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.
Reviews
- The game features satisfying and responsive swinging mechanics, providing a fun and exhilarating movement experience reminiscent of Spider-Man.
- The art style is unique and visually appealing, enhancing the overall atmosphere and humor of the game.
- Despite its short length, the game offers engaging gameplay with various modes, including a time attack mode that adds replayability.
- The campaign is relatively short, taking around 2 hours to complete, which some players feel does not justify the price.
- There are reports of lag spikes and occasional bugs that can disrupt the gameplay experience.
- Some players found the puzzles to be too easy or repetitive, leading to a lack of challenge in certain sections.
- story19 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally considered serviceable and entertaining, featuring a humorous and light-hearted space-soviet theme that complements its gameplay. While the main story is relatively short, clocking in at about two hours, it offers decent dialogue and objectives, with additional modes providing replay value. Overall, players appreciate the art style and the integration of humor, though some feel the story could be more engaging.
“Although relatively short, it has a decently well done story and dialog with some challenge and replayability.”
“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, 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.”
“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.”
“There is a story, it's serviceable, and does drive your objectives.”
- gameplay19 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 21 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The gameplay is highly praised for its responsive and enjoyable swinging mechanics, often compared favorably to other VR titles, including a notable comparison to Spider-Man. Players appreciate the variety in movement options, challenging time trials, and engaging level design, which includes unique mechanics like zero-g sections. Overall, the game combines tight controls, a fun art style, and a humorous story, creating a polished and immersive VR experience despite its relatively short length.
“Best swinging mechanics I've experienced in a VR game.”
“Movement mechanics are top notch: swinging is very responsive and fast, allowing you to travel through giant levels at breakneck speed.”
“The Spiderman-like gameplay is pure joy with a good progression in challenge and difficulty.”
“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.”
“Fun VR platformer that uses well thought out mechanics to minimize VR sickness but still lets you get around the world with controls that make sense.”
- graphics17 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are highly praised for their clean and sharp cel-shaded art style, which enhances the overall comedic and lighthearted tone. Users appreciate the unique implementation of the art style, noting its effectiveness in creating an engaging visual experience that complements the gameplay. While some mention minor bugs, the visuals are generally described as impressive and well-executed, contributing to a polished gaming experience.
“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.”
“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.”
“The graphics are workable.”
“In short, nice game/humor/artstyle etc but buggy in the execution of the index support to move around.”
“The art style is similar to the Jurassic World Aftermath game on Quest.”
- humor15 mentions
- 93 % positive mentions
- -13 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for its cleverness and charm, featuring a mix of silly moments, witty dialogues, and nostalgic callbacks to older games. Players appreciate the unique "slavik communist" aesthetic and the engaging voice acting, which enhance the overall atmosphere. While the humor adds to the enjoyment, some users noted that certain gameplay mechanics could feel awkward or buggy.
“The movement is super fun, the hand-drawn style really looks great in VR, and it is both epic and hilarious.”
“Funny story and great gameplay.”
“Amazing physics, great art style, and genuinely funny humor.”
“The humor in this game falls flat; it often feels forced and out of place.”
“I expected some clever jokes, but most of the humor is just cringeworthy.”
“The attempts at humor often miss the mark, leaving me more confused than amused.”
- music4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is consistently praised for its energetic and engaging quality, enhancing the overall experience with a fun soundtrack that complements the gameplay. Reviewers highlight its ability to elevate moments in the game, making it both enjoyable and memorable. Additionally, the combination of good music and humorous voice acting adds to the game's charm.
“The music, however, is above average, always kicking in at the right moments, getting your blood pumping.”
“Very unique game and lots of fun; good humor, and the music is awesome.”
“Good music and funny voice acting.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game offers strong replayability, particularly in its racing and free swinging modes, which many players find addictive. However, adding more challenging levels and a level editor could enhance this aspect further, appealing to experienced players seeking additional content.
“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.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is characterized by a blend of alternative history and sci-fi elements, drawing comparisons to Portal, with a post-revolutionary AI named Aisha. Users appreciate the humorous Soviet dialogues that enhance the setting, contributing to 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.”
“I love the atmosphere built by humorous Soviet dialogues.”
- stability2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Overall, while players appreciate the game's humor and art style, they report issues with bugs affecting movement and index support. Despite the absence of Oculus SDK, the game still performs well, mitigating some concerns about stability.
“No Oculus SDK, but it still runs great, so it doesn't matter.”
“The game maintains a smooth performance even during intense moments.”
“I haven't experienced any crashes or major bugs, which is impressive.”
“In short, nice game, humor, art style, etc., but buggy in the execution of the index support to move around.”
“The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable at times.”
“I experienced constant lag and glitches that ruined the overall experience.”
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%
