If you had the job of a cosmonaut that had a mission, what would be one of the first things you would do? Would you take selfies in your suit? Would you try to do some flips in zero gravity? Would you communicate back home in a humorous way? All those are very valid and admirable choices in their own right. But what if you could be a swinging cosmonaut on another planet? You may start to think of new things you would try, but does Developer Gamedust show us what it’s like to swing around while kissing our babushka goodbye and having a good time while doing it? Yes, they do. Let’s find out more with YUPITERGRAD for the PCVR and PSVR.
YUPITERGRAD has you playing as a Slavic cosmonaut on a mission to test a new device on a Jupiter base that mixes arcade platforming, challenging riddles, swinging, and humor. So before we begin, please make sure those Touch controllers are charged, make sure you some space (sitting or standing) and just get ready for some fun. Now that you have everything you need, it’s time to blast off to live out your Slavic cosmonaut dreams.
When I first start YUPITERGRAD, I noticed jsut how colorful art style and how it works perfectly within Virtual Reality. Everything just seems to be well done and easy on the eyes. As I headed down the elevator, that’s when I was introduced to really what would be the training aspect of the game. There are pictures that should you what to do, but it’s going to be up to you to get a handle on things. I will say there was one part of the training that you had to have the right length it seemed and speed in order to make the jump. Needless to say, after some attempts, I was able to make it I think it was after that point, I really got the hang of the movement.
Another thing you will notice is that your grappling hooks that have plungers that are attached. And at first, you might think, plungers and grappling hooks it can’t work, but oh it can and it does work so beautifully. Being able to have a grappling hook in each hand and being able to shoot them independently from each other and being able to swing with one or both plungers as they stick to the walls, floor, and celings as you are swinging just gives this sensation and to top it off, I did not feel any sense of motion sickness at all.
But it’s when you get out of the training that you will soon discover that your grappling hooks are amazing for swinging so you can preform some amazing swinging stunts as you try and solve puzzles, but they can also be used for any water levels to help you move around. And there will be times where you might be in the water and you can see the ceiling that when timed right, gives you that almost superhero feeling going from water and flying to the top of the ceiling. But speaking of puzzles, some will require a few attempts until you time the moving pieces, so don’t be too eager all the time or you might just have to try over and over again.
I don’t want to spoil the story, but hearing the humor I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at times. I know I mentioned the art style, but it is a real beauty to experience in Virtual Reality and pictures do not truly show it all. But when you add the music from acclaimed video games music composer, Piotr Surmacz, it really starts getting you ready and to keep you going which is always a good thing to have.
There are just a few things I would love to have been part of YUPITERGRAD. For one, it would have been awesome and funny if there was some type of multiplayer where you can shoot each other with plungers so you can try and throw each other off a platform or into outer space. The other thing is just more of YUPITERGRAD.
YUPITERGRAD 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 Store, Steam, and Viveport and will be coming soon to the Oculus Quest and PlayStation VR. 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 am giong to go swing around some more.
