– Spoiler Review –
Vader Immortal is a VR-only game series by ILMxLABs and Oculus Studios, spread across three episodes, that puts the player in the shoes of a smuggler caught by Imperial forces on Mustafar and roped into helping Darth Vader himself with his latest machinations. The episodic nature means it’s both easy to digest and a quick game, with longevity in the form of Lightsaber Dojos, while the VR controls, concepts, and implementation offer an immersive enough experience, with some drawbacks. And while the story which unfolds is intriguing, it can feel like a retread for those that read the Sith Lord’s comic series.
To start, I should mention I played this on an Oculus Quest 2, which my wife was awesome enough to get me as a gift this holiday season! As an untethered VR device, some of the graphic fidelity is diminished, but the freedom of spatial movement outweighs the downgrade, as far as I’m concerned; however, textures and draw distance aren’t impressive, often reminding me of a PS2-era game, but Vader is still imposing and honestly frightening. One plays Vader Immortal while standing with the Quest 2, meaning one is able to spin around at any moment to take in the greater environment or for combat purposes, especially in the game’s increasingly grueling, but ever so fun, Lightsaber Dojos. I experienced a minor feeling of queasiness when moving downwards on a ladder, but otherwise the climbing up of ladders or swinging around didn’t give me motion sickness, while choosing the standard VR setting brought movement via teleportation, where you throw around a cursor on the floor, thus moving perspective to the new spot (I didn’t try the other methods since this worked fine). The controls felt responsive, though grabbing items with the Force, especially when there’s a lot going on or items are being thrown at you, wasn’t always intuitive or worked, but I wasn’t sure if that was a game, hardware, or me problem. All told, the VR experience was comfortable and intuitive.
The story sees your smuggler character’s ancestry integral to Vader’s machinations regarding Mustafar’s Bright Star crystal, which he wants to use to power the Aeon Engine in an attempt to bring Padmé back from the dead, and overall it’s intriguing from its lore standpoint, but also felt like a retread due to 2017-2018’s Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith’s final arc. In the comic, we see Vader enlist an ancient Sith Lord to help him build his Castle on Mustafar, trying to tap into a locus of the dark side and use it to bring Padmé back, while the fight between Mustafarians and Vader begins in earnest. In Vader Immortal, we dive deep beneath Mustafar (teased in the comic, by the way!) to uncover its history and how it went from a green and thriving world to a hellscape, and by the end Vader will attempt to bring Padmé back and it’ll begin to make sense why Mustafar, by the time of The Rise of Skywalker, has trees/is looking less hellish again. There are some aspects which are swept under the headset, like how/why the smuggler was even going by Mustafar or how the smuggler learns the Force so quickly/easily, but the brevity of the overall experience makes it easy to ignore those minor quibbles. The episodic format is nice for comfort level of VR, making it easier to play the game because it’s not all in one go/a 20-hour epic, but one could simply purchase the final episode and not feel like you missed out on anything, story-wise.
Mustafar’s history is far more complex, and interesting, than I ever imagined, and I love how Shakespearian and medieval the story that leads to Mustafar’s hellish appearance felt. Lady and Lord Corvax’s story mirrors Vader and Padmé’s to some extent, as both couples end up with one doing whatever they can to see their loved ones returned to them, though Lady Corvax doesn’t quite realize the ramifications of her actions while Vader obviously doesn’t care, ready to give up whatever it takes. As intriguing as it all was, with some great scenes where a stone flickers moments of Padmé from the movies and we get Vader screaming at the rock, using one of Anakin’s yells from Revenge of the Sith, the idea of him trying to get Padmé back, as I said, felt too much of a retread when compared to the epic events of the comic series from Charles Soule; I really hope we get more Padmé focused content instead of more angsty over his lost love Vader stuff. You, the smuggler, aren’t completely alone in Vader’s Castle, as your droid companion ZO-E3, or Zoe, joins you on the journey; Maya Rudolf is funny in the role, though I felt like we didn’t get enough and she doesn’t always have the best script to work with, but she makes the most it and I hope we’ll get to have her and Zoe back soon. I also enjoyed finally interacting with the locals, the Mustafarians, as they assist you in a fight to stop the destruction of their planet, and lives, while I wish we got more time learning about their mystical ways; also, not being able to pick a species for the smuggler, while their relationship to the Corvaxes does mean technically you’re a human, the story is all about the humans saving the day/helping the indigenous locals so that was a less than desirable aspect to the tale. There’s a cyborg Admiral at one point, but he’s not very memorable besides his creepy look.
