Blade And Sorcery Golem Boss Fight Guide And Tips
Having trouble with Blade and Sorcery’s Golem Boss Fight? Well you wouldn’t be the only one.
The golem boss, lovingly named Hector by the community, is an opponent you will have to defeat quite a few times in Blade & Sorcery.
Luckily I’ve got a guide and some tips here on fighting the Blade & Sorcery boss golem so that you can upgrade your crystals and progress further in the game.
Having trouble with Blade and Sorcery’s Golem Boss Fight? Well you wouldn’t be the only one.
The golem boss, lovingly named Hector by the community, is an opponent you will have to defeat quite a few times in Blade & Sorcery.
Why? Because you will need to defeat this Blade and Sorcery boss every time you want to get a new crystal to upgrade your magic. You might as well get good at fighting the golem boss, because you’ll be doing it a lot.
Luckily I’ve got a guide and some tips here on fighting the Blade & Sorcery boss golem so that you can upgrade your crystals and progress further in the game.
How To Defeat The Blade And Sorcery Golem Boss
You need to destroy each of the pink crystals found on the golem’s body to destroy it. They shine pretty brightly, so when you see them you’ll know it.
These crystals can be located all over the golem. Some are on his upper legs, while others can be on his torso, upper arms, and even his back.
These crystals can be smashed with anything, even your bare fists if you hit them enough times, but a single hit with a blunt object will do just as fine.
While you can destroy some of the crystals by just jumping up and swinging a weapon overhead, like those on the golem’s legs, you’d have to actually climb up the golem’s arms and back to reach others.
It doesn’t end there though. You’ll notice that some of the crystals are also covered in a strange energy barrier. These barriers can’t be smashed. After you’ve destroyed a few of the crystals on the golem’s body you’ll need to look around the arena and find a big glowing blue crystal.
There are several of these throughout the arena, but only one will be revealed at a time. The others will be covered with a magical barrier. Once you find the crystal then smash it.
Some are easy to get to and can be smashed with a fist or melee weapon, while others may force you to climb to get close to them. You can always break those from afar with ranged attacks. If you don’t want to, or can’t, do that, there will always be something climbable that can get you close enough to smash it.
Once the blue crystal is smashed one of the golem’s pink crystals will lose the barrier protecting it, and the golem will also crouch down and be temporarily stunned. Run over to the golem quickly and take this opportunity to smash one of the crystals in a hard to reach area, like on its back.
Once all of the pink crystals are smashed the golem will kneel down and not get back up. Hit its face to reveal the crystal beneath and pull the crystal out of its head to defeat it.
A once closed door will open in the chamber that you fight the golem in, go through that door and you can place the crystal on a pedestal and choose what kind of crystal you want. Then step on the glowing circle nearby to teleport back home.
Equipment Tips For The Blade And Sorcery Boss Golem Fight
As with any boss fight in any game it’s important to show up prepared not only with knowledge (which is why you’re reading this article) but also with the right ingame equipment to tilt the chances of success in your favor.
Even if you showed up the golem boss fight with no weapons at all you will be relieved to know that there are a few pieces of equipment to be found within the arena itself. Just to the right of the gravity lift that you fall into the arena on you’ll find a spear and shield lying on the ground.
The shield isn’t particularly useful the first few times you fight the golem, but the golem does get more dangerous the more times you defeat him.
Later on they will develop a long ranged lighting beam attack that you can reflect with the shield. You can use the reflected beam to destroy the golem’s crystals as well. The shield can also be helpful in deflecting the golem’s other attacks.
The spear isn’t ideal, but it is also useful as a means to smash the boss’s crystals by just hitting them with the shaft of the spear like it’s just a long club.
You’ll also notice that on either side of the arena there are these bowls inlaid into the walls that are full of lightning. Next to each of them is a bow and a quiver of arrows.
Dip the arrow into the lightning to charge it. Then fire it with the bow. The arrow will become a homing arrow that will home in on the nearest crystal. It’s not very smart though, so if another piece of the golem is in the way the homing arrow will just bounce off.
Also keep in mind that the lightning won’t stick to the arrowhead for long, so you have to fire it quickly before it wears off. You can use these arrows to hit the golem’s pink crystals from afar, or destroy the big blue crystals that are in hard to reach places without having to climb to them.
