Pinball plus virtual reality is a match made in Heaven. No longer bound by the artifice of paddles and Newtonian physics, Bounce Arcade offers the ability to swat the ball with your own hands, racing for the high score. However, can fully 3D VR stages offer the replay value necessary? It’s an answer Bounce Arcade is willing to try and find out… even if the result is a bit more mixed than I may have hoped for.
The central mechanics are as tight as a drum. Swatting the ball with either controller as makeshift paddles feels fantastic, and dragging the ball’s trajectory right after hitting it saves me so much hassle when aiming for harder to reach targets. Hitting the ball several times and also scoring energy orbs unlocks a fifteen-second long overcharged magnetic mode where you can summon the ball to your paddles with a press of the trigger. It’s responsive, solves even more potential headache, and regaining the charge doesn’t take long.
What is it?: A stationary pinball VR game with four cabinets themed around deep space, the Wild West, a haunted house, and a pirate ship.
Platforms: Quest (reviewed on Quest 3)
Release Date: Out now
Developer: Velan Studios
Price: $19.99
When I previewed Bounce Arcade in October, there were two things I said it needs to be a true hit. First, it needed to tighten up its stage design for the virtual cabinets. Secondly, it would benefit greatly from a few gameplay modifiers to ease less experienced players into things. So far, the former has been somewhat achieved, at least.
To developer Velan Studios’ credit, the collision detection for the Wild West stage, Gunpowder Gulch, is far better than it was mere weeks ago. Though it looks the same, I can demonstrably knock my ball where I need it to go with far greater ease. The objectives themselves are also a tad more reliable, though a little fiddly. I’m still not as keen on this stage as the sci-fi themed Asteroid Outpost, but as beginners’ maps go, it works. Asteroid Outpost, meanwhile, remains as fun as ever, with clear signposting for the story objectives and fun minigames unlocked as you progress. Some even throw new genres of gameplay at you, like rail shooting, piloting the stage around the ocean, or a Breakout-style asteroid smashing.
Velan needs to do the same thing with their pirate ship stage, Pirate’s Plunder. The latter two stages in the launch offer mixed blessings, with the haunted house stage, Monster Manor, stealing the show by a country mile. Pirate’s Plunder suffers from several of the same issues that previously befuddled Gunpowder Gulch: clear communication on what you’re supposed to do, and the stage design is built in a confusing way.
For instance, hitting all parts of the Jolly Roger on your ship’s main sail is one of the story objectives – yet the ball goes through the rest of the sail, so why would the player ever expect the Roger itself to be a target? You’re told to load your cannons and set sail, yet all I could figure out how to do was fire off my cannons and spin the steering wheel about. There’s apparently a trio of naval battles you can engage in. I’d love to experience them! If only there were some clear signposting to guide me along that journey.
Even though exorcising the haunted house in Monster Manor is considerably harder than sailing a pirate ship, it’s another case of far more intuitive stage prompts and clear pinball elements to play off. You have to light torches to both see around the stage and ward off ghosts. You smack them out of possessed objects to charge a gadget worthy of the Ghostbusters.
The optional objectives, like the Jack’o’Lantern grandfather clock, are easy to intuit. The ghosts will even try to steal your pinball, throwing it at new angles unexpectedly, careening right at your face! The stage evolution is really cool too, as the house comes alive, growing teeth and actively fighting you as well. This is seizing the potential of being inside a moving, reactive arcade cabinet in VR. If every stage was this tightly designed, Bounce Arcade would be a certified hit.
Comfort
Bounce Arcade is relatively comfortable to play, with minimal turning other than to keep your eyes tracked on the pinball in motion. You can use either hand to swat the ball, both triggers activate the magnetic functions of your paddles (both must be pressed to activate the powered up mode), and the game naturally adjusts to your height for every activity.
As such, Bounce Arcade can be easily played sitting or standing stationary. While you can move around, it isn’t necessary. There’s even an option to make your paddles extend forward with a button press rather than stretching your arms. The only real hurdles players may encounter are with location orientation and speed of gameplay.
When it comes to the orientation of Bounce Arcade, it currently has no means to reset where it decides to set the stage in your play area, so if, for example, it decides your bookshelf is the best place to start thrusting your hands out at, you’ll have to restart the game or move some furniture to accommodate. A button to re-orient the game would be a welcome addition to resolve this.
Speed is also a factor. Those with more limited mobility may have issues on the harder stages – an unlimited ball mode would help with this, and would be another welcome addition.
That’s what’s so frustrating. The sound design is outstanding! Gameplay supports sitting, standing, moving, and stationary play! The magnetic power-up ability that helps you nail harder shots is deeply satisfying! The absence of a casual difficulty or unlimited ball mode is disappointing, but ideally could be rectified with an update. The fundamentals are otherwise all nailed down, it’s what’s on offer to experience them with.
The problem is simply that any pinball experience lives or dies by its cabinets, and these aren’t all winners. It’s disappointing because there’s an excellent foundation for a far grander scoped pinball VR experience. The fact there are so many little story objectives with minigames attached speaks to Velan’s potential all the more. The fact I want more is a good thing, but that I want it so desperately out of the gate is what worries me.
Bounce Arcade – Final Verdict
Taken for what it is, Bounce Arcade is a great deal of fun, but I’m not sure if it’s got the staying power I was hoping it would offer as a complete package. When it works, it’s by far one of the more entertaining implementations of a genre typically not seen in VR. When it doesn’t work? It’s unavoidably apparent, like an itchy sweater, and core mechanics this tight deserve better than that.
I still recommend Bounce Arcade with the caveat that I really hope it blossoms into something better. If Gunpowder Gulch can be refined, then maybe Pirate’s Plunder can too, but I can’t rate a game on hypotheticals. If you’re game for something novel, despite a few blemishes, then check out Bounce Arcade; just don’t expect all the stages to be winners.
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