Light Tracer is an intriguing game for everyone who owns a PlayStation VR. Although the price of $14.99 is still quite steep for most VR games, this platformer is trying to make a positive impact. While not a perfect game by any means, it has some solid action with controls that take some time to get used to. Plus, the gameplay choices can be a bit annoying as well. If you can get over those aspects with ease, the game is absolutely worth checking out.
Light Tracer is Rough Around the Edges
When it comes to playing any platformer game – especially in virtual reality – you need solid controls. Unfortunately for Light Tracer, this is a bit of a hit and miss in every way one could imagine. There is no DS4 support, which doesn’t always bode well for VR games. While it makes sense to use the Move controllers for this type of game, the way this is handled leaves a lot to be desired. You are holding a wand of sorts in your right hand and the left controller is used to interact with the environment. It sounds pretty simple, but it sometimes feels incredibly cumbersome.
More specifically, the entire game is presented in a top-down view. This means interacting with the environment will often result in moving in a specific direction at the same time. Having to adjust your positioning every few minutes becomes rather cumbersome very quickly. However, it is something you will get used to, although it shouldn’t be much of an obstacle in the first place. An odd choice by the developers, to say the least.
The visuals in Light Tracer look a lot better than we originally expected. The cartoon animation makes the game incredibly pleasing on the eyes, although the top-down view still remains a bit problematic at times. There is some combat in the game as well, but it is nothing overly difficult. Be prepared to learn from previous mistakes, though, as every new weapon introduces new challenges. It is a fun system that just plain works, and one we thoroughly appreciated during our playthrough.
On the audio front, things will be either great or horrible, depending on your preferences. It isn’t necessarily our cup of tea, but it wasn’t disturbing or distracting either. There is plenty of content to be enjoyed, including boss battles and a selection of different worlds waiting to be conquered. It is not something you will finish in one go, but that was never the objective for Light Tracer either. It is one of the better platformer games we have seen to date, but there is still room for improvements. Especially the controls need some, additional work, although it is something you can get accustomed to with some effort.
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