The entire Star Wars: Vader Immortal trilogy hits PSVR today and, from what we’ve seen so far, it’s a solid port. But it does have a few issues that hold it back from being the best version of the game.
On a technical front, what we’ve played so far holds up nicely. Vader Immortal already ran well on Quest so there shouldn’t have been any enormous technical barriers to leap with ILMxLAB’s PSVR port (though I’m sure there were issues my non-developer brain can’t comprehend). We’ll have a more in-depth graphics comparison later this week to put the game through its paces but, for now, we wanted to outline some more practical issues to consider when decided which version to get.
Movement Options
Let’s start out with what most people will immediately run to – the movement options. The original versions of Vader Immortal feature both smooth locomotion and teleportation, but the PSVR edition only has the latter option right now. It’s likely that ILMxLAB removed smooth locomotion due to the Move controller’s lack of analog sticks. Movement isn’t a huge part of Vader Immortal anyway but, all the same, it’s a shame to see the option removed when other games like Skyrim VR prove you can have good smooth locomotion with two Move controllers. It’s especially strange considering the developer left comfort options for movement in.
Lightsaber Angles
Perhaps my biggest gripe with this port so far is how holding a lightsaber feels. In Vader Immortal, the motion controllers are always designed to represent your hands, not the object you hold within them. That means that, when you’re holding a lightsaber, it’s angled to where your virtual hands are. The shape of the Oculus Touch controllers meant this worked pretty well in the PC and Quest versions of the game. But, on PSVR, it just feels off.
The Move controllers are perfectly shaped like a lightsaber hilt, so it’s a puzzling decision not to have it tracked 1:1 like that in VR. If you hold your Move up to point towards the ceiling, your in-game saber will be angled off to the side by a few degrees. Here’s hoping ILMxLAB adds an option to customize the position of your saber in the future, because Vader Immortal’s combat doesn’t feel quite right in this current form.
180 Degree Dojo
This was an expected concession but, due to the nature of PSVR’s tracking, the game’s Lightsaber Dojo is no longer a 360-degree experience. Enemies won’t attack from behind, so the action always played out right in front of you. Though there isn’t much of a way around it, this definitely detracts from the intensity of the other versions, in which you had to be on your toes, ready to spin around in any direction at the drop of a hat. Even with that change, I lost a few lives because tracking couldn’t keep up with sword battles to my far left side.
Will you be picking up Star Wars: Vader Immortal on PSVR today? Let us know in the comments below! n
