Archangel Reviews
Archangel VR is a legit video game from Skydance Interactive that is much more than a glorified tech demo, which most VR games seem to be these days.
With a level of polish not always seen in the early wave of PSVR titles, Archangel really shined. Thankfully, it was also a helluva a good on-rails shooter.
Archangel VR for the Playstation4 VR delivers a fun mech based shooter.
Archangel is a slick, entertaining action game that is relatively easy to pick up and play. The premise is fun and familiar, making it approachable if not perhaps particularly original. Still, it presents some of the sharper visuals in VR to date, and is a welcome port of the popular PlayStation VR game.
Archangel offers everything you’d expect from piloting a giant Mech thanks to its incredibly satisfying combat mechanics and well designed levels, whilst the competent narrative that comes along with it ensures that you’re kept motivated to vanquish the evil HUMANX scum. There’s this sense of scale on offer that’s simply not possible outside of virtual reality and it makes for some terrific showdowns with your enemies in-game. The short length of the campaign and occasional graphical oddities do hold it back a little, but overall it’s easy to recommend Archangel to anyone who enjoys an action-packed virtual reality shooter.
All in all, Archangel is an impressive on rails shooter that feels right at home on PlayStation VR. I initially thought the game was not going to be something I'd dig, but its immersive storytelling and action combo kept me busy until the end. Skydance Interactive have done a great job with this one, and I honestly can't wait to see what they develop next.
Enemies and locations are varied enough to keep things from getting stale, a selection of upgrades add a sense of progression and customisation, and though this isn't a game that could work just as well without VR, it's implemented well. Really, the gameplay is there to service the story, which is where Archangel shines brightest, and I'm just fine with that.
Archangel a pretty straightforward rail shooting experience that has put a strong effort in presenting its narrative and characters, even if it does come at the cost of replay value. The inability to skip cutscenes really hurt this one. The story itself lays out everything in a fairly predictable fashion and really only serves as the excuse to get inside of a mech and blow up ships. It does not reach the absurd heights as seen in Armored Core games, so it isn't exactly a story worth experiencing more than once. The physical act of playing Archangel is its strength, since it feels like how operating a turret from inside a large machine would probably feel like.
While I wished for a few more interesting unique set pieces or boss fights, Archangel is still a fun rail shooter that did a great job making me feel like I really was stomping around in a giant anime robot.
Although it boasts an impressive story and immerses you in the cockpit of a large mech, Archangel fails to be a memorable on-rails shooter in VR due to its lackluster gameplay.
Archangel has a few rough dents in its mechanical chassis, but still performs a whole lot better than most of the VR dreck that has plagued Sony's budding VR hardware.
Skydance Interactive brings the experience of controlling a mech warrior to players with Archangel,an enjoyable yet uninspired virtual reality title.
Even so, Archangel is a giant-sized step in the right direction for VR on the console, delivering a mechanically satisfying experience despite those shortcomings. With further launches planned for both Oculus Rift and HTC Vive later this year, this might be one to keep an eye on.
While we are still in the infancy of Virtual Reality Gaming, Archangel brings something to the table worth checking out. Giant Robot seated game play making you feel like you are at the controls of the Archangel. Awesome mindless on rails entertainment… that is Archangel, the kind of game you can sit back and just enjoy.
Another visually noteworthy PSVR game, Archangel blends immersive storytelling with a complex rail shooter to let players live out their mech fantasies. Very little replay value and a high launch price tag of $40 for a three to five hour game may drive away some, but Skydance Interactive has managed to capture the enveloping magic of virtual reality to tell a personal narrative while at the same time creating a strong VR rail shooter as the vehicle to tell it.
While there's really nothing broken in Archangel, the game suffers from a clear lack of follow-through on any of the interesting ideas it tries to bring to the table. Its slow, plodding pace stands out even more against the backdrop of mediocre gameplay and one-note characters that made me thankful when the game came to its abrupt end.
Archangel is an on-rails shooter with a promising concept, but is disappointingly average in almost every way.
There's a lot of potential with Archangel, but when so much potential is unrealized, then the end product loses its luster. Archangel is exactly that, starting off with a bang and tapering off too quickly to maintain its level of initial intrigue.
The final battle in Archangel is one of the coolest, most epic experiences I've had yet in VR.