Whilst still high on excitement for the PlayStation VR, I’ve managed to experience a lot of scenarios that is only possible using this awesome new medium. I’ve flown through space, pulled off a heist, become a superhero, but what I haven’t done yet is live out a romance or walk around a fully realised environment. VR gaming is right at home when it comes to sitting down in a cockpit or driver’s seat, but a lot of first-person games require some form of movement. For our full review on the PlayStation VR, read it HERE.
A game that was launched alongside the PlayStation VR has seemingly been overlooked. Not a lot has been said about it. There are no guides online and it has seemingly faded into the shadows of the likes of RIGS or EVE: Valkyrie. That game is Loading Human: Chapter 1, the first of 3 chapters that put you in control of a guy called Prometheus. On start-up, your purpose is unclear as you begin in your bathroom. Using the PlayStation Move controllers is your best bet here as it allows full immersion into Loading Human’s unique world. They are used to control your hands and, for the first time with PSVR, your movement.
The story here is murmured into your ears. You are on a research base within a snowy mountain range as you prepare yourself to go on a space mission to retrieve the Quintessence which will help your dying father with his rapidly declining health. Although you are not on the base alone (partner-come-love-interest Alice, the base’s host AI, and multiple robot drones populate the base), the setting feels very isolated and remote. The story takes place in the year 2184; however, the entire game bounces from year to year to show how you arrived at the base, first met Alice, and discovered what is needed to revitalise your father’s ill health. When it whips back to current time where your relationship with Alice is blossoming, you undergo training simulations for the upcoming mission which have you shooting asteroids and flying through a very easy course of floating rings. They are a welcome change of pace but are over far too quickly.
As previously mentioned, Loading Human requires the use of the PlayStation Move controllers to move around. You do this by pointing in a direction and pressing the large top button on either remote to walk in that desired direction. Turning left or right requires pointing in that direction and pressing the same top button, and pointing behind you allows for a full 180 degree turn. It’s a control scheme that does the job, and it’s easy to learn. The biggest problem, though, is the walking speed, it is far too slow. So slow that it makes the multiple puzzles throughout the game more frustrating than they should be. One of the more frustrating puzzles, or rather tasks, was to make Alice tea. To do this, I had to find the ingredients that were located in a large floral room called the Greenhouse. The slow running speed made searching for the ingredients a chore in this huge space. So too are the puzzle sequences which has Prometheus put together a string of events in the correct order to load up that memory. Things do pick up though as disaster strikes and things get a little tense during a certain rescue, but I will refrain from dropping any spoilers.
Picking things up is made easy by hovering your hand over an object which triggers a purple glow. Pressing the trigger button on the Move controllers makes you pick that item up, and if it has a use, activation is automatic once it’s pointed in the correct direction. The controls work in a game like Loading Human. Its slow pacing eliminates confusion and any need for quick thought. I got lost multiple times. Not so much with where to go but what to do. One scenario had me hunting down a light bulb to replace a smashed one. Although subtle hints gave me some form of direction, I ultimately ended up clueless. That issue is rife here. Without a map or indicator to follow (probably to increase VR immersion), I was finding myself wandering around and interacting with anything that looked important. I couldn’t even replay the hint to remind myself of what I was looking for either. Very frustrating.
The visuals in Loading Human are very limited. Bland looking corridors and rooms and relatively short draw distance hinder any realism that the base is meant to have. Alice’s character model is another hindrance in this respect. Her lack of natural motion, lifeless facial expressions, and robotic voice never convinced me that she was supposed to be a human being. The Greenhouse was the room with the most personality here, kitted out with plants, trees, and robotic arms circulating above as they carry on with their jobs. The inclusion of the Zen room with its beautiful waterfall walls and candle lit dinner table was a lovely little detail too, a perfect retreat that I must have in my own house one day. The rest of the environments, however, are not as impressive.
Developers: Untold Games
Publishers: Maximum Games
Platform: PS4, PC
Release Date: 13th October 2016