[Preview] Making pew pew noises with Space Junkies

I’ve been waiting for a VR shooter like you.

As I sat down at the Oculus Game Days event at PAX East, and strapped the Oculus Rift on my face, I had no idea what to expect. There have been FPS games in VR, but nothing really stuck with players. I could never figure out why. Space Junkies, developed by Ubisoft for PC, may have answered most of my questions with one word: jetpacks.

By giving us full 360 degree movement in every direction, moving around actually means that we can move AROUND. This not only seems to prevent potential motion sickness for me, but it much more accurately reflects how I feel and adjust my body in IRL 3D, even when sitting in a chair in a gallery. I’m not just moving along two axes, like most VR games, but in three. And in space.

I’m in space.

Actually, I’m in an asteroid field in space, or some sort of wild nano planet. Whatever the location I’m warped to, I feel like my floating movement is just right. That does wonders for grounding me, so to speak, and making the rest of the experience far more tolerable and enjoyable.

Space Junkies isn’t actually just about floating around environments, no matter my praise. It’s actually a solid shooter. In the demo session, I’m plugged through a tutorial to get an understanding for the controls, and to be honest it feels quite natural. Guns are grabbed/selected and strapped to holsters on the sides of our hips. To select a weapon, just reach down and grab it. The tutorial guides players through the understanding that each weapon has different activation/firing mechanics. The pistol is simple enough to understand (just point and shoot), while a space shotgun has us using both hands to pump it. A laser sword strapped to our back allows us to go bonkers if we’re out of ammo and in close range, for melee moments. Again, it feels smooth and easy.

Once the training is completed, four of us (including SideQuesting’s own Tom Johnson) are paired up and sent into a lobby to select our loadouts. Though there’s a fully function voice chat, the developers tell us that we can also converse in silence with hand signals. By hold a button on each controller and making a motion with our fingers. This is supposed to give us things to say like “hush” and “okay” and a heart shape, but I’m going to come right out and say that it’s going to be used for, uh, more creative gestures.

 

Once in the arena, we can float around, hide in caves and behind pillars, and get to shooting each other.

Our demo matches are timed, with the team with the most kills at the end winning. With movement and weapons usage nailed down, the gunfights are quick and effortless. We shoot, get shot, get armor and health boosts, and scream “yeah!” and “aw, dude!” Respawns happen often, and getting back onto the battlefield is quick. The shots themselves don’t need to be super accurate, so it sort of feels like the game is a little more accessible for a crappy shooter player like me.

We end up cleaning house, winning every match. Sorry, Tom.

Space Junkies certainly plays well enough. Though the demo session is loads of fun with just a few features, a game like this will undoubtedly live and die by the community building and support from the developers. I certainly hope it becomes more than a niche game, too, since I may have finally found my VR shooter calling. The game is arriving this Spring.