Star Wars Beyond the Films‘ Nathan P. Butler is now posting short, non-spoiler reviews for many new releases. Spoiler-filled discussion will often follow in the weeks or months thereafter on the podcast.
Vader Immortal: Episode I (ILMxLab on Oculus Quest, 2019)
I won’t lie. I am a sucker for virtual reality. In 2016, the arrival of the original PlayStation VR headset fundamentally transformed my gaming experience and preferences. By the time the Rogue One tie-in “X-wing VR Mission” arrived for the PS4 version of Battlefront, a Star Wars experience was just the icing on the delicious cake. Over the time since, I upgraded to the newer model PSVR headset, a PlayStation 4 Pro for the extra crispness it lent the experience, and even made the foray into the Lenovo Mirage Augmented (not Virtual) Reality headset with Jedi Challenges. When Vader Immortal was announced as a new VR “experience,” I was thrilled . . . and then I realized it was not coming to PlayStation VR but instead to the brand new standalone VR gaming headset, the Oculus Quest.
So, of course, I preordered a Quest at the first opportunity so I could have both it and Vader Immortal: Episode I on launch day.
Now, having played through the first episode of this canonical tale, I felt it worthwhile to share my impressions of it with fellow fans before we have time to cover it in more detail on Cloud City Casino and perhaps even Star Wars Beyond the Films.
What is Vader Immortal?
Vader Immortal (from ILMxLAB) is not a traditional game. I would liken it to something like Batman: Arkham VR in that it is an interactive “experience.” In other words, when you put on the Oculus Quest headset (which does not require a computer or gaming console and retails for $399 for a 64 GB version and $499 for a 128 GB version), you are immersed in the Star Wars universe. The headset provides a stereoscopic 3D environment that “exists” fully around you. You interact with it through a pair of newly-redesigned Oculus Touch controllers that allow the headset to track your movements and gives you relatively natural-feeling control over things like gripping, swinging a lightsaber (yes, we’ll get to that) and so on.
You are propeled through a story in which your path is predetermined. Much of your time will be spent viewing important story scenes as if you are there, while also exploring your environment (which, I don’t think it is much of a spoiler to say, given that it is in the promotional materials, is Vader’s Castle on Mustafar). Along the way, you will solve basic puzzles by interacting with a hydrospanner and the environment, and you will eventually have the chance to use a lightsaber in ways that have been familiar since the Original Trilogy. (This is the most “real” a lightsaber has ever felt in a VR or AR experience, beating out Jedi Challenges.)
Without spoiling anything, I’d say to expect a story that lets you participate in canonical events that tie into Vader’s quest to conquer death. It does not directly tie (at least not yet) into Charles Soule’s Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith comics, but it has a similar feel and theme to the Fortress Vader story arc and, I’ll say it again, is canonical.
Production Values
Overall, the episode has it where it counts, as Han might say. The graphics are done well, though not as stunning as some VR games, and the voice work is superb with an appearance by Steve “Garazeb Orrelios” Blum (not as Zeb), a surpisingly solid take on Vader by Scott Lawrence (Jarek Yeager from Resistance), and a very well done droid sidekick performance by Saturday Night Live alumn Maya Rudolph.
Where things get a little frustrating is when trying to interact with some objects in the environment that are not meant to be interacted with, such as sabacc cards aboard your ship. All of that initial frustration vanishes, though, as soon as you draw and activate a lightsaber and dive into combat with enemies that can attack you from all sides. (Yes, VR means 360 degree environments and threats.)
Overall, for $9.99 (and, y’know, needing to buy an Oculus Quest, which I was considering beforehand), it was a great Star Wars experience, and the ability to go back in for some lightsaber training as a standalone option on the main menu is a nice addition as well.
The Verdict
The VR mission for Battlefront on PlayStation VR gave us the game’s only story mission but limited us to the cockpit of our X-wing and a small slice of story that didn’t feel like we mattered all that much in the grand scheme of the saga. (We were only protecting the U-wing carrying Jyn Erso to Yavin IV after being broken out of the Wobani labor camp, which was cool but not personal to the player.) In that sense, it was an appetizer for Star Wars virtual reality experiences.
Jedi Challenges gave us Star Wars lightsaber combat, but it did so in augmented reality (i.e. overlaid on our real world environment) instead, which cost a lot of the immersion that a virtual reality environment could bring. It was a solid step in the right direction, though.
With Vader Immortal: Episode I, we have the beginnings of what seems like it will be an enjoyable Star Wars tale with you as one of the stars and great performances to interact with. There are plenty of dangling story threads to set up a solid tale and bring us back for more details. The combat/action sequences are sparse thus far, but climbing sections and the feel of the lightsaber combat makes for some thrilling moments. This would be a great first VR experience for any Star Wars fan, and while one episode thus far won’t necessarily be enough for many fans to rush out and buy an Oculus Quest, the Quest itself is an impressive piece of hardware that allows “real” VR gaming (unlike the Oculus Go) without the need for any other hardware.
If you purchase a Quest, which launched May 21, then Vader Immortal: Episode I is an obvious purchase. If you are on the fence about a Quest, it might tip someone over the edge into a purchase, since there are more episodes to come, and it is definitely a worthwhile experience for a Star Wars fan (especially a Darth Vader fan). If VR isn’t at all your thing, though, even the $9.99 price tag for the first episode won’t be enough to get anyone past the price of the Quest (or even probably the need to seek one out to try) just to experience this one episode.
Me? I can’t wait for the next episode!
Recommended for: Anyone who has wanted to be inside the Star Wars universe or wield a lightsaber, VR enthusiasts, and those with the cash to drop on the new Oculus Quest.
Not recommended for: Those adverse to virtual reality in general, VR gamers who loathe “experiences,” and those unwilling or unable to play on an Oculus Quest (since that’s the only way to play at the moment)
