Paradox of Hope VR

I was looking forward to this game up until it's release, today.
I've spent a few hours playing the (one) story mission, as well as about 5 raids.

Overall: Amazing foundation, incredibly impressive that one singular person made this.

At this time, it's a bit on the bare side content wise, but the incredible atmosphere and procedural raids make up for it.

The price reflects the content, as of right now. I can say it's worth any easy twenty bucks. Try it! If you don't like it, you can just put it away for a few months and come back to it as it is updated.

The fact that this game was developed by a single person is actually pretty insane. This game really satisfies the Metro VR fantasy and I hope the this game continues to get worked on because in the first 15 mins, I could already tell it was a game made with love for the Metro style universe.

fun and impressive game, especially considering its a solo developer. the atmosphere is perfectly spooky and tense, raiding the tunnels had my heart rate up around each corner and open door. very solid game-play and vr mechanics. looking forward to the story getting more fleshed out, has lots of potential. cant wait to see how this game progresses in early access.

Not a bad start. I like what is there so far, haven't got a chance to give it too much time yet, but this genre of VR game needs more, and this game is welcome to joining that roster.

The gunplay is alright, haven't gotten my hands on a long-arm yet, but it seems good enough. The raids are fun, though I've only seen one enemy type thus far. Looking at the store not many guns are in at the moment.

Good game over all so far, would recommend if you've played similar and want something new, if not... I'd suggest trying into the radius instead as it's a fully released game with similar ideas well executed.

This is a really solid VR survival horror game, its being made by a single developer and yet it has more polish in its gameplay systems than many fully released VR titles. I was surprised at the amount of effort that went into the single story mission that is available so far aswell. Very reminiscent of early Metro 2033 levels, there is also a Raid mode, which has procedurally generated levels, giving the game some replay-ability this early on in its life. I can't wait to see what else there is to come. Metro in VR, if you even vaguely like the idea, you need to support this now to ensure that it continues being developed.

This game shows great promise at being a solid totally-not-Metro 2033 VR title, and I mean that in the best way possible way. Pavlov is not-Counter Strike, Into the Radius is not-STALKER, and those games are amazing. The setting and tone is a 1-for-1 match to Metro, so any fan of those games will be right at home here. It's essentially a demo at this point, but I do appreciate the fact that this entire game is being helmed by just a single guy. He's done a great job by himself, the foundations of a good VR game are here. The shooting is on point, the movement, controls, and physical feel solid as they should. Weapon customization and maintenance is there. Although it's just one level, it's crafted pretty well. The environments and scripted events work well to sell this as serious single-player VR contender.

I eagerly look forward for more to come from this developer, but I honestly hope he uses some of the Early Access money to hire an employee or two, just so he can spread some of the workload around and hopefully get more updates to the game out in a timely manner. This is exactly the kind of game that VR needs more of, not PCVR games gimped graphically and mechanically so that they can be ported to Quest 2. This is a breath of fresh air.

Finally, a suggestion for the dev: Rather than simply asking for hand dominance and having several things be locked in based on that selection, would you be able to implement a variety of options for holsters, movement, and other things instead? I shoot left handed, but I'm right handed for everything else. I don't want my locomotion to be swapped to the stick on the right controller, nor do I want to only be able to interact with the menu with my left hand. I'm glad that the gun is not nailed to my hand based on which hand dominance I select (thanks, Half-Life: Alyx).

a fun game with lots of potential and great atmosphere. the story mode is fairly short at this time. the raid part i really enjoyed. will have to wait and see how it feels after more runs and made more progress. So far so good. keep in mind that at this time the game is still in early access with bugs and is not fully developed.

i do not recommend in its current state, maybe in the future?

runs very poorly
does not seem to have alot of content,
have only seen 1 monster
the floors in raid mode glitch out from time to time and not load properly leading you to fall through them

gun mechanics, honestly best i have seen in any vr game so far, has the distance for double handing the pistol correct, most other games i feel like im smashing my controllers
the atmosphere for the game is pretty good too

if true that this game is made by 1 dev, they are actually doing pretty good just for 1 person i have poked around in game dev before so i understand how hard it can be to make a game, and if the dev keeps up with the progress of this game i do think it could be very good

Tons of potential already with the endless Raid mode and gameplay. A few things to note for the launch version:
- Index is not (fully) supported and requires setting up a community legacy binding to use.
- There are some grab-hold issues with items falling out of your hands when moving quickly
- There is only about 20-30 minutes of story gameplay at this time with more promised. It's clear Raid was the intended launch feature
- The atmosphere and lighting are gorgeous!
There's plenty to be desired, but as an early access, the game is in great shape and is built on a great foundation.

I was expecting a full story but sadly not, there is only 1 mission at the moment and it is quite short too like 20 minutes to finish it for me there is raids that you can do but i was mostly was looking at the story mostly so if you were thinking about buying it for the story you should wait or if you really like metro typ games and doesn't really care about the story you could get it

its a vr metro game with only prolog chapter sadly in curent state its a refund for me endless mode with no objective or story nope not for me prolog that lasts 40 min maby less ... ill come back in about a year when it gets pollished out

This game seems to be a very strong foundation of a vr game. Theres already a solid amount of content, very immersive, and has given me a good few jump scares. If you buy it on the sale its absolutely worth it, even at the full price of 20 This would be an easy buy.

great game, unfortunately i am too scared to play it rn, i can't wait to see what the future holds for it

It is a short story so far, but it has huge potential. I am looking forward to seeing where this is going.

