Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series (2019)

TLDR: So mediocre, that it makes me sad.

I didn't expect a big franchise like SW to get such a money grab game.

The gameplay is below mediocre by VR standards.
And most of the time you just stand around and watch characters talk.
Using the force feels clunky. Lightsaber action is mediocre, compared to many other sword fighting VR games we have. Shooting and deflecting lasers is also kind of a chore.
And as a standalone story, the stuff that happens in this short trilogy didn't thrill me one bit. I felt like watching a predictable cliche story, guided by uninteresting companions, unfunny jokes and slow pace. So even from storytelling perspective this feels like a cheap game from 2000.

So, if you're looking for a place to be a Jedi in VR, you haven't found it yet.

This isn't so much of a game as it is a guided story at best.

It's still thrilling to be in the Star Wars world up close and personal, but, that's about all it has going for it there.

It's not terrible, just don't go in expecting a game....more like an interactive novel.

~David.

My first purchased VR game on the Oculus platform. Having exposed myself to the VR gameplay through freebies and trial version games, I felt confident to give a this 3-part series a run for the experience. You play as a smuggler ending up on the planet Mustafar, being pulled in by Darth Vader's plot to uncover an ancient mystery of the planet.

The balance between story and gameplay can get rocky, at times leaving you to wait for action longer than necessary. But when it comes... Boy, does it get immersive, true to the VR experience! The game allows you to interact with in-game switches, climbing bars and ladders, even using laser guns, grenades and, granted, the light saber! There's something satisfying about growing my skills in saber fighting and deflecting the laser shots. Later on in the series, there is more to the gameplay interaction that involves the force but you'll have to give the series a run without being spoiled here.

The graphics are certainly of a quality that pushes the limits of the VR engine, competitive amongst the AAA games. Most of the world you run through is seamless yet the devs manage to make the environment and characters life-like through and through.

The price of such production quality seems to trade in for the short length of each episode's story mode but thankfully, they featured an additional game mode in each of the series: The light saber dojo. It takes you through each stage that counts score for you, which qualifies you for unlockable content. If $15 value for each episode seems slightly steep for you, the dojo mode is likely to change your mind.

Much to the Star Wars franchise, I enjoyed the Vader Immortal series for being made in AAA quality albeit short for its value. Nevertheless, it's a contender for making virtual reality relevant to the gaming market alongside other top-tier game products of the new format.