Gameplay-wise, the first episode is the most VR-heavy, in the sense you’ll be using your hands to manipulate the environment more than holding a lightsaber; examples include hacking an elevator door by pulling out the mechanism, messing around with stuff on the smuggler’s ship, or climbing around the outside of Vader’s Castle to give you a sense of perspective/giving you a fear of heights. In a way, I had the most fun with the episode due to those aspects, as by the third one, you’re easily throwing stormtroopers around and deflecting their blaster bolts and there’s no real puzzle/environment manipulation, while the lack of consequences for your mistakes means it’s mostly mindless combat; the final battle with Vader is a great example of that, as I kept missing the blocks and getting hit, but the story unfolded anyways, and while I understand it would be very frustrating if they weren’t as forgiving, it still negatively affects what should be a big moment. Despite my less than kind words about the combat and its simple AI, it’s still undeniably a blast to make blaster bolts return to the stormtrooper while blasting another or blocking incoming staff attacks with a flourish reminiscent of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the sheer joy fulfilling some moments only VR could provide helps override many of the pratfalls.
Each episode comes with its own version of a Lightsaber Dojo (check out my sick moves in the video below!), where you test your skills against an increasingly difficult set of threats. The first episode’s Dojo is simply you and a lightsaber against first the training remotes and later the fighting droids you battle in the episode’s campaign, then the second one includes the ability to grab things with the Force, while the third’s allows you to dual-wield lightsabers, a lightsaber and a blaster, and a lightsaber and thermal detonator, plus giving you the ability to shoot Force lightning! In a way, the first one is the most difficult at times because it relies on your ability with the saber, and only that, while the added abilities in the following two certainly make crowd control easier, but the amount of enemies and how often they move around increases accordingly. I ended up having more fun with the Dojos than the main game, simply because it allows one to just live out their dreams of slashing things with a saber and throwing stuff around with the Force, as much as they want. The rewards aren’t much, like different color kyber crystals or gloves, but perfecting an encounter is an exhausting but rewarding feat of its own, and it’s the main reason to keep returning to your episodes of Vader Immortal, as the game doesn’t come with any New Game Plus modes, like including the Force in the first episode or something, so it’s just the story you’ll be revisiting otherwise.
Here are a few other things:
- Next on my list of Star Wars VR games? Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge! I’ll be playing that sometime soon and will have a review on the site.
- My previous experiences with Star Wars VR includes: Trials on Tatooine, which is more of a demo than an actual game, but it was a thrilling first step to brandishing a lightsaber in VR. Being tethered wasn’t too much of a hindrance, but I prefer VR without the cord!; And Secrets of the Empire, which I was fortunate to experience in London when visiting my friends. It remains my top VR moment, as you wear a backpack of sorts, meaning you’re basically carrying around the computer, and the vest you wear offers feedback, while they even crank up the heat to simulate vicinity to lava. Both have ancient, unique lightsabers, but they aren’t connected, so the proto-saber in SotE is still out there, somewhere, waiting to be seen again!
- Want more stories about Vader’s Castle? How about IDW’s horror-ific miniseries?! There’s Tales from Vader’s Castle, Return to Vader’s Castle, and Shadow of Vader’s Castle, with another on the way later this year!
Vader Immortal: A VR Series definitely provides some memorable moments only VR can offer, while the series gains some replayability in its Lightsaber Dojos, but the forgiveness factor for difficulty concerns and a story we’ve already had ensure you won’t be thinking much about it after it’s over.
+ Lightsaber Dojos offer real challenge
+ Starts off strong, very VR-heavy
+ Sheer joy overrides some fumbles
– Ends up mindless swinging romp
– Lack of consequences
– Been there, done that story
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website @MynockManor.