When I was in middle school, I first read Ender’s Game, a classic science fiction novel. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to recreate the feeling I had when I first read about Command School in a novel, and I had no idea that his VR game, completely free on Quest 2, would finally become a reality.
This space strategy title sees you as a heavenly god with the ultimate goal of commanding all the planets of the galaxy. The developer describes it as a social arcade strategy title, and for me it strikes the right balance between simplicity and clever strategic mechanics. Note that up to seven other human-ruled gods are also competing for the same goal.
By all accounts, the God of Gravity (opens in new tab) is my favorite new VR game very The game came out of nowhere, and like most VR games these days, its release was given little fanfare. I did. At least developer and publisher Trass Games has the excuse that this is the indie studio’s first game, unlike his GRID Legends stealthily terrifying release on Oculus Quest 2. (opens in new tab) According to EA Games last week.
art of simplicity
Quest games in particular have a lot of complaints because of their simplicity. The headset’s mobile his chipset ensures that developers usually have to choose between physics simulation and more detailed visuals.Even Many of the Best Quest 2 Games (opens in new tab) This line is difficult to ride.
But the Gods of Gravity don’t try to be more than they need to be. That’s where the charm lies. If anything, the visual details are just a distraction here, and the more advanced physics simulation isn’t really needed.
But I digress. The game’s real appeal isn’t the balance between visual simplicity and orbital physics modeling. It’s gameplay.
Gods of Gravity don’t try to be more than they need to be. That’s where the charm lies.
The basic gameplay loop of Gods of Gravity starts with controlling a single planet. Send ships from there to take control of the moon, create realms of power from which you can manipulate ships, and capture planets, asteroids, and even stars to expand your galactic empire.
Be careful not to let your ship go outside of this power range. Because the moment the ship leaves, it dies in the water. That’s the hard lesson I had to learn in my first fight.
Different types of celestial objects have different reasons for photographing them. Different types of planets produce different types of ships, each of which plays an important role in strategic battles, while other celestial bodies, such as stars, temporarily attach ships to enhance their combat capabilities. It can give you a nice buff.
The basic gameplay loop of Gods of Gravity starts with controlling a single planet. From there, expand your Galactic Empire.
Grab a ship and fly it freely across the map, or open a warp portal between two points for a cleaner teleport. However, warp points can only travel far, so they must be strategically placed throughout occupied points in space to allow them to move quickly. can. Alternatively, you can grab and pivot the entire map in Demeo style. And a minimap on your wrist makes it easy to keep track of where your fleet is.
Each player chooses a god to embody, each granting them special powers that charge up as they conquer planets and defeat enemies. My personal favorite is God who gives reinforcements. Adds 20 or so ships to the planet instantly, greatly assisting in sieges and defenses.
Social VR Fun
The first multiplayer match I played was against 6 other players, 2 of whom teamed up against a lot of players. The map we played consisted of his four solar systems, all positively placed with a black hole as the center point. Each player has the chance to capture several planets, accompanying moons, and orbiting asteroids before they head to an enemy solar system or are invaded.
Luckily, I seem to be good at this sort of strategy game. It must have been all that time back in the day when you used to play Homeworld and Homeworld 2 on your PC. It makes me feel good when someone tells me I’m good at something. In this case, several people told me so.
Many of the best aspects of Gods of Gravity are shared with social VR games such as Demeo and Gorilla Tag.
It’s not meant to brag. Rather, it’s about setting up the next part that makes this game special. The Trass Games logo is a gorilla (opens in new tab)The success of that game can be attributed mainly to three things, all present in Gods of Gravity.
First, it’s free. This is a huge barrier to entry that can limit your player base. The second is the social quotient. Gods of Gravity and Gorilla Tag are not exactly the same design in this sense, but they are similar in that they offer a simple social experience. By default, the microphone is open and can be heard by all players in the game at all times.
Third, the gameplay is easy to learn but hard to master. Unless, of course, you’re really good at strategy games.
In this way, the social part of Gods of Gravity is a lot like the Demeo. It can sometimes feel like everyone is basically floating in the same space, hovering over the same table, playing a sort of strategy board game. This was my favorite experience because it feels like you’re physically playing the game with another person.
Third, the gameplay is easy to learn but hard to master. For the gorilla tag, it’s a physical movement of jumping over and up the ground without using your feet. Gods of Gravity only takes a few steps to complete the basic mechanics, but it’s a strategy that gets deeper into the game over time.
There are many strategy titles out there, but few offer the satisfaction of beating your opponents like Gods of Gravity. It’s also especially useful when you can easily talk to everyone floating in the galaxy.
content load
We also appreciate that Gods of Gravity gives players control over their social experience. It’s easy to mute, kick, or block someone at any time from the wrist-mounted menu, and multiplayer players who create his room can choose to only allow paying players to join the lobby. That sounds like arbitrary gatekeeping, but it also keeps less serious players out of the game.
Trass Games calls it the Star Pass, and for $15, it’s a great deal that unlocks all game modes, maps, campaign missions, cosmetics, and more. If you want to go even further, another $15 of his Creator Access Pass unlocks the level editor, allowing players to create and share their own levels with the community. This is always a big plus for multiplayer games.
There’s also a new Destruction Update coming soon that will add new gods that grant their own special powers, as well as new modes, new maps, planet killer weapons, and some new cosmetics.
Now, excuse me, I’m back in VR and taking over the universe.
