There was a show called LOST that dealt with passengers who were on a plane and crashed. There was one character named John Locke who was in a wheelchair, and after he crashed on the island he somehow was able to walk. He talked about how the island was talking to him and the secrets and powers it held. He was becoming one with the island and gaining the secrets and power as he had to figure out what was going on. And just like John Locke, I too felt that the world of Apex Control from Fast Travel Games for the PlayStation VR was calling to me and wanting me to learn all its secrets and powers and that is a very good thing.
Apex Construct is the debut game from Fast Travel Games that was built from the ground up for VR and it shows. In the game, you are told you are the last human left. Our world as we know has changed and you must find out what has happened. Armed with your bow and guided by an AI named Fathr who has somehow picked you to help what seems to be innocent at the time. He warns you of Mothr and what she has done (Fathr and Mothr, no those are not misspellings).
When you first see the open world, it is not what you would expect after the world ended per se, but this place, this world, at least on the outside seems peaceful. It feels like it had life not like we know our world now, but in a way that there has been an end before and the way we see the world of Apex Construct is somehow the end of that end. Instead of people that destroy, the AI has decided to be the dominant ones here.
You will need both Move Controllers and you can either be seated or standing. You are able to teleport or move freely which is a nice touch. Once you gain the bow, it has a nice twist. It comes with a shield, but be warned, that shield can be damaged. Your basic arrows are unlimited which are very nice and using the Move Controllers where you hold the bow in one hand and pull back and let go of the other works very well.
Along with your arrow, you also have this inventory system. Pretty much anything you find can be put in your inventory, but just to let you know, there are limited slots available. So just make sure you collect what is necessary and don’t do like I did, where I collected every clipboard. You don’t have to, but you might want to keep the ones with any codes on them. And speaking of codes, you will need to work through the puzzles (not too difficult, but they work very well here) and gain access cards in order to proceed through certain doors.
As you are listening to the AI that is insisting on you helping him, you are introduced to different creatures that are able to fire back. So make sure you use your shield wisely and dodge and move. Some creatures can be small, some have shields and some even may look like a friendly dog, with bombs attached and this is all created by the AI. See the machines have taken over. But with new creatures and new puzzles, come new types of arrows from electrical to exploding which really add to the fight.
After any missions that you have completed, you are directed to a point that will allow you to go “HOME”, your safe place if you will. This is where Fathr will let you know what’s going on and where you can select to go on your next mission. The more clearance you gain, the more missions that will be available. I really like the freedom of selecting the mission I want to go on, not what I have to go on.
I mentioned codes earlier. The one thing is at the beginning I was trying to figure out what to do and where to go. Do not let this stop you, once you get past this and understand what is going on, it starts to make sense. Along the way, you will come across these computers that you will either need to input the correct number code or you may have to start typing. Once you have to start typing ‘DIR’ and then ‘Open (command)’ and start reading, it really adds to the sense that I am alone and I have to figure out what to do to move on.
Apex Construct story of mankind and what happened, the hidden agenda of the lies and the truth of wanting destruction to the protection of the AI almost made me feel like a child whose parents split up and who are trying to get you to side with them. This is in no way a bad thing, but it makes me start to care about what happened to the world, could I be the only one truly left, and is it possible I could help restore humanity. When you have to start asking questions and start getting into what is really going on and question things, something is quite right.
Apex Construct like I said was built from the ground up for VR and it shows. You can tell the team cares for and has this passion for Virtual Reality. I have always said that VR allows us to escape from our reality. When you can escape to a world and makes you start questioning what is going on and is it really up to me and start to question humanity’s actions, then something is right. Apex Construct gives us just that, an escape to a world, even if it may be a world like ours that is ripped apart and what could possibly happen and shows us why we should appreciate VR.
Apex Construct is out now along with a demo on PlayStation VR and is also available on the Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift/S on the Oculus Store, Steam, and Viveport. A review copy was provided.
To learn more about Fast Travel Games, please visit their site, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, follow them on Instagram, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
In case you missed the trailer, please enjoy. Until next time, I more of this world to explore.
Mr. PSVR, Febuary 25, 2018, theplaystationbrahs.com
