Analysis Marvel's Iron Man VR

There are few virtual reality games that bet on more than a brief and rarely satisfactory multisensory experience. In March 2019, during the first State of Play, Marvel's Iron Man VR was announced, and they promised that it would be a complete video game with levels, history, progress, and several hours of duration. All of this was fulfilled, although the result was still a must.

Although games based on Iron Man have existed since the beginning of 2000, it was not until 2008 - following the great success of its first movie - that the franchise and the character were exploited again, although as a secondary participant in titles such as Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 or Ultimate Marvel vs. Now, 10 years later, we see him again as a protagonist, in a completely new story, separated from the film universe and the recent Marvel video game universe, inaugurated in 2018 by the also exclusive PlayStation 4 Marvel's Spider-Man.

The story shows us Tony Stark regretting his past as a weapons manufacturer, which is why he decides to focus his efforts on altruistic projects and, as a secondary (or primary) activity, the conquest of the heart of Pepper Pots. However, the millionaire's plans suddenly change when a mysterious enemy from his past returns to make him pay for his sins. Yes, it's a cliché, and if it rings a bell, it's because the plot is identical to that of the 2010 film, Iron Man 2. However, there is a small difference: the enemy to be defeated is Ghost, a mysterious hacker, who we saw in Ant-Man and The Wasp, and whose only goal in the game is to destroy Tony Stark.

The rule when you buy a VR game is that the story is relegated to the background while living the fantasy of the hero inside a powerful armor is the main course. This is where Marvel's Iron Man VR shines the most, as the mobility and weapon control is extremely rewarding, though not perfect. To interact with the world you're forced to use the PlayStation Move motion controls to move Tony's arms in and out of the suit; with the triggers, you control the thrusters to move, and with the Move button, different firing systems.

The first thing to learn is how to move. To achieve this, the position of the arms becomes essential: if you point the thrusters down you will go up, if you do it backward you will go forward and placing them in front will send you backward; to go down you can simply let yourself fall or help yourself from the thrusters if you want to do it quickly. In addition to these moves - which are executed organically - you must use the square and triangle buttons on each control to make quick turns; mastering the controls is crucial for combat and training missions. Another factor to consider is vertigo, which varies from player to player, and depends on many factors. I actually suffered a little from it in the early levels, but over time I got used to it.

It's similar for weapons control: you activate them depending on the movements you make with your hands. When you move your hands upwards you use the repulsor rays, with the hand downwards you use the smart missiles and by placing the two moves in front you use the unibeam. In addition, you have in your arsenal a propelled strike that is very useful with ground units, especially when you operate it from above. With some exceptions, you are free to use the arsenal as you wish, but the most common is to use repulsor beams and help you with the other arm to aim the smart missiles, then change arms and so on until you have defeated all of them. It's difficult to master airborne movement while shooting, and it seems best to position yourself at a point with a good range and then change position and then your location to face enemies coming from another direction.

All weapons are upgradeable within Tony's workshop, but with each new change comes a learning process that sometimes causes you to prefer to resort to the old reliable ones rather than get used to new ways of aiming, plus the cool-down time for each new modification. Fortunately, you have 2 spaces for setups, so you can use one to equip what you've mastered and works for you, and the other to experiment. You also have different color schemes that not only style your armor, but also give you some passive skills like recovery, speed, and damage.

One of the great disappointments of the game is the variety of enemies. Almost all fights are against flying drones that look like origami flowers, which are usually unchallenging, but in large numbers, they can be a big headache. In the end, the battle is not against the drones' ability to flank or hurt you, but against the constant moving, you have to do to get in the right place to knock them down.

Throughout the game, different scenarios are presented, some of them very well detailed with easter eggs from Marvel's universe and even small mini-games and activities, usually when we play Tony Stark. On the other hand, when we put on the suit, things change because everything is focused on training or combat missions. The training is uninspiring, but it rewards you with points that can improve your armor, as well as help you master the movement and skills of Iron Man much better so that when you get into combat you'll find it easier, but more importantly, less frustrating.

While the game allows you to physically rotate 360°, in practice that's uncomfortable due to the cable hanging from the VR display because, as you might imagine, it gets tangled up around your body and can lead to disasters, from breaking your concentration to a fall. With this in mind, the developers added the quick spin option so you can stay in place, making slight corrections with your head, to better position yourself within the game scenario. For your convenience, you can set the number of degrees and the speed at which the spin is performed. Unfortunately, the designers abused this tool from the very first levels, making the experience of mastering it frustrating and inorganic.

The presentation is good, although it is far from having the graphic quality of a regular game of the current generation. Some models, like Nick Fury's, are very well detailed, while Pepper Potts and Tony Stark himself look like poorly animated and designed PUBG avatars. The acting work is also poor, so Tony Stark is far from the charming Robert Downey Jr. and seems more like a show-off, conceited, and indecisive. Something similar happens with the supporting characters, like Friday and Gunsmith: both appear as holograms telling a story around you, which you can almost immediately deduce how it will end.

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In conclusion, Marvel's Iron Man VR is the way between a game and a VR experience. Some of its mechanics are very satisfying, but it fails to present the adventure that fans of this character have been dreaming about it.