Details :
Platform : Meta Quest – Steam
Also: Non-VR version available PC, Playstation, Xbox One, Switch, iOS, and Android.
Was it ever on Quest + : No
Type : Asymetric Puzzle
Regular Price : 14.99$US (Meta / Steam)
25% Rebate Link for Quest version !
Reviewed on Quest 3
Quick Review (for those who don’t like to read)
This game requires at least two players but requires only one headset. You can play in the same room or ocean apart over the phone or voice chat.
One player plays the defuser, with a bomb and no indications. The other players have a defuse guide, but no visual on the bomb. Communicate to defuse it or die trying.
The campaign may take you around 3 hours if you are really good at this types of games, but everything depends on who you are playing with. There’s a free mode that guarantee you a new challenge every time. I consider this game almost like a board game due to it’s nature where every game is similar, yet different each time.
Gameplay
I put this game in the asymmetric multiplayer category because of the 2 completely different roles you may take. You have to work as a team to defuse a bomb with very limited time, sometimes as fast as 2 minutes.
The defuser is the player with the headset. He has the bomb to defuse. A bomb is composed of several modules of different nature that I’ll cover later. The bomb also have different elements like tags, serial numbers and batteries. All those elements may, or may not be required to defuse the bomb.
The experts have the defusing guide but have no visual on the bomb. Each bomb module has different manipulations that will depend on many factors, including colors and numbers of wires, tags, visual cues, and more.
If you play a lot with the same players, you’ll most likely learn what works best in communicating between you, but the experience may (will) be different if you switch partners.
For example, as an expert, I found I was able to eliminate many scenarios when the defuser told me what he was seeing on a module. Sometimes, no questions were required to tell what wire to cut. When I was the defuser, my expert was not able to effectively eliminate those scenarios. So even though I could tell him right away ” the first wire is red, the second blue, the third is black” he had to go throught all the questions : ” Do you have a white wire?” he would ask. Since every second counts, I learned to just let him start with questioning. And then playing with someone else was completely different.
The bomb
The bomb can be composed of up to 11 modules to defuse. On one side, there’s the timer that can go from 1 to 10 minutes.
There are 6 slots per sides (excluding 1 for the timer) requiring to flip the bomb. Working on the back side means you don’t see the countdown. Some modules also requires continual attention, so flipping the bomb often might be required.
On the 4 remaining edge of the bomb can be found some important clues to help defuse the bomb. Serial number sticker with letters and numbers, tags composed of 3 letters, batteries of different sizes, and ports. Those might impact the way you defuse the bomb. If there’s an odd number in the serial number might indicate if a wire must be cut or left untouched.
Modules and defusal guide
First off, you’ll need to download (and I suggest printing it as well) the defusal guide. It’s a 23-page guide where the 11 different modules and the 3 needy modules (more on that in a moment) have the indications on how to defuse them.
Playing the campaign will help you get the hang of searching the guide, the first bomb only using the 3 first modules on the guide, then gradually adding them over the next levels.
Every module has a different look, from wires, knob, buttons, and digital screens. Some modules requires the defuser to cut specific wires, other to push buttons in a specific sequence or in a specific way. Some will use colors, symbols, words, letters or numbers. Keep all that in mind.
One of the hardest module is flashing a morse code and the defuser must be able to effectively give the sequence to identify a word. The word in the guide will tell the experts what is the frequency to be set on the dial by the defuser.
Needy modules can’t be defused. They can only be reset. Out of the 3, only one requires the help of the expert. They need toi be kept at sight at all time.
Winning or loosing, it’s all about the fun
Bombs allows up to three strikes (some allow only for 1) Cut a wrong wire, press the wrong button, miss anything and you get a strike, for each strike the countdown speeds up leaving you with even less time to complete it.
If you die and retry, the bomb will change. Since defusal is defined by many factors, a simple change in the serial number means you have to go through all the steps. No cutting corners.
What you gain is a better understanding on what to communicate and when with your teammates, allowing you to go faster and to miss fewer times at each try.
This is what makes this game a perfect fit for game night with friends and family. It is easy to change partners, make teams, and challenge each other’s in a safe bomb defusal challenge. The freemode allows to randomly generate a bomb where you choose the time, the number of modules, the number of strikes, and the presence of needy modules. It allows for newcomers as well as experimented players to have a challenge.
Steam Workshop
I just want to point out that the Steam version supports community made modules with the Steam Workshop adding for unlimited replay value. Such features is not available on any other platform. Since the game is not demanding, you should be able to run it with a low spec PCVR computer.
Graphics
I’ll address the big elephant in the room. The game claims to be mixed reality. If fact you can be in mixed reality only in between bombs. It would kind of defeat the purpose if you could see the guide while defusing, but I wanted to make that clear. There is no Mixed Reality mode. Seeing the other players in between bombs allows some iteractions with your guests withlut removing the headset, but nothing more.
The graphics are cartoony, mostly flat. Don’t expect to see shadow, bumpmapping dynamic reflection. It’s a simple game with simple graphics.
You only get 1 environments which looks like an interrogation room with 4 walls, a door and a window.
Audio
Again, the simplicity of this game won’t give you immersive 3D sound with action-packed and dynamic settings. You won’t even get background music to enjoy. You’ll be left here, with your bomb and the voice of your experts to guide you.
The bips and tics will be your only concern. It will either tell you you need to focus on something, that you defused a module, or that you screwed up. Hearing the boom mean you failed and your dead.
Conclusion
This game could definitely be compared to a co-op board game. It requires more than one player, and it’s best perk is the fact that you need to talk to each other. It really makes a connection compared to video games where each player might be focused on their tasks and little to no talking is done.
It’s accessible to anyone, and the 2 roles also allow for those who don’t want the stress to be the defuser (or to put on a vr headset) to still be able to participate. It’s a good introduction to VR to anyone as well. No motion sickness, no complex control, and a very intuitive gameplay.
The low price of 15$ (and even less with my 25% refferal rebate link in the description) is a fair price for an evening of fun.