HORIZON VANGUARD Reviews

I got this game because I got tired of most VR games which just seem to be variations on shooting things with a gun, or hitting things with sticks. I'm a big fan of shoot 'em ups and was curious to see how they would play in first person VR. Turns out it doesn't work so well. The main problem I found is that you are only able to look at a small portion of the field at a time. In a top-down shoot em up, you can see everything 360 degrees around the ship. In this game, you can only see within a 45 degree cone of vision. The result is being hit by things that you can't see. Even it you constantly swing your head around, you will still not be able to see everything at once. That being said, a lot was done to mitigate this problem, but it isn't enough. A solution to this would be to make the play field narrower, and to not have enemies appear on the edge of the field or approach from behind. Other Cons -needs more power ups -should be able to heal -gun feels weak, rate of fire too slow -graphics are very basic, lacks style, looks like programmer art Pros -music is cool - an attempt at an original genre of game, innovative

This is an arcade style game that plays very similar to games like Starfox (SNES/N64) and draws inspiration from the likes of Gradius and Space Harrier. Being an arcade game, it is very difficult and relies on repetition for you to start clearing levels. The game absolutely nails the art style, music and pacing of those arcade games, with a good amount of polish. It is super fun to play, and mastering it will take you a long time!

I don't write reviews often. When I do, you can expect to find them as great examples of poorly aged opinions. However, this game forced me to speak up. At the time of writing, I've only put in about 30 minutes of playtime, which is less than ideal for a review, but unfortunately I don't know if I have the willpower for more attempts. First, I want to start with the game's pros. This game has an excellent presentation and an absolutely amazing soundtrack from the few tracks I heard. The soundtrack is a large part of why I decided to try this game, and I'm looking for more interesting and innovative VR titles. I've been looking at old rail shooters like Star Fox lately, and I even backed a kickstarter project in that vein recently. A friend of mine showed me Horizon Vanguard's trailer and I immediately got my hopes up. However, I was quickly disappointed. I don't complain about difficulty often. I've beaten some difficult games, Mega Man Zero and Dark Souls to name a few. I understand rail shooters in particular have a history of being notably difficult, especially those in the arcade bullet hell subgenre. I also understand playing towards the nostalgia from that era. However, right from the start, Horizon Vanguard reintroduces us to several antiquated design ideas that, coupled with the VR presentation, culminate into a very frustrating experience overall. Perhaps the first thing you'll notice is the Shield system rather than an HP meter. You only get a few hits before your hoverbike explodes. While this by itself I can forgive, the lack of regenerative pickups or alternative means to get shields back (at least in early levels) is frustrating. Coupled with this is the game's lack of lives and checkpoints. If you fail, you have to start the entire level over. Or in Arcade mode, the entire game. I spent 30 minutes trying and failing to clear the first mission and just couldn't. It appears you can earn the option to start a run with more credits later, but this doesn't help you early when you're trying to get started. Perhaps part of the reason why this game is so difficult to me is the controls. I'm using a standard HTC Vive setup. This means using wands that have touch pads. This means, to move your vehicle within the movement radius, you have to use a touchpad like a controller's D-pad. This is very uncomfortable and, if you're like me and play traditional controls more often, you'll quickly find yourself overshooting and flying into bullets you think you've dodged. If you are using a more up-to-date VR system that has analogue sticks, you may have an easier time than I did, but be warned of the touchpad controls. Adding onto these is an incredibly busy level design philosophy. Literally the first obstacle you are tasked with avoiding is horizontal, moving boxes. These can be trickier to avoid than it sounds, requiring you to have a good sense of your speed and your position. This is followed shortly by having to aim distant switches to open gates. They quickly throw in massive pillars you have to avoid crashing into, sometimes obscuring those switches. This is all while expecting you to focus on enemies in front of you for your vehicle's lasers to shoot down, and enemies above and around you to blast with your handgun. Eventually the game adds bullet hell elements to this, prompting you to look at your radar to determine your actual position. This game is a multitasking nightmare. An admittedly really COOL AND AWESOME multitasking nightmare, but one nonetheless. As it stands now, the difficulty is not scaled in a way that entices inexperienced players to try to improve. I can't imagine how frustrating the later levels are. The game could seriously benefit from having additional difficulty options. I'm not suggesting anything baby-easy, but a mode with checkpoints and more shield recovery options, for example, could make this game significantly more enjoyable, so one doesn't feel like they're wasting 30 minutes trying to clear the same level from start to finish. Perhaps the controls are easier in flatscreen mode, but the VR aspect is what really sells the game and I cannot imagine the aiming controls being as fluid without the motion controls. I regretfully cannot recommend this game to anyone other than rail shooter and bullet hell purists, and VR enthusiasts. I may make another attempt at the game to see if there's anything else I can do to improve my experience, but I just don't know. I want to enjoy the game, but it's just too frustrating. EDIT 8/18/2020: The developer offers a solution for Vive users that may improve the experience. Please read the developer's reply to this review if you are attempting to play the game with an older Vive model and are encountering the difficulties I had.

