Tuesday, 27 August, 2024 UTC
Summary
Action Hero is a highly promising VR FPS that mixes Superhot with over-the-top action cinema, and we went hands-on. Here are our full impressions.
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We've seen several variations across the years where in-game time moves slowly until you move, and I'd argue it's a gameplay mechanic naturally suited for VR's motion controls. Superhot VR hit the ground running back in 2016, the upcoming COLD VR seeks to invert this premise and now we have Action Hero by Fast Travel Games (Mannequin, Vampire: The Masquerade - Justice), which makes you the protagonist of five different action movies.
Following its recent reveal during the VR Games Showcase, I went hands-on with the Adventure movie at Gamescom using a Quest 3. Each movie occurs across four acts that act like checkpoints, each offering five individual scenes with no artificial locomotion. While I didn't get the chance to experience additional movies, those will each cover unique genres.
Already, Action Hero feels like one of those games newcomers can quickly jump into while offering an intense thrill for VR veterans. The slow-motion gameplay gives you time to carefully consider your approach and search the room, which often hides more weapons than you might expect. Between pistols, shotguns with a broader spread, wrenches you can throw at foes or even your fists, you'll never lack options even if you lack ammo.
There are plenty of opportunities to get creative when filming. Do you take the individual shot against a nearby foe? Do you grab the gun from a henchman's hands and shoot the conveniently placed explosive barrel near your assailants? Or do you wait for the scene to naturally unfold as a giant boulder comes crashing through, followed swiftly by a dinosaur attack? The special events feel fantastic, and Action Hero effectively leans into its influences, capping off the first movie with an overly dramatic boss fight.
If you get attacked at any point, it's time for a reshoot, and you'll have to clear the entire act all over again. Even when I die, I don't feel frustrated; if anything, I only feel motivated to keep going. Bankrupting the film studio via multiple reshoots with expensive special effects is a price I'm willing to make them pay for perfection, and they should have considered this before hiring me. If you're struggling after several failed attempts, a golden pistol helpfully appears with unlimited ammo.
Action Hero doesn't deviate drastically from how Superhot VR handles these sequences, so I wouldn't call this revolutionary, but putting that premise into a campy action film is rather refreshing. The slow-motion approach gives you time to consider your surroundings while still requiring fast reflexes and dodging bullets in slow motion remains satisfying in ways I can't quite explain. It didn't take long to become invested.
My big concern currently is that these levels could benefit from more variety. The action sequences feel great while each scene is suitably challenging, yet the enemies within the Adventure film are very similar. When dinosaurs and gas mask soldiers can appear across different scenes in the same film, I'd enjoy some additional enemy types.
I don't like throwing out these statements casually, but I'd consider Action Hero one of my favorite previews during Gamescom. By creating an entertaining parody idea of 80s action films while mixing this with Superhot VR's slow-motion mechanics, Fast Travel looks set to deliver a strong VR action game.
Action Hero reaches the Meta Quest platform later this year.