DOOM VFR

DOOM VFR is probably the best VR game that PlayStation VR has to offer, so it is perfect for those who enjoyed the original game and also own a headset.

Doom VFR is a fantastic translation of the Doom series to virtual reality. Yes, it’s a bit on the short side — I finished in about three hours — but the fun of leaping around arenas pursued by horrific demons makes it worth revisiting. If this game had told a compelling story, it would rank pretty high on my list of the best games of 2017, but the lackluster tale left me feeling let down. Still, if you know what you’re in for, it’s a bloody good time.

A great example of how to adapt something on VR to create an experience that's familiar, and true to the game that spawned it but something all its own at the same time. [Feb 2018, p.92]

DOOM VFR is frantic, immersive and great RV experience. An interesting step for a future entries.

It’s a little on the short side, which is reflected in the budget price, but the sheer joy that you’ll feel when clearing out a room full of beasts intent on feasting on your entrails more than makes this an easy recommend for me.

Frankly, it’s nearly unplayable with the Move controllers. Even with that one huge flaw, DOOM VFR is still an incredible experience. It perfectly captures the raw, brutal thrills of DOOM, and enhances them beyond what I’d imagined was possible. Actually blasting an Imp with a shotgun from five feet away is the kind of experience I’ve wanted a videogame to offer for more than twenty years, and DOOM VFR‘s depiction is even better than my dreams. Even with its small number of levels, visual downgrade and the lack of a chainsaw, this is the purest DOOM experience I’ve ever had, and I can’t wait to see what Bethesda has in store next.

DOOM VFR is a great FPS designed for virtual reality. The excellent graphics and the gameplay, similar to that seen in the 2016 reboot, make this game a must for fans of the saga.

Doom VFR is a brave shooter that proves that VR games don’t have to be conservative with movement to work. Fast-paced action with a great stable of recognizable weapons and enemies makes it a challenging rush, once you find your VR legs. It’s a shame VFR story didn’t get the same self-aware treatment as Doom did, but even if it’s all about warping and gunning, that’s more than enough.

It’s hard to reconcile the great game that is Doom VFR with the clumsy Move controls that are hardly player friendly.

DOOM VFR is an outstanding, but limited, game. The lack of arcade and multiplayer content hurts the overall package, but it does its sole purpose of replicating the campaign in VR incredibly well. The fat has been trimmed from it resulting in an all killer, no filler approach that keeps the tension and action levels at a high point that exceeds even the base campaign from the reboot. Anyone who enjoyed that and wants to play it in VR should do so if they have a Vive or a PlayStation VR.

Doom VFR has a few control issues and won’t take you long to get through once, but if you’re a Doom fan with a compatible VR headset, it’s one of the best experiences around. iD has bought Doom to VR without compromising the action or the hellspawn-slaying, nerve-wracking pace that makes Doom Doom, and a tiny bit of nausea here and there is a small price to pay. Do yourself a favour: Bring it on.

A high octane visual thrill ride that offers an intense workout, DOOM VFR is on par with some of the best VR first-person shooters out today. It may feel that some aspects are broken, but the game’s few limitations can be chalked up to the hardware for the most part. Especially for those who own a PSVR Aim Controller, DOOM VFR is a must-buy.

VFR as promised, brings back the rush of the Doom reboot, with the immersion only possible in virtual reality. Controls work great, either with PS Move or Aim Controller, but it is not as long and deep as the original game.

An excellent version of an outstanding game that doesn't last as long as the original game, nor is as beautiful as it was... but it's VR and is incredibly fun an immersive (and we love keeling monsters on VR).

Doom VFR is a blast to play for every VR owner. The fast-paced action that the series is known for, is translated very well here. Although the adventure isn't that long, overall the experience is wonderful.

Doom VFR is a blast to play for every VR owner. The fast-paced action that the series is known for, is translated very well here. Although the adventure isn't that long, overall the experience is wonderful.

Graphically, it's difficult to do better on VR and the great soundtrack will remain stuck in our heads for a while, though none of these high points quite make up for the clumsy control scheme.

Doom is just as violent and mesmerizing in VR, but a number of concessions were made in this truncated version.

I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed my time with Doom VFR. Skyrim VR had soured me a little and I wasn’t really looking forward to playing. But this shows that rethinking how a game will work in VR, instead of just shoehorning a game into VR wholesale, can make the world of difference. It also helps that the game has a price tag to match.

Unlike Skyrim VR and Fallout 4 VR, that are VR ports of the original games, DOOM VFR is a 5h long story that uses new gameplay mechanics to adapt the much loved gameplay to VR with some success.

You can now enjoy DOOM in all its essence in a special way. Unfortunately, it will last a little.

At the beginning it can be frustrating, but give it some time, find the control scheme that works best for you, and get ready to enjoy DOOM in a way you’ve never done it before.

Doom VFR is an experience to try absolutely (even better with the free movement), but as a game itself it was reasonable to expect something more.

While visually this is one of the best looking games out there for Sonys VR platform, mechanically this is a rather bland and uninspired shooting gallery for most of the time. Just using the well known assets is no guarantee for a dynamic shooting experience.

Doom VFR won't look as badass as the last main installment's version looked on regular televisions and gaming monitors, but such is the burden of enjoying it all in VR. Sure, you'll have to forfeit the complete run-and-gun tactic that was almost required, and you'll need to take more of a strategic approach until you're well versed in one of the three control schemes. It's easiest with the DualShock 4 controllers, miserable with motion controllers, and downright fun with the Aim controller, so the play style is up to you. It's not a masterpiece, but it's a pretty good start. It feels great that the game wasn't a quick money grab priced at the full $60, and it gets a pass due to the lack of VR titles, but any sequel that comes next will have to really step up to the plate. The motion controller difficulties can't persist, or it'll be a major downfall for the Doom franchise in the VR marketplace.

