Chromagun VR PS4 Review
Summary: A fun puzzler in the VR space that more than nods it's head to Valve's Portal.
3.5
I am sure that nearly every review you read about this is going to reference Portal. Yes now I have too. Chromagun is undeniably a Portal ripoff in the VR environment, and quite frankly it is something that Valve should have done long ago, so therefore I do not care. If you haven’t played Portal or Portal 2, the door is to your right, don’t let it hit you in the butt on the way out.
From the very get go, you can draw comparisons between the two games, but let’s pretend it is original. You are a volunteer test subject using a paint based gun to work your way through puzzles for the advanced science division of – oh look who cares IT’S A PORTAL RIP OFF AND I ENJOYED IT!
Phew! Basically you use a cool gun that fires different paint particles that are needed to proceed through the testing environments. The graphics are pretty so so and movement is a bit stunted and jerky. You can navigate naturally through the environment using the dual shock sticks and I didn’t feel any locomotion sickness as a result. The response if you use the Move controllers is a lot better for both aim and movement, so have you have them; use them! At times the gun didn’t track to my position that well but for the most part it was all good.
The isotopic paint your gun fires has a magnetic reaction on the drones that are in your way. By painting certain walls and then the drones, they move, allowing you to proceed through to the next test chamber. It is not simple though, and the puzzles are well thought out which will make you want to continue through the title. You can fire primary colours, but the ante is upped by having to mix colours to get certain results. Add to that the fact that not all the drones are friendly; in fact some want to kill you which adds to the fun and creates a sense of timeliness required.
From an audio standpoint the game holds up well. Unfortunately in its neverending homage to Portal there is a man’s voice that comes over the intercom constantly. He’s not funny but you can tell he is meant to be and the commentary is not smart like that of Glados or the fantastic Cave Johnson. There are holes in the story too regarding what should have been dramatic events that are never referred to again for the whole game. They should have been left out and just allowed the gamer to play their game in peace.
All things said and done, ChromaGun is a solid game with decent puzzle elements. It has it’s flaws but all things said and done is nicely enough executed. It certainly is worth the play for the puzzles alone.
Tory Favro
Related Posts
Heaven Dust Collection Review (PS4) →
Celebrating 30 years of PlayStation with a nostalgic look →
Bang On Balls: Chronicles PS4 Review →
