When first seeing the Traffic Jams trailer and gameplay, my initial thoughts were, where it looks something new and interesting will it hold out as a VR title? I have now played through the game, so what did it leave me feeling?
Gameplay
In the game you are playing a traffic controller, and will be guiding traffic and pedestrians safely in some of the worlds biggest cities. You will be doing all of this with two simple gestures, when pointing at the vehicle or pedestrian you put your hand up to stop them or gesture towards you to make them move. Where this may all sound simple, you will be mistaken, there is number of elements you need to take into account and also some distractions small and huge along the way.
The main element you need to look out for is the drivers and pedestrians have a patience bar above them, make them wait too long and they will just go without your permission – which will results in accidents and in turn reduce your score.
The distractions come in the forms of wasps and zombies you will need to punch, smog that will block your view that you have to waft away, a big monster and meteorites. Of course all of these distractions make it easy to miss people getting angry and ignoring your commands – again resulting in more accidents. Also, throughout the levels you will get the chance to activate mini-games with some of the pedestrians and vehicles, some which will need to crash in order to activate them. This makes the levels a lot more frantic, but also is fun to do.
You will be doing your tasks at different times in the day, offering day, night and rush hour. Each one having different challenges and objectives – all of which can be checked throughout the level by looking at your wristwatch. You will get score out of a possible 3 in each of the levels, with the way to increase your level is completing those objectives.
The game also offers a couch co-op mode, allowing players to join in non-VR from their mobile phones and makes for a much more frantic experience. As the players in non-VR can cause more disasters and just cause general mayhem.
Presentation
The team have brought a very vibrant cartoon aesthetic to the table, and this allows for a lot of little details and a very nice looking cities in the Oculus Quest. It really keeps you immersed in the world, and works well with what the game is offering – and is the safe way to go given you might be witnessing crashes in the world of Traffic Jams.
Sound wise you will get the hustle and bustle of being in these cities, mixed with random babble from the pedestrians and the sounds of the vehicles moving, the horns beeping when they are getting annoyed at waiting and of course when they happen the crashes. Which is all the game needed to do to keep you immersed in the colourful settings they have created.
Comfort/Controls
With how the games plays it is going to be suitable for anyone, as you are stood static at the side of the road. This means no movement and the ability to play seated or standing.
As previously mentioned you are going to controlling traffic with gestures, this means no reason to be pressing any buttons on the controllers. It’s just the case of pointing and gesturing at the vehicle or pedestrian – making it really easy to pick and play for anyone and adds to the immersion of traffic control. Our only gripe with the control system is when activating the mini-games the throwing mechanic seems a little off – which can be frustrating when the mini-game is in the objectives.
Longevity
Overall to unlock all the cities and levels it took around three to four hours, but if you want to do all the objectives in each of the cities it will add more time to the longevity to the game. Add to this the multiplayer, but, I think this mode will only really excel in party situations with your friends at the right time.
REVIEWED USING META QUEST 2
For the purposes of transparency, this review was created using a review code provided by the company or their respective PR company. The use of a press code does not affect my judgement of the product.
Review Overview
The team at Little Chicken Game Company, have brought an interesting idea to VR with Traffic Jams, and the gesture based control system is a standout element of the game – and makes it easy for anyone to understand and play the game. However, the main issue is the single-player loses it’s charm quickly, and has the issue of a repetitive gameplay loop, which, will make it hard for players to spend long sessions in the game. Where the multiplayer mode brings more frantic elements to the gameplay, with the players outside of VR controlling events, it’s something that you will only really find use for in a party atmosphere. If you are looking for something to introduce people to what VR can do, this is a good game to do this with.
