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0 I checked out ForeVR’s latest installment, ForeVR Suck It! Some of ForeVR’s previous work brought Pool, Darts, and Bowling to the Virtual World but this time around, players get to …clean?
Can You Suck It?
Suck It is a brand new addition to their series, which was released on September 20th, 2023. It is currently in early access and available to play for free on Steam. Points to note, obviously you will need a compatible VR headset.
Gameplay
In Suck It, the goal is to be the rootinest tootinest space vacuum-er this galaxy has ever seen. It’s quite simple, suck up all the things! From ice cream and cookies to frisbees and shopping bags…maybe even some chickens too. However, this isn’t the only challenge. Along the way, you have to collect stars, but to do so you have to upgrade your character throughout the match. You can also shoot your buddies with the items you vacuum up to swat them away. Once you have collected 10 stars, you hop on the blue, blinking platform and ascend, winning the match.
Each round lasts 10 minutes so race against the clock and others to pick up as much as you can, gain points, and deposit the goodies into the smiling, happy bins. The more you deposit, the more you grow. You start with a limited amount of space in your canister and only be able to pick up the small items. Once you fill up your canister, you deposit this and this allows you to level up as well as upgrade your handy-dandy vacuum, making it easier to get those larger items. This gameplay is quite reminiscent of games like Katamari Damacy and Donut County, where you are limited to what you pick up till you’re bigger or meet a certain threshold.
In the main menu, you can choose to do a quick match, host a match, or join one. As the game is in early access, there isn’t an abundance of players so you will likely be playing amongst bots. This still leads to a fun, gaming experience but once you get the technique locked down, it can start to be stale. It is ideal to play with friends/randoms.
Controlling and Traversing
The controls are pretty easy to grasp, with the game offering a handy “controls” page in the menu. Just like regular games, you walk with the left thumb stick and move the camera with the right. Players can float thanks to their jet packs and also dash around the map to quickly traverse obstacles. Everything is outlined well for beginners, though experienced gamers will find the controls quite intuitive as the controls match the usual buttons you would instinctively press if you were playing a regular game on a regular controller. The game could use a tutorial mode to assist new players in the game as well as navigating through the virtual world.
The game does have a variety of avatars to purchase and choose from, as well as being able to pick your style of vacuum, title, and decorative nameplate. There isn’t a way to change the colors for these cosmetics as of yet, but the current avatars are well-designed. Players can be cats, sharks, or even ducks. Some of the cosmetics of vacuums also include unicorns and donuts. Very fun.
Graphics & Audio
The graphics and audio in the game are fun and upbeat. Everything fits within the stylized realm of Suck It, with some basic shadows and highlights. Bright, bold colors complement each other but aren’t too garish. Overall, the designs and palettes are pleasing to the eyes. The models are quite simple but charming, with everything still being recognizable. All the controls worked as they should, however, one issue found was trying to traverse through the main menu. Sections took forever to load or would not respond when selected, leading to an accidental purchase of a shark avatar cosmetic. Due to this being a beta, no real money was spent. However, there should be some extra confirmations and checks when in the store, just so players don’t make some sucky mistakes (pun intended).
The audio works fantastically, as each action has a sound that correlates to it, giving players that instant feedback when they use the vacuum or interact with the environment. There could be variation in the music, as it just becomes background noise when playing, especially after 10 minutes and with only one map currently available.
Longevity
Whilst this game was fun to enjoy, a short while after starting, the dreaded motion sickness hit. I’ve never had major issues with this, as I’ve played quite a few VR titles that allowed you to be active, and walk around, but something about Suck It amplified the feeling. I had to take a break with 3 minutes left on the clock. Maybe this means I just need more practice but for people who are more sensitive to this issue, it might be worth giving this game a miss. I had a lot of fun up until that point.
In terms of replayability, I can see players learn the controls fast, and challenge themselves to get all the stars as quickly as possible. The whipping and dashing around controls hones in that speedrunner playability and can be a lot of fun getting from A to B, like a space cowboy, vacuuming, parkour artist. However, in terms of in-game content, I can imagine the game getting stale after a while as there is only one map and one game mode. As the game is still in early access, I am looking forward to how they add to the experience in terms of maps, variation of game modes, and new cosmetics.
Final Thoughts
ForeVR Suck It could be the ultimate party game for friends but it needs a lot more content. There is just not enough to keep players engaged. Also, if you don’t have friends who also own a VR headset, it is more likely you’ll be playing with randoms or bots which can start to feel boring after a while. From the Steam store page, it is outlined that more maps, modes, and avatars are in the works and will be coming soon. When these updates come out, I think players will have more choices to suit their gameplay styles, whether it’s challenges or endless mode. Due to motion sickness, I would not recommend this for those with sensitive inner ear changes. There are some setting options to make the experience more comfortable, but not much can be helped once you feel that nausea is creeping up.
Overall, I would recommend players to give this a go for now as it is free to play. Depending on whether or not these updates release whilst the game is early access, I would say wait for a good sale to pick this up.
If you enjoyed this review and are interested in checking out more of the ForeVR series, we have a review covering the ForeVR Pool.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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