COLD VR demonstrates that having an interesting concept isn't enough - execution is crucial
COLD VR attempts to put an interesting spin on the time-manipulation shooter genre by inverting the typical formula - time slows down when you move, rather than when you stay still. While this premise shows promise, the execution falls short in several key areas, resulting in an experience that feels underdeveloped and frequently frustrating.
The narrative follows a fairly standard cyberpunk setup: you're a piece of software created to combat a rogue AI that's threatening humanity. An ALLWARE employee guides you through the experience via live-action FMV sequences between missions. While the actor delivers an entertaining performance that adds some personality to the proceedings, the story itself remains relatively basic and fails to create a cohesive world.
The game's levels feel disconnected from each other, jumping between vastly different settings without much narrative justification. One moment you're engaged in combat aboard pirate ships, the next you're fighting through a modern train. These abrupt transitions make it difficult to become invested in the world or understand how these environments relate to each other. Then there's the inclusion of "backrooms" horror segments, which feel totally out of place, break the pace and are boring. Thankfully, these are optional meaning that you can skip them and you'll want to skip them.
The core concept of time slowing down during movement sounds intriguing on paper but struggles in practice. The time dilation effect isn't pronounced enough to create truly compelling gameplay moments. This creates an awkward middle ground where the slowdown neither provides enough tactical advantage to feel powerful nor creates sufficient challenge to feel rewarding.
The game's combat system is built around a variety of weapons, both melee and ranged. Unfortunately, melee combat suffers from serious hit detection issues. When armed with only a melee weapon, you're forced to get dangerously close to enemies to land hits. This frequently results in frustrating deaths as enemies have not only pinpoint accuracy, but also they will shoot off weird angles and can take you out before you can effectively engage them. That's not good.
The inability to pick up dropped enemy weapons further limits your tactical options. Combined with the wonky throwing mechanics, this creates a less dynamic combat system than one might expect from this type of game. You're largely stuck with whatever weapons you start a level with, reducing the potential for creative problem-solving and that feels very restrictive.
The level design often feels at odds with the core mechanics. Many areas are either too cramped to effectively utilize the movement-based time dilation or so open that you become an easy target. The difficulty can spike unexpectedly, particularly in sections where you're limited to melee weapons against gun-wielding enemies.
Death sends you back to the beginning of often lengthy levels, which can become particularly frustrating when combined with the sometimes unfair-feeling enemy placement and accuracy. This creates a trial-and-error gameplay loop that feels more tedious than challenging.
On the Quest 3, COLD VR's visual presentation is notably underwhelming, especially when compared to the PCVR version counterpart. The lighting is flat and lacks depth, character models miss that crystalline/icy quality that would make them visually interesting. The minimal art style, presumably chosen to echo similar games in the genre, fails to establish its own identity. Without strong artistic direction or technical excellence to fall back on, the visuals do little to enhance the experience or create memorable moments.
Still though, when you manage to hit a couple of enemies in a row and you see them explode into lots of little pieces in slow motion, that makes my monkey brain very happy.
The techno soundtrack provides decent background energy for the action, though it rarely stands out or elevates the experience. Sound effects for weapons and impacts are functional but unremarkable, adding little to the feeling of impact during combat.
COLD VR demonstrates that having an interesting concept isn't enough - execution is crucial. The core mechanic of movement-based time manipulation needed more refinement to find the sweet spot between power fantasy and engaging challenge. The combat system, particularly melee combat, requires significant improvement to feel satisfying and fair. The disconnected nature of the levels and settings makes it difficult to become invested in the world or story, while technical limitations and visual compromises on the Quest platform further diminish the experience. It's difficult to recommend COLD VR in its current form.
The game was previewed on a Quest 3 via a promo copy provided by the publisher. COLD VR is available on Meta Quest and PCVR.
