Virtual reality is a like a steady wave, rising and falling at a steady pace most of the time before a dramatic lurch and sudden crash. I'd like to think that Half-Life: Alyx was the first huge lurch that the tech has seen in terms of scope and quality in a long while, but I wonder at whether or not 'Path of the Warrior' continues that trajectory or falls short of the shore. Seeing as how I seem to have taken it upon myself to look over all of the VGA games for better or for worse, it seems I have forced myself into also looking at this misbegotten project, so I'll see where that goes.
From a conceptual standpoint, Path of the Warrior seems like a title that has started it's life on a straight trajectory to failure. By that I'm specifically referring to the way that the game itself is aimed at emulating the side-scrolling beat-em-up genre from yesteryear. This would put this title in the same crib as titles like 'Final Fight', 'Streets of rage' and 'Double dragon', all powerhouses in their day but games with have aged poorly with time. Whilst many classic adventures are still as fun to go through today as they were in their inception, (albeit with some allowances on our part) these titles only really hold-up with nostalgia. That is the reason why so few of these series' have persisted to this day and that those that have are widely panned with each release. They cannot capture the magic of the past because that magic is seemingly gone.
Path of the Warrior places itself in a precarious position immediately, and things aren't helped by the way that the marketing seems confused on where it wants to aim. Take a preliminary look at any modern day side-scrolling beat-em-up and you'll see the way in which they peddle 'member berries to their audience. (To borrow South Park's Metaphor.) You'll almost always see the footage of the beloved old titles spliced together into a nostalgic trip down memory lane before it all gets cut down by the new title. ('With HD graphics!') It's a very simple and emotionally manipulative tactic but it is effective and that is because it relies on things feeling familiar enough to get people hooked. Twisted Pixel's game seemed to understand this approach rather well, but somehow they still failed to stick the landing.
The VGA trailer that we saw featured a traditional pixel recreation of the standard elements that one would expect from a beat-em-up. A classic pixel style, several oddly placed barrels and a setting so cliche that these games could be created with nothing more than an AI at this point. But wait, there's a huge switch up as the camera shifts from a clear establishing shot of the bar and shoots into the player characters head, forcing us into a whole new experience. At this point almost everything recognizable about beat-em-ups fizzles away and we are left feeling as though our time has been a little bit wasted. The endearing pixel art is replaced by a goofy cartoonish style, the simple two button system becomes more complex and involved and, crucially, the game stops being an lounge-ideal time waster and becomes an active experience. So are we supposed to to engage our nostalgia or expect something new? (Marketing needs to be a lot clearer than this guys!)
That being said, I personally have never been a huge fan of the 'Beat-em-up' genre, so I actually enjoyed the direction that this trailer took quite a bit. I feel that the 'faux-pixel' art style is frightfully overplayed in today's industry (Although I don't particularly like these visuals any better) and I always thought that the two button control scheme of most beat-em-ups left so much to be desired. With the freedom of movement allowed by VR, this title can allow players to grab ahold of enemies and pick up items to bash over their heads. My favourite moment of this being show off was when we saw the player dome an opponent with a dart. (Something which is an actual phobia of mine, so I suppose this worked as a kind of therapy.)
Unlike with all of the other trailers that I have covered about the VGA, this one accompanied a game that released the same night therefore I have actual impressions and final-game footage to shift through too. Initial lookovers have been fairly positive for this title, as most seem to deem it a fun time waster for those with an Occulus already, although it ain't no system seller. (Which is something that the rift is in dire need of.) The gameplay seems to be intuitive and bouncy enough to emulate the light enjoyment of it's inspiration without falling for the trappings of feeling too samey that a lot of emulators do.
'Path of the Warrior' feels like the kind of game that VR was made for, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it's the right kind of game for VR. Right now the biggest criticism with the platform is the way in which most games for it are weak and devoid of creativity and heart, and this title doesn't really seem to challenge that in the slightest. At least Half-Life: Alyx seems ready and willing to take a chance on a full blown product regardless of how that ultimately ends up, and I really wish that other titles would follow Valve's lead.
I realize that I've used this blog to big-up Half-life as much as to talk about Path of the Warrior, but that's only because Alyx was meant to show up at the VGA's before something inexplicable happened to prevent that. Admittedly that sucks for Path of the Warrior which is doomed by association, but that is the reality of game design sometimes. This may be a fun title but it has been swept under the rug by folk who have their eyes on something much grander, and I'm guilty of the exact same thing. So good work I guess, but kindly move over for what we can only hope to be the new age of VR coming eerily soon.
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