With the holidays here I’ve finally had the time to get back into VR. For what it’s worth, I’m not a huge VR person, although I go back a long ways with the medium as I own a Nintendo Virtual Boy meaning I understand eye strain. While I do think VR is probably the future of gaming and entertainment, it’s still taking those baby steps into relevance visual fidelity. That said, I do think there are a number of experiences that VR does that can’t be replicated any place else.
That’s where games like Beat Saber and, in this instance for our review, Synth Riders. These sort of rhythm games are all pretty great and I’ve played them all since the legendary and now nearly forgotten, Beatron 2000 on the original Oculus GO device. And while all of these games are fun, challenging, and a darn good workout for those that spend their days sitting at a desk, Synth Riders does something special thanks to their new “Experience” DLC packs.
Instead of just getting a handful of songs to play through you instead get a fully designed experience that drops you into the world of whatever pack you select. I really love this concept as it’s a lot more fun playing in a designed space instead of a black void or neon-filled stage trying simply to rack up a score. The Barbie Dance ‘n Dream DLC experience is an utter blast, especially for fans of Barbie and those younger players just getting in the VR gaming space.
You enter though a Barbie portal that resembles the box the dolls come in and are bombarded by Barbie’s pink aesthetic. Pink fluffy clouds fly by, you spin though kaleidoscope tunnels, and experience the rhythmic musical fun to the K-pop hit, “Barbie Dreams (feat. Kaliii)” by FIFTY FIFTY from Barbie the Album. This DLC is a true must-have for the Barbie lover in your life and at less than $3 you get a really fun experience with a lot of details put into it, and one that friends will love trying out.
I really do hope to see more Synth Rider Experience packs in the future. I’m not against strictly DLC music packs, and Synth Riders has lots of these, but being able to jump into a world to play a new track or two really does breathe a bit of new life into a game you might already know inside and out. I really do think that VR should be about taking you into new worlds and provide new experiences and the Barbie Dance ‘n Dream experience pack certainly does that!
Verdict:
(Reviewed on Meta Quest 2)
[ Available on Meta Quest, PSVR, Steam, & Apple Arcade ]
“Review code provided by developer”
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