At some point in your life, you’ve probably imagined having super powers of some sort. Whether it was reading minds, seeing the future, shooting beams out of your hands, flying, or an assortment of other things you’ll never get to experience; it’s a daydream many consider at least once in their lives. What if you were chosen to save humanity from an evil force and given those super powers though? Would you spend your time eradicating all the intruders, or would you instead travel the universe searching for other signs of life?

In what may be the best video game experience for DC comic lovers to date, Megaton Rainfall serves as a first-person superhero game that tasks you with saving all of humanity on Earth. Starting out, the game may seem like it’ll be extremely short – you are tasked with collecting 16 omnispheres, and you receive one after beating each level. These each take a few minutes at best. Surely this can’t be the entire game? It isn’t, although it likely won’t last more than several hours.

The game has a very arcade-based feel to it, with waves of enemies appearing. When a new one is introduced, it’s usually by itself and gives you a chance to get acquainted with its movement pattern and attacks, and once you defeat it, you’ll face several at once. Your health isn’t yours at all, but rather that of the world around you. If you or the aliens cause too much damage, you lose – chances are it’ll be your fault. There are checkpoints though – or at least it seems like it. Levels are so short that it doesn’t really matter.

With each success, you’ll gain a new ability. Whether this is stopping time, a heat ray, a charge shot, or many other moves you’ll have at your disposal, perhaps one of the most interesting is the added speed to flight. When you start the game, you’re able to fly at Mach 8. Soon after you’ll be able to go much faster, opening up the universe for exploration. While you’re limited to Earth for the first few battles, you can soon leave the Milky Way and explore all the galaxies in space. Before doing so, you’re told that only two types of living species have been found – humans and presumably the evil force you’re protecting them from. But don’t let that stop you, as there is stuff to be found.

While I don’t have PSVR, I used it at PSX a couple of years ago. Prior to that, I had a few runs with the Oculus Rift at GDC in 2014. I understand the draw, and I can see how exploring the universe would be magical from this point of view. What may be the most interesting thing about the exploration is the sense of loneliness you feel. The universe is vast, and even at the ridiculous speeds that you can travel, going everywhere takes time. And while there are plenty of stars and planets, it still feels empty. Many dream of traveling among the stars, and you can do that in this, and realize just how lonely it is after some time away from others – even if those people serve no purpose other than your lifebar.

With so much to explore in the game, it does lack in regards to actual details for textures and whatnot. Most planets/moons/stars you visit will look fine from far away, but enter the atmosphere and touch down to the ground, and they’re all pretty much the same, only different colors. Even Earth doesn’t have too much detail outside of the cities, and there are some questionable exterior decorations if you take the time to explore them. Granted, this isn’t at all the focus of the game, but if you wanted a lot of close up VR details, don’t expect them. Although 3D rendered game like this made by a single person, engine and all, is quite the feat. I also ran into several issues with the game’s performance, either with a collectible spawning under the surface of the planet with no way to grab it, or the game completely closing out on me as I was about to reach one of the distant signs you can find.

Despite the lack of detail and problems I ran into with the game, it’s a blast to play. There’s something magical about going from the ground into orbit within seconds, then flying around the planet and diving through the atmosphere to destroy aliens that are slithering their way through buildings or even mimicking the buildings themselves. Exploring all of space can be a major time sink if you let it – just don’t expect Venus to look like it does in Destiny. I can imagine how much more enjoyable this experience would be if played with VR, but as a regular PS4 game, it does lack just a bit. But if you’re looking for a super hero arcade game that speaks to the philosophies of life and purpose, you’ve found it.

8 out of 10

Pros

• Super Powers
• Explore the Universe

Cons

• Glitches
• Close Up Details Lacking

Megaton Rainfall was developed and published by Pentadimensional Games. It was released on PS4 and PSVR October 17th, 2017 for $15.99, with a PC release coming soon. The game was provided to us for review on PS4. For more on Megaton Rainfall, visit its official site.

 

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