STRAYLIGHT Reviews

A fun game of VR movement, has a good flow state that rewards speed with alternative paths

Edit: After some more playtime and updates I'm changing my opinion on some things and mentioning things that were changed. TL;DR: Going from a somewhat positive review to a very positive review. The game ran very smooth and I didn't notice any bugs at all in my short time of playing. Which is very nice to see for an early access VR title. Some things I would like to see changed: [strike] The physics in this game aren't very intuitive. While you're grappled on a star, There is no gravity whatsoever. But when you're not grappled to anything, the gravity suddenly comes back on full force and you very quickly lose most of your forward/upward momentum. This threw me off a number of times and I feel like there should be some universal gravity in the game rather than zero g when grappled and super strong gravity while falling. [/strike] ----Okay so I'm not sure if the physics were tweaked or I just had some weird expectations but the physics feel great and intuitive to me. Maybe it just takes some getting used to. [strike] Another thing I've noticed is the hit boxes are somewhat inconsistent. Sometimes I'll just barely noclip through an object but most times I "crash" into it from 3 feet away. Personally, I think the player's hit box should be reduced to the size of an average person. [/strike] ----The hit box was changed in an update and it feels great, so no complaints there and big thanks to the dev for listening and responding! [strike] Something I would like to see added: The background of the most/all of the stages is a low res sky above the "horizon" and solid black below it. It doesn't seem to match the colorful geometric shapes in my opinion and kinda threw me out of the game. It would be nice to see a detailed space scene all the way around and lose the "horizon" since the game takes place in space. (Unless there's something I'm missing and it's supposed to be on or near a planet or something.) [/strike] ---- Okay another thing that I guess I had weird expectations for because it honestly looks fine. [strike] Some constructive criticism:[/strike] So I had something here about the narrator and how I didn't like it, but I think I was waaaay too harsh and I apologize for that. There's a slider for the voice volume in game so you can have it on or off depending on what you want. Overall I like this game and I think it has great potential for growth. It's a fun VR platforming/parkour-ish game that won't give you motion sickness. Definitely worth buying, even if you don't get HOURS of playtime out of it.

Full disclosure: I know one of the devs (so my expectations were pretty low... :P j/k), and I probably wouldn't have picked it up otherwise, but MAN am I glad I did! This game is super fun! Launching myself at top speed through the levels and whipping around turns is exhilarating, and despite the crazy acceleration I never once felt motion sick. While it might seem a little short at the moment if you're just trying to get to the end of each level, going back to collect all the cubes is a fun challenge, and trying to reach the top of the leaderboard on each level has eaten up more of my time than I care to admit. Mastering the movement and physics is rewarding and finding routes and shortcuts through each level really made me feel clever. I would already consider this a must buy if you have VR, and I only expect it to get better. Can't wait to see the progress this game makes!

Absolutely fantastic little VR motion game. Which, going by leaderboard progress and the number of reviews, isn't seeing a lot of traction on Steam at this writing. Compared to other VR movement games (Sairento, To The Top, and exercise-focused titles like PowerBeats or Beat Saber), Straylight feels comfortable to play and fun to move around in. The UI is well-presented in VR, all of the levels are fun to play, and the moderate level of exercise feels good between more intense experiences. Special shoutout to the narrator who clearly had way too much fun with the lines of this game, invoking a sadistic glee reminiscent of Portal's GLaDOS. I found the early levels a little on the easy end, but felt very satisfied by the postgame challenge levels. Half the game is contained in those levels, so be aware that you have plenty to go once you've seen the credits. Overall, even at the full price of $20, this game is worth it if you enjoy nyooming around in VR.

While I did enjoy the game, it was too short, and the dev apparently has abandoned the game. No updates since May. No communication in the Discussion forum. Too bad, the game had potential. Well, the update finally came and I forgot to change my review. With the added content I can definitely recommend the game. It's a fun and addictive game with lots of replayability. It's a hidden gem that deserves a purchase.