The biggest drawback to relying on using ranged weapons is how limited your ammunition is, with just about forty arrows total being present in the arena. Each crystal also won’t break with just a single hit from an arrow, you will have to hit the crystal multiple times.
There is also a big ancient hammer to the found next to the central pillar in the arena. While it isn’t ideal it can also be used to smash crystals. The same goes for the sword found on top of the ridge just to the left of the entrance to the arena (you’ll have to climb up or take the ramp on the other side of it to get up there).
So, naturally, it’s better for you to bring in some more ideal weapons for yourself. I’ve found that the easiest weapons to use to quickly smash crystals are short blunt weapons like the club, trench mace, or flanged mace. A small axe can also be a great choice to quickly smash those crystals.
These can be easily wielded with one hand so that you can grab it from a weapon slot while you’re hanging on to the golem with your other hand. They will also smash a crystal in a single hit.
You could bring additional quiver of arrows if you like to use your bow to fight the golem. Bringing your own shield is unnecessary, but you should also consider your choice of magical crystals when fighting the golem.
For instance, once you have obtained two gravity crystals and combined them you can use gravity magic to launch yourself into the air, which is very useful for quickly getting to high places in the boss arena, or jumping on to the golem’s back.
You can also use gravity magic to deflect the boulders the golem throws at you. So if you want more help against this Blade and Sorcery boss then make sure to get gravity crystals whenever you can. It’s the most helpful magic for fighting the golem.
If you can get some armor to prevent you taking as much damage that is also helpful, but not nearly as much as bringing healing items.
Bring as many healing items as you can. The more you bring then the longer you can stay in the fight, just make sure to use them when your health gets low and you see red. If you can’t afford armor or healing items you can always keep doing outposts and arena battles on the map until you can afford as many as you like.
Bringing the right items can make the Blade & Sorcery golem boss fight a lot easier.
Some Golem Boss Fight Tips
So we’ve gone through how to defeat Blade & Sorcery’s Golem Boss Fight (destroy their pink crystals, then destroy the blue crystals to remove the shield from the rest of the pink crystals).
We’ve also gone through what sort of equipment you should bring (a short club, tons of healing items, armor if possible, arrows if you prefer ranged attacks, gravity magic if possible).
Now for some more general tips that will help you stay alive in the boss fight arena and defeat the boss.
First of all, mobility is key in this boss fight. You don’t want to let the golem hit you by swinging his big arms or throwing a rock at you. The key to avoiding these attacks is mobility. Stay moving as much as possible. Remember to swing your arms to run. As long as you don’t stand still and keep your distance you will have an easy time avoiding most of the boss’s attacks.
This also applies when you’re climbing the body of the golem itself. The golem has a lot of handholds for you climb up him, but you can only grab on to him for a very short time before they throw you off. So make sure to climb as quickly as you can with both hands, before grabbing a weapon with just one of your hands to smash a crystal.
Right after you smash a crystal make sure to jump off of the golem and run away, because the golem will throw you off of him with damaging magic, like a blast of gravity or electricity. Though if you’re quick enough you can destroy two crystals at once before jumping off. It’s risky, but if you’re quick you can pull it off.
When you’re far away from the golem make sure to keep moving to avoid their ranged attacks, and when you’re close make sure to carefully pick your opportunity to jump on top of them and get at those crystals.
You can just jump up to hit the crystals on his lower back and legs, but you’ll need to use ranged attacks or climb to reach the upper crystals. If you get hit make sure to heal up at a safe distance before taking another shot.
You can even run to the other side of the big pillar in the center of the arena to buy yourself some time where you won’t have to dodge the golem’s ranged attacks. This can be especially useful when smashing the crystal near the ceiling there, since the boss will take a while to walk around and start attacking you again.
That’s about it! You won’t need to use all of these tactics to defeat the Blade and Sorcery boss fight, so take and use whatever fits your playstyle. Enjoy!
How To Get Contractors Showdown And Play On the Meta Quest 3 and 2
So you’ve heard about the amazing VR Battle Royale game Contractors Showdown and want to get in on the fun.
That’s awesome, and welcome to the best new VR Battle Royale Shooter there is. You’ve probably heard about how great this game is, and I can say from all of the fun I’ve had that there isn’t a Battle Royale quite like this one out there.
The movement is quick, and the shooting has a very good feel to it. Not to mention the map is huge, there are a ton of players, and there are so many different types of guns and equipment to try.
