Nobody doubts the immersive power of virtual reality, but when it comes to exploiting the full potential of this technology, there are few games that manage to convey that feeling of invincibility and pure power. Synapse belongs to this restricted club thanks to a mix of speed, the skillful use of innovative technologies such as eye tracking and the best telekinesis system ever seen in VR video games so far.
Developed by DreamsSynapse, one of the most innovative virtual reality studios, will put you in the shoes of an anonymous agent who must infiltrate, through a futuristic neural machine, into the mind of a colonel who is planning a large-scale terrorist attack. Played by the legendary David Hayter, Solid Snake's voice actor, this bad guy will be one of the two voices in your head (along with the head of the agency you work for) as you progress from level to level. The structure of the game is that of a roguelike shooter with the classic progression system of the genre that rewards the achievement of certain objectives in each attempt.
In this Synapse review, the new exclusive for PlayStation VR2, we will tell you the many reasons why this title is worth it despite a limited selection of weapons and enemies. Its beating heart, in fact, is the power of telekinesis that you will receive at the beginning of the adventure: there lies all the creative potential of the game.
A little Jedi, a little Magneto
Starting with the tutorial, Synapse put a smile on our faces that never disappeared during the ten hours it took to reach the end credits. This is because its telekinesis system will make you feel truly omnipotent while playing: you can pick up objects and throw them at enemies or hold them almost like batons and hit your opponents in an absolutely cartoonish way. You can grab explosive barrels, throw and detonate them with the power of thought, and even grab enemies (after unlocking a specific ability) and throw them off cliffs. What makes the use of telekinesis so simple is the fact that it is possible select things and people to capture with your gaze using the eye tracking function of the PSVR2. It has never been so natural to interact with game objects as in Synapse because it is absolutely intuitive to identify with your students, without moving the camera levers, what you want to interact with.
The controller movements you make in the real world translate excellently into virtual reality and give a feeling of complete control of the situation. After the first two hours of gameplay, necessary to fully understand all of Synapse's systems, your telekinesis will seem almost natural, halfway between the use of the Jedi Force and Magneto's mutant power. Picking up the big metal boxes and using them to hit your enemies until they fall to the ground never stops being fun because your opponents' reaction is almost one of disbelief as you give them a treatment similar to what Hulk gives Loki at the end. from the first Avengers movie. Synaptic telekinesis is the New standard for implementing superpowers. in virtual reality video games because it feels so natural to use that once you take off the headset, you'll miss it in the real world.
Nothing new on its roguelike front
The synapse comes first a first-person shooter with a roguelike structure, so to complete it you will have to overcome 7 levels of increasing difficulty without dying, receiving at the end of each one an improvement that you will lose when you finish the game. There is no procedural map generation, the arenas in which you will have to eliminate all the enemies present are ten in total, but the developers have adopted strategies to avoid repetitions. In fact, each level will be offered to you with variable start and end points to randomize the paths and strategies as much as possible. Some fixed points, like boss arenas, don't change, but otherwise we rarely remember where enemies spawned or what strategic resource gathering points were. As in every roguelike, in fact, there are two currencies: the first is dedicated to the single attempt, it is used to recover life, ammunition and to unlock new temporary powers and you will lose it completely when you die. The second is permanent, very difficult to obtain and gives access to benefits that do not expire such as increased maximum health, the presence or absence of healing sources and much more.
Synapse has four skill trees in total, one dedicated to weapons, another to telekinesis and another to survival, where you will find the most interesting and fun powers such as the ability to grab enemies or an upgrade dedicated to weapon stations that will offer more rare ones. and powerful. The fourth bonus system adds some modifiers to the game that we won't reveal to you, but you should know that here, and in the New Game + mode, lies the longevity of the game in case you want to perfect yourself after beating it the first time. . Our only qualm about this system is that it's really slow because the special currency to purchase upgrades can only be obtained after overcoming some absolutely difficult obstacles. In fact, in our first three hours of playing, we were stuck with the only upgrade we bought after the tutorial because we couldn't beat the first boss. This It greatly slows down the strengthening process. of his abilities to go deeper and deeper into the game and caused quite a bit of frustration. However, once we beat the first villain, the game's progression mechanics started to work better and skill points started arriving more frequently.
few but good
One of Synapse's most obvious flaws is its lack of variety in weapons and enemies. There are four firearms, pistol, machine gun, shotgun and grenade launcher, as well as opponents who, however, become more powerful as you progress through the levels with each individual attempt. At first glance, this could be indicative of repetitive gameplay, but the game flow of each level It's so well done that you almost never feel like you've already seen a certain scenario. Enemies are always dynamic, never stay still, and can even teleport behind you. The resources to collect in each level are different and, above all, the time it takes to complete each battle and eliminate all enemies will determine the amount of health you will recover and the amount of temporary currency (to buy ammunition and upgrades). you will get every time, every completion.
You can move quickly, run and shoot wildly and blow everything up with your telekinesis, or choose to save lives and bullets with a more tactical approach using a cover system that is very reminiscent of Time Crisis. In fact, spread throughout all levels, there are metal boxes and walls to take shelter behind by grabbing them with the controller and hiding behind them. By maintaining this grip and raising and lowering the PSVR2 Sense, you will be able to peek out of the cover to Shoot very similar to the classic arcade..
The weapons, apart from the pistol equipped with a laser sight, do not greatly favor this style of play, especially since beyond seven meters it is impossible to aim accurately. However, pistols and rifles are equipped with iron sights that you can use more accurately by closing one eye and aiming like in the real world.
Conclusions
Tested version PlayStation 5 digital delivery PlayStation Store Price 34,99 ps Holygamerz.com 8.5 Readers (7) 8.6 your voteSynapse is a game that really has a lot to offer and will not disappoint virtual reality enthusiasts who have decided to invest in a PlayStation VR2. Its telekinesis is the best we've ever seen in a VR video game, and the use of eye tracking to choose what to grab and throw can be taken as a model for how to get the most out of a piece of hardware's most advanced features. The weapons are fun to shoot and reload, the progression is weak at first but then takes off, and the musical accompaniment has an 80s Synthwave feel that fits perfectly with an almost cyberpunk game in which you infiltrate the mind of a being human fighting against his defenders like in Inception. The black and white graphic style with very few notes of color to highlight what is most important, then, is a blessing to avoid sensory overload and enjoy the experience. A little variety aside, this game is a must-have in every PSVR 2 owner's libraries because it will not only make you feel omnipotent, but it will also put you in front of a compelling challenge that you must face even with small doses of pure adrenaline. .
PRO
- Intuitive and fluid telekinesis
- The weapons are fun to use.
- Very satisfactory bonuses and improvements.
AGAINST
- Quite slow initial progression
- Little variety of weapons, enemies and scenarios.
