Virtual Alternate Reality.

It seems like I am dusting off my PSVR every couple months in order to review a game. I was a huge critic of the medium until I got my hands on it, and have really enjoyed a lot of the software released across PSVR since its launch. However, that drip feed has dried up, and it seems most companies are now focusing away from VR. With the resurgence of Wolfenstein over the past few years it was no surprise when Bethesda announced a pair of games outside the main timeline. Cyberpilot is a VR entry that puts players behind the wheel of some death machines, which makes sense in VR, but ends up being little more than a distraction and not really delivering on the quality the Wolfenstein franchise has come to be known for.

MSRP: $19.99
Platforms: PlayStation 4,PC
Price I’d Pay: $9.99

The plot ticks all the boxes to make it fit in VR. Players assume the role of a pilot who gains the attention of two French hackers and is recruited to pilot some stolen hardware from the Nazis. The game takes place during the events of Youngblood, so it ties in to the other Wolfenstein game, but don’t expect quirky cameos. The game finds a way to strap players into a chair so movement isn’t needed, and it sort of works with the narrative, but like a lot of this game, it feels like a ton of VR tropes simply mashed into the Wolfenstein universe.

Cyberpilot can be played using either a Dual Shock controller or the Move controllers and I recommend not doing the former. Playing with the Dual Shock hinders the already limited interaction. Having to have both hands tethered together makes manipulating things in VR a real chore. Reaching for items or having to mash the emergency button just feels awful. I switched to the Move controllers and that made it easier, but this restricts combat due to the button configuration. Neither option is ideal, but I wouldn’t recommend using the Dual Shock at all.

The biggest crime about Cyberpilot though is how short it really is. There are only four missions and players can blast through them in less than two hours. It doesn’t help that three out of the four missions are also linear and offer little challenge thanks to their design and the brain-dead AI. The drone mission fares better, but the AI still keeps it from being super interesting. Everything just feels like a tech demo that happens to take place in the Wolfenstein universe.

Visually the game looks fine, keeping the same brown and gray theme the previous games adopted. The voice acting shines as it does in most of these games and the writing is well done. There is nothing overly offensive about any of its presentation, it just like the rest of the game, feels lacking.

Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot feels like something that should be free or included in a bundle for PSVR owners. It doesn’t feel like it warrants its price tag and it is linear and criminally short. Even hardcore fans hoping for more Nazi-killing action should probably avoid this one until it drops way down in price. There just isn’t enough here to warrant the price of admission.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.