Think about something so rare that it would make you stop what you were doing just to see it. Does art come to mind? Maybe it’s a treasure that has only been shown as a replica because it was so rare. Maybe it’s something that is from the spiritual side of the world that draws people near. Rarety can mean different things to different people depending on who you ask and is interesting when you think about it. But does the developer, Ikimasho, and publisher, Big Sugar Games, show us the fun of protecting what is rare? Let’s find out with Tiger Blade for PlayStation VR2.
Tiger Blade is a VR action-adventure combat game that combines fast-paced sword combat and punchy gunplay to create thrilling moment-to-moment action as players slash and blast their way through ranks of hoodlums in a high-stakes chase through the atmospheric and meticulously recreated marketplaces, docks, alleys and streets of Sewoon.
So before you go in and try to make your presence known, there are a few things that you should be aware of. First, you will want a little room. You will be slashing and dodging and there is no need to damage anything or anyone. Second. even though you can very easily play standing, you can also do sitting. So if you need to play sitting, make sure you have a comfortable, yet supporting chair. Third, make sure those Sense controllers are fully charged. You don’t want to be in the middle of that high combo only to freeze like you have seen a ghost all because you forgot to charge them, now do you? And finally, get ready to have some fun. With all that said, let’s continue…
Starting Tiger Blade, you will be faced with two very important decisions, the language of the game and which is your dominant hand. For more of a challenge, go with the non-dominant hand. One of the first things you will notice is the music of the Korean hip hop soundtrack and after a few seconds a blade in your hand. Then once you are in the city streets, you hear someone, called One, telling you to not trust anyone from the clan and to hurry. Then it is the tutorial on learning how to slash and block enemies with blades, and gunfire, which you can switch from your blade to your gun on the same hand to take out enemies, use your grappling hook to get to higher places, and even ride your motorcycle and take out enemies.
With the weapons, you have your Katana Blade that you can use to slash and deflect bullets back at the enemies. The blade does feel good in the hand and the overall usability feels very natural. Being able to deflect the bullets does become a challenge in each of the missions, but once you have it down, it does feel pretty awesome. You can also switch from blade to gun very easily and took me a few attempts to get used to it. The gun also feels good and I will say that the tracking with the weapons is pretty spot on. With the hook, you have to aim and then pull towards you which is a nice touch. You will also have other items that you can help assist you such as trash can lids, for example, that you can use as a shield for a short time to help get you through some tough situations.
Once the tutorial is over, The Widow will speak to let you know what’s going on. Keep in mind the voice acting is in Korean, but based on the language you selected, the captions will be in your language. We learn that there is treason in the Horangi chapter of the Tiger Clans. And it will be your job to retrieve a package from a rival chapter that was thought to be extinct and every gang wants this package. So at this point, you can do one or two things. Go straight into the mission or, adjust the settings from the controls such as changing your dominant hand to even the controller vibration to even your weapons having laser sights. It’s here for you to customize the experience for you. Once you have everything the way you want it, it’s time to get into the mission. I don’t think The Widow wants you to just stand around.
Now, if you are expecting to move freely from point A to point B, this is not the case. You will need to defeat the enemies around you to be able to move. Once they are defeated, the game will move you to the next area to try and defeat the enemies. What you will notice about the enemies is that there will be a number associated with them and this number represents the attempts it will take to destroy them, which can be very helpful when you have to pay attention to your health levels as you start with 10 and once you get down to 0, you will have to restart from the last checkpoint.
With all the action going on, there are medals to be on the lookout for as they do add to your score and completion of each level. A good thing about these is if you have to start over from a checkpoint, the symbols are in the same location. At the end of each level, you get to see your time, how many hits you took, and where you rate on the leaderboards.
Let’s talk about the graphics and the sound. The use of this arcade art style works in VR. The developer did a great job of giving the Korean feel and look to each of the levels that everything played off like an arcade movie getting ready to come at you with all the action from the movement to the use of the weapons to even the bosses, you come up against. With the sound, as I mentioned earlier, the voice acting is done in Korean with your preferred language in the subtitles and this just adds to the experience. Hearing bullets ding off the blade to even when you slash enemies just sounded spot on. Plus, when you add the awesome soundtrack as it plays throughout can simply thought of as a bonus in itself.
There are a few things that I would love to see added. First, a little more time in between checkpoints and gameplay. There are going to be times when you die and it could end up in the same spot. When you start at the checkpoint, depending on where in the level, you better thank quickly as if you don’t have the right weapon or even strategy, it could be a repeat after repeat. I know this is about trying to get the best score in the fastest time, but just a few seconds more would be greatly appreciated by players. Second, more opportunities for health. There are going to be times when enemies are on either side of you or from a distance you your health is taking a hit until you find out where the action is coming from. It just would be nice to have something, even if it changed to have an opportunity for health. Third, more accessibility in the options. Not all players are created equal and by that I mean there are going to be some players that are limited in the way they play. That could mean that they cannot stand for long periods and it would be nice for the option to play seated to be made available in the game like the option is asked every time you start to play PlayStation VR2. Yes, it’s still possible to play seated as is, but if you are on the motorcycle, your view can be blocked by the handlebars. So it would just be an option that many players would appreciate being added. And finally, more of this type of action for VR.
Tiger Blade gives us an action-packed arcade experience in VR while bringing the fun of a Korean action-packed movie while trying to challenge our moves while trying to protect the rarety of a tiger cub. It reminds us of the memories that we used to have in the arcades while bringing something worthwhile to the VR table of dimensions. In life, we set goals for ourselves to try and accomplish within a certain amount of time. Sometimes we speed right through them without even thinking and sometimes we often find ourselves thinking back about how we could have completed those goals even better. But maybe, we should set positive goals, if not for ourselves, but for others as we never know when our actions could be the turnaround for others.
Tiger Blade is out now on PlayStation VR2 on the PlayStation Store. A review code was provided.
To learn more about Big Sugar Games, please visit their site, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, follow them on Instagram, join their Discord, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
To learn more about Ikimasho, please visit their site, like them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
In case you missed the trailer, please enjoy. Until next time, I need to try and climb some leaderboards.
