VRFC | PlayStation VR Review
After the discontinuation of the Kinect, I have found myself trying to find a game that I could play to really work up a sweat. Virtual Reality Football Club (or VRFC for short), is a first-person soccer game on the PSVR from Cherry Pop Games. They deliver a highly physical experience for fans of the sport. Even though I’m not an avid soccer fan myself, I dove headfirst into this experience with an open mind. Let’s dive in to see if this experience sparks your interest as well.
Despite a rather well put-together tutorial, simple movement seems to be the game’s biggest flaw. The Move controllers manipulate both your hands and feet at the same time. Therefore, moving your right hand moves your right foot in the game as well (and vice-versa). This can be very disorientating and literally forced me to stop to get my bearings multiple times. Furthermore, moving your arms up and down more rapidly causes you to move forward that much faster. Certain combinations of buttons allow you to strafe from side to side or move backwards. As you progress, you also learn to dribble the ball, aim your shots, and add power to your kicks.
After the tutorial, you can play a match with either people online or against the AI. After waiting a half-hour, no one appeared in matchmaking, so I played against the computer. Since I’m very much a beginner to games of this kind, I set the game to a difficulty level of “easy”. It was anything but that for me. As the match began, I ran for the ball and promptly overshot it.
Passing forces you to quick snap your view back to the ball. If you have any experience playing VR games, this can be extremely disorientating. Once you find the ball, you can attempt to run back to it, however you’ll be forced to quick turn each time the opposing team passes the ball.
Once I was able to get my bearings, playing the game was fairly straightforward. The AI did still feel above average, however. Needless to say, I lost my first few games by a wide margin. I do feel that with some more practice this game could be quite fun to play. My problem was that I was drenched in sweat after a couple hours of playing, and my arms felt like rubber. Definitely prepare yourself for some exertion.
The graphics for this game are not top of the line, but it does not take away from the gameplay at all. The stadium and surrounding skyline of the different locations are pleasant to look at, and the NPC players look like standard computer generated humans. They move and look real enough until you are standing face to face with them and notice their simplicity. Observing your own character is a bit comical; you are a torso with disembodied hands and feet that move like a marionette on a string. The gameplay is very smooth, and I didn’t seem to come across any glitches, which can be common in sports titles.
VRFC Final Verdict
Overall I found VRFC to be a surprisingly good workout, though it was mostly for my arms. I would like to give this game a chance in multiplayer once I get a better feel for the controls, because I do think that Cherry Pop Games has a fairly solid sports title for VR players. If you do have a PSVR, I feel the game is worth taking a look, even with some of its flaws. Just be forewarned: make sure you have plenty of space to play and know full-well you are in for a bit of a work out.
This review is based of of a PS4 review copy provided by Cherry Pop Games and Little Big PR for coverage purposes.
VRFC
$19.99
Pros
- Great Workout
- Clever Use of 1st-Person Perspective
Cons
- Disorienting Camera Snaps
- Tough Difficulty Curve
- Lack of Online Players
