Heading back into space as a comrade seemed like a compelling way to go back into this. As I reviewed YUPITERGRAD back on September 18, 2020, there was one thing I wanted more of and that was more of it. The swinging action as you had to at times, get things just right in order to make that jump in order to get to the next area and the humor of everything just made it a great overall experience in Virtual Reality. So does Developer Gamedust add to the already working formula? Let’s find out what’s new with YUPITERGRAD for the PCVR and PlayStation VR.
So this is not going to be a re-review of the game per se, but the review of what was added to PlayStation VR, so make sure to check out the YUPITERGRAD review. In case you may not be aware, YUPITERGRAD is a plunger-driven cosmonaut game where you can swing through a space station in style using an all-in cel-shaded art style as a one-of-a-kind experience, where VR platformer meets puzzles in a single-player campaign. So what is new with not only the PlayStation VR version but the other PCVR versions including the Oculus Quest/Quest 2? For one, there have been some improvements made since I originally reviewed the game and I will say that the improvements are fantastic here. Playing on the Oculus Rift S was great and I did not get any motion sickness at all, and the same is here for the PlayStation VR version with no sense of motion sickness, so Gamedust made sure this would not be an issue and they delivered on that.
Second, the controls. I wasn’t sure how Gamedust was going to do the controls on the PSVR as with the Oculus, you have the thumbsticks, which makes moving around in YUPITERGRAD pretty smooth anyways. On the PlayStation VR, you use the trigger buttons to shoot the plungers and you will use the X on the right Move controller and Square on the Left Move controller to reel in the left and right plunger. To turn right, you use the O button on the right Move controller and X on the left Move controller to turn right. Your thrusters are used by pushing the Move buttons, which after about 5 minutes, I was all used to the controls which I need to go back and play the PCVR version again. But given what the Move controllers are limited to (things should be much better with PSVR 2) Gamedust did what they could and it works.
Third, I don’t know if the swinging mechanics were tweaked or not, but playing the PlayStation VR version, makes me wonder if my original time with YUPITERGRAD may have not been off just a tad. At the time it felt great swinging and maneuvering through the puzzle elements. But on the PlayStation VR version (and also now with the other versions) the movement seemed more fluid and natural as I moved around, which is a very nice touch, and am glad to see that this was approved upon.
And last, but not least, Time Trials have been added. There are 20 levels for you to get through as quickly as possible to get up on the leaderboards which make you want to keep trying to do better not only against others but make yourself better than your previous try. I really had a lot of fun trying these trials and I will be playing more of these.
After playing both the PCVR and PSVR versions of the game and seeing how all the versions have pretty much received the same treatment and additions, you cannot go wrong. I love the fact that the time trials were added with leaderboards and still love the music and humor. If anything else I would love to see added is still multiplayer battles and add some CTF and everyone just swinging around and trying to knock each other down would be a blast. YUPITERGRAD still shows us that in times when the world seems to swing us all over the place, it’s great to escape outside the world so we can be the ones to take control of the swinging and just have some fun.
YUPITERGRAD is out now on the Oculus Rift/S and Oculus Quest on the Oculus Store, the PlayStation Store, Steam, and Viveport . A review code was provided.
Also, check out the YUPITERGRAD interview.
To learn more about Gamedust, 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 have some time trials to compete in and climb some leaderboards.