Bethesda keeps placing its bets on VR and brings us one of the greatest shooters of the current generation. DOOM VFR loses some of its identity, although the feeling of being inside each and every encounter with hell's demons is awesome. Perhaps it doesn't have the best controls, although once you get used to it, you're bound to have a good time.

DOOM VFR makes its way to PSVR but doesn't do so without compromise. The graphics are great and it certainly feels like DOOM but every controller option has a downside and it feels like it's been dumbed-down to compensate.

Much of your time in the game is spent wandering the UAC facility, waiting for the chance to unleash wrath on Hell's inner circle. When you do, it can feel great, but Doom VFR feels like a game unsure of whether that's the case. The result is a game that feels tentative about its own considerable power.

A worthwhile attempt to bring one of the most seminal shooters to VR. Gory and visceral lead-based exorcism, let down by some frustratingly inadequate controls.

Doom VFR is a remarkable experience in almost every way. There are intense battles, terrifying enemies, and amazing settings to explore, all tied together with a combination of creepiness and wit. All of this is almost upended by one of the worst control schemes ever implemented on the (admittedly difficult) PlayStation Move controllers. Doom VFR is still well worth playing (in fact, it’s a blast), just go into the experience with the understanding that no matter which controller you decide to use, you won’t be 100% satisfied.

In the end, Doom VFR leverages extant resources to construct an intimate sensation of murdering hell demons in virtual reality. Dealing with Satan entails a short list of sacrifices which Doom VFR obliges through its compressed experience, inadequate control options, and risk averse experimentation. Safe and sensible, however, are sufficient labels for Doom VFR’s pledge of menacing intensity.

Despite its scattershot approach to control and bite-sized scope, DOOM VFR provides a tantalizing, gore-soaked and adrenaline filled peek at the future of PSVR.

Flawed by facinatingly so, Doom VFR is a daring virtual remix that almost comes off. [Feb 2018, p.73]

DOOM VFR is not a bad game at all, but one of the potentially funnest shooters currently on PSVR. However, it tastes like a wasted opportunity.

I found DOOM VFR to be more of a novelty than top-tier shooter experience and if you were hoping for a true FPS experience in VR, then you'll probably be disappointed. The movement is awkward enough that you're always aware of it and so it detracts from the action. It will probably be more appealing to those who have played DOOM before as it will fully immerse you in world that you're familiar with, but even in that case you'll probably wish that you could move without thinking about it while shooting demons.

Doom is proof that vr games can be played in high tempo, making it physically challenging at some points. There are not many of these points though, and you are mainly teleporting through the rest of the game, making things a bit boring.

Doom VFR doesn't quite live up to its original counterpart due to its limitations both in content and controls. There may be some enjoyment to be found for die-hard Doom fans, especially given the budget launch price, but even if living Doom in VR is a thrilling experience, it's still too little to recommend the game to everyone.

After the release of Skyrim VR we were expecting something similar for Doom. Unfortunately what we got is a quite short spin-off that showcases the perks of VR, but fails to deliver the overall superb experience of the original (2016) Doom.

DOOM VFR sounds like a great idea but it doesn’t do enough to justify its existence. Take away the VR headset and it would be just as playable on a TV or computer monitor. It might have actually been better that way, because then I wouldn’t have gotten so uncomfortable. Control issues aside, this is a competent and solidly designed video game that means well enough even though it strips away the cool things that made DOOM great. Skyrim and maybe Fallout aside, not every Bethesda game has to be made into a VR version of itself.

Looking like a DLC for the 2016's DOOM, VFR can easily be considered a pleasant experience as it's still a bloody nervous FPS. But none of the ways to control the main protagonist feels fully satisfying, which is too bad.

When the best thing you can say about a VR game is that it makes you want to play its non-VR inspiration, an opportunity has been missed. There are definitely glimpses of the game it could have been, but too few to salvage the experience. Add a point if a substantial patch materialises to address some of the issues.

An inspired effort to try and make Doom work in VR, but the limited control options on PlayStation VR leave the action feeling clumsy and frustrating.

Bethesda’s really tried to make DOOM work in virtual reality, but despite supporting all three of PlayStation VR’s control options, it doesn’t really feel like the title was designed with any of them in mind. That said, if you can ignore the flaws with whichever peripheral you choose, then the over-the-top action of id Software’s series transfers well, and this is arguably one of the better looking virtual reality titles to date. It’s a little on the short side, but the price point reflects that, and the gunplay is still as intense as it’s ever been.

While Skyrim VR made a great case for the VR port, Doom VFR brings us back to the drawing board. On PSVR, the game has its moments, largely thanks to the foundations it was built upon with the 2016 original. In the end, though, the real fight is with its awkward control setups that eventually led me back to play with just a standard gamepad. Though the foundations of a hugely enjoyable shooter are intact, VFR’s struggle with the platform’s limitations makes it feel like the VR support is holding it back more than anything.

This specific vision of DOOM is not compatible with PlayStation VR. Mainly due a horrific controls scheme that breaks everything DOOM stood for: a frenetic combat ballet that uses both weapons and movement.

DOOM VFR is Bethesda's second major VR release, but it feels like one that is coming a year too late. Poor controls and odd design decisions detract from what would otherwise be an excellent VR shooter.