Larcenauts is a fast-paced, colorful class/hero shooter that takes place in bright, beautiful environments with mechs and high-tech weaponry. The player can choose from 8 characters, each equipped with a unique primary weapon and a secondary function for support or defense. There are 4 different modes: Uplink (capture the flag), Death Match, Team Death Match, and Refuel Mode. In Refuel Mode, your team controls a single point of fuel at the center of the map which you must defend while trying to capture checkpoints throughout. Endeavor Mode is Capture the Flag where there are two flags, but you can only capture one of them at a time. You must choose a flag and defend it while trying to capture the other one. Your team wins if both flags have been captured by your teammates before time runs out, otherwise, the team with the most flags captured will win. Larcenauts offers no single-player mode, which makes its replay value very low. Overall, the gameplay is fast-paced and challenging in order to stay true to class/hero shooters such as Overwatch and Battleborn.
The environments are bright, vivid colors creating a Tech Meets Fantasy aesthetic. The character designs are cute and diverse offering something for most people who enjoy video games. Each has their own personality that shines through their actions during gameplay or short cut scenes between matches.
The well-designed maps are small enough to stay true to the style of hero shooters but large enough to accommodate 8 characters without overcrowding. Although the maps are well designed and offer many different routes for gameplay, they lack distinguishing features that would make them memorable or more interesting. There’s nothing memorable about any of the levels in Larcenauts. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but if you’re looking for something new and innovative it may be disappointing. The map design feels like standard shooter fare: solid and serviceable, but not groundbreaking or particularly noteworthy.
There is no single-player mode in Larcenauts which makes its replay value very low. Multiplayer matches can last from 10 minutes to 30 minutes depending on how many times you’ve died and how well your team is doing. There is no way to play Larcenauts with bots which can make multiplayer matches feel lonely without friends available to play with.
There are 4 game modes: Uplink, Endeavor, Death Match, Team Death Match. Refuel Mode offers Capture the Flag gameplay where each team must capture two flags before time runs out in order to win. The player chooses one of eight characters who act as classes in most hero shooters such as Overwatch, but they’re mixed up a bit here. For example, the leader character has offensive abilities while the mage doubles as a healer and support unit. They also lack individual personality compared to other heroes which makes little difference between using one or the other.
The lack of a single-player mode makes its replay value very low. Multiplayer matches can last from 10 minutes to 30 minutes depending on how many times you’ve died and how well your team is doing which could make it difficult to find people willing to play with you for extended periods of time. Larcenauts has a system in place where players send challenges to their friends, but this feels like an afterthought and makes little difference as I doubt anyone ever uses that system successfully.
The title screen, sound effects, and opening cut scene are cute and well made – nothing groundbreaking, but they show attention to detail. The music is well suited for hero shooters such as Overwatch , although it’s nothing memorable or catchy to hum or whistle while doing other tasks. The voice acting is well done and shows the character’s personality very well.
The visuals in Larcenauts are bright, vivid colors creating a Tech Meets Fantasy aesthetic that fits with the style of hero shooters such as Battleborn and Overwatch. However, it does little to stand out from similar games which makes it difficult to keep interested in playing Larcenauts over similar titles available on the Oculus Quest. Furthermore, it lacks levels that could be remembered by players and offer something new and interesting.