Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot PC Game Review (HTC Vive)
Summary: What could have been is hinted at but ultimately ends before it begins.
2.8
Achtung
It’s been a while since I last put on my Vive… a combination of 3D printing taking up a lot of my time and just not being in the mood for it… but recently my children wanted to try Beat Saber so I fired it up. Then the opportunity to try Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot came up and I thought, what great timing, I love the original game and the sequels that I’ve managed to play… this should be fun.
As you begin the game you learn that you are part of a program to use the Nazi’s weapons against them, by remotely operating their machines and taking the battle to their own turf. You are presented with your first bit of machinery that you will be controlling, it looms large in front of you and you are instructed that you need to do a little “modification” before it will be battle ready.
Ok… nice start. After a bit of adjusting the new acquisition it’s time to learn how to use this beast. The training section reminds me of Vox Machinae… at least the early demo I played back on the Oculus DK2… you have a virtual, virtual arena where you are guided through the features of your robot. Once you have shown you know how to handle yourself it’s time to get out into the battle field. Unlike Vox Machinae the main game world is very much “on rails”… tight corridors and narrow streets make sure you don’t go off course, it isn’t too bad given the context of where you are fighting so it’s not a big issue… but it would be interesting to have a bit more of an option to roam about.
Visually the game hits and misses. I’m not entirely sure if I was simply getting a bit foggy in the center of my lenses but I did find things seemed to get a bit blurry when “in the field”. Whilst at HQ generally things were fine, but it was also easier to angle my view to get the best look at things. There are some nice details scattered about and some of the set pieces are quite nice.
The biggest problem Cyberpilot arguably suffers is how long it is… or more correctly, how short it is. I completed it in two hours… well I should really say I spent two hours in the game according to Steam… as to how much of that time was “Actively” playing the game is open for debate. The result is it kind of feels like the initial training missions for a larger game. You have a few different “vehicles” you get to pilot… but it boils down to about one (reasonably short) mission for each.
At the current price I would not recommend purchasing. It’s a bit of fun but it’s really more like a bonus you’d get with the main Wolfenstein game rather than a separate product you need to pay a pretty hefty price for. If it goes on deep discount or if they decide to add a lot more missions it will be more appealing… but for now… maybe seek your cyberpiloting thrills elsewhere.
About the Author
Chris O'Connor Father of four, husband of one and all round oddity. Gaming at home since about 1982 with a Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Moving on to the more traditional PC genre in the years that followed with the classic Jump Joe and Alley Cat. CGA, EGA, VGA and beyond PC's have been central to my gaming but I've also enjoyed consoles and hand helds along the way (who remembers the Atari Lynx?). Would have been actor/film maker, jack of many trades master of none.
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