Great game! Beat the short bit of story, played a few hours & died a few times in Raid, & had some jump scare induced near heart attacks in both. The only bugs I've noticed involve the enemies clipping doors & moving/teleporting strange when they charge you. Can't wait to see where future updates takes this game!

ok let call it what it is a fun game with a lot of work put it shows however a lot more work to go before its really ready do not buy this looking for a perfect game do buy this game for a few hour of simple scary fun and to support more from this game in the future 7/10 good game for the price

Cautiously optimistic.

I don't know if one dev can take this game to the finish line it deserves, but he's got my money.

You like metro game or stalker game this game is for you

and remember

THERE IS ONLY METRO,NOTHING ELSE.

It seems to have a good atmosphere but unfortunately I was not able to complete even the tutorial as there is no Support of Index Controller and controls are messed up (You can only walk where you are looking at and only by pressing a button)

I will give this game another try some time further in its development.

Picked up the game today since I heard about from the into the radius discord, Honestly, was blown away. I kept saying to myself "Holy shit, this was made by one guy?" I was honestly pretty blown away. Even for it being in early access, its awesome.

PARADOX OF HOPE REVIEW

Anyways heres what I've encountered so far:

The Good

Medkits

I've been waiting for a medkit mechanic like this, open the kit, grab what you need out of it, use it, bam. I hope this is expanded upon more, maybe we can use the other items for different types of ailments? Eye drops if you have your mask off in a gaseous environment?

Envrionment Interactivity

For fun, I tried to turn off the radio, that worked, I tried to turn on the lights, that worked, I pressed buttons on gizmos and gadgets, almost all of em worked. Hearing the sloshing of gas inside a jerry can was insanely cool and I audibly "Wow"d at it.

Atmosphere

While I still think Into The Radius beats out Paradox of Hope (FOR NOW), in terms of the atmosphere, it is nothing to be scoffed at, the aduio, distant screams, corpses, wriggling maggots, and for the first time I actually verbally exclaimed "Eugh" while looking at it, Bravo.

Gunplay

There are a Few janky bits with the gunplay I'll explain in the to be improved section, but hotdamn it felt good to use these guns, AK reloading with a mag to hit the mag release, dual wielding a knife and a mak, Using the flashlight to look around, this is the first game I actually got the flashlight over the laser for my gun.

The "Not So Good" (For now)

Enemies

While the mutants are downright nightmare fuel and terrifying, I feel like they are too much of a bullet sponge and are pretty clunky. I saw one running across a room in raids to another hall at lightning speeds and I was like "..What" I was confused and I chuckled a bit, some smoother animations and fixes would get this to work though.

Raid Room Generation

Raid needs more types of rooms. Theres this storage room I keep running into behind a boarded yellow door and I just skip it because theres not usually much in there. Other then that, raid is awesome.

Performance

I can run the game at high, but after awhile it starts to drop frames and lag a bit. Again, the game is early access so this is excusable. Future updates I'm sure will fix this.

ENCOUNTERED BUGS

Holding a mag in the gun to grab and grabbing it sometimes just makes it fall to the floor

Reloading a gun with a mag makes you move your hand away from the gun before you can put your second hand on it, otherwise it won't work.

Saw a room unload infront of my eyes, no floor, no ceiling, nothing. Backtracking a bit and walking back fixed this.

🎉 Nothing gamebreaking! 🎉

WISH LIST

- Expanded medkit system, god I want to open it, realize "Aw shit, I don't have any of X" and try to substitute it with something else, more types of enemies could warrant other types of medkit treatments.

- Moar guns!

- More Raid Rooms

- Story to be completed (Santa's gonna deliver on this one haha)

- Fixed body a bit? Some legs might be cool.

- Type of mode where you can drive the tunnel train to different locations (Maybe raid type?)

OVERALL

As an Into The Radius nut, I came into this a little skeptical, however I am extremely glad I picked Paradox of Hope up, honestly felt my heart racing at every corner, makign sure my mags were full, stressing on my last filter with one minute left, making sure I need to act quickly and efficiently. Don't sleep on this, the potential Paradox of Hope has is insane, and I'm glad I could be apart of launch day.

SCORING: 8.5/10 (Subject to change)

Game scared the shit out of me multiple times.

It is a blast! this game is a experience that is well worth your time. I only wish it was longer, but what is here is very good, story mode will come later it looks like, but for now we can partake in raids to earn money and make our way up to the better gear. I will eagerly follow this games development.

Incredible atmosphere, just like the Metro games. The graphics and art direction is incredible especially for a 1 person passion project. Cannot wait for future content!

Really awesome game with the same creepy metro feel we are used to in the metro games, crazy what a single developer was able to do.

Amazing atmosphere. Didn't even realise there was a sprint option for a while. Last time a game got me so immersed was back when Half-Life Alyx released. Going through the abandoned metro feels very tense. Keep on the good work Nik. Hope to see more content i the future and a glimpse of the surface one day.

This game actually makes me scream in terror- one of very few games that can.
I LOVE Metro-based games, and one in VR? That is above and beyond. I love this game, and it only makes me pee my pants.
11/10 for it being a solo dev game as well, good work Nik!

The developer clearly borrowed some of the best mechanisms / UI of other VR games (anyone who played TWD SS would know), and that is already enough, most indie VR games still struggle with the modern VR game design language - things have to feel intuitive, and here the developer already got it right (including of course the "gun feel")

I am sure that at the current stage, having only one developer means some mechanisms simply cannot be prioritized: the foundational physics. Some interactions are quite junky (opening locker doors especially), some collisions are missing (apparently a pile of marble ruins does not collide with my gun when I dropped my gun onto it), weighting system is missing (the system that allows you to feel things being "heavy"), etc.