So you’ve heard about the amazing VR Battle Royale game Contractors Showdown and want to get in on the fun.
That’s awesome, and welcome to the best new VR Battle Royale Shooter there is. You’ve probably heard about how great this game is, and I can say from all of the fun I’ve had that there isn’t a Battle Royale quite like this one out there.
The movement is quick, and the shooting has a very good feel to it. Not to mention the map is huge, there are a ton of players, and there are so many different types of guns and equipment to try.
How To Play Contractors Showdown
Anyway, if you want to know how to get Contractors Showdown on your Meta Quest 3 then you’ve come to the right place. The same things said here apply to any Meta Quest device like a Meat Quest 2 or Pro as well.
Purchasing and installing Contractors Showdown on the Meta Quest is really easy. Here’s how to do so entirely in your Quest device, though you can also purchase the game through the Meta website or App on your phone before putting on your headset to install it. First put the headset on.
When you’re in your home screen you can open the store by hitting the orange button at the bottom with the shopping bag on it (when you point your controller pointer at it a bubble will show up saying “Meta Quest Store”).
Oh, and your headset will need to be connected to a WiFi network for this to work, so if you aren’t already then click on the WiFi icon on the left side of the menu bar to open your settings and connect to a WiFi network.
At the top left of the store screen click on the magnifying glass search icon.
A little keyboard will show up below. Start typing “Contractors Showdown” into the search bar and hit the blue arrow to search for it.
Then click on the Contractors Showdown icon under “Apps.”
Now you’ll be on the Contractors Showdown store page. There will be some more information about Contractors Showdown on it, and you could also hit the “View In Store” button to see a video about the game and some screenshots if you like.
If you’re reading this then you probably already know that you want Contractors Showdown. So hit the blue button that shows you the amount the game costs.
Unfortunately Contractors Showdown isn’t free. So you’re going to have to pay for it using a credit card. If you haven’t already linked a card to your account then you will be prompted to enter valid card information that can be charged for the purchase.
Once you’re done with that and you’ve purchased the game click the button on the right side of the menu bar that looks like a grid of 9 squares. This will take you to your app library.
You should now see an icon for Contractors Showdown in your library. If you don’t you can always search for it by clicking the magnifying glass icon in the top right and typing “Contractors Showdown” into the search bar.
If the icon is greyed out then point and click on it with your trigger to start installing, and then wait for the installation to complete.
Once the game is installed just click on it again and you’ll find yourself in Contractors Showdown!
Now that you’re in the game there is an excellent tutorial that will show you the basics of how to play. That was how to get Contractors Showdown and how to play Contractors Showdown. Enjoy!
Into The Radius 2 Early Access Release Date Announced As July 24th
Here is a long anticipated release announcement for any fan of VR Survival Games or VR Shooters. Into the Radius 2 will finally be hitting Early Access on Steam on July 24th.
Sorry standalone purists, but there has been no additional announcement concerning a Quest version of the game, so for now Into the Radius 2 will be PCVR only. However, I’m sure that won’t be the case for too long.
Here is a long anticipated release announcement for any fan of VR Survival Games or VR Shooters. Into the Radius 2 will finally be hitting Early Access on Steam on July 24th.
Sorry standalone purists, but there has been no additional announcement concerning a Quest version of the game, so for now Into the Radius 2 will be PCVR only. However, I’m sure that won’t be the case for too long.
If you haven’t tried the predecessor to this title, Into the Radius is one of the best VR Survival Shooters ever created, up there with other greats such as The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners. It’s combination of decrepit eastern bloc and surreal alien settings makes its atmosphere unmatched, and the freedom afforded in its gameplay hardly seen elsewhere in the Virtual Reality gaming scene.
Into the Radius 2 promises to be a continuation of that fine legacy.
Through the many articlesfound here about the first Into the Radius game, you might guess that the first title is a favorite for this publication. While a tense, surreal, survival shooting experience in Virtual Reality might not be for everyone, if you like any of those descriptors then it is likely a game for you.
Understandably, it is extremely exciting to hear about a sequel.
Here is an excerpt of the press release provided by the developers over at CM Games concerning Into the Radius 2:
Additionally CM Games also stated the following, which reveals the absolutely massive amount of content that is already planned for the early access release, and is sure to balloon further as development continues on the game.
