A first-person shooter (FPS) can be a fun and exhilarating experience, especially on VR platforms such as the Oculus Quest. The new game Pistol Whip Review tries to capture this excitement by making use of VR and haptic technology. This review will give you an idea of what the game is like and whether it’s worth playing.
Pistol Whip Review features some immersive gameplay including shooting enemies that come at you from both directions with your choice of either revolvers or shotguns. You must reload your weapons by picking up spare cartridges around the level which you also shoot at enemies as necessary for bonus points. Additionally, there are some puzzles that require more finesse than just shooting everything in sight; however, these puzzles don’t become apparent until after you’ve died a few times.
The level design is simple but aesthetically pleasing, with plenty of locations to explore and secrets to find. The game is deliberately cryptic in terms of the story by only revealing bits through text messages that are scattered around the levels. The whole game can be completed within an hour or so – depending on how quickly you solve the puzzles – making it great for short play sessions.
Pistol Whip Review uses haptic technology, which means players will feel some rumble feedback as they shoot their weapon; this isn’t just limited to using your grip hand alone either because you’ll also feel some haptic feedback when using your off-hand too (i.e., gripping objects). This effect provides the most immersive experience in the game and makes it a lot more fun to play with your Oculus Touch controllers.
The one downside to this is that there’s no crosshair, which can make hitting enemies difficult without some practice. And although Pistol Whip Review does support a multiplayer mode where you can work together with another player against waves of enemies, most people seem to be playing solo so far. There are also a few bugs such as when reloading multiple weapons at once – the animation only shows the last gun being reloaded even if all have been used.
So, what do I think of Pistol Whip Review? Overall it’s a great VR FPS that feels very immersive especially with its use of haptic feedback – an interesting spin on traditional weapon reload. The game is very short but provides some decent replay value by encouraging players to complete it at a faster pace.
I’d give Pistol Whip Review an 8 out of 10 for its immersive gameplay, interesting story, and ease of use with the Oculus Touch controllers. The question now is does Pistol Whip Review make me want to buy an Oculus Quest? And the answer is yes! I definitely look forward to playing many more games on my Quest when it arrives later this year.