Review: Compound
Compound has been around a couple of years now on PCVR, where it has received overwhelmingly positive reviews. Now it is arrived on PSVR2, however, with the amount of rouge-lite games now littering stores since 2022, does Compound still standout?
Release Date: August 13th 2024
Developer: Bevan McKechnie
Publisher: notdead
Price: US $19.99 / CA $26.99 / €19,99 / £15.99
Reviewed On: PlayStation VR2
* Access Provided For Review *
Retro Inspired Action
As mentioned Compound is a rouge-lite, but what makes this one standout from the others is sole developer Bevan McKechnie has been massively inspired by retro first person shooters like Castle Wolfenstein 3D – which instantly makes it feel nostalgic as you enter the apartment that acts as your lobby before heading into the game.
The game pulls of the retro looks and feeling perfectly from the weapons, the movement speeds and the times where it feels like a little bit of a bullet-hell – despite being mainly a first person shooter. Like these retro shooters playing easy and medium difficulties will be quite simple after a few hours, but hard mode is going to become a real challenge and where people will get the most out the game. However, if you are feeling brave enough the game does unlock an extra difficulty upon completing a hard run for those who want that extra challenge.
It does follow a very similar run progression system you find on rouge-likes, you will be clearing a floor, go back to the elevator, move to the next floor and rinse and repeat until you get the end boss. However, there was one thing I wish Compound added and this was a mini-boss at the end of each different department you visit on your run – which is seven in total before taking to the roof-tops to fight the final boss. Although most departments have a more aggressive enemy, they just don’t feel like mini-bosses you will find it most other rouge-lites.
Each run will see the floor layouts, enemy placement and weapon pick-up positions randomly generated. You will always start with a pistol you can take from the room between your apartment and the elevator in the emergency weapon box. The rest of the weapons will be placed on the first floor on each department. You will start your first run with four weapons being available (one from each category of weapon), however, playing the game and hitting set unlock requirements will add more to your randomised arsenal – with requirements like kill at set amount of an enemy type or completing runs.
As with every shooter and rouge-lite you will likely find your favorite mix of weapons, with mine on Compound being the assault rifle and rocket launcher combo. But, with what Compound does with the random weapon drops per run, it means you might not get your favorite combo every run and makes you learn the benefits of every weapon just in case. With this in mind I would recommend visiting the shooting range from your apartment and learning how each weapon works, this will work massively in your favor if you don’t get your favorite weapons and will not leave you trying to figure them out mid-combat.
Before you start each run you can apply some optional modifiers from the vending machine near the elevator. These can mix-up the game in your favor if you are struggling at points, by applying things like reducing the enemy HP or if you want to make it more difficulty by activating something like bow and arrow only mode. Applying these means you can make the game how you want it and also mixing these up can give a run another fresh feeling.
Very Vibrant
The visual style continues that retro boomer shoot feeling, with the pixelated look to your in-game hands, weapons and departmental environments. The difference being rather than being more grey and generic looking, it feels a lot more vibrant although still using natural colors for each setting.
This old-school style and color palette looks great on the OLED displays allowing the colors to really pop bringing Compound to life. All of this without the game needing to use the foviated rendering offered by the eye-tracking and also allowing every part of the game run at a smooth 120hz, which is great given the gameplay, speed and style of the game.
Add to this the MIDI sounding audio for the guns, the enemies dialogue and grunts, with a dark synth wave soundtrack, and that retro package fits together perfectly.
Comfort
The Verdict
Compound is another one of those games that proves a single developer can make a fantastic game, and it doesn’t need a big team behind a game to make something that feels very polished. With a great retro design and feel to the visuals, sound and gamplay, this gives Compound the standout element that makes it special to the rouge-like genre in VR – which you really need to do now with the amount of games dropping. With this standout element being mixed with gameplay which is the perfect mix of fun and challenging, making you want to go back for more runs. With the random floor layouts, enemy positions and weapons drops keeping it feeling fresh, and the modifiers allowing you to mix it up more. With the features offered on PSVR2 like adaptive triggers and headset rumble making it the best version of the game in my opinion – and all while feeling smooth with the game running natively at 120hz without needing to use the foviated rendering.