As CM Games have shown in their various Devlogs, Into the Radius 2 is shaping up to be not only a continuation, but an expansion of it’s predecessor, and I for one am very excited to try it.
Into the Radius 2 will be 39.99$ on July 24th and beyond. Admittedly a little pricey for a VR title. Though the developers over at CM Games have stated that they will not ever permanently change the price.
The Walking Dead Saints and Sinners Aftershocks Walkthrough and Guide - Part 2 - Rampart
Stuck in The Walking Dead Saints and Sinners: Aftershocks? Wondering where to go next? Maybe you just like to see what is in store for you before you get there, or want to look back and see if you missed anything in The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners: Aftershocks.
Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered with this complete walkthrough. These articles will detail how to progress through the main story missions as quickly as possible, with a couple of guiding tips thrown in here and there to make your adventure smoother.
Today we’ll be recovering the second national guard cache, which has been found by the Tower in the abandoned Rampart High School.
Stuck in The Walking Dead Saints and Sinners: Aftershocks? Wondering where to go next? Maybe you just like to see what is in store for you before you get there, or want to look back and see if you missed anything in The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners: Aftershocks.
Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered with this complete walkthrough. These articles will detail how to progress through the main story missions as quickly as possible, with a couple of guiding tips thrown in here and there to make your adventure smoother.
Previously we went to Bywater to retrieve a National Guard Cache. Today we’ll be recovering the second national guard cache, which has been found by the Tower in the abandoned Rampart High School.
This guide assumes that you are starting Aftershocks with the "Aftershocks Quickstart” option in the main menu. If you’re playing Aftershocks after completing the main campaign then some details might be slightly different, but the challenges you face in the missions will be the same.
If you are missing some of the recipes then you can still pick them up while doing the missions in this walkthrough, though they won’t be explicitly pointed out here. For a full list of all recipes in The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, check out our recipe guide article.
Spoilers will be as light as possible, but there will be story spoilers by necessity in this walkthrough. There won’t be any explanation of what is going on in the story beyond what is necessary to make the walkthrough make sense.
The Resting Place
As with any mission in this The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners Aftershocks walkthrough, let’s talk about getting ready for the struggle ahead.
If your radio isn’t tuned to station 47 then tune it. You’ll be able to hear not only a Tower broadcast about the national guard cache at Rampart, but also the random changes to different locations for the day (i.e. caches, patrols, etc).
Oh, and make sure to check the steps leading into the bus. You’ll find that somebody has left you a note.
Anyway, on to preparing for the mission. Just like previously when we went to Bywater, there are a ton of human enemies guarding the Rampart High School and the cache within.
While stealth is an option if you prefer it, this mission can be completed by avoiding human opponents instead of fighting them, it’s better to make sure you’re prepared by bringing some firepower that is effective against armored human soldiers armed with guns.
Bring at least one larger firearm and at least one pistol. A bow can be useful if you want to rely on stealth, but if you bring one it’s wise to bring another large firearm for backup. Using a few of your backpack slots to carry a bandage and a couple of explosives as well won’t hurt.
There will be a ton of loot to be had during this mission, and regardless you should be pretty well off in the resources department already, so don’t worry too much about leaving room for scavenged items. It’s time to have fun with all of the recipes and items you found during the original campaign.
Finally, make sure you’ve got a couple of melee weapons for walkers, and it might be wise to bring some food if you plan to try and get some of the crafting recipes found in Rampart after you complete your main objective of finding the cache.
There are no bells in this mission, so you will have unlimited time to search the area for any recipes you might have missed. The only time constraint is your stamina bar getting smaller due to hunger.
The Rampart National Guard Cache
Once you’re armed to the teeth and ready to go, head over to the boat and leave for Rampart.
Luckily the route to your objective is pretty straightforward. Once you arrive in Rampart take a look at your map
See the route outlined above? That’s the most direct route to the cache, and sort of your only route. You can also go around the top of the gym, but if you go that way you will definitely run into trouble.
Normally in Rampart there are more ways into and out of the school open to you, but here in Aftershocks they’re mostly blocked off. To get to the cache and the entrance to the east wing of the school beside it, you’ll have to go through the courtyard.
The courtyard is the most dangerous place to be in Rampart right now. It’s full of Tower patrols. After you go through the gate which is right in front of where you will spawn in, you’ll see or hear them.
