P.O.L.L.E.N Hands-On Preview | PAX Prime 2015

P.O.L.L.E.N The Game Fanatics

Exploring the mysteries of Saturn’s moon, Titan, where players are sent to replace a missing mechanic, is daunting enough – but P.O.L.L.E.N has you do it while wearing a virtual reality headset, which takes it to a whole new level.

The demo I got a chance to play was locked to 75fps, but that was only to keep people from suffering too much discomfort as their minds tried to reconcile moving while not. Not only was the framerate locked, but it was also shown at the lowest possible graphical settings. Even with all this handicapping, it still looked like one of the prettiest games I had seen in a while.

P.O.L.L.E.N The Game Fanatics

P.O.L.L.E.N‘s final version will have five different control schemes, including both mouse/keyboard and controller, as well as with and without the Oculus headset. The demo I played was hooked up with a headset and controller. To interact with the world, instead of just moving over to where they were and pressing a button, I had to physically manipulate them like I would in real life. While trying to heat up a microwaveable dinner, I had to open the microwave by pulling on the handle, insert the tray by pushing it forward and letting go, closing the door by pushing against it, then setting the timer by twisting the knob on the microwave. This may all seem counter-intuitive to some gamers who are used to the Call of Duty “Press X to pay respects” method of interaction, but after a few moments of stumbling around, it’s easy to get a handle on the way you need to be thinking.

The demo was a little limiting in what you could actually do and seemed to be set pretty early in P.O.L.L.E.N compared to what the trailer hinted at which is very exploration and mystery solving-based. It started off in a central hub room, inspired by sci-fi films such as Moon and 2001: A Space Odyssey, that opened up into a gym, the kitchen, and a study. Each room had it’s own set of interactive objects, with their own unique ways of handling them, and each room looked great.

P.O.L.L.E.N The Game Fanatics

Some people’s biggest issue with VR is how queasy it makes them, and unfortunately P.O.L.L.E.N stumbles on the same roadblocks. This VR experience is locked to such a high framerate and looks so impressive even on its lowest graphical setting that it wasn’t long before I started to feel some discomfort. The straw that broke the camel’s back was hopping onto a treadmill in the gym and running at a sprint. My mind couldn’t reconcile the fact that I wasn’t moving while simultaneously running and my discomfort immediately turned into full-blown nausea. Luckily, that was the point where the P.O.L.L.E.N demo ended.

If developer, Minefield Games, can figure out a way to lessen the physical impact of playing their game – and if the plot expands beyond walking from room to room and turning on water taps and treadmills – then this will definitely be a game to keep an eye on.

P.O.L.L.E.N releases for PC, optimized for Oculus, in early 2016 with PS4, Linux, and Mac releases later in the year.

Share this article:

Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
LinkedIn
Share on tumblr
Tumblr
Share on email
Email
Share on whatsapp
WhatsApp

Recent Posts

Marvel 1943 cover art. Captaint America and Black Panther Gaming News

Get a Closer Look at the New Black Panther and Captain America Game | Marvel 1943

It’s been a while since we first got word that the great Amy Hennig was working on a new Black Panther and Captain America game. After creating something like Uncharted, …

Mad Catz Strike 11 Keyboard. A keyboard with red and black keys Hardware & Tech

Mad Catz S.T.R.I.K.E. 11 Mechanical Keyboard Impressions

I have been on the search for a decently priced wireless keyboard and there is no shortage these days. Our friends over at Mad Catz sent over their S.T.R.I.K.E. 11 …

Hardware & Tech

Level Up Your Set Up with Nanoleaf

Nanoleaf has been one of the market leaders in the gaming lighting space for years now. They have a variety of products to level up not only your office space …

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Gaming News

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and What’s Next For Xbox | Let’s Chat

Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth is the next big game set for release and the rumor mill has been set ablaze with talks of Xbox going multi-platform. We take a few …

Gaming News

The Pimax Crystal 8K VR Headset | CES 2024

AR and VR were some of the bigger topics during this year’s CES. Last year I was able to go hands-on with the Pimax Portal but this year it was …

CES

NVIDIA Announces 40 Series Super Cards and More at CES 2024

A year can’t go by without a huge announcement from NVIDIA. During CES 2024 in Las Vegas, NVIDIA announced an upgrade to its 40 series cards. The GeForce RTX 40 …