Out of Ammo review

Reviewed on: PS VR

One of the things I like most about VR is that developers are experimenting a lot. Since the technology is still very new, there is plenty of room to test which genres stand out best with this equipment. That is how the concept of Out of Ammo came about, a marriage of a Real Time Strategy game and a First Person Shooter.

Like this: one minute you’ll have an aerial view typical of RTS games, commanding your troops in defense of your base, and at another moment you’ll be in the shoes of one of the soldiers, trying to eliminate as many enemies as possible. It is a new mix of genres and at first glance it has everything to work, since both Real-Time Strategy and First Person Shooter have already proven to be great experiences in VR. But the marriage of genres, in this game in particular, may end in divorce.

Right at the start I already had some difficulty navigating the menu with the controls and, my friend, if I’m already stuck navigating the menu, imagine what the gameplay will be like. At the beginning it isn’t made clear what to do and the player is quite lost trying to understand the mechanics and the next step to move the game forward, and even getting to the tutorial is difficult. Something that seems to have been finished in a rush, hurting the experience right from the start.

Now, about the gameplay: it is one of the parts that hurt the game the most, because the controls are very clunky and barely functional. To start with: it isn’t possible to play with the DualShock, the traditional controller. That’s fine, since many VR games don’t allow it, so your only option is the motion controller. Which, in theory, if well implemented, is a good option, but definitely isn’t the case here. Besides the button layout on the controller being quite confusing, there is a serious problem with the game’s camera, which makes the gameplay much harder. So there is no possible score other than a terrible 4.

About the graphics: they are simple, Minecraft-style, but rather uninspired. Which is a pity, since simplicity doesn’t imply poor level design; here, however, everything ended up not going very well. It doesn’t get in the way as much as the controls that hurt the gameplay so much, but they don’t favor the game because they are not very varied and lack inspiration, deserving no more than a 6.

And about the plot: there isn’t much to say, since it is a tower-defense-style strategy game mixed with FPS. Without a background story that sparks the player’s interest, there is nothing to say about it that affects the review positively or negatively; after all, you are simply thrown there to defend the base, earning a 5.

Out of Ammo gives the feeling of being a promising game, with a concept that can work very well in VR, but made in a rush or with few resources, which means the game doesn’t serve as inspiration or reference. However, with adjustments to the controls, better level design and a greater variety of objectives in the campaign, it could shine; it’s a pity the opportunity was wasted.

Final Score: 5.0

PlayStation 4 version