Two for the price of one is always a good thing, so when I got the opportunity to demo not one but two fantastic new titles by Oasis Games, I couldn’t say no. One was a VR inspired platformer (of sorts) and the other was a dynamic action adventure in a similar vein to God of War.
First up was the VR title, Light Tracer. This delightfully chibi adventure has you in the role of a god like entity who must help guide a lone princess to the top of a massive towering structure. Using the right control peripheral, you can move your cursor and, depending on where you hold the beam, the princess will walk in that direction. You can also use the smaller buttons on the VR stick to have the princess jump or attack.
Though Light Tracer is cutesy, it’s deceptively so. The game requires good timing and careful manipulation of your camera, as well as your environment. When you encounter certain artifacts, you can use the other control to move them up and down, side to side or even rotate them. It’s all quite intuitive and fun, though it can take some getting used to the VR controls. My only real complaints where when I needed the camera pointing a certain way and instead it ended up with a chunk of the level blocking my vision. Luckily you can reset the camera with a press of the button, keeping things from getting too out of hand. I’d say PS VR owners are in for a treat when the game launches in September.
The other game I had the privilege of playing at the Oasis booth was Hidden Dragon Legend. This couldn’t have been more different from Light Tracer. While Light Tracer is slow paced, relaxing and cute, Hidden Dragon Legend is fast, strategic and delightfully brutal. Set in ancient China, you play as a mysterious warrior who seems to have superhuman powers. He sets out to find the truth of his circumstances, and luckily for you, he does so with heaping amounts of superlative violence.
One thing I instantly appreciated about the game was that there is no block button. You can’t just turtle your way to victory. Instead, you have a super cool dashing dodge move you can use to temporarily avoid damage and place yourself behind foes. It’s very fun to do, and once you get the timing down it’s a breeze to crush your foes. Which isn’t to say that the game is easy, far from it. It’s just that those who grew up playing games like God of War or more recent Ninja Gaiden games will feel instantly at home.
Besides many light and heavy combo chains, you can also utilize special attacks, which are utterly devastating. If that wasn’t enough, you have a grappling hook to snag foes and pull them towards you, Scorpion style. This is especially necessary against nasty flying enemies who love to camp out in the ceiling and toss daggers at you. Even though the demo I played was only a very small portion of the beginning of the game, I was never bored. Hidden Dragon Legend constantly throws new enemy types at you, and keeps you on your toes with environmental hazards. As if that wasn’t enough, it also employs highly cinematic QTEs to keep things going. My proudest moment, however, was beating the demo’s boss on my first attempt, without needing to restart the sequence.
I had a ton of fun with both Light Tracer and Hidden Dragon Legend. Both are compelling arguments for me to finally give in and purchase a PS4, sooner rather than later. Be sure to check them out when they release.