But these are nitpicks, considering the things the dev already nailed just right, this game is very promising

first of all, this is a f@$king awesome game. i love everything about it from the monsters to the small mechanics that make the game feel alive. i have one small gripe and that's when i died, i re-spawned with no mag for my gun or gas canister for my mask. I was able to buy ammo but not a canister and the next mission i was in required one so i just died again lol. i don't mind not having ammo on re-spawn (makes it even scarier) but could we get a gas canister at the very least? other then that absolutely fantastic game and will definitely be recommending to my buds!

It is a interesting game but currently lacking in a lot of polish. The starting polish in the game has a collider issue and will vibrate on the slider when you rack it. Other then the lack of polish I can see the game having a large potential for a spooky VR single player game of Metro but in VR.

For me it is a little lacking but I am willing to check more out of the game later and a few month into development.

I appreciate the fact that this game is being worked on by one dev but this is not worth the price of admission. I'll go over the pros first since they're short.

The game looks very good. The graphics, the grimy aesthetics, it looks like Metro in VR. I'll give it credit, the graphics certainly are very good. Furthermore, the game runs great. I am running it on a Ryzen 7 2700X & 2080Ti so take that as you will. I didn't notice a single problem with optimization, it felt smooth the whole way through. And... well, that's it... So on to the problems.

1 - This feels like a glorified tech demo. It's very short. You could rush through it in less than 10 minutes. There's 1 enemy in the game and they're rather weak. The first time you see one is a jump scare that admittedly did get me but it died in 1 shot. The only other time you run into one is when you're on the train car in the trailer and you get unlimited mags to an AK. Those monsters had a lot of health but it seemed like I was invincible on the train while I was trying to figure out how to reload so it doesn't really matter how much health they have. After they stop attacking the train, that's already the end of the demo.

2 - The controls are just broken. I used Vive wands. The mag release button doesn't work for the hand gun. For the AK, you seem to have to hold the mag release button with your right hand and then pull the mag out with the left hand. A strange mechanic but something I could get used to I suppose. The movement by hand direction is just broken. I hold forward and I strafe left. I hold left and I move backwards. I had to change the direction in the options to be head oriented which I personally think is worse but that worked fine. Furthermore, the gun angle is terrible. My right hand was in the right spot for the AK but I had to hold my left hand to the right at a ~45 degree angle to aim down the sights.

3 - There's a "raid" mode for some added content but I only did one night. You only start with a hand gun and a knife. Since I couldn't reload my handgun, I didn't even both using it. The monsters did practically no damage to me and took 3 slashes with the knife to kill. You explore some very repetitive hallways and exit back to your base to sell whatever loot you scavenged. You can then use that money for more gear.

First and foremost, the most important thing in a VR shooter is the controls and they just don't work in this game. There's so little content you can muscle through with the terrible controls but then you're just left disappointed when it ends so quickly and you're just left thinking, "That's it?"

I really wanted to enjoy this as I'm a huge fan of the Metro, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and Into the Radius games but this just isn't worth it. There's a long way to go before it will be in my opinion. First I'd focus on fixing the controls and then focus on more content. If you don't make the game feel good, the additional content is just going to be a waste of time.

I probably will give the game a go down the line assuming the dev keeps updating it but with one dev, while I'd love to see it, I don't have high hopes.

TLDR: Overall the game is fun and has some nice gameplay elements into it that remind me of Metro and survival style games such as Into the radius VR. Gunplay is realistic enough and has a sense of power behind each shot. Gameplay loop can be a little repetitive but the core aspect is fun and always rewarding enough to go back in.

I will cover aspects such as Gameplay, Mechanics, Enviroment, and overall feelings for this title.

Story

Paradox of Hope VR does contain an interesting story from what was introduced so far in Early Access, at the time of this review only Chapter 1 is available but does have a great intro introducing you to certain gameplay elements and give you the feeling for how the tunnels and the overall feeling is. You start with only a pistol and have to explore the tunnels for ammo, loot, and healing items. I have a good feeling the story will get better with more updates and more characters to meet.

Gameplay

The gameplay loop goes like this, enter safe room, stock up on guns, ammo, first aid kits, filters, and light sources. Enter tunnels, explore said tunnels for loot including items to sell and more ammo, first aid kits, and useful items. Find exit and return to safe house. Sell looted items for money to upgrade gear. The general gameplay is simple to learn but gets harder as you have tasks to complete to increase your reputation and get access to better equipment. Tasks include killing mutants, finding certain items to sell, and hunting for lost stalkers. Items you find have different values so with a limited size bag to begin with you should find what items sell the most and focus on those as most of the time you will find more loot than you can carry.

Mechanics

The guns feel great as you will have to manually reload them and to save money store empty mag that you used on holsters on your body. The reloading feels realistic and the sound and feel for each weapon feels good as well. you can upgrade ach weapon with certain attachments such as sights, suppressors, lights, and lasers. Adding a light to each weapon will be helpful especially in the early game as you only have a lighter that has a very small radius to light up and the headlamp is expensive right out of the gate. stealth feels well done and like Metro you have an indicator on your watch when you can be seen or are hidden.

Environment

The environments are well done given most of the levels are dark, damp tunnels. Each level in the raids mode are procedurally generated, meaning each level is different and you won't know how it is laid out. I love games that have this system of level generating and there will always be something new to explore. One level was pitch dark and has to hold my lighter out the entire time to see, another was bright in most areas and barely needed the lighter. One level was infested with tons of webs and was very slow to move through. Each environment has its own challenges and you have to adapt to each situation quickly.

Overall

Overall the game is fun and does take a lot of time before you will get bored of it. Yes, the gameplay loop can be repetitive but the constant changing of environments and overcoming each area is always fun and always makes me go back in for one more run. There are of course some bug such as with my AK47 sometimes the mag just drops from the gun at the most inopportune time and I lose the mag when I don't realize it. But coming from a single developer it is a solid game and recommend it to people who like survival style games.

