A multiplayer swordfighting game from Thirdverse, Altair Breaker is set on Vastus Isle, a floating island once home to a magical workshop now ruined by LAWS (Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems). The mission is to help Stella, a humanoid AI, clear various environments of deadly robots as a sword-fighter.
Altair Breaker revolves around one level repeated over and over again. This level has you traverse four barren, samey areas and clear a few waves of enemies in each before moving on. There are only three enemy types in these waves; sword-fighting robots, shooting robots, and a larger unit that combines the abilities of both.
In addition to the empty hub area where you can manage your loadout and meet other players, the entire level takes about 10-15 minutes to clear. At level 20, you unlock a special sword — roughly 20 unrewarding runs through the same level.
Despite there being a pedestal for the second level, The Depths, it remained locked after four hours of playing. We spoke to several other players and researched the issue, but we were not able to unlock the stage. If this is a bug, it’s a bad one.
A lot of bugs and glitches plague the multiplayer experience as well. Enemies leap backwards, then respawn, making it hard to attack them. Despite being relatively harmless, enemies’ hit detection is also completely off, making them difficult to beat — even though they miss most of their attacks and are relatively harmless.
There are few redeeming features in the vibrant visuals, accurate hand tracking, and glider traversal, but not enough to save this unfinished game. By being only a glorified tech demo, Altair Breaker proves the VR software stereotype correct.
Pros:
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Accurate hand tracking.
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A pleasant journey.
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Clean visuals.
Cons:
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No significant content.
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Multiplayer is buggy.
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A glitchy enemy.
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Insatiable combat.
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It feels more like a demo.
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Gaming repetitions.
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Empty environments.