Review Copy Provided by PlayStation.
Blood & Truth has been around in some form for almost as long as PlayStation VR itself.
Some of the initial ideas were shown off during early demos with the headset,
and these were fleshed out to create The London Heist, one of several short experiences packaged together
in VR Worlds.
Now, London Studio has further developed these concepts
into a feature-length action-drama with solid acting and thrilling set piece moments.
In the 4 to 5 hour campaign, you’re cast as British gangster Ryan Marks,
a member of the armed forces and heir to Britain’s most affluent crime family.
To protect the future of the organization,
you square off against dangerous rivals and government spies across 19 missions,
with only half of these involving combat.
The story is a tribute to British crime dramas,
somewhere between off-the-wall comedies like Snatch
and cold-blooded classics like Get Carter.
A few one-on-one scenes drag on, like the slow interrogations from a shadowy-operative named Carson,
but the group scenes are fun to be a part of.
The motion-capture is effective at projecting each personality,
and most of the performances are believable.
Yet, the ultra-realism the visuals are going for is a hard sell on the PSVR’s less-powerful hardware.
The edges are definitely rough, and certain moments that feel like they should have impact,
are dulled by washed-out textures and other flaws.
But when the action starts up,
there’s enough going on that you should have no problem getting immersed.
When you’re not plotting your next move or negotiating with enemies, you’re shooting.
You can carry two holstered guns, along with a heavy weapon strapped to your back.
Some guns have scopes or laser sights that help you focus on certain targets,
and your arsenal gets heftier as the campaign goes on.
Shootouts frequently put new weapons in front of you, in case you want to switch things up.
Ammo pickups are abundant as well, with a grenade here or there that you can hang onto with one hand
or use right away.
Blood & Truth can be played with a DualShock, but we highly recommend the Move controllers.
You walk through each area by picking points to travel to.
It’s also easy to strafe to the left or right,
allowing you to comfortably switch to better cover or fire while you’re moving.
Your character stands or crouches based on available cover, which can feel odd
if you’re physically seated or standing in real life.
However, with so much happening in front of you, it’s smart to automate that part of the experience,
letting you focus on landing your shots and being an action hero.
Holding and aiming each weapon is intuitive.
You can dual-wield pistols or grab weapons with two hands for more precision.
There are benefits to shooting automatic weapons either from the hip or while focusing down the sights.
Unfortunately, reloading can be a hassle.
You have to grab a clip from around your chest and then lock it in place.
When done correctly, it feels smooth.
There are custom animations for each gun,
and the controls adapt when you’re holding two pistols.
However, the reload motion is an easy thing to screw up in the middle of a frantic firefight,
and powerful weapons like the shotgun or magnum
sadly aren’t worth the cumbersome reload sequences they require.
To break up the gunplay, several small puzzles require gadgets that you get better at after each use.
These interludes, like switching security cameras or basic lockpicking, are conservatively placed,
and a few fit into the story really well.
Blood & Truth is also clearly built for VR and tries to surprise you with
playful expressions that are only possible with the technology.
These can be amusing, but feel mostly random, often pulling your character away from the job at hand.
The technology better represents the story when it puts you in huge Hollywood moments like
firing at helicopters from a speeding car
or shattering glass as you leap through a hotel window.
The game also goes into slow-motion when you trigger explosives that damage enemies
or activate an ability on cooldown.
This can help you get through areas with more targets than you can handle
or highlight a particular stunt with a bit of flair.
You feel the most in control in these Matrix-like moments,
and it’s here that the gameplay really shows what it’s going for.
After completing each mission, you can replay it in Normal or Cinematic Mode,
which gives you more health and puts laser-sights on each weapon.
You can also stop by the firing range to grab any guns you’ve unlocked before heading out.
Levels have a lot you could miss the first time, including collectible trinkets
or a handful of hidden targets you often have to hit while moving.
Time Trials are eventually unlocked as well, and each of them focuses on a particular weapon.
Like the campaign, they require you to reload manually,
so the biggest challenge in getting good times might not be the actual shooting.
It’s nice to have an extra mode to revisit our favorite moments from the campaign, but
there should be more ways to goof around with these exciting sequences.
Cinematic Mode is easier,
but it would be fantastic to run through a mission without worrying about health or reloading at all.
Cheats like a paintball mode, exploding enemies, or even a track that continuously moves you ahead
instead of having to pick cover points, would encourage many more trips through the game’s best parts.
While it’s about as long as two movies, the whole experience still feels too short.
Future updates are planned to bring leaderboards, additional challenge modes,
and new game plus, but for right now, there’s not much else to do.
VR has had its share of gun-toting adventures, but Blood & Truth feels different.
It streamlines a lot of your typical movement options in favor of
letting you feel like Jason Statham for ten minutes.
Pairing these action scenes with a cast that can actually support the story’s intensity
slows down the pace sometimes, but the overall effect is entertaining.
We wish there were more ways to play around with it, but Blood & Truth is still a fun ride.
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Review Copy Provided by PlayStation.