League of War: VR Arena PlayStation VR Review

Game: League of War: VR Arena
Publisher:MunkyFun Inc.
Developer:
MunkyFun Inc.
Genre:Strategy
Players:1-2
Age Rating:12+
Other console/handheld formats:N/A

League of War: VR Arena is a game that can be called very simple. In fact, it’s a game that is so simple that developer MunkyFun thought that they could forgo any form of tutorial, throwing you straight into the action instead. There’s little substance, but there’s still enjoyment to be had in seeing the action unfold in front of you.

VR Arena is a 1 vs 1 strategy game that takes its inspiration from tabletop games, and it’s also one that requires a couple of PlayStation Move controllers that act as a pair of hands. At the start of each match, you basically pick up units from their spawn points and then release them on the battlefield, either allowing them to do their own thing or instructing them to focus their fire on a particular enemy. Regardless, they are rather wayward and may end up attacking another unit on their way though, which kind of ruins your intentions. Other than the control I have described though, once units are on the table you are unable to instruct them in any way.

When units are placed on the virtual battlefield, you then have to wait for a cool down period in order to launch another one of the same unit, although it’s also possible to reroute all power to a specific unit, allowing it to charge up quicker and halting the charge up time for all the others. Unhelpfully, this is something that the game never explains to you. There are five different unit types in all – Infantry, Recon, Choppers, Tank, and Artillery – and as you might expect, specific units are better in dealing with certain other ones. Victory comes when you destroy the enemy defences, or they destroy yours, which means that you must always push through in a bid to send a barrage of fire towards their defensive turrets.

Even if you might not initially realise it, there’s strategy to be found in the game, but League of War: VR Arena would have surely benefitted from a brief tutorial at the very least. The instructions that are there are very basic at best, with only a short explanation as to what is the strength of each unit, and little else.

As basic as the game is, it’s nice to have an overhead view of the little units fighting it out on the table below you, as it does give you the sense that you are a tabletop general who is responsible for leading your army to victory.

In the campaign mode you are able to take control of 9 different commanders, and upon choosing a character, you basically take on all the other 8 commanders. There’s little variety to be found though, an inconsistent difficulty level, a very basic and pointless story, and you’ll see all that the game has to offer in no time at all, which is a real shame.

There’s an arcade mode as well, and here you are able to take on another player in local multiplayer mode, with one player using the headset and the other making use of the TV screen, which is a little more exciting than playing against the rather unpredictable AI. The arcade mode also allows you to purchase units with medals you earn in the single player, and you can also set up your own custom squad, which is a nice touch. The lack of online multiplayer is a bit of a shame though.

League of War: VR Arena is a very basic game that often feels too shallow for its own good, and some extra strategy would have surely done it a world of good. If you want something that has some light strategy and is very simple to play though, then the shallowness of the game may suit you well, but the truth of the matter is that it will leave the majority shaking their heads in response to what could have been.



Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *