ADR1FT

Other Virtual Reality games should take note as ADR1FT is not just a throw away game for the sake of showing off some cool VR gaming. It’s the real deal. Giving players a really mind enveloping gaming experience of the dangers of working and traveling in outer space. Some may say the limited environment of space gives the player very little of nothing much to do. That is not the point of the game, the developers set out with a vision and brought it to light. ADR1FT is well worth the time to play it and while not a lot of replay ability here, it is still a game that delivers.

While Adr1ft isn’t the most engaging or thrilling game you’ll play this March, its unique perspective, stunning graphics, challenging platforming mechanics and, director, Adam Orth’s very personal and metaphorical story make it a definite choice for those amoungst us who want a slightly slower paced game, without all that faffing about with health bars and weapons, that allows you to take your time, explore the game’s devastated setting and put together the pieces of an intriguing story that makes you question who’s to blame and whether you’ll ever really be able to succeed in bringing Commander Alex Oshima back home.

What’s here is special. Slightly flawed, but still absolutely worth experiencing for yourself. ADR1FT is evocative, chilling, tense, and unlike anything I’ve ever played, even if it isn’t for everyone. [VR Tested]

Clocking in at four hours or so, it doesn't overstay its welcome. I can also see jumping back into Adr1ft every so often to freak myself out again, or show it off to friends. So long as you have a stomach for it, this is one of the first "must-have" games for VR. [VR Tested]

If you have the choice, I’d recommend the VR version slightly over the traditional display, but not to the point where anyone should pass up a fascinating experience because one is more immersive. [VR Tested]

Adr1ft can be enjoyed on a "traditional" PC, and it's still a nice, not particularly challenging and pretty short, sci-fi adventure title. If you play it with Oculus VR, though, you can expect one of the most compelling VR experiences, probably the closest you can get to a real walk in the space, at zero gravity. [Tested with and without Oculus Rift]

Adr1ft is a short, narrative experience that follows the lead of Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, Dear Esther and other so called "walking simulators". The first part of the game has a more elaborate gameplay (asking the player to manage the oxygen reserves), but in the end all that matters is the compelling atmosphere.

ADR1FT is great for people who love combing through every possible nook in a game. It definitely rewards those who practice due diligence, but is a little empty for those looking for a little more gameplay.

Open spaces of ADR1FT are a source of both amazement and distress at the same time. There are no explosions, no action and no games of hide-and-seek with aliens; just a dilatory gameplay pace that has to have your total attention to become enjoyable. VR headset is definitely recommended. [VR Tested; Issue#209, p.69]

An exquisite game with a great story, but control and graphical issues could hinder a player's experience.

Adr1ft is a game that wants you to be relaxed and at peace with its wonderful views. It may seem a little bit repetitive because of the tasks that are given to us or because the story is not as clear as it should be, but it is an essential game if you are into the VR world. [VR Tested]

The refusal to accept ADR1FT being part of the "walking sim" crowd has, weirdly, made it less of an easy recommendation, but a recommendation nonetheless, because although it can be frustrating, it's hauntingly beautiful, and a sensational example of how a well crafted environment can be enough to pull you across the finish line.

Adr1ft doesn't pioneer any new types of gameplay with VR, which is a shame because it desperately needs some variety in that area. However, it does benefit greatly from blocking off the rest of the world, creating a feeling of isolation that aligns with what your character is experiencing. Floating out over the Earth and looking down from this perspective is truly impressive. [VR Tested]

One of the most anticipated games at Rift´s lauch fails to deliver but becomes an interesting exercise in orbital sightseeing. [VR Tested]

A perfect experience to live with Oculus Rift, but also with a normal PC doesn’t go unnoticed. Too bad the gameplay is weak and quite boring. [Tested with Oculus Rift and standard PC]

ADR1FT is the Wii Sports of the VR. Shows us the potential of this new technology, but it needs more depth. [VR tested]

It's a short game, with some brilliant underlying themes and a pretty decent story, and yet its shallow and repetitive structure make it hard for the player to appreciate its moments of beauty and brightness. Truly a pity, cause they are there, somewhere, among the stars.

