Recently, I had the privilege to join up with the INVERSE developers for a play session on my Quest 2. I was able to play a few rounds with them as we talked about the ins and outs of INVERSE. So a big thank you to MassVR for this opportunity. Let’s talk about my play sessions!
What Is INVERSE?
INVERSE is a co-op, survival horror game from developers MassVR. The game uses innovative asymmetric gameplay. Players have the choice to embark on the journey together as a team of agents or as a lone monster hunter known as Nul. Agents survive by powering the control terminals located throughout the facility while trying to evade the terrifying creature Nul’s attacks.
Mechanics and Goals
The goal of a match in INVERSE is to power up all the terminals as the agents. After that is accomplished, a weapon stash is unlocked giving you access to weapons that can contain Nul. Once the creature is fully contained, victory goes to the agents. If you are playing as Nul, then you have one goal which is to take out all the agents.
The game takes a lot of inspiration from Dead by Daylight. When playing as an agent, you have different accessories which provide different benefits. There’s a radio that attracts and distracts the Nul. In addition, there is an item where you can throw it at a window that puts up a force field preventing the Nul from getting through.
There is another item you can throw on the ground that stuns/slows down Nul. You also have access to a self-heal in case the Nul takes you down, then you can self-revive. The last item I saw was a defibrillator which allows you to heal downed allies.
The Nul, which looks like a Xenomorph, had mainly movement-based abilities. The creature is able to free-climb up walls. It can also block agents by shooting webbing in openings and can use claws to attack and take agents down. INVERSE provides a plethora of ways to approach its gameplay.
Visuals and Audio
The visuals in INVERSE were pretty good. Backgrounds and the surrounding areas popped out to me. When I played as the Nul, I’d climb up a water tower or the side of a building and look out to a great view. Also jumping off those buildings and water tower to attack an agent was a good bonus. When being attacked as you lose health the screen turns a bit red until you go down. When you are powering up a terminal and fail, you hear a loud bang and get a little kickback.
During another match, I was playing as an agent and there was another type of Nul creature I encountered. The second Nul creature looked huge and was a tank compared to the Xenomorph-looking Nul I previously played. The team put some good details into these creatures.
When moving around the audio helps build up intensity and anticipation which adds a lot to the suspense. Something to also add is that I didn’t personally feel any motion sickness while playing. You can also adjust settings for stand-up or sit-down play. I do feel the best way to play is to stand up personally.
Tutorial
The tutorial for INVERSE is pretty quick and simple. It pretty much teaches you how to repair the terminals. It also gives you hands-on access to some of the accessories that you will use during your matches. Many people complain if a tutorial is too long or if it’s too short and doesn’t teach you anything. I feel the tutorial for INVERSE teaches just enough for you to get started and have a general understanding. I literally went through it in less than 10 minutes while in video chat with someone from the team.
Final Thoughts
I played INVERSE with the development team for about an hour. So my experience so far is only based on that hour. The team was very welcoming and from my conversations with them, I could tell how much they love their game. I was happy to have won one of the four games I played, although I think they took it easy on me when I was the Xenomorph-looking Nul.
Normally, I don’t play these types of games, but I gave it a try and it was a lot of fun. When it comes to VR, I usually play games in the realm of Demeo.
This game is brand new and I believe it has a lot to offer. You can pick up INVERSE on the Quest Pro and Quest 2 for $29.99 right now.
