Espire 1: VR Operative (2019)

Espire 1: VR Operative is not a mechanically perfect game. Sometimes, the controls can feel a little clumsy in the way that many VR games tend to do, and I wish you could find more handgun ammo to make that class of weapons more useful. With so many VR titles that feel like glorified tech demos Espire 1: VR Operative has some real meat to it, and for most of your time in the game, you will feel like some sort of shadowy, robotic badass. Use all of the mobility and stealth at your disposal, and you will find that Espire 1 sets a pretty high bar for what a VR game can be.

Patch after patch, this game improves and matures into something special. It's the best of its kind in an undersaturated genre and it's entirely worth your time to investigate. Although it isn't a true "Triple-A" outing of a game; it certainly paves the way for greatness in future instalments or clones thanks to innovative stealthy gameplay and fun modes and exploration.

Espire 1: VR Operative is good for those new to VR wanting to experience what the platform has to offer without getting easily motion sick. But for those wanting to play a serious stealth title with incredible gameplay mechanics, the unmistakable bugs and annoying enemies may make you want to put down the controllers.

Espire 1's VR stealth is brimming with neat ideas, but the end product is slightly less than the sum of its parts.

Several weeks after release (and several patches deep) Espire 1: VR Operative is ultimately an unfinished game. I have no problem with Early Access titles on PC, but by the time a game hits the PlayStation Store, my expectations are that it is in a playable state. After two patches, Espire 1: VR Operative still feels largely unpolished (and at times, actively broken). Proceed with caution.