, the physics are satisfying and responsive, the visuals are clean and sharp with the cel-shaded style.”
“The art style also helps keep the game feeling a bit more comedic and light with its more hand-drawn, cel-shaded look that I think matches the tone/mood of this game perfectly, and just looks nice overall.”
“It's not a short VR experience, but a decent length dieselpunk sci-fi adventure with a fun cel-shaded cosmonaut aesthetic that makes it truly unique.”
“The graphics are workable.”
“[drab visuals, empty environments]”
“In short, nice game/humor/artstyle etc but buggy in the execution of the index support to move around.”
- humor31 mentions
- 94 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for its quirky and engaging nature, featuring a blend of silly moments, clever callbacks to older games, and a distinct "slavik communist" aesthetic that enhances the overall atmosphere. Players appreciate the funny voice acting and the integration of humor into the gameplay, particularly in the context of the unique puzzles and obstacle courses. While the humor adds to the enjoyment, some players noted that certain movement mechanics could feel unnatural, detracting slightly from the experience.
“The movement is super fun, hand-drawn style really looks great in VR, and it is both epic and hilarious.”
“Very unique game and lots of fun, good humor, and the music is awesome.”
“I love the atmosphere built by humorous Soviet dialogues.”
- music8 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is consistently praised for being above average, enhancing the overall experience with a fun and energetic soundtrack that complements the gameplay. Reviewers highlight its ability to elevate moments in the game, creating an engaging atmosphere alongside humorous voice acting. Overall, the music is described as a standout feature that adds to the game's unique charm.
“The music, however, is above average, always kicking in at the right moments, getting your blood pumping.”
“Good music and funny voice acting.”
“Very unique game and lots of fun, good humor, and the music is awesome.”
- replayability6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game offers strong replayability, particularly in its racing and free swinging modes, which many players find addictive. However, the addition of more challenging levels and a level editor could enhance this aspect further, especially for experienced players seeking greater challenges. Overall, while replayability is present, there is room for improvement through user-generated content and additional challenges.
“In racing and free swinging modes, the game really starts to shine; it's where it gets addictive and replayable.”
“More experienced VR players will fly past most of the obstacles without too much trouble, so having some more challenging additional levels separate from the main story would help add some replay value, alongside the workshop and user-created levels idea.”
“Replayability is definitely there, but it would be great if a level editor was released.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is heavily influenced by the Portal series, featuring an alternative history sci-fi setting and a post-revolutionary AI character named Aisha. Players appreciate the humorous Soviet dialogues that enhance the overall ambiance, creating a unique and engaging experience.
“The atmosphere and setting are reminiscent of Portal, with an alternative history sci-fi spin and a post-revolutionary GLaDOS dubbed Aisha.”
“Atmosphere and setting are reminiscent of Portal, with an alternative history sci-fi spin and a post-revolutionary GLaDOS dubbed Aisha.”
“I love the atmosphere built by humorous Soviet dialogues.”
- stability4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its humor and art style, but users report bugs, particularly with the Index support for movement. Despite the absence of Oculus SDK, the game still performs well overall.
“In short, nice game, humor, art style, etc., but buggy in the execution of the index support to move around.”
Critic Reviews
Bionic Spider-Komrade ---Yupitergrad Review
Yupitergrad is an intensely fun, if too difficult, Russian Spider-Man simulator that will have you speedily swinging through obstacles with grace. That is, if you can get past the nauseating motion sickness.
70%Yupitergrad Review
The levels in Yupitergrad don't drag and the challenge gets pretty hard to surmount, but if players stick with it, the game is incredibly awarding and satisfying. It's not a short VR experience, but a decent length dieselpunk sci-fi adventure with a fun cel-shaded cosmonaut aesthetic that makes it truly unique. This is a must-buy for PS VR owners!
80%Swinging & slinging for glorious science
We recently went swinging around a space station in VR puzzle platformer Yupitergrad. Check out if fast-paced science for the commonwealth is all it's cracked up to be.
80%
