Fracked is a new VR action-adventure game created by nDreams and will be available on Playstation 4|5 with the PSVR adaptor, and requires the Move Motion Controls for a full VR experience, and is designed for players to be seated while playing.

The player takes the role of the reluctant hero on his adventure to save the planet and fight off a legion of interdimensional enemies. Players are first dropped into the story on top of a snowy mountain peak where they will learn how to pick up and fire weapons with a flare gun, before learning how to ski. This is controlled with the head tilting in either direction to simulate leaning for steering. Walking feels nice and smooth, but not so much when you’re turning.

There are two optional settings for turn controls; the default setting is a quick snap turn in the direction prompted, or smoothly, where you can control the length of the turn. I personally used smooth as I found the default turn would overshoot where I needed to see to progress past objects. Turning is used with the cross and circle buttons on the motion controller. I was a bit disappointed that there was no option for teleporting, as it’d just be nice to be able to change the style of movement a bit more.

The climbing parts of Fracked are enjoyable, and thankfully areas that you can climb give off a yellow glow so players can not lose their way. Just be ready for some good arm-length reaches for certain bars to grab a hold of. Aside from climbing, players are able to take hold of cover be it crates, walls, or railings and your free hand can be used to grab the cover they control moving in and out of cover, pulling yourself out of the line of fire, or peeking over a ledge to shoot an enemy below.

The cover system is an amazing highlight in Fracked. On a slightly more exciting aspect of gameplay, you can also occasionally travel via zipline, and shooting people as you zip along them is such an amazing rush and can’t be beaten.

The combat is fast-paced and intense with a few different enemy types that will change the way you’ll combat them. From the basic grunts to big boys with explosive tanks on their backs, you will always be on your guard during Fracked. The guns can be swapped to the player’s desired hand choice, and I am a righty, so that is where my gun stayed. By pressing triangle players can switch between weapons, and if you are looking for an ammo count, just look at the side of your weapon and you will see how many rounds are left in the magazine.

To reload you will either run the magazine to empty or hit the motion button on the controller and that will eject the magazine. You will then need to insert a new mag and cock the weapon. Certain guns found on the adventure will not be a part of the player’s personal armoury, but will disappear after they have been emptied. These weapons are a great warning of tough enemies ahead, assuming you spot them before any ambush is sprung.

Fracked has a cel-shaded graphic style with bright and vibrant colour usage. A lot of the designs did remind me of Borderlands which is a great style choice. I strongly recommend having a good pair of headphones as enemies will make noises and say things before they start going guns blazing, so having a good situational awareness is a must if you wish to survive. The hero will be in radio communication with a partner that is watching from the sky, so there is voiced dialogue with back and forth banter, plus automated machines giving instructions.

Fracked was the first major VR title I have played and it was a fantastic starting point for me. The game plays well and having the option to change the turning system was something I didn’t expect, but I was really glad it was there. I was able to play it default but having that personal preference was a nice added extra.

Written by: Shane Walsh