Remember Bullet Train, that cool VR demo that Epic Games put together to show off its Unreal Engine technology merged with the Oculus Touch motion controllers? Today at Oculus Connect, we saw its final form: Robo Recall, a humorous robot shooter that Epic will give away free in the first quarter of 2017.
The basic gameplay is unchanged, a first-person shooter with a twist: You can grab enemy bullets out of the air and throw them back. This is still the most fun thing to do, although Epic has added another wrinkle: If you get close enough to the robot enemies, you can rip them limb from limb. Want to tear off a robot’s arm, then beat him in the head with it? That’s a great idea. Throw its dismembered torso into another robot? Also great.
Frankly, I wish there’d just been a little less shooting (or a lot less shooting) in the demo that I played at Oculus Connect. You can just blast your way through the whole thing if you want---you’ve got two pistols on your hips and you can reach over your shoulder to pull out a shotgun---and hardly ever try out the functionality that makes this game unique.
I do love the direction the game’s story and characterization has taken. The robots are trying to kill you, but comedically. It all has something of a Sunset Overdrive feel to it, with bright colors, wisecracks, and chaotic wreckage.
Movement is handled through teleportation; hold the left analog stick and look where you want to go, and you can jump there. This includes taking the high ground, to get the drop on opponents.
In the demo’s climactic fight, a massive robot stomps out with a huge laser cannon, which you have to teleport away from to avoid. Once you do enough damage to its weak points, you can run in and leap on top of it to control it, using your right hand to blast a volley of enemy robots with sweeping laser attacks, and his massive left fist to grab and bash.
Isn’t it nice to know that once you’ve spent $200 for the Oculus Touch controllers on December 6, another free game awaits in a few months’ time?