A bullet hell arcade style VR game with awesome music. Freakin dope. Fair warning though the game does pose a bit of a challenge but that's part of the fun. Definitely recommend it if you are looking for something to expand your VR library.

These devs get it. High-octane shooter gameplay, flawless performance, great style, super smooth blend of genres, and probably the best shooting experience I've had outside of an arcade. If you enjoyed Virtual Cop, Hang On, Wave Race, Time Crisis, or even Touhou you'll love this game. Buy a copy for your friends.

Late to the party here but this is an instant classic. Feels like a 90's Sega arcade prototype. Works perfectly with M&KB or controller. Great for score chasing. Love it!

This is what I imagined future video games would be like when I was a kid dumping quarters into arcade machines in the 90s. It's easy to jump in, challenging to get far - but that's great because it's not demanding more coins whenever I die. I picked this up in early access and thought it was already pretty strong, but with more varied levels and unique boss fights, it really shines.

This game is pretty damn cool. Has a sort of Sega Saturn type feel with a bit of Star Fox. I recommend it. One criticism to the Devs: As some have said you don't regen shields after each zone, but after playing 23 minutes I unlocked 2 continue credits after backing out which I'm guessing takes place of shield regen. Just start us out with some continues or regen our shields after each zone. On first playthrough you legit can't get far not because of skill, but because you don't have the continues. That's not a good type of grind (even though its hardly any grind, just give us them). It's like forced stale progression when you first start out. Other than that its pretty cool. Got to the 3rd zone with zero credits. I'll see how far I can get with 2 now. Btw there is an option to start at and play zones you've reached, but they won't count towards your score or Intel unlocks. Intel unlocks are hidden in zones and unlock alternate routes kind of like Star Fox on N64 and its alternate routes.

If you're not a fan of older arcade quarter munchers you might not be a good fit for this one - the completion rate for the first and 2nd boss is 50% then 16% - but if the idea of playing a light gun and shmup at the same time seems rad you'll likely dig it. Thankfully the difficulty is partially mitigated by being able to practice zones you've reached with unlimited continues before attempting a run from the start. I also found I had better luck dodging using the radar for a few seconds to figure out the boss's patterns versus staring at it during the fight. The tutorial could probably use to spell out some of the slightly less obvious mechanics like some enemies being immune to pistol shots, or what the colored circles around incoming shots indicate, and having shots from behind hit can be a bit annoying in a couple spots, but overall it's a lot of fun.

Exceptionally hard and very good VR interpretation of both shmups and on-rails shooter. Only been able to unlock a few zones so far, but it's a blast! The mechanic of looking down on your bike to see a top down view of the playfield to more easily dodge bullets is genius, and simultaneously blasting ground enemies with the bike and lining up pistol shots feels amazing. Runs smooth and My one complaint is that II wish there was a mechanic to hold down a button or trackpad on the movement controller to slow my speed to more easily dodge dense patterns. Will be playing it more!