Since the critical acclaim of the 2017 classic Dead Cells, roguelike games have grown in popularity at a rate that not many could have predicted. The fact that these games are intentionally designed to make you die as often and as frequently as possible is a huge draw that continues to garner a cult-like status around the world. The In Death series created by Superbright – which first premiered on PC VR back in 2018 – is probably the best example of this genre. With a format pretty much identical to its 2018 predecessor, In Death: Unchained on the Quest is a roguelike, insanely addictive dungeon crawling bow-shooter that prides itself on being tougher than a bear armed with a flick knife. Presented as an evolution of the In Death brand, In Death: Unchained tasks you with fighting your way through procedurally generated levels filled with temple knights, souls of the undead and demons from Hell. Your only hope of surviving the onslaught is your powerful longbow and crossbow.
In Death: Unchained rewards perseverance and skill with tonnes of weapon upgrades and gold. But the price for these is that you must be prepared to die. A lot. In Death: Unchained offers three levels to complete; Purgatory, Paradise Lost and a fiendishly difficult Abyss which is unique to the Oculus Quest. Once you’ve dragged your forever reanimating body through all three levels you then have the pleasure of doing it all over again. However, this time you’ll be fighting your way through Purgatory 2, Paradise Lost 2 and Abyss 2 – all of which now offer even tougher enemies and challenges.
Graphically, In Death: Unchained makes a few noticeable sacrifices for the Quests’ Snapdragon 835 chipset. The game looks slightly less polished on the Quest when compared to In Death on the PC. However, despite the lower processing power available, In Death: Unchained on the Quest is still something of a visual feast. Its sprawling Gothic cathedrals, huge statue lined rooms and magnificent church steeples are a delight to see and experience in VR. During our play through we were constantly reminded of the eye melting beauty of Shadow Legend on the PSVR.
Control-wise In Death: Unchained takes a while to get used to. Firing a bow and arrow on the Quest has always been a challenge simply because holding your hand too close to your face and trying a wide draw (as you would with a real bow and arrow) causes all sorts of sensor problems and you’re often left shooting the bow and arrow from the hip. An inelegant solution that will, ultimately, affect your accuracy when under fire. In Death: Unchained’s saving grace is that it also offers you the chance to fight with a crossbow. This practically does away with the bow and arrow’s issues as you’re using the crossbow as you would a gun – albeit one that you have to load manually.
In Death: Unchained also offers a very active leader board that you can use to compare your achievements with other gamers from all over the world. It’s worth noting that this leader board is pretty much dominated by crossbow users. So draw your own conclusions.
Comfort wise, In Death: Unchained was originally released with teleportation as the only method of moving around. Since then however the developers have added smooth locomotion and an adjustable snap-turn. Despite these new offerings the game still plays incredibly well from a seated position although you’ll often find yourself losing your guardian and having to press the re-calibrate button. This minor niggle aside, In Death: Unchained is a comfortable offering for both newbies and veteran VR gamers.
With some 8 to ten hours of game play and a dynamic leader board, In Death: Unchained is a fiendishly challenging, sometimes frustrating but always rewarding game that will easily satisfy your roguelike cravings for months to come. Go buy.