You want to go fast? You want to swing through space in a crazy-smooth way and hold your breath to see if you can make it through a glowing hoop? You want to listen to a super-chill, synthy, analog-powered soundtrack? If these things are appealing, then STRAYLIGHT might be your thing. STRAYLIGHT is probably best described as a platformer where you're swinging off of glowing nodes to try to swing yourself through hoops. You activate the hoops in pretty much linear order and then you toss yourself through the final portal and you're done. There are a few really exhilarating things about this game: THE MOVEMENT is exhilarating. The movement in this game just feels nuts, and you feel like you can throw yourself into crazy stunts. It feels REALLY good. There must've been a lot of time spent on making this motion smooth, because it's so good. This is something that is really difficult to describe, and it's a great demonstration of doing something in VR that you could NEVER do in real life. THE SOUNDTRACK is really, really great. I am a little biased, since I know the composer and he's a really cool guy, but it doesn't change the fact that the soundtrack moves from smooth, light EP sounds to rocking analog drums to smooth synthwave melodies. The soundtrack is generally fast-paced to match the pace of the game but there's a lot of variation. It's just an enjoyable set of songs that would go really good alongside your workout, or in your car, or at any time you want to feel like you need to go fast, but in a casual, relaxed way. THE ATMOSPHERE is good. They're mostly simple, low-polygon graphics, but they are abstract in an almost Rez-like way. They give a very nice ambiance to the game (that's accentuated by the soundtrack). I do have a few notes of warning if you do plan to pick up the game. The controls do take some time to get used to. I found the tutorial actually rather difficult because after every objective, I basically died (since they don't spawn new nodes for you to swing off of), and the first level took me a while just to get used to controls. Something important to note is that even though you "connect" to nodes with your straylight, you're not actually physically attached and if you're moving too fast you will "break" off of the node. The game is pretty motion-heavy, especially from a turning point of view (makes me wish my headset was wireless), but the level spaces are large and as a result didn't trigger any motion sickness issues. The platforming is challenging. This isn't an easy game. Nothing so far has felt impossible, but there's definitely levels where I am doing the same move over and over to try to get it right. Fortunately, there is a "reset" button and plenty of checkpoints so it doesn't feel tedious. The story's doesn't appear to be a thing - the game is narrated by a snarky entity (whose identity I have yet to learn since I'm not done the game) who gives off GLADOS vibes. Maybe a narrative will develop, but so far it's not really a story-driven game. The game appears to be rather short. I don't remember exactly how many levels there are, but I think there are around 12 or 13. In an hour I did 5 levels, so I imagine I can probably get through the game in under 10 hours. There are a few modes that I haven't tried yet ("X" level, Meditation level) so I can update after trying them out, but I'm a little afraid that the game will be a pretty short experience. Summary: The game's motion is AMAZING, I haven't really played anything like it. The soundtrack is really good. Platforming is cool. They did really well on these fronts. I haven't finished the game yet so I can't say if it's "good, definitely buy!" or "good, but it's kind of expensive" but remind me later.

