Vox Machinae [Quest 2] | REVIEW

Come on, who WOULDN’T want to control giant mechs in virtual reality? It feels like the sort of thing that VR headsets were made for, with the satisfaction of sitting in a cockpit, playing around with controls, and causing destruction in hulking mechs always going to feel a million times better with the added immersion offered by virtual reality. Naturally then, I’ve been pretty excited for the release of Vox Machinae on the Quest 2, with the mech-battling escapade ticking plenty of the right boxes for me.

If the name sounds familiar, it’ll be because the game has actually been available for some time on PC VR in early access. Now though, it’s finally getting its full release, bringing with it not only the multiplayer action that players have been enjoying on other virtual reality platform for years but also a full-fledged single player campaign.

Check out a gallery of screenshots down below:

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Firstly, I have to emphasise that Vox Machinae is one of those games that can take a little bit of time to get to grips with. Whilst you’ll feel an immediate sense of scale and power when boarding your Salvage Grinder (that’s what the game likes to call its mechs), it can also be overwhelming since everything is controlled via the controls in front of you in the cockpit. Any vital information related to your mech? Yep, it’ll be on the screen in front of you too.

This means that you’ve got to physically pull the sticks in order to control your mech, which can take getting used to. Whilst moving back and forth is easy enough, manually turning with another stick can feel a little cumbersome – especially during your first half hour or so with the game when you’re figuring all of the basics out. Fortunately, aiming is controlled with your head, so at least lining up shots is intuitive from the get-go.

You’ll also control your thrusters from within the cockpit, and believe me, balancing out moving, rotating, and jumping at the same time can be tough. My early attempts at gliding across the battlefield weren’t great and more so than not I found myself completely missing my target or flying aimlessly across the horizon. You know what, though? After about an hour of play, I FINALLY figured it out, with jumping becoming a pivotal part of the experience and allowing me to get the upper hand over a lot of opponents. It’s super satisfying, but it does take a bit of time to figure out.

There’s also an emphasis placed on managing your mech’s power. Weapons need to cool down when overused for example, whilst you also have to wait for your fuel to recharge when jumping. Vox Machinae is a game that will punish players who are left immobile or defenceless, so proper mech management is required if you hope to survive.

“Once you’ve learnt the ins-and-outs of controlling your mech, battles become thrilling affairs that balance out strategy with all-out action.”

Now you could’ve read all that and come to the conclusion that Vox Machinae is a tough game that isn’t fun to play, but believe me, that certainly isn’t the case. Once you’ve learnt the ins-and-outs of controlling your mech, battles become thrilling affairs that balance out strategy with all-out action. There’ll be times when you’ll duke it out with other mechs and just hope you destroy them before they destroy you, whilst there’ll also be times when you’re strategically whizzing around the battlefield, carefully picking your shots, and keeping out of danger. Whilst the slower pace of the mechs you control mean that the game doesn’t necessarily have the zippiness of a lot of multiplayer shooters, it’s surprising how frantic it can be when engaging with formidable enemies. There are plenty of different weapons and mechs to use too, so there’s lots of variety on offer when it comes to battling.

It’s a lot of fun, especially when played in multiplayer with other players. Vox Machinae supports sixteen-player competitive action across four different games modes. The modes include Deathmatch (which I don’t need to explain), Stockpile which sees players controlling points around the map, Salvage where players control a specific point, and Hoverbrawl which is the equivalent of capture the flag, with the variety ensuring there’s always something different to do online. There’s even room for co-op play, with the Botstomp and Convoy modes allowing players to work together to take on AI enemies. There’s no doubting that Vox Machinae has plenty to offer when it comes to multiplayer, with thrills and spills aplenty.

I’ve had a good time with it so far and haven’t struggled to find online games, whilst cross-play between different virtual reality platforms ensures the community isn’t divided. I’m hoping that it’ll maintain a strong player base, especially since it’s so fun to play. My only caveat with the multiplayer was that it lacked any form of real progression or unlockables – it isn’t a gamebreaker, but it would have acted as a good incentive to see players invest themselves in the multiplayer experience for the long term.

“There’s even room for co-op play, with the Botstomp and Convoy modes allowing players to work together to take on AI enemies.”

One of the big new additions that has launched alongside the Quest 2 release is the campaign, which offers a meaty story-driven experience for those players who prefer to play solo. Whilst the core gameplay experience of the campaign still revolves around mech battling, there’s also room for plenty of story sequences on-board The Competence: the player’s home ship where they’ll interact with allies in-between missions.

Firstly, the campaign itself is a lot of fun to play through. Whilst you’ll see a lot of familiar locales and sights from playing online, the campaign introduces enough of its own unique scenarios and thrilling set pieces to ensure that it remains fun from start to end. In fact, I’d argue that I enjoyed the campaign more than multiplayer, which just goes to show how enjoyable it is. It offers a good way to get to grips with the game’s mechanics without having a competitive group of players shooting at you too, which is always a good thing. Of course, it can also be guilty of simply putting you in multiplayer maps with bots to face off against, but there’s enough variety interwoven into missions that it won’t feel like an issue.

On the flip-side, I found myself completely uninterested in the story elements. The characters you interact with look weird (especially when talking), the voice acting could be a little cringey, whilst each sequence felt like it slowed down the pace when compared to the more fluid action found in mech combat. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t awful and I did like that there was a story to follow in the game, but perusing through the ship and bouncing between characters between missions just got a little tiresome. But hey, at least the missions were fun, so it’s hard to complain too much.

“Whilst you’ll see a lot of familiar locales and sights from playing online, the campaign introduces enough of its own unique scenarios and thrilling set pieces to ensure that it remains fun from start to end.”

When it comes to the presentation, Vox Machinae looks pretty good. The environments are detailed and the mechs bring an awesome sense of scale and size, whilst their interiors are always impressive to look at. Whilst there are sketchy textures to be found here and there, the important points of interest all look great and ensure that the visuals stand out. The sound design is on point too, with each mech sounding exactly like you’d expect a mech to sound… you’ll know what I mean if you play the game.

Developer: Space Bullet Dynamics
Publisher: Space Bullet Dynamics
Platform(s): Quest 2 (Reviewed), PC VR
Website: https://www.voxmachinae.com/