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0 Developed by AlterEyes and published by MyDearest Inc. Big Shots is an action-packed VR roguelite. You’ll have to battle alien hordes, earn upgrades, and forge an unstoppable mech to reclaim Earth. Big Shots originally released on PCVR and PlayStation VR2 earlier this year to mixed results. So how does the currently released version (available on PlayStation VR2, Meta Quest and PCVR) stand up?
Calling The Shots On Quest
How does Big Shots cope with the move to the standalone headset? Check out our review and let us know in the comments if you are going to take the plunge into the game.
Gameplay
Big Shots is a wave shooting game that can be played solo or co-op, all the while piloting your mech. Beat the waves to collect money which can be spent upgrading your mech or even purchasing new weapons. And we all love upgrading our mechs!
The whole premise of Big Shots comes down to a failed experiment unleashing chaos, hellbent on exterminating humanity. You play as an alien exterminator tasked by Price Inc to eradicate these monstrosities. Armed with your trusty mech, you will delve into infested areas and defeat wave after wave of the alien scum.
Big Shots does well with immersion from the get go. When you start the game up it tells you for the best experience you should play seated. Which is essential as once you’re loaded in you are directly in the cockpit of your mech and no one wants to stand in a cockpit! To control your mech’s guns you have to reach out and grab the controls. There is also a handle in front of you that you pull to jump. Options like turning are in the cockpit on a slider.
There’s not much to say about the gameplay as it is your standard wave shooter. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I found myself regularly coming back to play. Sometimes its nice to not have to overthink when you game! The developers of Big Shots have been updating the game since launch. Offering both new weapons and upgrades to improve replayability. This again is a reason to come back to the game time and time again.
Not to say there aren’t some issues. The biggest thing that needs work is the comfort setting. I’m no VR veteran but I would consider myself an average VR player. By this I mean I’ve built up my VR legs. However, I did find I had to take a couple of rests during my review time with Big Shots as it did cause motion sickness. This mainly came down to there being no head turning within the game. Meaning you must use controls to turn, just like a real mech. Which I understand as a style decision but after some time I need to take a break so as not to bring up my lunch.
Graphics & Audio
I have been playing Big Shots on Quest 3 and loved the cell-shaded art style. I’ve always believed that this art style could looking stunning in the Quest 3, and I wasn’t wrong. During my time with the game, it ran very smoothly with no glitches or bugs. The developers really took their time to make sure this game came out running gorgeous.
Unfortunately, there were no specific game enhancements for the Quest 3. I was a bit disappointed by this but overall the game still looked great. The sounds and music were spot on. Again helping with the overall immersion of the game. It felt like a good experience with voice acting too, which is always a big plus in my book.
Longevity
Big Shots does only 2 game modes: single player or co-op. This means it has limited gameplay but if you like wave shooters with upgrades it’s a great game. Saying that, to play this game you really do need your VR stamina. Depending on your stomach you could play this game for hours. In fact, despite the motion sickness I suffered, whenever I died I wanted to jump right back in there again.
Final Thoughts
This is a great game, especially for a wave shooter. I enjoyed my review play through of Big Shots. I’ve always been a mech fan and this does help scratch that itch. With so many upgrades you can fully customize your mech exterior and little novelties inside the cockpit. I will say it does take some time to get skilled within the game, as it can give you some challenges. This is not so much a jump in and be super powerful right away kind of game. That can be a good or bad thing depending on personal preference.
Big Shots receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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