It is an excellent sign when a VR game from the tutorial leaves the impression that we are in for a fun journey. This is especially true for a title that offers complete freedom in movement and combat, like Arken Age. Concrete examples introduce all the main elements immediately, and it is up to us how we approach encounters with enemies.
However, Arken Age can also quickly show you that it might not be the title for you. If you are a beginner in the VR environment, jumping from relatively high positions might be a bit hard on the stomach for some. The same applies to swimming and climbing. These activities take a little getting used to, but they work so well in the game that they never become tedious.
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What is the Arken Age?
But what exactly is Arken Age? In short, it is an entertaining action-adventure game with a significant focus on action. Whether through close or ranged combat, there is plenty of action, and more importantly – never too much to become repetitive. One of the best combat elements is the ability to experiment with different attacks.
As fascinating as it was to swing a sword at an enemy's legs and watch them fall to the ground, I was even more surprised by how the action looked when I ran up to an unconscious enemy, jumped, and stabbed them in the back with a sword. In this game, it is much more fun to outsmart your opponent than to charge at them with brute force.
Another thing that makes combat enjoyable is the haptic feedback, at least in the PS VR2 version. When I first felt the vibration after blocking a strike with a sword, I knew this title was well-designed in terms of gameplay and made excellent use of the hardware's capabilities. For example, jumping into water is not just a visual experience; the haptics also emphasize it. Kudos to the development studio for thinking about such details, as it makes it much easier to immerse yourself in the virtual world around you, and the interactivity gains an additional layer of fun.
The Combat
Returning to combat as the central part of the game… We have three weapons at our disposal – one for close combat and two for ranged combat. These are light and heavy weapons, namely a pistol and a rifle. Things become much more enjoyable when you find mods to combine or assemble a complete set. The gun can be transformed into a ballistic weapon or a shotgun, and similarly, the pistol has a mod for firing circular saws instead of bullets. On the other hand, the sword can later become a mace, which was my favorite weapon for close combat. I felt the most powerful when I knocked an enemy down with it.
Additional tools also help in combat, such as shields and grenades, and you can even throw mines. However, not everything is perfect, as a few shortcomings disrupt the combat experience. For example, if you use a sword and shield to heal yourself, you need to inject a syringe, meaning you have to drop something from your hand. This shouldn't be a problem, but the detection of picking up objects is not the best, and during combat, this is even more pronounced. I never understood how it worked because whether I looked directly at the object, next to it, closer, or further away, I never managed to get it highlighted and teleported into my hand on the first try.
There Are Some Issues with Arken Age
Another issue is that weapons do not immediately return to your body if you drop them on the ground. Pick up the rifle from your shoulder or the sword and pistol from your hip. It always takes a few seconds. It's a strange decision, especially since it is practically a standard in other titles. Similarly, when I was swinging a melee weapon that got stuck in a tree or rock, it sometimes became impossible to pull it out. It felt like I was dealing with Excalibur, not my energy sword.
Another thing I must mention about combat is the boss battles. Although there are only three, they are interesting fights. These are more impressive opponents, not only visually but also in terms of the weapons they carry. A mini-machine gun, a flaming mace, or a barrage of lasers has its own specific element.
What was less impressive was the lack of any concrete indicator of their health or something similar. It is visible when their armor is destroyed, but that did not give me any information about what to do next. Ultimately, I decided to try the most direct approach, which was hitting them in the head. And it worked. An unusual decision that might be frustrating for some, but for others, it could be an additional challenge.
Outside of combat, Arken Age has classic adventure elements. Some of them have already been mentioned, such as swimming and climbing. Again, kudos to the development studio because the game has many options to adjust the way you play, so, for example, you can use motion controls (spreading your arms like at a Lola Young concert) or classic analog sticks.
In both cases, the character control is equally precise. Because of this, swimming and climbing here are not tedious and are excellently balanced with walking. Even the entire underwater level is not exhausting because it is not a long segment.
Is Arken Age An Open World Game?
Although the game is open-world, each level is a smaller arena spanning several levels. However, none are overly long in terms of artificially extending the gameplay. Everything is organically arranged, so it feels natural whether you go directly to the next task or decide to explore a bit and look around for resources or weapon mods. Here, I must return to the mentioned interactivity within the world. For example, you can collect fruit for health, or there is a station where you use a flamethrower to drill into a soft part to gather material for creating syringes. This small detail shows how much thought was put into the presentation, but also into immersing yourself in the world.
However, the story itself is not gripping, primarily because most comes from audio logs. There are occasional conversations, but all the more interesting details are hidden in the logs that need to be found. If you don't explore much, a good part of getting to know the planet and its inhabitants will remain a mystery, and then there is no reason to try to understand why you are destroying robot enemies. This aspect doesn't harm the gameplay experience. Still, many details should not have been placed in the optional part. If nothing else, at least there is no fatigue from a bunch of irrelevant dialogues, so you can quickly get back to swinging and shooting.
In Conclusion
Fans of action in virtual reality could hardly have wished for a better start to the year than Arken Age. This title understands what makes VR a unique platform, which is why we have a plethora of fun accessories to accompany it.
Complete freedom in character control brings an excellent gameplay experience without artificial limitations. Combat is fun because it is not based on a rock-paper-scissors system or something similar, but rather, we have complete freedom in how to attack the enemy. Especially since the enemies are also fun to fight, as they will hide behind objects, attack from a distance, and engage in close combat, they are not shy about using shields and quickly switching to firearms, but they can also stop us in our tracks when they grab us with roots.
This is complemented by smartly designed levels and other elements that do not tire the player but reward them with a quality feeling during gameplay. The unusual world we find ourselves in is fun to explore and experience, and the game looks visually appealing, which only enhances the overall experience. Arken Age is an excellent package that should not be missed if you have a VR device.
Rating: 8.5/10
Arken Age delivers a highly immersive and fun VR experience with excellent combat mechanics and smart-level design, though it has minor flaws in object interaction and storytelling.
Recommended Age: 13+
The game is suitable for teens and older due to its moderate complexity, fast-paced action, and the need for some VR experience to handle movement and combat comfortably.