#valenberg

Fonte : https://www.deviantart.com/valenberg/art/Fade-Out-501014035

VirtuaVerse is out! I played through the first couple of hours last night and it’s as cyberpunky as we’ve hoped. @valenberg’s artworks have always excelled at the neon-purple aesthetic, so it’s no surprise the world feels like stepping into one of his paintings, or better yet, music videos. Just look at the launch trailer (a.k.a. the opening credits) and you’ll know what I mean:

The game opens cold before you see the titles though, throwing you into the protagonist’s apartment, straight into a series of classic point-and-click puzzles (look at surroundings, pick up objects, use objects with surroundings). Some of them got me chasing pixels for quite some time, but eventually I pushed through. The gameplay is as 90s as the aesthetic is the 80s.

In the first two hours I’ve only reached the first bigger area (Pill Street) and despite the lack of huge crowds or real-time reflections (khm, The Last Night, khm) the world feels surprisingly alive. The terminals, the vending machines, your character reading all kinds of sushi off a restaurant’s menu—everything gives off the vibe you’re part of a wider, (dys)functional world.

I'll need to play more to speak about the wider narrative (so far the game has me repairing my VR headset while chasing after my disappearing girlfriend), but if nothing else, VirtuaVerse shows that you can make a completely immersive adventure without technical bells and whistles. What the barebones graphics engine can’t do in code, Valenberg’s mastery of looping GIFs does in art, while Master Boot Record pleases your eardrums with excellent audio.