Promising game, but I cannot recommend as the amount of content in the actual game is what I would expect from a free demo.

Content :

- There's only 30 mins of campaign, one enemy and two weapons, one of which you get to use for 1 whole minute before the game ends.
After that, there's a "raid" mode : a roguelite mode where you loot stuff in small procedural dungeons to sell to a shop and then buy upgrades and ammo etc, but the levels are very repetitive and samey (despite being proceduraly generated), and the one mutant type you'll encounter behaves very weirdly and unnaturally making combat feel bad too.

Gameplay :

- The gameplay is mostly fine, but be warned, if you use an INDEX controller you'll have to fiddle a bit with the settings to get it to work, thankfully the dev included a liitle guide on how to do it (be sure to RESTART the game after you change the settings or it wont work).
- You have to grip the controller a bit too hard for my taste to hold an item, would like a bit more sensibility on the grip as I dont like the other option (grip once and release to hold, and grip another time to drop items)
An option to completely disable turning would be nice too, since I never use it and sometimes hit the stick by accident.
- I would also like the ability to transfer ammo from a clip to another clip, as going into action with two clips with 4 ammo each will force you too reload mid combat.
- Also, like in "into the radius" I would love the ability to hold the "eject clip button" to prevent it from falling to the ground, since we need to keep the empty clips to refill them afterwards. having to pick them up from the ground is a bit annoying.

Overall this game shows potential, but the actual price tag feels a bit too much for a game that boast the content you'd get in a free demo. I understand that this is early access, but it is WAY too early access for my taste. When the game gets patched with decent content, I'll give it another try.

This game was recommended to me because i was a big fan of "stalker" and "metro 2033" sadly, this game releases as "early access" when it feels more like a demo, sure i know more content would come out eventually, however the story/campaign rips the rail-car scene from metro, kinda disappointing i played the tutorial and the gas mask is so finicky to remove it took 5 solid minutes to progress through the tutorial. I beat the game within 40 minutes with minimal difficulty despite not being able to see half of the game because it was so unbearably dark(which i know, goes with the theme) until i got the headlamp. it looks promising enough, but with the state of the game in right now, i cant recommend buying it for its price.

Although there isn't much content right now for the game there is a lot planned for the future, would definitely buy.

Absolutely fantastic so far! The game has such amazing promise and I cant wait to see what happens next with the story.

메트로 2033 VR 이라는 말이 가장 잘 맞는것 같으나, 죽으면 모든것을 잃고 루팅하는 재미는 타르코프 형식을 차용해온 게임입니다.
전체적으로 분위기가 괜찮은데 가끔씩 손에 든 물건이 땅으로 꺼져서 안들어오는 버그가 있습니다.
그게 탄창이나 루팅물품같으면 괜찮은데 권총이 땅으로 푹 꺼지는 순간 한숨이 나옵니다.
처음 시작하시는 분들은 가방에 무조건 치즈(노란 구급약), 산소통, 탄박스 는 꼭 구비해놓고 레이드를 도시길 바랍니다.
거미 괴물과 덩치있는 괴물 두마리정도 발견했는데 거미괴물이 상당히 강력합니다.

Its extremely fun, i thought i wanted a refund then the next I bought it again, story is very short, but definitely re-playable, Graphics are very good for a one man product, id rate this game a 8/10, just needs more content.

First the positive:
The game has potential. The atmosphere is very similar to Metro 2033 and some elements of the story have been "copied", which I guess is fine per se. The mechanic of the inventory resembles the walking dead, and I like it. I liked also how the pistol feels and the possibility to change the grabbing of the knife. I also liked how items are positioned around your body. so all good so far.

Unfortunately pretty soon in the game I couldn't even figure out how to use the first security card you find on a body to open the first security door. I tried inserting the card, then swiping, then tapping like a contactless (LOL) but nothing worked. I tried oushing every button on the controller while keeping the car next to the place where it is supposed to go, but then the card fell off on the floor on the other side of the door and I couldn't recover it..I reloaded the checkpoint and did the same thing over and over. I went around looking for clues I might have missed, but nope.

I am refunding this for now, but I would love to try it again when it is finished.

It's got a lot of potential.

I'm using the oculus control scheme.

At it's current state, the gunplay, at least with the starter PM, is hurt badly by the fact that your off hand auto grips the gun, which makes it basically impossible to pull the mag out of the gun without accidentally grabbing the gun and flinging the mag to the floor instead, especially when in a tense combat situation.

Make gripping the gun with two hands require grabbing it and let the trigger grab the mag, like every other game, and this problem goes away.

Enemies also seem to just spawn in front of you sometimes, which means taking damage.

It's a lot like Into The Radius, which is a good thing.

One thing it should definitely take from that game is items having descriptions, I can't read russian, even if I could I probably couldn't read the items to figure what they are.

Another would be the ability to pull single bullets out of a box, or to transfer bullets between boxes, I'm not carrying a box with 3 bullets with me.

Also a way to see the value of items before selling them.

I haven't tried the story mode yet but Arena is shaping up well despite some issues.

Amazing game, I really can't wait for continuations of the story!

Only one dev working on it, and it can rival something as detailed as Into the Radius.
Seriously, great work, Nik!

*I'll start by saying this was at the top of the list of games I wanted to play so with that said here my completely BIASED review of this little gem*

--STORY--

While there's only one chapter as of now, it appears that you're a rookie Stalker for hire within the (metro, zone? idk) As the person speaking with you is only referenced to as "customer."
They've tasked you with finding a "secure container" and bringing it back with you. To avoid spoilers I won't go further but this is all explained as soon as you load into the story mission. It's fairly short and to the point but it gives you an idea of what to expect in the future. As far as plot goes, with what little we have so far..
Much like stalker/metro you can find, through exploration, stashes left behind by stalkers with item's useful to your survival. You can also find notes left behind and you can take those with you. In the story mode you need to put them in the pack, but in raids they are added to a board inside the shooting gallery after picking them up. They add little bits a lore and world building to give a little insight into the minds of people who were there before you.

