Retronika manages to both fascinate and frustrate. While not bogged down by terrible design flaws, its current early access version is desperately in need of fine-tuning and balance adjustments to make it truly recommendable.
The initial trailer for Retronika sparked considerable excitement, and for any VR gaming enthusiast, the concept was alluring: a single-player racing and action game where you zip through futuristic cityscapes on a hoverbike. You’re an alien, thrust onto a chaotic Earth through a wormhole, striving to return home amidst a landscape teeming with flying cars.
It’s an ambitious project, undoubtedly. The developers, 4Players-Studio from the Netherlands, clearly understand the importance of easing players into their unique world gradually. The control scheme is designed to emulate a real motorbike experience, with the added thrill of being airborne. With virtual handlebars in front of you, accelerating is just a push away, while slowing down is a simple matter of pulling back.
Initially, maneuvering the bike feels restricted to just the horizontal plane if you’re using one hand. But once you’ve acclimatized, using both hands introduces the challenge of vertical movement. You quickly find yourself dodging traffic by adjusting your altitude, which is initially quite challenging. Early stages ease you in by limiting movement options until you’re ready, carefully involving tactic shooting aspects one step at a time.
Weapons become a game-changer. As drones close in on you, simply free up one hand from the handlebars to unleash your blasters. The key then is to blaze through set courses on a 3×3 grid, either defeating these pesky foes or reaching a finish line in time.
The game’s visual appeal can’t be overstated. Retronika is a mesmerizing experience in VR, filled with lively cel-shaded cityscapes that stretch beyond just your racing track. The bustling environment is alive with speeding trains, majestic skyscrapers, and a narrative of its own involving bustling commuters that you can almost imagine.
Yet, the illusion quickly breaks. As you race through each level, you’re plagued with a depleting health bar, not just from enemy attacks, but the slightest miscalculation or even shooting your own weapon costs valuable health points. Exiting the confined racing grid sees your health plummeting, a situation that often arises due to the erratic movement of dense traffic.
This highlights a major shortfall in Retronika: balance issues. The presence of other vehicles certainly adds life but in gameplay terms, it becomes unmanageable. The 3×3 racing grid frequently feels akin to rush hour traffic, leaving only slivers of space to navigate. There’s no real predictability to vehicle movement, resulting in unavoidable collisions that unfairly punish the player.
The drones intensify this imbalance. They strike at a distance, placing you at an immediate disadvantage, given their accuracy. Your counterattack, unfortunately, tends to be underwhelming unless you make yourself vulnerable by stopping completely to engage the enemy effectively.
Facing multiple drones, preparation seems pointless. Stronger drones introduce a luck factor rather than skill in deciding outcomes. Levels are long, with failure setting you back significantly, inducing a cycle of repetition that sucks the enjoyment out of the progression.
While on paper there’s room for improvement through upgrades, they are, unfortunately, poorly implemented. Various enhancements center around speed and control, yet fail to address critical areas like defense and health. Even when accessible, their benefits seem negligible unless numerous upgrades are applied collectively. Moreover, grinding for currency becomes a necessity, further diminishing the thrill the game initially promised.
In summation, while Retronika’s foundation is sturdy, it’s let down by glaring balance issues. The fundamentals are appealing with responsive controls and aesthetic charm, bolstering around 50 missions. But without strategic adjustments, like altering NPC behavior or recalibrating health management, it risks alienating players before they’ve even scratched the surface.
The potential for greatness is there, cloaked behind the need for simple, yet impactful changes. The development team seems to be approaching the end of its early access phase, yet many players hope these concerns will still be addressed. Retronika could easily transition into the thrilling hoverbike adventure it aspires to be, but until then, the fun remains tantalizingly out of reach.
