Arken Age Review: A visually appealing sci-fi adventure only held back by its story

Arken Age is the new game from the developers of Shadow Legend. In our review of the sci-fi adventure, we reveal whether the investment of $40 is worth it.

Virtruvius VR released Shadow Legend, a story-driven role-playing game about a Templar Grand Master, in 2019. The next VR-exclusive game from the Ontario, Canada-based indie studio is now ready for PC-VR and PSVR 2. But this time, instead of medieval action, it's a journey into a sci-fi fantasy world. We jumped into the adventure for you on PSVR 2 using a PS5 Pro.

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Arken Age: Review in a nutshell

In Arken Age, you liberate a beautiful alien world that has been subjugated by power-hungry robots. There is a lot of exploring, climbing and fighting. But crafting and puzzling are also always on the agenda.

• Tested on: PSVR 2 with a PS5 Pro, mostly in performance mode
• Available on: Steam-compatible PC VR headsets, PSVR 2

Rating

A visually appealing sci-fi adventure with a strong focus on combat and exploration, as well as a robust weapon upgrade system. However, we expected more from the story. Read the full verdict here.

• Rating: 4 out of 5 points

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First wow moments after the tutorial

Arken Age gets down to business pretty quickly. After a short monologue by a deity, I learn that I was created by him — as a human being, "disconnected from the Arken network and free of any neural corruption". My mission? To find out what happened to the so-called Great Arborist. He has stopped cultivating the planet and no longer responds to the Deity's requests for communication.

Before I can follow my destiny, however, I have to work my way through a rather lengthy tutorial. Although it is well done and explains all the basic game mechanics in detail, it would have worked even better if the developers had integrated it more elegantly into the story. Anyway, once I've checked off all the boxes, Arken Age delivers some wow moments.

The first is when I leave the Temple of the Gods for the first time and look out over the horizon. There I see a gigantic tower that seems to reach more than a mile into the sky, surrounded by a bony, equally imposing tree. A sign that the Grand Arborist is hiding there? To find out, I have to fight my way through a number of areas, which will soon be displayed on a map.

Extensive but linear solo adventure

You can tell as soon as you scroll through the map: The game world, which consists of 25 areas, looks like a long, continuous tube that I travel through from south to north. There are occasional branches to the east and west, but these are limited. Conveniently, all areas that have already been explored are connected by teleporters. So if I want to return to an area I have already explored, for example to complete an unfinished side mission, these fast travel points save me a lot of walking.

I can see what I have to do in each of the many main and side missions on my tablet, which I can access at any time. I also have access to a large inventory that contains all the items in my backpack. The Relics submenu also helps me find small pyramids hidden around the world that contain floating green orbs. Once I have collected enough, I can use them to open various sealed doors in the camp of my Nara allies.

But back to the actual gameplay: In order to complete each area, I usually have to kill all the enemies in it and also find certain objects that open up further passages in the level. These are often key cards, but also Nara artifacts like a blowing horn or a special serum.

Intrusive robot henchmen

What sounds simple at first is more difficult than expected, especially in the first few hours. The human-like robots put me under a lot of pressure, especially when they attack from different directions at the same time and use their special abilities.

For example, one robot model first targets me with a red beam of light and then pulls me toward it with a quick movement. If the attack is successful, I will be flung through the air, sometimes for several meters, and will be unable to defend myself. You should be able to withstand sudden jumps here. Otherwise, you'll get sick to your stomach.

Other tin cans shoot me with special ammunition that chains me to the ground with vines and immobilizes me. I can only escape by slashing the vines with a sword or shooting at them. Occasionally, the metal henchmen will also throw grenades at me, target me from a distance with a sniper rifle, or fire volleys as they charge me.

The assassin robots are particularly vicious. Once I get their attention, they'll start beeping like a time bomb, jump in my direction, and then explode. If you don't take evasive action now, and you're low on life energy, you'll die quickly. When that happens, my body will remain at the place of death. If I return to this position, I can retrieve the remains.

Fun combat system

The fact that this is not the first VR game from Virtruvius is particularly evident in the well-designed combat system, which gives me several tools to take out the occupiers. It starts with an energy sword, which I attach to the left side of my belt outside of combat. Not only can I use it to reflect incoming projectiles — like a Star Wars lightsaber — but I can also deal a lot of damage and parry enemy blows.

Counterattacks are important because they cause most enemies to hesitate for a few seconds, giving them a short window to attack. If I use this skillfully, a precise hit on a weak spot such as the neck, head, or heart is enough to finish off the opponent.

It is noticeable that the robots presented here have a very human-like physique. When I separate the head or limbs of a tin can from the torso, large amounts of a dark red liquid spurt out. It is precisely this aspect that adds a certain intensity to the fights. So Arken Age does not belong in the hands of children!

As the game progresses, I unlock more melee weapons. These include the God Axe, the Nara Axe, the Ritual Dagger and the Grativation Club. Alternatively, I can use two ranged weapons to heat up my opponents: a pistol, which fires Arkenite energy projectiles in a straight line, and a rifle. The latter, however, scatters a lot at first, making it more suitable for close range.

Mods make the difference in the long run

If you diligently collect or purchase weapon mods throughout the course of the game, you can upgrade both of these argumentation boosters. For example, if I add a type 44 repeater to my pistol, it increases the rate of fire by ten percent, the damage by 30 percent, and the battery capacity by 50 percent. There are dozens of mods like that in the game, and many of them have negative effects. So I always have to balance what suits my playstyle.

The developers have done a great job with the weapon modding itself. Instead of clicking through boring menus, I first go to a workbench. I then use blueprints to create the appropriate upgrade module, which I then attach to the weapon at the next table.

If I want, I can also customize the color of each weapon on multiple levels. In terms of gameplay, the upgrades are always worth it. In my case, after just a few hours, I had access to a very powerful energy rifle that I could use to easily keep many standard enemies at bay.

Solid AI with weaknesses that you can use to your advantage

Keyword enemies: For the most part, they are quite clever, often hiding behind cover when in danger and often trying to get at me from different directions. However, once you figure out their patterns, you can use them to your advantage.

For example, if grenade-throwing robots are after me, it makes sense to get close to another group of enemies. If I can change position quickly at the right moment, the robots will sometimes blow themselves up.

The fact that robots cannot dive, unlike my character, can also be exploited. If I deliberately fight along the many available waterways, I usually have a good escape route.

My verdict on Arken Age

Shadow Legend was already a very solid and fun VR game. VirtuviusVR has now topped that with Arken Age. Although the world has a fairly linear structure, the areas presented in it are all packed with exciting battles, fun exploration passages and lots of loot, some of which is quite well hidden.

Climbing with the help of wrist-mounted pickaxes is well implemented, weapon modding fits in well, and if you get it right, you can complete many sections quietly. There are also some interesting puzzles, although I would have liked to see more of them.

In a direct comparison with competitors like Metro: Awakening or Horizon Call of the Mountain, however, the staging and the build-up of tension in the story fall far short. The Canadians will have to work even harder on this aspect in the future if they really want to move up into the highest ranks of VR gaming.

Finally, a few words about the technology of the PSVR 2 version tested: The graphics look very good, are already nicely optimized for the PS5 Pro, and the developers have also made an effort with the vibration effects. However, there was only one point where the tracking went crazy, and I briefly found myself outside the level architecture. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that a patch will fix this problem soon.

You can buy Arken Age here:

• PlayStation Store
• Steam

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