Starship Troopers: Continuum adapts the sci-fi series with a new VR co-op shooter, and it's out today on Quest.
Developed by XR Games and Sony Pictures Virtual Reality, Starship Troopers: Continuum follows the cult classic film, presenting an arcade-style wave shooter with roguelite elements. Set 25 years after the battle of Klendathu, the war between the Federation and the Arachnids has become deadlocked. You play as a 'PsyCommander' that uses psychic powers to directly control troopers on the field.
Gameplay footage captured by UploadVR on Quest 3
I went hands-on with the Quest 3 version before today's launch, jumping into a co-op session with our video producer, Don Hopper, and later going solo for comparison. A surprisingly lengthy opening tutorial details this universe's history well for newcomers before landing at Camp Triumph, your in-game hub for buying new weapons, selecting missions, and more.
Continuum keeps weapons management straightforward with an on-body inventory system, placing two guns over your shoulders with pouches near your waists for both ammo and grenades. Manually reloading your guns isn't too in-depth which is fine for the gameplay; I also like that you can swap to automatic reloads without visiting a settings menu by pointing the gun down and pressing A.
You can quickly tell Starship Troopers: Continuum is meant for co-op. Playing alone isn't that fun but as you explore these big maps, it's immediately clear this was designed for multiplayer. I enjoyed strategizing with Don while Arachnid hordes started flooding in from all directions. Blowing them up with rockets and shotguns is rather satisfying, taking down bosses offers a suitable challenge and the enemy numbers seem well-balanced depending on party size, too.
What's interesting is that the PsyCommander won't die but the trooper you've inhabited can, cycling through countless lives for a neverending war. Death puts you back to level 1, removing all perks your fallen trooper earned in the meantime. This creates a great way to raise the stakes during combat that punishes the careless. Co-op mode offers teammate revivals, at least. You can continue your mission after dying five times, and I didn't find out what happens beyond that.
I need more time to assess the progression system; what I've seen so far is promising, at least. Leveling up gradually earns a welcome range of perks, like increased damage for manual reloading or faster movement speed. If you keep your trooper alive long enough, they can then "graduate" to citizenship for additional bonuses, which XR Games states will advance your powers faster.
I'm just not sure what's here in Continuum will be enough to sustain an "8-10 hours" campaign. I'm also worried the remaining missions will largely feel similar, though any level variety judgments right now would be premature. As someone who's played numerous VR wave shooters across the years, mowing down standard enemies on repeat isn't that exciting.
The visual presentation on Quest 3 isn't great either, and I've yet to play on PlayStation VR2 for comparison. The more cartoonish approach was the right call for standalone hardware, these harsh desert environments aren't that interesting to explore. Visual pop-in and flat environmental surfaces were also apparent, and I encountered several performance stutters when Arachnids emerged.
Still, it's a good first impression for Starship Troopers: Continuum overall. It's not the most innovative VR multiplayer shooter, sure, but blowing up space insects in co-op offers satisfying fun, and the progression system successfully incentivizes you to be strategic. Whether that's enough for the full campaign, I'm not sure, but it's a good start.
Starship Troopers: Continuum is out now on the Meta Quest platform, and the PS VR2 version will follow on November 25.
