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Dexed

Dexed

Ninja Theory gives virtual reality a shot with this short, but atmospheric effort.

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While big game studios are still slowly entering the realm of VR development, Ninja Theory (Heavenly Sword, DMC Devil May Cry) is one of those more proactively trying its hand in this relatively new arena. Their first VR game, Dexed, was born as a result of an in-house game jam, and it was produced in only a few months (and alongside Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, the studio's current major project), which explains the small scale of the game.

The game mechanics are fairly simple and any additional features have been stripped away. In all its simplicity, the player flies through serene landscapes, collecting points by shooting ghost-like creatures. The catch is that there are two kinds of ghosts and you need the right kind of ammo to shoot them down. "Burning ghosts" can be extinguished with the icy ammo, and "icy ghosts" are taken out with fire ammo, even though the game's tutorial tells you the exact opposite. If the ghost is shot with the wrong kind of ammo, the game sends a projectile back towards the player. It can still be blocked by using the right kind of shield, though. Extra points are given by shooting fire and ice themed pipe pieces. At the end of the level the collected points are ranked locally and against the rest of the world, so there is some replayability in classic arcade high-score chasing fashion.

Dexed
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With the PSVR headset, the player can marvel at the slowly flowing scenery, however, the shooting is done by using only the controller and its gyro-sensors for aiming. The left triggers are used for the fire-based weapon and shield, and from the right side you can find the same actions with the ice theme. It's better to use the Move motion controllers for shooting though, because then both elements are controlled separately, which makes the shooting more fun and agile. Strangely, the game doesn't mention Move controller support and we only learned about it by looking at a trailer for the game.

Dexed includes four different nature-themed levels, and a separate final boss challenge. Additionally, there's also a virtual chamber where the player can continue shooting ghosts with a few extra weapons. There are three different difficulty settings, where the easiest one doesn't punish the player for shooting the ghosts with the wrong ammo. In addition, the player can enjoy the levels in a special Zen-mode where all the enemies are removed and the player can simply float through the dream-like scenery.

Dexed

The visuals in Dexed are quite simplistic, yet they're also very distinct. The levels have been kept simple enough, but everything is easily readable with the help of the colours that highlight what you need to focus on. This fits nicely with the game's very pleasant ambience. The calm pace and the sight of flying ghosts creates a dreamy atmosphere which is amplified by the beautiful and melodic electronic music.

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With all its tranquility, Dexed is a very pleasant VR gaming experience. The minimalistic visuals and memorable music fit well together, creating a dreamy atmosphere that reminds us of Journey. However, the brevity of the game did leave us a little disappointed and we're still holding out hope for larger VR titles from big developers. We've seen quite a lot of these small games already, and we're kind of done with the tech demo phase of VR gaming. It's time to step things up.

Dexed
07 Gamereactor UK
7 / 10
+
Very pleasant atmosphere, Great music, Big whale.
-
Erroneous tutorials, Too short, No mention of the Move support.
overall score
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Dexed

REVIEW. Written by Ossi Mykkänen

"The minimalistic visuals and memorable music fit well together, creating a dreamy atmosphere that reminds us of Journey."



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