--RAIDS MODE--

Raids is currently where the game shines brightest. It's where you'll be spending the majority of your time (as of now). Upon entering Raid Mode you arrive in front of an armed guard, walk through a gate and you're now in the hub area. In this small room you'll find a trader named Uncle Serezha. You'll sell him things you find in the tunnels for money and sometimes experience to increase your reputation.
To the right of him is a monitor where you can keep track of your money (top right), tasks (bottom) and reputation level. Higher reputation levels reward you with the ability to purchase better guns, attachments, and gear to aid you in your raids.
Along the walls you'll find a weapon wall with weapons and attachments. There's buttons to the right to cycle through the different tiers each requiring higher reputation.
You'll also find in this room different suits such as an orange suit which I assume is for irradiated areas. As well as what looks like riot gear for better protection. On the opposing wall is a backpack upgrade so you can carry more stuff.

In the next room is a shooting gallery for you to test your guns, pressing the red button will make pop up targets appear and activate a timer and any ammo spent (ONLY FROM THE MAKAROV) will be refunded to you through a little drawer under the red button when the time runs out. I tested out my AK and it didn't give any ammo back lol.
Behind you is a bulletin board, any notes found in raids will appear here, provided you don't perish.

In the next room, on the right is where you'll embark on your raids. To the left is your room equipped with a workbench, a stash box and a number of miscellaneous things. At the workbench is where you'll maintain your weapons. Just slap it in the vice, and take the toothbrush and scrub any rust and grime off with that. You'll be doing this every time you get back from a raid. This is also where you'll go to put attachments on your guns. Just drag it to the gun and you'll see an highlighted outline for where to put them on.
The stash box is where you can keep guns or anything you don't want to bring with you. There's also some little comfort/immersion items around. Wood for the stove, mug and kettle, an alarm clock, a guitar which if you hold with one hand you can strum with the other. Oh and of course the pet rat in the cage. (and no you can't sell any of these things to the trader.. I tried)

Tip for raids, anything you go into a raid with and you die you lose everything. Attachments, magazines, filters.. everything in your pack. Even the mag in your gun. Always keep a minimum of one extra in your stash provided you can afford it. I died a couple times and had to do some knife and lighter runs until I either found a magazine or enough loot to sell to afford one. It's VERY HIGH RISK especially at higher reputation levels when there's more gear to lose. Also anything you drop in a raid will also be lost. I ran into a pack of mutants on one raid and in the panic dropped one of my three mags, when i got back I obviously only had two.

--OVERVIEW--

The atmosphere is on point. Some areas are lit with lights from above, others shine an amber glow from a firepit or lantern. The cramped, sometimes claustrophobic feel I get is reminiscent of something like an urban exploration. The dust particles in the air, the distant roaring and ghastly whispers in my ear keep me on my toes. The faint, faraway sound of a metal door swinging open and the increasingly loud thumping footsteps of the mutant running behind me. I feel immersed every time. I feel alone. Until I hear "them"
Exploring every nook and cranny can either make or break you. The heavy breathing behind that locked door, the body being dragged into the vent only a few paces from where I'm standing. The game is all about risk and reward. You could run through the tunnels and experience nothing but a few rats scurrying at your feet and find a few empty bottles and cans. Or you could break the boards off a door clearly meant to keep something inside, shoot it and hope the sound of your shots didn't attract any more of those things. There's always something to gain but everything to lose. And I've lost a lot...
As you progress your reputation, the levels start to vary more. You get introduced into a new enemy type and a new atmosphere coinciding with that particular enemy. The environmental dangers also change. Such things like contaminated zones, air that is impossible to breathe. Deadly radiation areas that require a suit to protect you from it. Strange looking flora with what seems to be anomalous properties to them etc.

It at least feels like there's something to work toward. The gear progression and the lore through notes scattered throughout. While I'm sure it will get repetitive, at the moment it feels pretty solid. There's really only two problems I've had so far and that's a bug where sometimes the world wont load at a distance, but as soon as I step into that area it loads in. The other problem I had is sometimes the enemies run as lightning speed, not sure if it's an issue with their path but it scares tf outta me every time lol.

If you're like me and you are a fan of either metro or stalker or both and you want an immersive VR experience akin to that sort of thing. I would recommend giving it a shot. At it's current state I'd give it a solid 8/10 for what that's worth. It looks promising to say the least and I'm looking forward to future updates.

Wow!
I was blown away by this game. This game has learned from other successful VR titles like, TWD Saints and Sinners, and HL Alyx. It has the same inventory system for your backpack and home-base as TWD. The first chapter of the story feels just like a metro game, has good voice acting and dares to have actual NPCs that feel more put together than most VR titles. The atmosphere is palpable and detailed. The sound design is great (barring the random "spooky sfx" which can become annoying over time) and pays attention to small details that immerse you far better then amazing graphics, much like HL Alyx. When you move your gun quickly you can hear slight sounds of the gun's loose tolerances rattling. Another great example is when you pick up the gas can, you can hear the sounds of the gas inside sloshing around as you move the can. Most objects has impact sounds when you drop them. These details by far immerse you into the game more than anything. Most actions feel polished and smooth, and I rarely grab the wrong thing on my vest. I do hope they implement hand collision on objects that are not intractable.
I highly recommend this game, for the price point its an easy purchase. This game has lots of potential!

