Developer / Publisher – Golden Frog Studios
Price – US $0.99 / EU €0.99 / UK £0.79
Release Date – January 23, 2018
Input – Tracked Motion Controllers
Play Area – Roomscale
Store – Steam
Reviewed on – Oculus Rift / Lenovo WMR
Bug Invaders is what I love about VR. Small devs learning how to make games in VR and getting them out to the masses. Big AAA games are finely tuned to perfection, but there is something about small indie games that just make me smile and really excites to get to see what people are making with this new technology.
Stop the bugs…PROTECT THE PEOPLE!!!
In Bug Invaders, you use your hands to grab trees, cars, and benches to protect your green army men from incoming bugs. You can crush the bugs with your hands, and you can crush them with things from the environment. As you defend your army, a counter ticks down to the end of the level. The invading bugs can pick up your army men and carry them away, and if you are left with no army men, you fail the game.
Graphically, the game is very simple, but the bug invaders are NASTY. They look just like the kind of bug you would want to crush, and boy is crushing them enjoyable. They die with a small green mist that keeps you looking for the next bug to squish. Audio wise the game is simple too, some small sound effects and music keep you entertained. While there is not much to do here, only about 15-20 minutes of playtime until you want to move on to something else, this game satisfies greatly. It’s not trying to be Fallout 4 VR, it’s doing its own thing, and I appreciate that.
Up, up and away!
I could easily see this as a very comfortable intro to VR or something to get to entertain some younger kids. As an adult this game is still fun, and puts a smile on my face. On Steam the game says it is only compatible with the Vive, but I played it with only a little trouble on a Rift (press in to your thumbstick to start the game), and no trouble on a WMR headset.
Bug Invaders easily hits what it is trying to do as an experience, and is great for a fun 15 minutes, or to show your friends.
What Would I Pay? I would happily pay 0.99 for this game. At 0.99 how can you not pick it up and mess around? I enjoyed throwing cars and trees around, and while it’s a fairly basic experience, there’s plenty of room for it to grow, and it’s a good time.