[b]TLDR: Straylight is a great platforming-esque game with fluid movement that is easy to pick up and very hard to master.[/b] The soundtrack is absolutely phenomenal and fits whether your just vibing or pushing for a speedrun. The game could be a little short for those that only want to clear each level, but is otherwise very replayable. And the gameplay WILL keep you coming back. Note: I'm reviewing this 3 days before its release. A lot of the other early access reviews are from 2020 when it first entered early access. (I have a beta code from the devs for their live build to test WMR controls. Seems like the early access build from 2020 is a bit different) [b]VR Movement as advertised[/b] If you read the store page description and you want to know if it is [i]actually[/i] any good, it is. I have long played vr driving sim and space sims, but wasn't as interested in Straylight. I bought early access a few days ago and was instantly hooked. The movement is just really satisfying. The videos of this game do a good job to capture the spectacle of the levels and speed, but they come nowhere close to describing how good it feels to actually play. [b]Easy to pick up[/b] The movement is very easy to pick up, and very natural. It feels great to be swinging at maximum speed through a level, and even better if you can find a way to launch yourself across a gap or over an obstacle. Navigating through some of the tighter more hazardous levels feels like platforming puzzle, trying to time when you build momentum to get over a death orb, or dropping below a ring at the last moment so you can still reach the next grapple point once it has passed. [b]Hard to master[/b] It is also incredibly hard to master. Because your only method of movement is "pulling" (done by making basically any motion with your controllers) yourself towards a grapple point, positioning and momentum are incredibly important and must be constantly on your mind, especially if speedrunning. And the amount you "pull" to a grapple point will affect your movement. So even pulling to the same points with very similar timings can result in wildly different trajectories if your motion control is inconsistent. I played on an HP Reverb G2 with the WMR controllers tracked via headset mounted cameras. Its tracking is alright. I think one of the systems with dedicated tracking might help things feel even better here, but I have no experience with them. With the headset camera tracking, I really needed to remember to keep my hands in front of me as much as possible. [b]Soundtrack[/b] While your careening through the void, Rob Kovacs/88bit's soundtrack fills your ears with banger after banger. Most songs have a very chill soundscape that makes you think this will be a relaxing experience. And it can be. But they all have an underlying intensity that fits right in with the more challenging gameplay sections as well. Seriously this soundtrack is amazing. Its the only thing I've been listening to for the 2(?) days its been available. [b]Replayability and other tidbits[/b] Straylight is also very replayable. While the 11 main levels + ending can be cleared in just hours, you will then unlock the hard mode stages. These are just 11 more stages that seem to roughly share the same giant structures as some of the regular stages. I've only cleared 1 at time of this review. The regular stages also have collectibles hidden throughout. Some of these require a pretty straightforward deflection from your normal path through the level, but others require some careful setup to get in the right position with the right momentum to reach them. These unlock ghosts for each stage, which you can then race against. I'm not really big into speedrunning, but I think I've already spent 2+ hours running a single stage. By the simple fact that runs are timed, you are encouraged to push. You find yourself thinking things such as: "Hey! I bet I can jump that gap.", "I wonder if I can go over that orb instead of around it", "How can I get through these moving obstacles without slowing down". Just remember to take of the headset and check the time once in a while. [b]Buy it already[/b] Honestly this game is WAY better than I expected. The gameplay is addicting and satisfying. If you read all the way to here, you probably will like it.

While I find myself taking a chance on fewer and fewer titles lately, this game is a good example of why it can pay off to take some risks. This game is unashamedly evil.. Some part of me wants to catch the developers in a dark alley and smite them, twisted and evil they are. If you can't handle a good bit of negative reinforcement and a punishingly challenging game, then this game is not for you. Graphically the style is very simplistic, low polygon content, but extremely well animated and fx driven. The physics aspects are quite strong, slinging yourself around some of the obsticals at neck breaking speed actually managed to make me feel a little shaky on my balance and I am a hardened VR player. I found the mildly passive aggressive "host" to be quite entertaining. No wait, there is no passive and no mildly. Seething undertones with a desire to see you suffer to a an otherwise polite and meek sounding entity is what you get. If you like physics based games, and you like fast frantic game play with a good deal of skill based difficulty, then this is worth the steep price tag in my opinion. If you are overly sensitive, prone to motion sickness, or want "participation awards" for showing up, you need not apply.

This game is amazing! Grappling myself through outer space has given me happy lucky feeling. I am prone to motion sickness so I'm always concerned trying out new VR games, but this game didn't give me any issues. I am excited to see what the devs do from here! Note: I played this game at a conference before the early access release.

Despite ugly looking UI (and Steam store page for that matter), Straylight is a great grappling hook VR game, up there with Windlands series and Jet Island, and even better than Yupitergrad. Although technically you are not using a grappling hook: Straylight has different more arcadey physics that allows extremely high movement speed and mobility. And levels are designed for that: they are huge and full of obstacles, yet still can be beaten in a minute or two by an experienced player moving at full speed. This is what sets the game above Yupitergrad for me: the difficulty of courses here still allows constant fast movement without a need to stop and wait for the opening in deadly traps. The campaign seems to have only 11 levels on Normal and Zen difficulty, but after you beat 11th level you will be thrown and the biggest and toughest 12th level and the whole Hard mode with another 11 levels will open. And unlike Zen difficulty, that uses the same layouts as Normal, Hard provides completely unique courses through the same levels. Also mastering Normal levels to get into the leader board is quite fun: there are a lot of shortcuts and not obvious movement paths through every course. Works on Reverb G2