High Noon VR is the perfect execution of a classic arcade video game set in a virtual world. Set in the traditional Wild West, you’ll be playing the new sheriff in town, as you face off against stereotypical gunman, barmaids, and the chapter-ending Hoss Boss, all the while being “entertained” by the incessant banter of the wisecracking narrator.
The game is fairly straightforward. Operating from the back of a covered wagon you get to purchase a vast assortment of weapons using the reward money earned after each mission. Equipping the right weapons, or mix of weapons, as well as performing routine upgrades using the workbench in the wagon is crucial in maintaining your competitive edge, as you go up against greater numbers of more powerful outlaws.
High Noon VR is a classic shooting gallery style game, reminding me much of the 1990 laserdisc game, Mad Dog Mcree where bad guys pop-up from windows, doorways, or behind wagons or barrels and you must shoot them before they shoot you. In High Noon you can explore the progressive story chapters or tackle the tougher arcade battles, all of which earn you money that you can spend between missions on better weapons and upgrades.
Chapters consist of five rounds followed by a boss fight that you must survive with a singular health bar that will slowly deplete as you take damage. Thankfully, enemies only appear within a 180 field of view, and explosive barrels are scattered about that not only blast nearby enemies but also trigger a moment of slow-motion allowing you to get the edge on enemies or even dodge a few streaking bullets, Matrix-style.
I wasn’t able to determine if enemies spawned in a scripted pattern – they seemed randomized to me, but there is a bit of strategy involved with High Noon when it comes to weapons. Shotguns offer greater spread and damage but only at close range, while rifles are great for popping a sharpshooter off a rooftop. It’s also worth exploring the workbench, as upgrading weapons is often more effective than simply purchasing the next step up off the rack. Upgrading weapons not only gives them better stats but an entirely new appearance.
Thankfully, you don’t have to win a chapter to keep your earnings, as there were many times I died during a boss fight because my health had been depleted by the rounds prior. But I was able to use my reward money to get better weapons so I could get farther on future attempts. In this way the game is very arcade in nature. If only it had scoring and leaderboards.
The presentation is stylistically pleasing, visually amusing, and cartoonishly arousing; especially when you die, and all the women outlaws start busting out their bootilicious dance moves. The levels are classic western design in a stereotypical way complete with day, night and sunset missions that cast long dark shadows across the city street. Environments are interactive and parts can be used to your combat advantage like dropping a suspended crate on one or more outlaws. The audio is a mix of classic western theme music, lots of gun-specific shot sounds, explosions, and the incessant ramblings of the shrill narrator who gets on your nerves around chapter two. Thankfully, a recent patch allows you to turn him down or completely off.
Available on Steam, High Noon VR supports both Vive and Rift and I tried them both but ultimately settled on the Rift as the most comfortable experience due to the Touch controllers. You just forget you’re wearing them after a while, but the Vive wands always feel a bit awkward due to the angle you have to hold them versus the angle at which you would grip a real gun, plus the Vive controllers weigh a bit more, making them less than ideal for extended play periods. The game supports room scale and standing, but you never move during the game other than to dodge slow-motion bullets, so you can easily play seated.
High Noon VR is a bargain for only $10, offering hours of challenging fun and experimentation as you protect the West, earn rewards, and upgrade your arsenal to battle your way through the story mode and the endless waves of black hat outlaws waiting to take you down in the challenge levels. This is truly some of the best shooting fun I’ve had in VR this year.
Fun game! Quite challening at the times… Well executed! I really recommend. Try it. You’ll love it!!!