Crimen – Mercenary Tales [Quest 2] | REVIEW

What better place for a bunch of mercs to meet than in a tavern, right? That’s exactly where the action of Crimen – Mercenary Tales, the new virtual reality title from the experienced team at Carbon Studios, kicks off, with eight adventurers reciting their exciting escapades to those that are willing to listen to them, with the typical heroic tropes you’d expect ever-present in their storytelling. Whether scouring the lands for treasures, rescuing a damsel in distress, or simply proving their might, each has a different tale to spin that’ll ensure anyone listening will be kept on the edge of their seat. And the best part? You get to play out each of these stories from their perspectives.

Check out some screenshots down below:

It’s a really fun way of presenting the adventure, with Crimen – Mercenary Tales’ whimsical vibe sure to keep players smiling as they learn more about each hero’s trials and tribulations. Furthermore, those listening will often interject as the story is being told, whether that’s to ask more questions about what’s going on or to simply call bulls**t where they see fit. It’s charming and ensures that the experience is certainly a unique one.

However, whilst there are multiple stories to be told, I’d be lying if I said there were significant differences between them. The core experience of Crimen – Mercenary Tales revolves around exploring a colourful area, embarking in some classic melee combat (with the odd ranged weapon to be found), and solving the odd puzzle here and there. It’s a simple formula, and whilst it does offer enough to keep players entertained, it would have been nice to see a bit more variety across each adventurer’s tale.

That’s not to say that it doesn’t do some cool things though. For one, the combat is surprisingly strategic, with players having to do more than simply swing their arms around carefree to damage enemies with their weapons. Instead, they have to closely look at their body and weapon position, with the player having to strike them in a weak unprotected spot. Hit some armour? You won’t hurt them. Hit their weapon? Expect to get parried and leave yourself vulnerable. At the same time, enemies will attack from certain angles themselves, giving the player the opportunity to hold their weapon up in the appropriate position to parry the enemy’s attack.

“There’s plenty going on to keep combat engaging and it stood out as the highlight of the experience.”

Sure, it’s hardly the most innovative combat mechanic seen in virtual reality and it can feel clumsy when facing multiple foes at once, but it’s undeniably effective and adds an element of strategy to each encounter you face in the game. There’s an emphasis placed on the power in which you deliver your attacks too, so you’ll feel the momentum when dealing those ferocious crushing blows in-game. There are also a few different enemy types to face off against to make battles more interesting, whether that’s when deflecting the arrows of ranged enemies or dealing with the brutes and their hefty shields that need destroying, whilst the boss battles offer some stern but satisfying showdowns too. There’s plenty going on to keep combat engaging and it stood out as the highlight of the experience, whilst some of the extra weapons you find along the way are cool to use – even if they are more limited in design.

It’s a shame that the same depth isn’t found across the entirety of the game, with Crimen – Mercenary Tales offering little variety across its eight adventurers. There’s nothing particularly unique about each one from a gameplay perspective, whilst the varying enemies they face off against are simple reskins of the same enemy types. And sure, the locations you visit are creative and give you somewhere fresh to explore, but it’s rare they offer anything distinct that help them really stand out from one another. It can make the experience feel quite repetitive, which is a little disappointing given that the game is built around the idea that you’re adventuring as eight different characters. Some of the puzzles or having to climb through certain areas could make things a bit more interesting, but again, they consisted of things players would have done plenty of times before in other virtual reality titles.

Check out some screenshots down below:

It’s worth pointing out that the game is only around three hours long too, with little in the way of replay value when you’re done. Whilst this feels like the perfect length given the game’s lack of variety, it might leave some feeling like they’re not getting a whole lotta bang for their buck – especially since the game doesn’t offer any additional modes or reason to replay the adventure a second time.

I will give a big shout out to the visuals though, which I was a big fan of. I always enjoy virtual reality titles with a cartoony comic book style, so Crimen – Mercenary Tales ticked plenty of the right boxes for me. Characters were colourful and creative, the environments were detailed and attractive, whilst the combat itself looked slick in motion. It’s a looker, and whilst it doesn’t go for realism in its aesthetic, it certainly plays to the Meta Quest 2’s strengths to ensure everything is clean and colourful.

Developer: Carbon Studios
Publisher: Carbon Studios
Platform(s): Meta Quest 2 (Reviewed)
Website: https://crimen-vr.com/