This Speedy VR Grapple Hook Game Somehow Works | YUPITERGRAD Review
I feel like Spider-Man, and I'm not motion-sick... How can that be?
Have you ever wanted to be Spider-Man? Ever dreamt of it? I have. I’d been searching for a game in VR for a long time to fulfil that fantasy. The official Spider-Man Far From Home Virtual Reality ‘demo game’ didn’t cut it. Modding BONEWORKS felt close but off still. Tried another game that promised that fantasy, and I’ve even tried rope swinging worlds in VR Chat. Again, and again, close… but I’ve always felt there was something missing from everything I’ve ever played. Until I tried YUPITERGRAD.
The interesting thing about YUPITERGRAD is that I’ve tried and played other games with grapple hooks. But none of them come close to the rush you feel here. I’m calling YUPITERGRAD, the only grapple hook game you need. It’s also, somehow, the closest I’ve ever felt to that proper web swinging, Spider-Man fantasy, even as compared to other games that are specifically engineered to fulfil that fantasy.
If I had to take a stab as to why, I’d guess it’s because the freedom of expression is lost in translation. When I’m playing Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered (2020) there are all sorts of tricks and maneuvers I can make through the environment. Even Spider-Man 2: The Game (2004) had some similar systems. But the depth of that is too much for VR. You go too deep, and it becomes too crazy to learn (i.e. like the Attack on Titan Fan Game). So what do we get? Swinging our arms around slowly like monkeys around square buildings that vaguely resemble something you might see in New York. It’s not thrilling anymore. It’s just a different locomotion method.
I am honestly floored at how good YUPITERGRAD is. From the first moment you’re airborne, until the last time trial stage completed for that final achievement to 100% the game, you will have an absolute blast. I did. The secret, I believe, is that their physics systems are dialed in to perfection. Combined with tighter spaces, it’s given me a sense of speed that I haven’t felt in any other VR game. It’s exhilarating.
It’s hard to express how, through the game’s tight controls, you feel completely free. Once you get the hang of the grapple hooks light feedback in the controllers, combined with the small corrections you can do with the analog stick, you can zip around the space station at Mach speeds. This is especially satisfying during YUPITERGRAD’s short campaign, which will have you (in a very light Metroidvania fashion) occasionally backtracking to and from locations to complete little objectives. Mastering where you’re going and how you’re going to get there is a big part of the fun, and I can only imagine becomes ever richer as you play the campaign again in attempts to speed run the whole thing.
I truly believe it must have taken ages to code the physics just right. What I find particularly interesting is, not only have I never gotten motion sick playing (I do have very strong VR legs), but no one I’ve ever shown has gotten sick either. You’d think that would absolutely happen in a game where you’re constantly moving at breakneck speeds, around corners, and across these spaces, but almost magically, it just works. I’m not sure if anyone can ever deduce why, and if they do, I’d love to know because it is truly whimsical.
As a final anecdote, let me just say that not only have I tried a handful of Spider-Man type games, I’ve tried other “grapple hook” games as well, across various sources. Among them all, YUPITERGRAD is my choice as the best of the bunch. By comparison to everything similar to it, it feels exceptionally refined.
Ultimately, if any of this has sounded interesting to you, then I highly recommend you do yourself a favor and buy the game. It’s a great time, and I can’t stop coming back to it, even after I’ve completed everything. It’s that satisfying. When you do, I’ll see you on the leaderboards comrades!
Thanks 😁🙏🙏🙏🥲