Developer: Supermassive Games
Publisher: Sony
Release Date: March 06, 2018
ESRB: Teen / PEGI 16
MSRP: $39,99
Available Platforms: PlayStation VR
Genre: First Person Shooter (Tactical, Cover-Based)
Compatible with Peripherals: Can be played with the normal Dualshock 4, with 2 PlayStation Move Controllers, or with Gun-shaped Aim Controller
Earning the platinum trophy in Bravo Team for PSVR took me just 3 hours. It’s short but sweet and has good replay value and even a score attack mode.
A full playthrough takes around 2 hours with the AI partner, but can be quicker with a human partner. This is normal length for a VR title though and those are two very good, quality hours. The game also boasts good replay value. There are 3 difficulty levels for the campaign and you can play with an AI partner or get a player to join you online. Furthermore, there is a score attack mode, that’s where the true replay value comes in. So even long after platinum you can enjoy this game for many more hours trying to get a top score in score attack. I replayed some levels a second time for fun and it was still as enjoyable as the first time.
Bravo Team is a tactical shooter. The cover system reminded me of Rainbow Six Vegas. You move from cover to cover, then look out of cover to shoot the enemies. Get back behind cover to reload and move in on the enemies or flank them.
You have one AI partner, but the game can also be played with a friend (online only, no local co-op) or you can search for random players online. You can give hand gestures to your AI partner to tell him to move to a new cover, stay behind, follow you, or cover you. Again, somewhat similar to Rainbow Six Vegas.
All of this works surprisingly elegantly on PSVR, more so than I thought it would. I was playing with the Aim Controller (the one that is shaped like a gun) and it was very immersive and also very accurate. What I liked the most was the sniping. It’s so much fun and for a moment you forget you are holding a toy gun. With the rumble/vibration effect it gets even more realistic.
What I find extremely positive is that there is no motion sickness from this game whatsoever. Anything that makes me walk using the left stick gives me motion sickness in PSVR. That’s why I never reviewed Farpoint when it released because it made my stomach turn upside down. No problem with Bravo Team though. I played 3 hours in one sitting and jumped straight into writing this review, no motion sickness whatsoever. This is achieved by not making the player walk. Instead, you just point at the cover you want to move to and see a fixed camera of the area as you walk there. This was a smart idea by the devs. It feels strange for the first few times but afterwards, trust me, you’ll appreciate they did it like this. It completely counters the motion sickness as you’ll never be walking in this game. You are always in a fixed position. You can look around of course and your body movement behind cover is reflected in the game. Want to peek out of cover just slightly? Lift your head a little. An enemy is shooting your arm because you are leaning too far outside cover? Just lean a little to the other side and he won’t be able to hit you. It makes you feel like you’re in the game.
There are also button presses that let you stand behind cover (for aiming). The controls are dead simple, easy to learn and work well. I tested with two move controllers & normal PS4 Dualshock and it’s not quite as intuitive as the gun controller but the aim was just as accurate in my opinion. You don’t absolutely need to spend $70-$80 extra on the gun controller but it helps to make it more immersive and feels a bit more sturdy.
In total there are 4 usable weapons in the game: Silenced Pistol (infinite ammo), Assault Rifle (3 fire modes: full auto, burst, single fire), Shotgun, Sniper Rifle.
The graphics in this game are also solid for PSVR and loading times are fast. The online co-op runs butter smooth, you can see every motion your friend makes.
There’s not much of a story, but that’s a good thing. It would only distract from the awesome gameplay and break the immersion. You get 2 solid hours of non-stop, cover-based, tactical shooting. Now some people may say $40 is too much for a short game, but bear in mind there is good replay value with score attacks and it’s one of the more ambitious VR titles so far. If they made it cheaper it wouldn’t be financially feasible to develop. After all, PSVR is still a niche product and those games don’t sell as many copies so developers have to make back their investment somehow. I think the price is acceptable, it’s one of those games that you can play from time to time and it will still be fun after a few weeks.
If you own a PSVR this game should be high up on your list. If you’re a dedicated trophy hunter then it’s definitely a fun platinum. I recommend it!
| Gameplay *Overall Enjoyment Factor, Fascination with Game World, Level Design, Variety, Playability, User-Friendliness (Ease of Use / Readability / Controls / in-game Tutorials / Menus) |
| 9/10 Loved the cover-based gameplay, immersive and fun (but don’t expect anything super sophisticated here). AI could use some work. |
| Story/Multiplayer *Quality of the Singleplayer Story, Cutscenes and/or Multiplayer Modes (whichever is available). If a game has no Story or no Multiplayer it won’t be rated (thus no negative effect on score). |
| – (Not Applicable) There’s no “Story” to speak of. Just some short levels plus an intro sequence. No Multiplayer. It’s better off this way, the game is going for a level-based arcade style with minimal distractions (the lack of story is clearly by design). Co-Op worked well and without lag. |
| Technical Aspects *Graphics, Texture Quality, Character Details, Lighting, Weather Effects, Animations, Loading Times, Number of Loading Screens, does it run smoothly |
| 9/10 No motion sickness, acceptable graphics for VR, good accuracy, works really well together with the Aim controller. |
| Value *Amount of Content, Production Quality, Replay Value, is there enough content to justify a purchase |
| 7/10 Not much content for $40, but good replay value. Something to pick up from time to time to play for fun. |
| Trophies/Achievements *Rates how much fun the Platinum / 1000 Gamerscore is to achieve: Are trophies fun to do? Do trophies restrict freedom of gameplay? Missable trophies? Multiple playthroughs required? Luck-based trophies? Pointless farming/grinding? Glitched Trophies? Are stats/trophies tracked correctly? |
| 10/10 Haven’t had this much fun with a VR platinum in a while! |
| Extraordinary Score Increase or Deduction *Reserved for extraordinarily good or bad features that the other categories don’t cover (such as game-breaking bugs). This score is directly added/subtracted from the final score. |
| Nothing |
VERDICT:
Bravo Team is the best tactical shooter on VR so far! It’s immersive, accurate, well planned and just fun to play.
FINAL SCORE:
9/10
Reviewed on PS4 Pro using the Aim Controller (the thing that looks like a gun). Played through the story, saw all endings, unlocked platinum trophy in 3 hours, tested online functionalities and all game modes.
Game bought at own expense, no review copy was provided. For more on how reviews are scored, check out the Review Policy.