Bulletstorm originally released in early 2011 for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC and has since seen numerous remasters and upgrades. There was the Epic Edition that I reviewed for PC back in 2011, and then the Full-Clip Edition would arrive in 2017 with 4K support for the next generation of consoles and high-end PCs. So, while I have played and finished Bulletstorm three times now, it has been nearly seven years since I got to leash an enemy and blow his nuts off with a shotgun.
When I heard one of my favorite FPS games was coming to VR, I was excited and skeptical. It’s hard to make an FPS game work well in the current state of VR tech. It’s getting better, but usually these games need to be specially designed from the ground up to make VR comfortable and engaging. After several days of playing and trying to enjoy Bulletstorm VR, I can’t help but think this was just an opportunistic port and not a very good one at that. I’d also like to note that screenshots in this review were provided by publisher and the game looks nothing like this inside the headset.
Getting the tech stuff out of the way, I was playing on the Quest 3 using a version from the Meta store, so I cannot comment on all negativity going on in the Steam store for this same game, but their experiences sound an awful lot like mine. Obviously, the big attraction for VR is the immersive possibilities for using that infamous Leash and reloading your various weapons. The physicality of the Leash attack, in my opinion, saves this game from total disaster, and is brilliantly executed by either looking at your target and making a forward-back whipping motion or aiming your hand at the target and pushing a button – you get to choose. Reloading a gun can be as simple as a button press or you can physically reach down for a fresh clip and reload, or for extreme realism, add a third movement to the reload sequence to complete the action. I recommend the button mode if playing seated, as it’s easy to come up empty when reaching toward your waist. VR also offers the opportunity to dual wield certain weapons for added firepower.
These two actions, along with a more exaggerated sense of scale (that wheel of death sequence was intense) are the only things this VR version has going for it, otherwise everything else is mostly a detraction from what was already an outstanding non-VR game. The overall graphics are average at best (Xbox 360 quality or slightly less in some instances), and that’s on my Quest 3. I can’t imagine how this will look on Fresnel lenses. The graphics are using reduced polygons and muddy, flat textures with this thin layer of extra detail that pops-up at about 6-8ft away from your feet. You can literally see the ground and rocks increase in polys with at least one minimal texture update when you get close. One section early in game where you are in this hangar, there were these lights that would suddenly light up when you get close but take one step back and it swaps back to the unlit texture. It’s like you have this bubble of detail around you but the rest of the world is dim and fuzzy.
Controls are serviceable but they are nowhere near as comfortable as there were using a gamepad, especially given all the skill and weapon-based challenges in this game that are now nearly impossible to pull off – at least the more advanced combos. Reaching around to various parts of my body to choose my weapon was fun the first few times and interactive reloads were also fun until it wasn’t, and the Leash action was crazy-cool, so much that I played much of the game using Leash attacks; something I didn’t really do on any of my previous playthroughs. The ragdoll physics, spikey and electrical environments, and exaggerated gore and dismemberment add to the enjoyment of these kills.
Bulletstorm was heavy on cutscenes and those have made the trip to VR while remaining in 2D and presented in movie theater fashion. You do have the option to make these movies 3D, but it’s not “real 3D”; rather some simulated image that looks like those lenticular DVD covers. It actually made me dizzy, and I turned 3D off after the first two cinematics. And for those who enjoyed all the immature “adult” humor and dialogue from the original…it’s been heavily (and oddly) censored even though the game still has a Mature rating. There are some crazy choices in what was censored by either radio static or complete omission along with missing scenes and even certain skill shots being removed entirely.
A lot of this might go unnoticed by someone who hasn’t already played the game three times before. Perhaps to try and make up for these glaring omissions, this VR version does add two new campaign levels where you get to play as Trishka Novak and experience a variation in gameplay using some cool energy blades. Bulletstorm was a great FPS action game back in the day, but it might be time to retire the leash and sophomore humor if this is the best we can do in 2024.
This VR release is disappointing at best, and unless there is a patch to increase the fidelity and restore the original content, or at least make it an option, I cannot recommend Bulletstorm VR to anyone unless a Quest is your only gaming device and you are really hard up for a new FPS. For the same $40 you can get the superior non-VR game on Xbox, PlayStation, or PC and have a much better experience playing the game as intended. The few things Bulletstorm had going for it was fluid controls, stunning visuals, and naughty humor, and this VR version has ruined most of that.
More Screens