Perfect for VR, ADR1FT offers a very nice narrative along with good graphics and a nice feeling of floating into space. but the repetitiveness and the lack of a true engaging gameplay limits the tittle to a "why not experience". [VR Tested]

Though first impressions of Adr1ft are usually very positive, the game itself is a disappointment. The gameplay elements stay pretty much underused and though you could argue that it would not be too bad for a 'walking simulator', the story is not great either. [VR Tested]

As a simulation of being marooned in space, Adrift is peerless. The sense of weightlessness, the sense of scale, just being in the world are all astonishing. But it's impossible to divorce the immersion from its mechanical failures, which sours what otherwise could have been a new high bar for narrative-centric games.

It is hard to shake the feeling that this could have been something special, at least in concept, that ultimately failed executing on its overall promise. Unless you have a VR headset that you are looking to justify, you may want to skip this rescue mission.

Beautiful as you could ask for, especially in VR, but exhaustingly repetitive. [Partially tested with VR]

Perfect as a tech demo for Oculus rift and visually impressive even without the VR headset. But the gameplay is weak and sometimes even annoying. [VR Tested]

Adrift is at its best when you're simply taking in the view and absorbing the gravity of your situation. [Tested with Oculus Rift; June 2016, p.104]

A game that succeeds in being like no other but falls short of realising its potential.

Adr1ft is an absolutely stunning visual experience. It looks amazing and feels great to be in nearly at all times. That is until you progress to the point when you realize you’re doing the exact same thing in a new sector of the ship, not even with different objectives or quick time moments to try to mask the fact that you’re hitting enter to make yet another core and plug it in. The whole experience is relatively short, and while it’s something to behold visually and feels good while in it, it might not be something for everyone.

Unlike Gravity, which spaced out its most fraught scenarios between moments of calm, the game is in a constant state of panic.

Adr1ft tries to break away from the tropes of bombastic violence and self-congratulation found in so many video games, and for that, its development team should be lauded. It’s too bad that this game set in the black void of space didn’t find anything interesting enough to fill the void of its barely-existent gameplay.

A breathtaking VR experience with some spectacular vistas, dragged down by repetitive tasks, obstructive UI and a fragmented story. Unless you want to play it with Oculus Rift, give it a pass.

The visuals are fantastic, but I was disappointed with the shallow, boring story and I grew annoyed with the gameplay. What upset me the most was the lack of scientific credibility in a game about scientists on a scientific space station (e.g. why do station modules separated by an explosion suddenly stop drifting apart!?). [06/2016, p.60]

To that end, from my experiences with VR I can comfortably see a digit or two being tacked on to the score for the sheer immersion present. Without the $600 headset though, this is about as flat an experience as I've had in a long while. [VR Tested]

If you want to look at Earth from its orbit, the interactive museum of Adrift will take you on an atmospheric, beautiful tour "with no strings attached". If you expect a deep, thought-provoking, or simply engaging game about space — try your luck somewhere else.

A unique VR experience - but seriously lacking in substance. [VR Tested; May 2016, p.80]

The immersion is fantastic – you feel at every corner that Adrift was conceived with VR in mind. But all too soon the fascination is replaced by boredom. In the end this is nothing but an impressive tech demo. [Tested with Oculus Rift]

When you wrap a tiptop technology in boredom you get Adrift – a simulator of life on orbit is the glossy virtual reality, where almost nothing is happening. And that ‘almost nothing’ is repeated hundred times over.

A great advert for Oculus Rift and VR in general, and yet even with the novelty of zero-G it proves a disappointingly bland gameplay experience. [Oculus Tested]

Adr1ft is a game in love with space. It finds seduction in the void, and inside the debris of a botched reach for the unknown. I’ve never before seen space above Earth portrayed by such convincing beauty in a game. Alas, it is at the service of an unbefitting journey mired by clumsy movement and contrivances more heavy-handed than the story behind the disaster.

Adr1ft has an emotional story hiding below its surface. But that surface is coated in laborious movement, forced survival mechanics, and an obtrusive user interface.