Robo Recall = Robo VR Destruction Awesomeness

Larry Gilliam
Aug 24, 2017 · 3 min read

A few weeks back we purchased an Oculus Rift system to play around with on our gaming PC. My wife and I have been learning to develop VR applications via Udacity’s VR Nanodegree program and figured the purchase was a worthy investment considering our interest. Boy am I glad we took the dive.

This particular system came with two touch controllers and two sensors. It also allowed us to download 7 free titles. The first one I personally played was a game called Robo Recall. Robo Recall is an Oculus exclusive title by Epic Games. I’m not a stranger to gaming. I am 35 years old and have been a regular gamer since I was 4. What I am new to is VR gaming.

When you first enter the world of Robo recall, you are in a city watching a news article discussing some rogue robots. As the news presentation plays out you start to notice an increasing number of robots surrounding you. At one point I forgot I was in a game and felt I was in that city. Especially when the robots turned to me and lashed out. Physical me actually recoiled. I started laughing at how crazy real the experience felt.

After this intro scene you go through a tutorial that teaches you the ins and outs of the game. Here you learn how to interact with objects, movement basics, and how to shoot. You then move to a holographic city image where you select missions.

Holographic Level Selection

Robo Recall throws you to the wolves in the first mission. Well, not at first but the intensity quickly picks up and this is hands down the best way to learn the mechanics of the game. You start with a few robots slowly walking towards you. Simple enough right? Take out your guns and start shooting.

You’re ah… getting a little close there buddy

From here you quickly find yourself teleporting to the top of building awnings shooting robots as they swarm you from all sides.

Taking the high ground allows for strategic robot dispatch

Now here’s where the game took an interesting twist. In Robo Recall you can grab robots and use them as shields, throw them at other robots, or rip their limbs off. I find the later to be rather satisfying. Why? Well, for me, the longer I played in VR space the more my mind started to adjust and make certain expected sensations occur. I started to feel resistance as I grabbed a robots torso with one hand and ripped its head off with the other.

This was a heavy bugger

I was instantly sold on VR when I felt this. VR has reached a point where, when done right, the mind follows and creates even greater immersion for the user. I’m excited to learn more about VR and look forward to the knowledge I’ll gain through the Nanodegree program I’m taking. I’m especially excited to see where the future of VR will go because where we are now is leagues ahead of the old Nintendo Virtual Boy days. -LG

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