In his weekly column, Android Central Senior Content Producer Nick Sutrich delves into all things VR, from new hardware to new games, upcoming technologies, and so much more.
Ever since the PS1 classic Metal Gear Solid came out, I've been a huge fan of the stealth genre. While stealth's golden age is squarely in the mid-2000s with releases like Metal Gear Solid 3, several banger Splinter Cell games, and the Thief series (I would even argue Deus Ex fits in there too), a crop of new releases on the Meta Quest platform have given the genre the reinvigoration I've been hoping for.
Meanwhile, Espire MR Missions is the mixed reality follow-up to Espire 2, one of the best Meta Quest games. This Metal Gear Solid-inspired game distills that classic formula to its core and uses the power of mixed reality to transform it into something wholly unique.
The return of the Thief
Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow is my single-player VR game of the year. I had high hopes for it, given that Maze Theory and Vertigo Games were behind its development — two names you'll be familiar with if you play VR games — and the final product is basically what I'd hoped for.
Like Assassin's Creed Nexus VR, Thief VR feels like a proper return to the series' roots while still maintaining the fresh feeling that a change of perspective can deliver. It's not trying to add a massive world to immerse players in, change up the gameplay, or turn it into a roguelike or some mixed-reality playground. It's just Thief, in first-person, with a new playable character, and with the immersive nature of physically moving around rather than sitting on a couch. You can even set your mic to "immersive mode," and the guards can hear you talk or make noise!
You can, of course, play while seated, but it still requires some movement and interactivity not afforded by a controller. Take, for instance, one of the many times I found myself behind a door with guards on the other side. I'd slightly open the door to get a quick peek, then plan my attack by using the door, effectively making it a moving wall.
This feeling never got old, and the game doesn't drag on for 60 hours or somesuch nonsense. Most players will finish it in around 8 hours, which, for me, is the perfect game length. I'm 40, have a family and a full-time job, plus plenty of other activities, friend circles, and the like. I don't have time for 900-hour games anymore, and even when I do play them, I often stop between the 20 and 40-hour marks because I get bored.
Because it's this length, the mechanics never wear out their welcome. Opening a window to crawl through feels brilliant every time. Bopping a guard on the head and dragging his body into the shadows is always harrowing and fun, especially when you play on hard difficulty. It's even fun to use the Mechanical Eye to mark guards or see how the gates are wired up to sabotage them, Deus Ex or Batman Arkham style.
Shooting one of the half dozen arrow types to knock out a guard, put out a fire, or even grapple to a specific shortcut is generally a lot of fun. I say generally because there's an unnecessary learning curve to the bow's mechanics. It just feels weird to aim, but it's something you adjust to by the end of the third level.
I found myself dreaming about Thief's levels more than once. Because of their immersive nature, VR games tend to cause this effect more often than traditional games, and it's always fascinating to experience. The game is even quite nice visually on the Quest 3, and I found that the gamma and environments were nicely tweaked to work best on the Quest 3's LCD, while the SteamVR version was just too dark.
If you're a fan of classic stealth games, Thief VR may just be the revival you've been looking for. I certainly know it was for me, and I count myself fortunate for having been able to finally experience another proper Thief series game again after such a long, long wait.
There's a Solid Snake in my house
Once I finished Thief VR, I was craving more stealth. Laser Dance certainly fulfilled the Mission Impossible laser-dodging aspect of that, but I was still looking for a game that let me sneak around and take out bad guys, Metal Gear Solid style. That's where Espire MR Missions came in.
The Espire series is pure Metal Gear Solid through and through. I'd say it fits almost perfectly within Metal Gear Solid 2's mechanics, including multiple playable characters. But the MR missions are a little bit different. It still follows the same stealth concepts, but the difference is that the level is now your home.
That probably sounds boring to some of you, particularly if you don't have a spacious place. My home is on the small side, but I found Espire MR Mission's mixed-reality gameplay was enough to keep me from feeling confined to my living and dining rooms the entire time.
Espire MR Missions uses the home scan your Meta Quest headset performs before entering mixed reality space. This scan takes only a minute and automatically identifies furniture, walls, doors, and windows, making them all usable with Espire's mixed reality engine.
The game then takes all those features of your room and turns them into objects that belong in the Espire universe, depending on the mission requirements. Walls often become bay doors to the Espire universe, with enemies lurking just outside your walls, ready to burst in if you alert them to your presence.
Like Laser Dance, you'll dodge plenty of lasers and have to solve several puzzles to complete missions or make progress in one. These all require you to physically move around your room, giving the game a physicality that most simply lack. There's no virtual movement here, and that changes everything.
Since the game shifts and morphs to fit your play space, you can take your Meta Quest 3 anywhere you want, and it'll feel like a brand new game every time. That doesn't have to mean a park or someone else's house, either. It can just be moving to a different set of rooms in your house.
Twenty-one of the game's 29 missions can be played in any size space, while the remaining eight require a specific size to complete. The game is just $8.99 for new players, and Espire 2 owners receive it totally free. Plus, since it's early access, development is still ongoing, which means you'll get more content over the next few months and years. Now that's a real win!
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