PROS:
Sound design
Graphics
Atmosphere
Gun Play
Voice acting
Its Metro

CONS:
Early access
Random "spooky" sfx
Mutant model textures are low res.
No hand collision on objects that are no intractable

Please keep up the great work Nik!

Experienced on the Meta Quest 2

You can view my full review & full gameplay here: https://youtu.be/6WDV6JSIY8E

I wasn't going to buy this game. I read the negative reviews and realized this was just a really expensive demo. However, 148 reviews later and this game is rated Very Positive on Steam (currently). All these people surely can't be wrong? Well, obviously, reviews are subjective. Friends is considered one of the best TV series of all time, but I think it's absolute trash. To each their own. C'est la vie. However, I will explain why I just can't recommend this game, besides saying it's an expensive demo. You can decide for yourself which way you want to go.

First of all, I do want to say, I did have fun playing this game. The single player campaign is very immersive. The game looks stunning. The sound mix is also pretty good with a nice mix of ambient sounds that really pick up the tension at the right moments. There's also VOs, but they are in Russian, so I didn't understand them, but they sounded good from what I could tell. This game is an obvious homage to the Metro series. It's a great start to a game. If it were a free demo, I would be singing its praises.

However, I beat the game in less than 20 minutes .... after dealing with two game-breaking bugs. There is also a raids mode. The raids mode is interesting, but lacks depth. There is a nice progression system to the raids mode. Unfortunately, the procedurally generated levels look very generic & lack variety. I only ever saw one enemy type. If you die, you lose all your equipment. I died because I ran out of ammo. I ran out of ammo because I didn't have enough money since I spent it on a gun upgrade. Oops ... no, spend it only on ammo at the start. I didn't realize that but that is the consequence (being penniless and not having any ammo at all to shoot at any enemies). I'm not sure that's good game design though. It certainly isn't fun to deal with. At least there's nothing to lose, except my time ...

Game is running on the Unity Engine. On my RTX 3080, on high graphical settings, I was getting a smooth 90 fps. This game ran like a beauty. It looks & runs good ... a rare VR combination. The VR interactions are nice as well for the most part, although certain things like opening doors are off. You also can't interact with many objects. You do have full locomotion or teleportation available, smooth turning or snap turning, seated or standing. The inventory & holster system are nice. Manual reloads. Handgun handles & shoots very nice, the AK-47 not so much.

Like I said, I faced two major bugs. First bug on my first game was that the radioactive briefcase vanished. Okay, started a second new game. This time my holstered handgun disappeared. Luckily, I was still able to complete the game without it. Done in less than 20 minutes. You can see my video has the full playthrough. It was nice. It was also way too short. The Raids mode just isn't enough either to compensate.

So you see, given all the above, I just can't recommend this game. I can even see why some people recommended this game. However, they're wrong. Early Access doesn't mean a buggy demo. I have bought many Early Access games & supported development. I played Phasmophobia on the release date and highly recommended it even though it was buggy. This game isn't close to that because there's just too little content here. There's barely a game. The only reason to buy this game is to support development. However, I rate the product as is. As is, I can't recommend it to anyone.

Rate 4.5/10. I won't refund the game, but buyer beware. Development may or may not continue. We don't know.

If you enjoyed my review, please consider joining my Steam Curator Group. You can join here: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/Oculus_WMR

Paradox of Hope is an early access indie game being developed by a single soul, it is very promising, has all the VR features an immersive VR game should have and a perfect atmosphere that captures a lot of the Metro feel. A fully fledge story mode with a bit more polish will turn this into a must have VR title.

Here is a full gameplay of the game's story intro https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcqVXHPQbdI

Runs very badly on my system, though what im able to play is fun

excited to see how this game develops :)))

This game has so much potential. The atmosphere is unbelievable, and the visual fidelity is simply unmatched for a solo developer. Though, it is quite terrifying, I could only play for around 40 minutes before I needed a break, my anxiety was simply too high. So, make sure you have the stomach for it. Absolutely recommend for any horror/survival/shooter fans.

Game feels great for being made by one person gunplay is good gas mask elements are fun etc etc, BUT My big issue is that it just feels like a cheap horror game, with things like jumpscares, the enemys scream ear piercingly loud when they see you, enemys sprint at you way too fast, long dark hallways, "Ominous Noises" kinda just weird whispering, it just feels like they couldn't do horror good enough so they had to take advantage of fears every human being is born with, like a giant mutant sprinting down a dark hallway at you screaming.

Phenomenal game with a lot of future promise. The game very clearly took inspiration from the Stalker and Metro games in game design and atmosphere, but also took aspects from "The Walking Dead Saints and Sinners" and "Into The Radius".
The game, as many others are saying, lacks content. However, what we have is fantastic, and if the developer continues to expand upon it as promised, this could become one of the best single player VR games to date.

Two hours into this game and it’s blown me away

positives

-great atmosphere

-great sounds direction

-unique telling of a metro 2033 style situation

-unlimited potential in both story and “RAID” system

negatives:

-abysmal gun play in comparison to Into The Radius, pavlov, tarkov, metro, H3VR

-hands do not interact with environment

-decent but pretty subpar movement controls

-tank enemies that are scary but don’t respond well in combat

overall i’d say absolutely add this to your library for hours of endless fun, but don’t expect 1-1 metro vr, expect metro 2033 if the beta was in vr haha

This is a £15 tech demo with about twenty minutes of story and an awful, buggy raid system. The game certainly has potential but it is far from being finished, perhaps years away.

I'm blown away that this game was made by a single developer. It's in early access, so obviously the game is incomplete and has some bugs, but for what it is so far, I'm loving it.

The game has a great atmosphere and look. The story is only one quick chapter right now, but it is really fun and I can't wait to play through it in it's entirety once it's finished. Gameplay is kind of a mix of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Half Life: Alyx. There is also a "raids" mode where you can play endless runs in procedurally generated levels to collect loot and increase your reputation level in order to buy more advanced weapons and equipment.

