Space Junkies

Multiplayer shooters and Battle Royale are all the rage at the moment, and so it makes sense to bring PvP matches to VR as well. There have been a few other titles here and there, but for one reason or another they never really took off. Ubisoft now serves up their take on the multiplayer VR shooter with Space Junkies. Maybe there is a future for multiplayer shooters in VR?

Space Junkies starts by giving you instructions on how to shoot. At the end of a short tutorial, you are given a gun, and that is it. You need a PS Plus membership in order to enjoy more than just a short shooting range section. It's a multiplayer title after all, but still worth noting as you will have invested a bit in your PS4 and PSVR already at this point and there's really no value here unless you've got PS Plus.

The online game modes include random game mode, team mode and private matches with friends. PvP modes include free for all, team deathmatch and a variation of capture the flag. It is clear that Ubisoft doesn't look to reinvent the wheel here but instead wants to provide players with something that's familiar and well established.

In Space Junkies traversal is key. Thanks to jetpacks you can fly in any direction while looking for something to shoot. Maps are closed areas with distinctive themes, which vary from mystical caves to space stations. Verticality plays an important role here since a target can be found either from above or below.

Surprisingly the game doesn't support anything else besides a basic DualShock 4 as a control method. At first, the controls feel weird, because you can control flying with thumbsticks and by moving your head around. Aiming is done by moving the controller itself, and you very often forget about it when things get hectic. Space Junkies would be great for Aim-controller or Move. It's a real shame, that you can only use the standard DualShock 4.

As expected, there are a lot of guns in Space Junkies. Aside from typical handguns and shotguns there are different rocket-propelled ammunition, lasers, and other familiar sci-fi stuff. The balance between weapons seems to be good, although shotgun's range is way too short, and a blaster's long recharge time makes it practically useless. Our favourite gun was a sort of a minigun, which bullets' bounce off of walls. In case of running out of ammo, you can always change to your trusty laser sword and get up close and personal. Guns can overheat, and you have a few seconds to throw them away before they explode.

Space Junkies is crossplay compatible with PC. While testing the game for review, we were matched almost exclusively against PC players. And we were just wrecked there. This is because PC players can use their hands freely while aiming. The other reason is that matchmaking had no problem in putting us against experienced veterans. So either there is something wrong with matchmaking, or there are not enough players online to create a level playing field for newcomers.

The visuals are a nice surprise. Polished objects work really well on VR. Different maps, guns, and characters fit well among the environments. Colours are used a lot, and different effects create a vivid game to play. The framerate seemed solid even with a regular PS4, and we didn't notice any lag either. But the resolution drops when the actual game starts. All the effects are still there, but it's all a lot more blurry. At first we had to check to make sure there wasn't something wrong with the VR goggles. You will get used to this very fast, though.

Our biggest worry while playing was the combination of VR and fast movement. While playing VR, the less nausea experienced the better. To our big surprise, we experienced zero nausea while playing Space Junkies. This is a big deal considering how fast-paced the game is. While playing, you can always see the edges of your character's helmet, so maybe that is the magic recipe. Audio in Space Junkies is solid, but nothing remarkable either. Although the narrator always manages to be just plain irritating. Luckily the menus offer some nice energetic background music.

Space Junkies is a futuristic reminder from the past. A fast-paced multiplayer shooter, that reminds us of Quake matches among friends all those years ago. A big plus is that all of it works in VR and with no nausea. All we need now is support for Aim and/or Move controllers to make it a better experience for PSVR players.