Custom PC – October 2019

StarWars:VaderImmortalisroughlyone

hourofpureStarWarswish-fulfilment.It

letsyouwatcha StarDestroyerloomover

yourpunyspacecraft,wielda lightsaber

anddeflectblasterboltsatStormtroopers.

Plus,ofcourse,it letsyoustandnoseto

chestwithoneofthemosticonicbaddies

incinemahistory.It’slavishlyproduced

andutterlycaptivating,althoughit skimps

onitsbestfeaturesjusta littletoomuch.

WrittenbyDavidS Goyer(whoco-wrote

TheDarkKnight),VaderImmortaltells

thestoryofa youngsmugglerwhois

interceptedbya StarDestroyernear

thelavaplanetofMustafar,abducted

andimprisonedinsideVader’sCastle.

Youthendiscoveryou’rea latentForce-

wielder,andVaderhasbeensearching

particularlyhardforyou.Aidedbyyour

trustydroidcompanion,youescape

intothebowelsofVader’scastle.

It’salmostworththepricetosimply

standintheStarWarsworld.Tolook

outofa starshipwindowintothegreat

inkyvoid,watchStormtroopersmarch

aroundfromanelevatedgantryin

Vader’sCastleandexperienceDarth

Vader’sheightandabilitytointimidate.

Butthere’sa gameheretoo,albeita

relativelysimpleandprescribedone.The

mostsignificantaspectofVaderImmortal

ishowit letsyouwielda lightsaber.Once

acquiredaroundthemiddleofthegame,

thesaberisattachedtoyourbelt.Youdraw

it with your hand and ignite it with a push of

one of the Oculus Touch controller’s buttons.

Although you don’t get to battle Vader

himself, you square off against various

types of saber-wielding droids. It’s a

straightforward matter of swinging your

arms, although it takes a while to perfect

holding the light saber two-handed. Combat

is simple, but effective and utterly thrilling,

particularly the final battle, which sees you

fighting enemies from multiple angles. Our

only complaint is that the lightsaber doesn’t

cut properly – it’s understandable that

Disney might want to limit dismemberment,

but surely it could allow players to

lop off the limbs of a droid or two.

Beyond saber combat, you scout around

the bowels of Vader’s castle, climbing

ladders, navigating perilous ledges and

solving simple mechanical puzzles. One

of the more understated joys of Vader

Immortal is interacting with many of the

interfaces seen from the films, opening

doors with a hydrospanner, pulling the lever

of a starship to enter hyperspace, and so on.

Vader Immortal only takes around an

hour to complete, but that’s reflected in its

price, and it’s bundled with a Jedi training

Dojo where you can hone your saber skills

against laser-spitting remotes. It would be

better if the first episode involved a bit more

action and less standing while people talk to

you, even if that person

is often Darth Vader.

However, it’s a solid start

for this three-episode

series, and we can’t wait

for the next instalment.

STARWARS:VADER IMMORTAL:

EPISODEONE/£7.99incVAT

REVIEW

CHECK

GAMES / VIRTUAL REALITY

It’s all a bit spacey

in Rick Lane’s VR

roundup this month

DEVELOPER ILMxLAB/ PUBLISHER Disney Interactive Studio

cc

uuss

tommPP

CC

A

P

PROVE

D

OVERALL SCORE

80