I really hope the developer continues updating this game frequently because it has enormous potential.

Early Access Review : SOOOO MUCH POTENTIAL. seriously this could be the metro vr game as into the radius is the stalker vr game.

game is very rough around the edges but at the time of making this. it did just come out like 4 days ago.

fair warning. if you use valve index you will need to tweak your grab buttons in the controller settings ALOT.
my recomendation is to set your grip to a "grab" function in the controls and adjust the force needed to grip things. trust me you will suffer other wise.

This game looks fun and has potential, for the 20 minuets I played the game had a great atmosphere, unfortunately I have a valve index, so it's hard to play but it looks fun.

This game gave me a really good first impression, story is super interesting and I can't wait for more updates. I hope Index support is added soon cause I can't tell you how many times I've dropped my pistol during a fight.

The positive reviews show how desperate we are for content in VR. As an avid into the radius fan I had to give this a go. Unfortunately 10 minutes into the single player campaign it just ended. Sorry, but for 20 bucks I expect a hell of alot more, even for beta. There is one enemy type which looks silly, that definitely needs to be refined. And the procedurally generated mode has no replayability whatsoever. Just walk around in the dark getting lost occasionally shooting the one enemy the game has.

This game isn't beta it is alpha at best. It is a tech demo, with some potential but if you buy this you are basically donating to this developers "go fund me" page. Hopefully he actually delivers. If he does I will be back with my money.

To charge for this what into the radius is selling for right now is a slap in the face of all the incredible labor CM Games put into their product. Takes big balls to charge 20 bucks for this, but I hope the developer will see this through and not just cash grab on the back of Into the radius' popularity.

Only time will tell but this is one horse I am not willing to back.

Found a exit flipped the level, watch as 6 mutants attacked me and kill me while I had my 6 Matryoshka dolls would recommend.

amazing game made by one dev it's very short but i am sure that will be fixed over time. not refunding so that the money can help development. very atmospheric.

Early Access Review:

This game is a blast so far and definitely had me screaming quite a few times. I did come across a few bugs like my left hand stretching into the floor or struggling to grab the correct equipment resulting in me losing stuff. However this game has major potential as I love both Stalker and the Metro games and can't wait to see what the future holds.

Note:

If this game was a full release, I'd be a bit more critical but since this is still a game in early development and a single developer is working on it, I need to give ya some props. Impressive work with both the sound design, level design and animations thus far. Keep up the good work my friend.

Final Note:

I do recommend this game but only for those willing to spend the money for an early access game. With any early access game you are taking a risk. So don't buy it now if you are unsure, wait until more progress has been done to the game. However if you are willing to spend the money, I'd recommend to give it a try.

I enjoy the horror experience this game has to offer. I was looking for a game that is similar to "Into The Radius" and this isn't that bad. I am amazed that this game was made by one person, still needs fixes but still pretty good.

Very interesting start to what could be a really good game. the mutants can be a little goofy, the story is very short (for now) but I enjoy what is here right now.

cannot wait to watch this game flourish into a prosperous, industry changing vr game. combining the amazing gameplay aspects of ITR, and the Metro series, and adding horror into the mix. absolutely cannot wait.

I cannot recommend this game yet...

Played on the Quest

However, this game does have the potential to be something amazing that I always wanted. The story mode has the most potential in my eyes so far and for the 15 minutes, the sneak peek was fun and well made.
This game has a get atmosphere and made me feel like I was in the metro tunnels with sounds all around of creaks and drips with the sounds of monsters nearby only being lit by your lighter. Just you and your pistol close then the game bug or some crap just rips you out of the game world.

This game has some outstanding issues which need to be fixed. I will start with the most game-breaking to annoying;

Part of the map not loading in, this scared the daylights out of me when I was about to go down a flight of stairs all of the stairs and decals in that room all disappeared. This also happened to me when I was even walking in a normal hall.
Picking things up, work like most other games but you'll need to bend over a bit to pick things up which I don't mind. Has made me get lost since decals and hallways disappeared on a few occasions.

Once I've finally gotten out from the SCP stairway, it is not well exampled that going back to the cart will get rid of all your items in your backpack. The first time it happened I thought it bugged out, the second time it happened I'm guessing it's a part of the game. To leave without losing items the green glow stick must be found. I will not be taking the cart a third time. If the way out you are taking should have a different colour on your watch like a red count down instead of green or some sort of audio cue.

In the same raid, I was going to break the boards and lock of a door, however, there was a monster behind it and I heard it so I take out my knife and break the boards however this monster has very long arms which hit me through the door and planks nearly killing me.

What I do mind is when I drop a mag on the ground and go to pick it up one of two things happen. The character's body rotates or I grab my gun. Which started to make me go insane.

As a Metro player: I play Hardcore Ranger on all of the Metro games and I've used the stealth before; here it works similarly however versing the monsters there is no stealth kill so I have to waste 7 bullets or stab it a few times and take damage still. You can sneak around them but it isn't worth it.

Monster types: One. This is not fun killing the same fast-moving janky monster, which isn't fun to fight with the pistol.

Unlike Into the Radius, you cannot pick up bullets which were accidentally ejected with annoyed me.

The Blood screen effect: I hate it, please make it something else. It's distracting and made it even harder to see. Which yes is the point but it was a 2D effect on my eyeballs and annoyed it.

I don't get dizzy after playing VR typically but after playing this my eyes hurt and I felt bad after.

The backpack is too small, following Sanit and Sinner's ideas more than Into the Radius, but it's too small and makes raids feel short

Once this game has more polish and development I could recommend this game but in its current state, it's playable which is good but is it worth the cost right now? NO. Play Into the Radius for another year and then come back.

