Downward Spiral: Horus Station | PS VR | Review

---

Upstart developer 3rd Eye Studios have an incredible pedigree, its staff owning credits on a long list of classic films and games, so it should come as no surprise that Downward Spiral: Horus Station effectively channels sci-fi cinema - specifically the likes of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Solaris - whilst also crafting a mechanically engaging interactive thriller.

---

by Sam Sant

---

@SlamShotSam

---

Developer: 3rd Eye
Studios
Publisher: 3rd Eye
Studios
​Platforms: PS VR,
Oculus Rift, HTC Vive 
​Players: 1 - 8

Made with what the team call a “narrative-first” design philosophy, players are offered no express context when they’re first unleashed on the titular space station. Boasting a familiar retro 70s aesthetic, the richly detailed hull interiors soon reveal Horus to be derelict and its crew members dead. There are no cutscenes or dialogue here, and a very sparing use of in-game text, leaving the environments to evoke a thick and unnerving atmosphere.

Further to that, limited access to in-game maps and a complete lack of objective markers ensures you’ll need to scour areas and pick up on subtle path finding tells that’ve been integrated throughout. Clever touches communicate with the player via universally understandable game design “language”, narrowing sprawling areas to relatively linear paths in such a way that keeps them intellectually gratifying to navigate.

Driven by an enticingly understated ambient soundtrack - from HIM frontman Ville Valo, no less - Downward Spiral continues to stroke players’ intellect with mysterious cutaways to interpret and decipher. Within the realms of reality, while a range of light puzzles never pose significant roadblocks, you’ll be taxed by a creeping paranoia resultant of the station’s mechanical groans and seeming technological independence that make it seem as though the inanimate is out to get you.

Provided you’ve chosen to play with combat encounters enabled, it may well be, as what are presumed to be malfunctioning drones attack and leave you with no choice but to weaponize a suite of repair tools. It’s very Dead Space indeed, though where Isaac Clarke carries a real heft, the unnamed protagonist of Downward Spiral is quite literally weightless.

Downward Spiral: Horus Station effectively channels sci-fi cinema, whilst also crafting a mechanically engaging interactive thriller.

The entire game takes place in zero gravity, which, to allay your immediate fears, isn’t the least bit nauseating in VR. It does take a bit of getting used to, but you always retain the same upright orientation and, as such, you’re never subject to that hopeless feeling of not knowing where’s up and what’s down. Once you’ve gotten to grips with pushing off of scenery to float around, you’ll acquire a grappling hook - which has a smooth, gradual reel to keep things comfortable - and a gun that’ll boost you onwards by expelling a charged shot of hot air.

Now that you’ve properly wrapped your brain around the revised laws of physics, it shouldn’t be long before you learn to string these initially disparate tools together into one seamless combo. There’s almost a balletic element of performance to it, which, had Marvel’s Spider-Man not just launched, we’d have said made it the best movement system we’ve seen for a while.

In similar fashion, the gunplay (toolplay?) takes a little while to really flourish, but as a steady stream of new toys come to comprise a complete arsenal, you’re actively encouraged to swap them in and out to counter the introduction of bigger and badder enemy types. We’d definitely recommend leaving the combat feature turned on, especially considering you don’t lose progress when you die.

Having a few battle scars won’t go amiss if you’re looking to play multiplayer, either. The campaign can be played in co-op, but if you want to venture into the PvP Deathmatch and/or PvE Horde modes, you’ll have to give up your pacifist ways. You’ll also very likely have to bring friends, as finding success with the barren matchmaking is unlikely.

Bar a few jarring frame drops, which are admittedly a cardinal sin in VR, playing Downward Spiral with a headset and a pair of Move controllers is a pretty great experience. That’s a big caveat for those without the proper equipment, however, as it’s also playable on a television and with the DualShock 4. Should you be required to play the game in one of those ways, it‘s an immediate no go.

Perhaps it’s a symptom of having explored Horus Station both ways, but, by comparison to VR, it’s incredibly drab to play on a flat screen. While that’s inherent to a degree, having lost a dimension in the transition, also losing the intuitive and tactile motion controls is a final nail in the coffin. Downward Spiral is a game quite literally designed around reaching out and pulling yourself into its world, which makes a stand-in button press both cumbersome and unsatisfying. It also negates the scope for creating memorable little asides, like instinctively grabbing a dart and launching it at a nearby board, only to find it hanging at the exact point you let it go - duh!

It’s swell having options and all, though when they harm the experience for anybody playing in the optimal fashion, it’s questionable as to whether they’re justified. The game doesn’t auto-detect when it should boot in VR mode, which means you’ll need to use a DualShock to activate it from the main menu, as Move inputs aren’t tracked in TV mode; we can easily live with that minor inconvenience, but a not-insignificant annoyance stems directly from it. If that standard controller is then disconnected, the game will pause and throw an error up, even when you’re actively using the Move controllers instead, meaning you’ll need to remove yourself from the atmosphere Downward Spiral so painstakingly works to preserve in order to reconnect a pad you aren’t even using at regular intervals.

Hopefully that’s something that can be hotfixed, as, when equipped with the right kit, we otherwise thoroughly enjoyed floating around the dark and mysterious halls of Horus Station. Unique movement, satisfying tools and an enthralling location sadly aren’t enough to salvage the experience for anyone without the PlayStation Move controllers and VR headset that are compulsory to a good time.

Pros

• Unique & satisfying movement mechanics
• Engaging shootouts with a variety of weapons & enemies
• Effective environmental storytelling
• Subtly guides you without holding your hand
• Supremely immersive in VR with two Move controllers...

Cons

• … Massively less so when played with a DualShock , be that in VR or even more so on a TV
• Have to keep a DualShock connected, even when not using it
• Occasional dropped frames stick out like a sore thumb in VR

7/10