Stunt Corgi VR Review (HTC Vive)
For the purposes of transparency, this review was created using a code provided by the company or their respective PR company. The use of a review code does not affect my judgement of the game.
When I first saw Stunt Corgi VR, I was thinking what is this game all about? Now it is out and I have had the chance to play it, think crazy stunts but done with your own virtual Corgi. However is the cuteness enough to keep you involved in the game?
There is not story to the game, so don’t expect to be going in and getting any sort of story mode. This game based around basically giving your Corgi demands and building over the top courses with a number of stunts. So think the ideas around something like Jackass but with a Corgi.
As you will be able tell the idea behind the gameplay is building these courses and placing the commands for your Corgi to complete the course. The game will give you a very brief tutorial, but it does not hold you hand too much, so really it comes down to the basics and then your imagination. If you are struggling the developers have included some levels they have created themselves which you can load from the menu, these can give you some inspiration or even edited – it really shows you the possibilities of what can be done. But personally, I found I checked out a couple and then wanted to get on with making my own.
The game comes with a decent number of objects you can make your course out of, some you would expect and some you wouldn’t – for example you will jump from a normal ramp for the dog to walk up to teleporters. There is a wide range of not only objects but effects to place around the course, meaning really it is possible to make a huge number of courses, it all just comes down to your imagination. There is also a number of interactive object for your Corgi from cannons to skateboards, the best thing you can really do with this game is let your creative juices flow, and you will end up making some amazing courses.
Once you have course planned out, it is now your job to set the path for your dog to take. This is done by mapping the points around the course. You will find a number of commands like walking normal/upright, running, jumping and more that you will set, again meaning that you have total control over how your creation is approached. This also has to be planned well, as a mistimed jump or not getting the projection of the jump right could completely mess up the stunt – although this is not the end of the world as you can then just alter this to get it right.
As, well as creating the courses you can also edit your Corgi appearance. This is done by putting costumes on it… hey people do this in real-life, so why not a virtual pet. Again they have made a decent range of costumes available from Evel Knievel to Frankenstein. Where this does not really affect how the gameplay works, it sometimes keeps it a little bit more fresh by mixing up the appearance of your Corgi.
When it comes to presentation the visuals take a very cartoon-esc approach to them, like the teams previous title World War Toons – and again this was the approach the game needed. If the team went for realism it would have seemed more like animal abuse than fun. Everything about the games visuals is so clean and crisp even given the cartoon feel it is really easy feel immersed in the game and lost in the bright and colourful garden you are setting the courses and stunts up in.
They then add in sounds to suit what the game is offering, they do this by putting light-hearted background music and adding additional sounds. These sounds come from either your Corgi, objects or effects you place around course. When it comes to the music it will get a bit more upbeat as you press the play button and see what happens – but if you don’t want any music playing you can you can turn it off by finding the radio in the garden and turning it off. For an example of other sounds in the game if you set your dog to jump it make a spring noise, and when it comes to objects you can say place a skateboard and it will sound like a skateboard. So, they do put some cartoon-esc sounds to it to suit the visuals – making for an overall nice presentation that suits the game.
When it comes to playing the game, it really needs to be played in a standing position and is controlled using the tracked motion controllers. Your right hand controller is used to set your waypoints and to select and place your objects, where your left hand acts as your inventory. Now the controllers are very fiddly to start with, but after about an hour or so you will soon start to get used to them. The post game tutorial does explain the controls the best they can – but it just didn’t seem detailed enough to be a great help. Where this can be frustrating at first, stick with it and it will soon be second nature. Another issue is you need to make sure your Corgi is starting in a position that is in your clear view, or else it may take you getting into some uncomfortable positions looking for the play button.
So, how long will you be able to spend playing Stunt Corgi? This is really down to you and your imagination. The amount of objects and ways you can use them makes the possibilities endless really – just keep going and you’ll soon be building some amazing courses and enjoying watching them play out.
Conclusion
Stunt Corgi is all about you and your imagination, the team have given you items its your job to build. The game does not bring any sort of story mode with it, but it really is not needed in this case. All you need to do is let your imagine run wild and you will have a lot fun with the game – just think Little Big Planet + Jackass + a Corgi and you have it. The game brings with it something that is great never mind your age. Please note at first the controls can be fiddly and frustrating, but you will be used them after an hour.
HTC Vive Exclusive
Developer: Studio Roqovan, Inc.