I want this game to do well I love the Metro games and playing it in VR will be so much fun I now want to touch on what made it fun;

The looks - Everything looks good, detailed and grounded.

The Gunplay - it felt good, like any other VR shooter. The attachments are all nice and welcoming.

Hub - The shooting range is nice and how you can play with the breaker box is a nice touch. The store is well... In the store, I don’t have much to say. Your personal room is fun with little things to play with and to store items.
One thing I think would be cool, like in the metro games you’ll have you wander the town to get to the stores and maybe sidequests can be given out there (Raid mode)? It would just give more things for the player to do.

Rat friend - Do more with this please I beg you, let me feed, let me pet, please.

I'm going to keep this game in my library and probably play more but right now this game isn't overly fun to play.

Honestly, I see a lot of potential for this game, I'm really looking forward to the story, feels like Fallout New Vegas in vr but with added horror into it, I think the only bad thing I've witnessed, is the stealth is a bit wonky. but nothing really bad tbh.

this is definitely more of a proof of concept then it is a game but its not bad at all
left hand still hurts from holding the lighter as far as i can in front of me i like the idea of working towards the mounted light but eh some sorta half broken light would work better then the lighter i know this is metro inspired and i light the spider-webs burn but eh in vr it feels a bit clunky

Absolutely brilliant, Metro in Vr! I can't wait for more story content to be released. The Raid mode is plenty entertaining for extended gameplay working through raids to get new gear. It does have some bugs. That given the pros are all that of a metro game, absolutely terrifying when you start out. Given it's early access I have no doubts bugs will be fixed. As of now I'll give it a solid 7.9/10

it has a FUCK TON of potential, i am excited to see where it goes. only issue i had was the index gripping controls and such but that's understandable since the dev hasn't fully integrated the index yet.

Exactly what I'm looking for in a VR post-apocalyptic experience, Metro does it right and this game translates it perfectly. Huge potential so hopefully this MVP shows that this game is worth investing in. Looking forward to future content...

It's a perfect blend of metro and into the radius, with interesting mechanics that you won't see in too many other games. Heat distortion around the barrel of the AK when you fire, working cigarettes, reloading empty mags instead of tossing them into the void and the gas mask system leave me very excited to see where this game goes. The backpack inventory system is nothing new, but it feels cozy and easy to use while in game. I played the single campaign mission available and the first raid mission without seeing any bugs, making it very obvious that the developer has put some TLC into making sure the game runs smoothly. The environment was very immersive and worked to keep me checking every corner thanks to the creepy backround noises, which was enough to give me an jolt and pop a round off when my doorbell rang while playing. The only downsides I see currently is lack of content (duh, it's not done yet.) and the enemy model for the mutant. It doesn't look bad and it successfully scared the shit out of me with the introduction, but hopefully it gets a little more detail before release. All in all? At least have it in your wishlist if you don't buy it now, because this is for sure a game to keep track of.

Before I begin, this game is being developed by a single person and it should be reviewed as such. In short, if you like Metro and are an optimist: buy this game. If you're a pessimist, don't buy it. If you've never played Metro, buy the redux pack and spend some time on that, then come back.

Much like Phasmophobia started out, it was not polished or friendly. The game is playable, and there's a few bad things that jump out (literally) at me.

The story and vendor speak only Russian. The dev kindly gives us captions, but the captions are not anchored horizontally, and want to be the dead-center of your view. They trail behind when you turn but ultimately drift toward the center of your view. Anchored captions either above or below your view would be a better option, if dubbing the characters is not an option.

The inventory system needs some work. I find it difficult to differentiate between the items on my belt and my chest. If your off-hand is idling by your waist, it will buzz against your gas mask. If you're backpedaling and trying to grab your knife, you might accidentally grab your filter off your mask. Even with your hand/controller mashed against your chest, you still can't grab your knife depending on where your headset is. The med-kits only hold a single heal. This is probably to increase difficulty of backpack management, but I'll just say I find it a little annoying I can't have two or three syringes in a single med-kit.

Weapon variance is nil. From the get-go, you're stuck with a single 9mm pistol. I assume this is because there's nothing to do in the game right now besides the raids, so it's incentive to continue raiding.

In the raids, there are a single enemy variant. They resemble nosalis from Metro/Stalker. The model is rather under-loved. The combat with the nosalis is in need of work. They go from a stop to a full sprint in an instant. There is no acceleration whatsoever. There's no indication they've detected your presence, or that they're moving. Footsteps are near impossible to hear, but it doesn't matter because by the time you do they're about to hit you. To condense it, the enemies need more life, proper movement, and indicators.

The $20 price point is a little out there for what's currently available, but I do think the dev definitely should get some cash to get rolling. $20 for a proof-of-concept is worth it in this scenario as a Metro enjoyer. If you're unsure how you feel about it, I recommend playing through the first couple Metro games and feeling the world out. Coming into this VR game dry is not a good idea.

While I've harped on this game pretty hard, it hits the nail on the head for Metro/Stalker VR. The atmosphere is great. The raids are decent, but they're definitely a work in progress. I have done three, and I'm still interested. I am optimistic for the future of this game and hope the developer feels the love from the Metro/Stalker community for doing something like this.

This is a Metro game without calling it a Metro game. Absolutely phenomenal job for a 1 person title. Especially levels with spiderbugs, oh man. I hope the developer gets more help to make this game into a full-fledged title and the work continues on this.

Something that needs to be fixed are the touchpoints in VR. They are awkwardly placed, especially magazines on the vest. Also, something that might be easy to add are different firing rates on the AK. Would be very useful, especially from a distance and with that PSO scope.