Iron Man VR - Review

When VR first started to become something that we might be able to experience, without it looking like a red landscape of hell, many people had ideas of what they wanted to be able to experience, for me, it was stepping into the worlds of stories that I have come to know and we got that pretty soon with the launch of PlayStation VR with Batman: Arkham VR and it was not great. Now as we come to the end of the PlayStation 4, can Iron Man VR provide that immersion I have been looking for, or will it fail to take flight?

While the tutorial level takes place just after Tony has announced to the world that he is Iron Man, the game skips ahead a number of years, to a time when he has been suit for a number of years. The story kicks into gear, only moments after Tony has named Pepper the CEO of Stark Industries and then the private plane, they are flying on is attacked, leaving Tony to jump from it after his suit and then back to attempt to rescue Pepper. All this made more challenging as Tony’s suit, the plane and everything else, start getting taken over by Ghost, someone from Tony’s past who seems to have a desire for revenge against the man of iron. Those who have seen the Marvel Cinematic Movies, specifically Ant-Man and the Wasp, might notice the name and while the two characters share some similarities, this version of Ghost is pulled from the comics, rather that the silver screen. Over the course of the games dozen missions, you will learn that what might have seemed straight forward, has more twists that you could guess coming and while it is still a revenge plot, there are some nice layers to it.

But story or not, the gameplay is what you are coming for and here you get the chance to literally suit up as Iron Man and while you thankfully don’t have to wear an actual suit, you still get the experience. While you don’t have the wait, the feeling of flight is present and something that they are able to with almost little effort, early hands on had me concerned that this would not work, but it does. The game is one of the few that requires the PlayStation Move controllers, which is a barrier to entry, but if you have them, then you will see why they are important. Each hand translates to the arm in the game, lift it up and you will see it reflect in the game, from turn to gripping things, it all just works. Of course, flying and combat are the things you will do the most and they again make us of the controllers, but also in conjunction with the headset itself.

Combat works by simply lifting your hand up and aiming and what you want to shoot, just remember to press the right button, specifically the ones on top of the controller. You can double tap it to prepare a punch forward, which can deal some devastating damage, but there are no times, unless the game hints at you needing to do it, that you will want to, as it feels weird to see Iron Man lurch forward, but you remain stationary. The opposite side of the controller is that of the triggers and that is what lets you fly and while it takes a bit to understand how the mechanics, once you do understand it, you can really get some moves going. If you raise your arms, with the thrusters going, you will push back, lower your arms by your sides and you will fly up, push them back and you fly forward and while you can move your arms up and down to adjust direction, where you look also does the same. Understanding how they work together is honestly one of the hardest things I have had to do in a game, it is up there with Guitar Hero in terms of new skills, but taking the time to learn it, is important, because once you do, it feels the incredible.

Being able to fly around, is amazing, but the game also lets you customise things a little, giving you a sense that you are Tony Stark, when not in the suit, to layout the arms you want. The palms are where the repulsors are stored, but you can choose which arm some secondary attacks installed, so if you are left hand dominant, you can make that you main attacking hand, rather than being told this is where things have to go. Given you have a decent range of secondary options like missiles, smart bombs and such, choosing your setup is as crucial as knowing when to use them, as they have cool downs in action.

There are a few issues though and they mostly depend on how you choose to play, the big issue is flying down, there is no easy way to do it. You can hold your arms up and thrust down, but it doesn’t work a lot, and the other option is to just not fly for a bit, which in battles can be a really bad idea. The other issue is dependent on if you sit or stand to play, while standing is preferred, you have to be able to withstand the weight of the headset, at the same time dealing with the moves, sometimes which can be a little extreme. Sitting down is nice and relaxing, but leaves you unable move as freely, which can also be a little awkward, standing is the better way to play, but how you play is something you need to decide for yourself.

The game’s most divisive front is going to be the visuals, purely from an aesthetic point of view, as they look more like the MCU than the comics, but still keep one foot in the comic style. The characters from Tony to Pepper, Nick Fury and the digital companions, all look similar to how you might know them from the movies but have enough of a difference that they are their own characters. The worlds, for the most part are well done, Tony’s house in Malibu is large and great to explore, at least, as much as teleporting around it lets you, the skyboxes are also a treat to fly around, the only downside is when you get close to things. Flying around is fine, but as things get close to you, or you get close to things, you will notice that there are a lot of jaggies and the texture quality is not something you might expect to see in a PlayStation 4 game and when you consider that the game was released between The Last of Us Part 2 and Ghost of Tsushima, the lower quality textures stand out.

On the audio side, things are solid all round, just make sure you wear some good headphones when you play it, as the audio sounds so much better when it is right near your ears. The voice acting is solid, Josh Keaton does a great job as Tony Stark and while there are a few lines that sound like it is a RDJ impression, most of the time you can separate the versions, another plus is given the number of superheroes the actor has voiced over the years, most recently Ant-Man in Marvel’s Ultimate Alliance 3 last year, he still sounds unique. Jennifer Hale is a great Pepper Potts and having played badass ladies before, like Female Shepherd and even Samus Aran, there is a nice resilience to the voice here as well.

Iron Man VR might not be the best game ever made, but it is easily one of the best VR titles, on any platform. It takes a fantasy that many have had over the years and makes it possible and while it is not the cheapest game to get into, a console, a VR headset and speciality controllers, the cost is worth it. The length of the game is not massive, but given the replayability of flying around, you will certainly have fun and that should be what flying around like Iron Man is all about

The Score

8.0

Review code provided by PlayStation

The Pros

+The flying, after some time, feels incredible

+The freedom of movement is great and being able to customise your suit is great

The Cons

+The story is not the strongest and while it is fun, there is nothing to compelling about it

+Visually, there are times when it looks great, other times when it struggles to look better than early PS3