Downward Spiral: Horus Station

Downward Spiral: Horus Station does exactly what it needed to, presenting a far grander and more engaging instalment to the VR series. It’s not perfect, with some annoying glitches that really do need to be ironed out. However, the core experience is thoroughly enjoyable and more importantly massive.

There are issues with each of Downward Spiral: Horus Station’s core elements, but the game’s hugely compelling atmosphere, ever-evolving arsenal and first-rate immersion is more than enough to see you through to the end. From the chilling exploration to the nimble combat, this is an adventure that keeps its hooks in you and occasionally even pulls off that rarest of sensations: to make you forget where you really are in the world.

The 3rd Eye Studio gets, without a high budget, a new space odyssey that mixes well the moments of action, the exploration and the puzzles. This trip is better with VR. Music, atmosphere and weightlessness make magic and move the player to this Horus Station.

Downward Spiral: Horus Station is a thoughtfully crafted VR game that puts the player in the shoes of an astronaut exploring the depths of the mysterious Horus Station on Mars.

Most of Downward Spiral’s fun comes from its untraditional way of movement. You will come across parts where it works perfectly. But then its spell goes away somehow. You can add a point if you have VR glasses at home or a friend who will jump into weightlessness with you.

As damning as it sounds, owning a VR headset elevates Downward Spiral from skippable to must-play. It genuinely feels that good to experience, even if the design in its most basic form – removed from presentation and mechanics – is somewhat uninspired. VR opens a world of possibilities to this medium, and it’s thrilling to see new territory mapped out in real-time. I long for the day when a concept like this is matched with the production values it deserves, but for now, Downward Spiral is simply unlike anything I’ve ever played, and that’s enough.

With its beautiful atmosphere and many good ideas, The Downward Spiral : Horus Station is very appealing for all space-exploring maniacs. But the game is repetitive and fails to tell its story, despite a good ending.

Honestly, Downward Spiral: Horus Station shows a lot of promise. I see what the developers at 3rd Eye Studios were going for, but they seem to have fallen flat in their execution. The excessive amount of minimalism in the story really held the game back for me. The gameplay provided a one of a kind experience, but it didn’t make for that great of a time. Though I’m not all that enthusiastic about the game, I’m very eager to see what 3rd Eye Studios makes next.

Downward Spiral: Horus Station presents a visually rich world in this shooter-meets-adventure game hybrid, but crucially fumbles both story and gunplay elements to a very middling overall effect. While gunplay is optional, I hasten to think that based on storytelling alone, that Downward Spiral just doesn't have the guts to be anything but a very beautiful, but unfortunately boring exercise in opening doors, pushing buttons, and retrieving keycards.

The playful component is also ludicrous, which has proved boring and devoid of intriguing tricks, especially for a shooting component made too roughly.

Downward Spiral: Horus Station is a game with a lot of weaknesses in all of its aspects. The boring gameplay is flat and the story inconsistent. Take into consideration the purchase only if you spent a lot of money on VR and don't have any other game to play on it.