There will also be some stationary tower grunts guarding the side entrances to the courtyard, like that on the other side of the basketball court, and the other one from behind the east wing of the school.
I recommend following the path highlighted on the map above and just going straight through the courtyard. There are a few Tower patrols that you can sneak past if necessary, or fight.
Fighting them isn’t tough because you can easily get the jump on them, or use explosives like nail bombs or sticky bombs to perform an effective ambush. With all of the tools at your disposal they should be no problem.
Whether you sneak through or fight your way through you’ll find the national guard cache near the open entrance to the east wing, on the bottom right of the courtyard on your map. It’s under an awning and next to a big yellow schoolbus.
Unfortunately the cache is mostly empty, but there is a note inside, a bandage, and most importantly a strange key. Make sure to take the key.
The note will give you some story and tell you to go to the library. Conveniently there is an entrance to the school that is very near the library and right next to the cache. If you’re facing the empty cache box, just turn around.
Head inside and get your melee weapons ready for some walkers.
There aren’t any human enemies inside of Rampart, they’re confined to the courtyard, but inside there will be plenty of walkers and plenty of wire traps.
Luckily these traps aren’t the explosive sort we saw last time, they’ll only hurt you a little if you touch them. It’s easy to disarm them by just touching them with an object, like your flashlight or a melee weapon. So they’re mostly harmless.
Anyway, once you’re inside, immediately take a right and go down the hallway that ends in the door blocked by that computer cart, like you can see in the screenshot above.
Once you reach the end of the hallway turn left and go up the big staircase. Once you are at the top of the stairs go down the hallway leading out of the stairwell until you see some double doors on your left next to a blockage in the hallway where the roof caved in.
Those double doors lead into the library, and once you enter the library keep to the left and you’ll find the contents of the national guard cache just behind the big desk there.
There you are, the contents of the national guard cache. Fill your backpack up to your heart’s content. You’ll never want for medicine or bandages again with this haul.
I do recommend you prioritize the “box of loot” items though, since you’ll probably not be able to take everything.
Leaving Rampart
Oh, and on the desk next to the cache is a note with some more story, and the news that the Reclaimed will be there soon. Specifically, it says that they’ll be attacking the courtyard with all of the Tower soldiers inside of it.
This isn’t great news for you, since you’ll be leaving through the courtyard. The exits other than the way you came in are all blocked.
Head back out of the high school the way you came. Head back out through the library’s double doors and take a right. After heading down the stairs just keep going straight down the hallway until you see the exit on your left.
Get ready, because there is going to be some fighting out in the courtyard. As soon as you exit the school a couple of large squads of Reclaimed troops will spawn in and sweep the courtyard for enemies, which includes you.
Unless you managed to make it through stealthily and without destroying a single Tower soldier out there. I’m unsure if this is a bug, but I found that if I didn’t get rid of any of the Tower soldiers patrolling then the Reclaimed will just not spawn in.
Though the moment you do shoot a Tower soldier they will spawn in regardless. This seems odd, so I can’t be sure if the same will happen for you, but if you prefer the stealthy approach then you might have an easier time leaving Rampart if you stick to being sneaky.
In the likely event that the Reclaimed do show up they will quickly overwhelm the Tower guards that remain, though the more Tower soldiers you left behind the more there will be to resist the Reclaimed.
The Reclaimed will be harder to take on than the Tower were though, their groups are bigger and more heavily armed. You’ll have a tougher time blasting your way through.
That being said, once the Tower soldiers are gone the Reclaimed will patrol the courtyard, giving you opportunities to slip around them by stealth or ambush them. You can head back to the boat you came in on via the main gate, or head there by taking the path leading around the Gym, which will be free of human enemies once you make it out of the courtyard.
Regardless, you are strong, and there will certainly be tougher battles ahead. So don’t worry, you’ve got this whether you need to blast or sneak your way out. Head back to the boat that you arrived on, in the top left corner of the map.
Once you’re back at the boat you came in on travel back to The Resting Place, organize your loot, and go to sleep.
Need a guide on what comes next? Well next time you’ll be heading to The Ward to get another national guard cache. To find out how check out part 3 of this The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners - Aftershocks walkthrough.
Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck VR Review - A Wacky Breathedge VR Sci Fi Experience
Today we’re reviewing another VR game, and today it's time to get in depth with a Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck review.
The flatscreen game Breathedge, which this game is loosely based on, was fully released in 2021, and according to steam reviews has been very well received.
Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck is a Virtual Reality take on the original game for the Meta Quest, and unfortunately it doesn't quite make the cut to really be called Breathedge VR. If that’s what you’re looking for here, then you’ll be disappointed.
Today we’re reviewing another VR game, and today it's time to get in depth with a Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck review.
The flatscreen game Breathedge, which this game is loosely based on, was fully released in 2021, and according to steam reviews has been very well received.
Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck is a Virtual Reality take on the original game for the Meta Quest, and unfortunately it doesn't quite make the cut to really be called Breathedge VR. If that’s what you’re looking for here, then you’ll be disappointed.
Not Quite Breathedge VR
Why? Well, mostly because it's clear that a lot of the features and progression systems that made the flatscreen game interesting and challenging are just straight up gone in Cosmic Cluck.
There's technically crafting, but instead of the Subnautica style progression present in the flatscreen game where you improve your tools and spacesuit so that you can go further into the expanses of a space junkyard, in the VR version you're really just crafting items that are needed to progress the main story.
Outside of building your original multiool gun in the first twenty minutes or so, that's about it as far as creating things that give you more capabilities. From there on out you're just gathering what you need to craft the next item that progresses the story, and so there's really no need to explore or think about what you would like to gather or build next for yourself. The game tells you exactly where to go and what to do the entire way through.
You start the game, check for what mission you are doing, and then do it. Usually this means gathering crafting materials, maybe solving a light puzzle, or just traveling to the next mission marker. Then every now and then you craft an item with one of these crafting machines and put the crafted item somewhere to continue the game.
Therefore, you never get that feeling of incrementally improving yourself so that you can go further and further into space. You just keep doing what the game tells you to do, follow the next objective marker, until you’ve followed and done them all and the game ends.
Stuck Between A Family And A Corporation in VR Breathedge
Still, that doesn't mean there's no merit in Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck. This isn’t a bad game just because it doesn’t give you much freedom.
I actually found a few things to be quite enjoyable and unique in this experience, and its tongue and cheek humor is just as prevalent as in the original flatscreen game. For instance, you take the role of a man named... Man. You're on your way to meet up with your Grandfather, who you haven't seen in a very long time.
You've got a delivery for him, and things aren't going well at your job. Unfortunately, things quickly go wrong when you end up crash landed inside of a junkyard. Fortunately, you've got a helpful and talkative chicken to guide your way.
Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck - The Good
From there you quickly assemble all of the tools that you will need to do accomplish all of the space work and space fighting you will need to do to make your way to your grandfather.
That's most of what you do in VR Breathedge, space gathering, space traveling, and occasionally space puzzling. Here's where I can finally talk about my absolute favorite part of this entire game, and that is how you travel.
You start with a sort of EVA pack setup, you can slowly scoot in any direction you like, up down, sideways, forwards, backwards, but you quickly find that when you're outside you'll run out of oxygen before you can really get anywhere.
That's what makes this game more interesting and challenging than it would be otherwise, the simple fact that wherever you go you have a very limited amount of time before you will run out of oxygen, and you'll need to enter an oxygenated area or find an oxy candle to refill your suit before that happens.
This adds a constant low level of tension to any of the tasks that you do in Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck. Making tasks that otherwise would be entirely without risk or tension always inherently dangerous.
That's why you'll need a way to get around quickly, because areas where oxy candles can be found can be very far apart, and that's where the grabber comes in.
With it you can pull items towards you from far away, and more impressively pull yourself towards far away objects. I have to say, this is now one of my absolute favorite ways to travel inside of a Virtual Reality game.
If there's one huge positive that you should take away from this Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck Review it's that pulling yourself around these huge ridiculous sci fi environments is an absolute blast, which is only occasionally cut short when you try to pull yourself towards an object that is too far away and have to scramble to find something that is close enough for your beam to latch on to.
Unlike most methods of movement in Virtual Reality titles, this one isn't immersion breaking and makes sense in the game’s universe. The world of Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck is definitely one in which a handheld beam can pull you towards distant large objects, or pull small objects towards you.
