Vendetta Forever

Games for PlayStation VR2 are few and far between - and so are good games for the platform. Then Meatspace Interactive comes in from the right with their first game, the VR shooter Vendetta Forever, showing that minimalist game design can often deliver the most satisfying experience - and that PSVR2 is not completely dead yet.

Vendetta Forever is best described as a cross between Superhot and Pistol Whip - and yes, it sounds like an inviting combination. It's all very simple; you have to shoot your way through 60 different levels, starting with anything from a gun and throwing stars, to a whip, a bottle or a sharpened pencil, and then you have to kill your opponents in the shortest possible time.

The levels can take between 20-90 seconds each, depending on how efficient you are. Several of them have different objectives, such as taking down a VIP target, avoiding the hostages that enemies use as living shields or finding the exit.

Several of the levels are quite inventive. For example, there are some missions on old pirate ships where you can only use knives and old loading guns and on another level, which is completely black, you can only see the enemies when they shoot or move. And there's one where you jump out of a plane and take out enemies while falling through the air which is simply excellent - there's a really good selection of different levels with different challenges.

It's all built around the so-called 'Lo-Kill-Motion' mechanic, which works so that when you shoot an enemy, the game goes into slow motion and you now zoom in on the hit enemy and grab his weapon out of the air, moving around from enemy to enemy and getting new weapons as you shoot around you left and right.

However, not all levels work equally well. For example, there is a level where you duel another person at the end of a long dinner table. You only have a single shot and it seems quite random whether you hit or not. It can be a little frustrating, but overall the 60 levels are really good.

Vendetta Forever is in every way a simple game and it shows that minimalistic game design can many times deliver the most satisfying experience. The visuals keep the same simple approach as the gameplay, but it's very stylistic and beautiful. If you are dedicated, you can complete the game in 2-3 hours, but the game encourages you to play through the levels multiple times, both to optimise your time to place higher and higher on the online leaderboards and to find the hidden video tapes that open up a wide range of modifiers that encourage you to replay the levels with them active.

I initially had some challenges understanding the 'Lo-Kill-Motion' mechanics and this was unfortunately compounded by some calibration issues with my VR2 headset, but once I got it all set up properly and got the 'Lo-Kill-Motion' mechanics under my skin, it really started to click.

Vendetta Forever is a puzzle game disguised as a shooter, and you'll get a kick out of spinning around yourself to clear a room of enemies while ducking to avoid their projects. It has that 'I've-gotta-try-it-again' feeling and it's definitely a game worth checking out if you're looking for a good and accessible action game to knock the dust off that PSVR2 headset. The game is also out for Meta Quest 3.