When it comes to the retro arcade space, C-Smash VRS joins a plethora of other VR titles that are constantly battling to keep the player’s attention. Gone are the glory days of machines as far as the eye can see, with tokens as the keys to unlock your next big adventure. These shopping mall safe havens are now like a distant memory, and only a fraction of them remain. Gaming entrepreneurs can no longer rely on flashing screens and gimmicky prizes. The fun must be brought to the home.
That seems to be the goal of developer, Wolf & Wood Interactive, and publisher RapidEyeMovers, who have introduced C-Smash VRS to the world. While this new creation is certainly imaginative, these devs were not the ones who brought the game to life originally. The first iteration of this title goes back to the early 2000’s, as an arcade system of its own. This SEGA-based interstellar squash experience was called Cosmic Smash, and was fairly rare with under 600 machines produced.
While Cosmic Smash might not have reached many people, its new and improved form will fall into the hands of a whole new audience. The main question to be asked is whether this new game is a worthwhile experience, or simply one more developer trying to dig up the past?
C-Smash VRS is now available on PSVR2, Meta Quest 2&3, Meta Quest Pro, and Pico 4.
Squash All Your Expectations, There’s Going to Be a Learning Curve
When I first went into C-Smash VRS, which was recently released for Meta Quest, I was expecting it to be in a similar vein to Will Sports. It certainly does have some of the same energy, however with much less variety. The basic idea for most of the game is to use your squash racket to hit a ball against square or rectangular targets as fast as possible. Sound easy? Not so much. In my experience, the ball often moves in unpredictable directions, can be nearly impossible to aim, and just when you think it’s about to connect, it slips right through your racket.
While I have no doubt some players will come out of this game having uncovered a newfound skill, I’m not too proud to admit it won’t be me. The gameplay is active and can get you moving if you commit to it, but some of my best runs and instances of topping the leaderboards were pure luck. Needless to say, those childhood talents on the Wii did not transfer over.
When you start a new game, or every time you miss the ball, it will reset and you will have to pull it towards you to continue. This significantly slows down the process and limits what could be more fast-paced gameplay. The more you make contact, the more you will charge up your racket, which provides an often-needed boost in the game. The title is very straight forward and once you know the basics the rest is easy to pick up.
C-Smash VRS Lacks the Diversity it Desperately Needs
What I think really put me in the Wii mindset is that the game is essentially athletics with a twist. But imagine playing Will Sports with only one option. You would hope in that scenario the title would offer some clever variations in its gameplay. Unfortunately, that is not the case with C-Smash VRS and most of the experience is quite repetitive.
There is only so much one can enjoy when hitting a ball against floating blocks before they hope something more original is added to the game. Truthfully, the best parts of C-Smash VRS are the versus game modes: head-to-head, firewall, quick shot, and body shot. Although I tried out the game before co-op went online, I was able to try out these mini-games playing against the AI. They added some needed flavor, but at the end of the day, it was still just hitting a ball against blocks.
Multiplayer adds another significant component to this title, but the rest of the game will remain unchanged. And despite the fact that talking with your friends when playing might make the experience more fun, it’s hard to rely on co-op to save the day.
The environment is visually pleasing and incorporates some neat space travel elements. However, these set pieces felt like the same recycled rooms for each stage or game mode. You’ve essentially been cast out to the depths of space in a floating box with nowhere to go.
One aspect of this title that does earn some points is its original music tracks that play in the background. The artists behind these beats include: “DJ Ken Ishii (Rez Infinite), Danalogue (The Comet is Coming) and UNKLE achieve pure synesthesia.” While a few of their songs can be similar at times, they keep a good vibe going.
Is C-Smash VRS Good?
I would venture to say that C-Smash VRS is good, but not great. I enjoyed the time I spent playing it, but when I was done with the review I wasn’t dying to go back. I would put it under the “coffee table book” category of arcade games. It’s great when people come over and you want to have something to show them, but no one sits around and reads the whole thing. A game that’s better for short play sessions, when you’re looking for a little mindless fun.
The current price for C-Smash VRS is $19.99, which feels reasonable for the market. PlayStation has it for $15.49 at the time of this writing, so it may be worth waiting to see if it goes on sale for Meta in the coming months.
Ultimately, it’s fun for the whole family and easy to get people trying VR, but is probably not something you will want to play every waking minute of the day. Everyone needs a couple of VR titles like it to keep in their back pocket, and this would certainly suffice, even if it’s not the best of the best.
6/10