It's wacky sci fi technology in a wacky VR sci fi world. You're using an ingame item that requires some skill to use efficiently and correctly to slingshot yourself around the environment. It's not only a very engaging way to travel quickly, but also one that is in harmony with the world around you.
This isn't using a joystick to slide around the world, it's using a piece of the world to fling yourself around it. The grabber is fitting for this game and also very entertaining to use. Not to mention a fantastic way to incorporate movement with the use of VR hand controls.
You can also use the tool for combat, which is less impressive but also unique. Instead of just shooting laser bolts or something, you actually have to grab items with your tractor beam and shoot them at enemies to deal damage.
This is also a pretty creative approach that leans into the inherit wackiness of the world of Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck. The only downside to combat in this Virtual Reality game is that the designers didn't take it much farther than this.
While shooting junk items with your handheld multitool gun thing is a fun concept, the enemies you face just orbit around you and shoot at you from close range. There's not much tactical consideration to take during each combat encounter, and really it ends up just being a somewhat repetitive game of grabbing and flinging items accurately as quickly as you can.
The combat, like a lot of this game, is creative, fun, and innovative on the surface, but quickly reveals itself to lack sufficient depth or variance to stay interesting for long.
There are some missile turrets later on in the game that switch things up a little bit, but they don't stay intersting for long either, because they just devolve into standing still and grabbing and flinging missiles back to it. The turrets are even less engaging than the bots.
Now there is one combat encounter in this game that was actually extremely superb, and while I don't want to spoil the game by telling you what it is, I will say that it exists and was very fun.
The downside of playing a single interesting, varied, and complicated combat encounter is that ultimately it revealed that Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck is a game where combat could have been more interesting, but the end product was cut short of being all that it could be.
Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck - The Bad
Though, shooting the junk items that you find is also a good way to tie in many of the bits and bobs floating around that you will be gathering to craft story items. That's their only use, just pick them up when the game tells you to, otherwise they're good for shooting at hostile robots and nothing else.
That's one of my main gripes with Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck, it feels like the developers started off with the idea of making a full survival crafting experience like the flatscreen game, but ended up making a linear story driven game instead with just the veneer of survival crafting on top.
You don't really make interesting decisions on where to go and what to do in Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck, and that's another important takeaway from this review. While you gather resources, and occasionally craft things, and there is a big world to fly around and explore, this isn't a game you can build interesting things in, or improve your character to take on greater challenges in, it just seems on the surface like it would be.
This VR game is about following the objective markers on your HUD and doing what your mission tracker tells you to do while you receive phone calls and listen to them. Actually, you mostly listen to your chicken companion, who I personally found to be extremely annoying and sometimes very reptitive, it would just say the same voicelines over and over sometimes.
That's kind of part of the tongue in cheek humor of this game though, and also leans into the rugged individualist vs greedy corporation story that is also a big part of the game.
Humor is really subjective and that part of this game also may or may not be for you. If you don't like the sort of tongue in cheek humor of Breathedge then you will probably not enjoy this game, but if you like that sort of humor you'll find a lot of laughs.
I laughed out loud a few times while playing this game, and only found the chicken to be overly annoying occasionally. There's some puns, and overall the world and its characters are ridiculous, but in a fun way.
It's a shame there's not more of them. Really, it's a shame that there isn't more of this game in general. I'll end this VR Breathedge review and leave you with the number one biggest issue with this game, and that's that it is just way too short. I completed the entire experience in about two hours.
Even for a VR title that is extremely, unacceptably short for the price of 24.99$. During the entirety of these two hours you also only make a single choice that actually affects the game, and so if you want to play it twice you could get maybe four to five hours out of this experience to get both endings. Though both endings are almost exactly the same.
That being said the gameplay itself was getting repetitive, because it lacks depth, and so I was already about ready to finish my time with this Breathedge VR game regardless. Still, I can't help but feel that there was so much lost potential here, and there are a few parts of this game that absolutely shine with creativity, and will stick with me for a very long time.
I don't regret my time with Breathedge: Cosmic Cluck, but I do regret the incredibly high asking price of 25 dollars for admission. As it stands there just isn't enough game to justify that cost.
If I had to guess it seems the developers cut a lot of planned content for this game, and that's just such a real shame, because with some more features and freedom I could see this being a classic.
As it stands it's just overpriced. If this game sounds interesting to you, then wait for a sale.