Ninjas. They are select, dangerous, and they are feared. At any time, they can strike from above and jump out of the way. The way they can defend and attack with their weapons is truly amazing. But what if you could be that ninja right in the center of the action? Would you be so graceful if it were you? Does developer Mixed Realm and publisher Perp Games show us what it’s like to be that ninja you always wanted to become? Let’s find out with Sairento VR for the PlayStation VR.
Before we begin, you will want to make sure both Move controllers are fully charged because you don’t want to die when you are about to have that epic kill all because you forgot to charge them previously. So with that, let’s continue.
In Sairento VR, you play as the cyber ninja, the female lead, Cheiko Hatsuri, who is part of the organization Sairento in future Japan. It will be up to you to try to figure out what is going on and to stop it the only way a cyber ninja of your caliber could manage. But you don’t get at this alone; your contact, the one you trust, whose name is Broke (which is a pretty cool name), is there to help you (remotely), but that is all I am going to say about that for now, as I don’t want to spoil the story for you. It’s one that you will want to experience on your own and appreciate what Sairento VR provides.
Now, before you go in all ninja-like and end up like sliced Swiss cheese because you think your ninja skills are at the highest of all levels (and they very well may be), but this is the year 2066 and this is Japan, so unless you are a time traveler who studied in Japan in 2066, you may want to get in the training so you can do those multi jumps, so you can wield those swords, and so you can shoot your way through the enemies, you will want to get some training in.
Of course, I am going to let you experience the full training, but I will say this: hopefully by now you are used to the button layout of the Move controllers, as it will come in real handy when you are in the action and having to switch from weapons from your back to your hips or if you want to slow down time. So just familiarize yourself beforehand so you can be the best ninja you can be.
While you are playing, you will notice the word waves, but this isn’t your typical wave shooter; it’s so much more. Most times in wave shooters, you are standing in one place with the action happening in front of you, but in Sairento VR, you move, jump, slice and dice, and gun your way through the waves and it is so satisfying to turn around while jumping in the air only to then jump mid-air to then land and pull off that epic-dramatic dual sword kill on the enemies, flying over as you are shooting the enemies from above or even standing from the distance to get headshots as you fire your weapon.
But you may be thinking that if I am not going to go over the campaign, then what else is there to do in Sairento VR? There is quite a lot that is offered here. There are repayable missions, operations, and multiplayer. When you start with the missions or operations, you have the choice of what difficulty you would want and also the layout of your weapons. There is a good and bad thing about the layout. The good is that everything is unlocked and free to use. The bad thing (and this may be only for a few) is everything is already unlocked from the beginning. Some may want the challenge of being able to unlock the items as you progress, but when you can start to use plasma swords after dying a few times, it may very well put a smile on your face, as it did mine.
But when you have options such as missions, challenges, daily rewards, campaigns, multiplayer, and items that are already unlockable from the beginning so you can customize to your liking, it makes you start to think about how you will be prepared for every encounter. So even if you didn’t survive, it’s nice to go back and try different weapons or maybe change your style from all gung-ho to maybe holding back and making your perfect shot count.
What you have to think about is some missions may have the enemies walking around as you are undetected and you can be all stealth-like, but what I found cool and makes Sairento VR a very fun time is when I was detected and you have enemies in front, behind, above, and below you with the gunfire and sword swinging they are coming at you with. Bullets are fun to deflect, but adding enemies that can hover and then shoot things at you all while trying to avoid the gunfire and sword action all in Virtual Reality immerses you in the action. Just don’t forget that you can jump off anything and run up walls to try and get that advantage.
There is one thing I didn’t talk about, and that’s multiplayer. At the time of my review, I could not find anyone else online. I tried many different times, but it only showed that I was the only player in different regions. So once Sairento VR is released, I am looking forward to getting in some multiplayer action and just having even more of a good time.
There are a few things that I would like to have seen. While I loved the action with the bullets and swords and being able to move around while striking the enemies and unlocking skills along with the many different options to incorporate your play style, there just seems to be something with the movement. Don’t get me wrong, it works and works well and the movement is in no way the game’s fault, but due to the limitation of the Move controllers without thumb sticks, such as what you may get on the Oculus and Vive, Sairento VR will benefit greatly with the 3D Rudder accessory, so moving will be done with your feet to help bring that balance. But with all that said, once you get the timing with the jumps and when more players get online, Sairento VR is fun waiting to be had on the PlayStation VR.
Sairento VR releases in NA on July 9th and in the EU on July 5th on PlayStation VR and is also available on the Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift/S on the Oculus Store, Steam, and Viveport. A review code was provided.
To learn more about Mixed Realms, please visit their site, like them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter. To learn more about Perp 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 am going to go harness my ninja skills.
