When GORN launched on Oculus in early access a few years ago it immediately grabbed my attention. I currently only own a PSVR headset and every so often a game launches over in the PC space that makes me question if I made the right choice. Thankfully, as we have seen recently with Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners and are about to witness with Vader Immortal these games often port over to Sony’s platform thanks to the great install base.
GORN is a very simple game. It’s a gladiator style beat ’em up with rag doll physics. Simplicity is not a negative though, especially in VR. It’s all about how you execute that simplicity and Free Lives Games have done a good job in making an experience both accessible to casual gamers and challenging for veteran players. It’s not without it’s hiccups though.
Move controllers are required as you enter the Colosseum to do battle for your king and some floating head spectators. Each stage presents you with different weaponry to take on your enemies. You can pick up other weapons that defeated foes drop, although getting low enough to grab said items can be a little tricky on the tracking side of things.
The game certainly isn’t short on weapon variety. Spiked maces, swords, a flail, spear, boulders and a bow and arrow are just some of the instruments of destruction on offer. If all else fails you can simply squeeze the trigger and punch enemies into oblivion. The combat is fun and very satisfying. It’s also a fair workout and similar to Creed: Rise to Glory will have you sweating in a matter of minutes.
While the gameplay during combat is frantic and fun, player movement is unfortunately another matter entirely. Now I understand that developers are at a disadvantage with the move controllers not having an analog stick, but plenty of others have found good workarounds. My favourite is holding down the move button to automatically move forward. This is something that was implemented perfectly recently in Walking Dead.
Instead here you have to hold down the move button with your arm out and swing it down by your side to take one stride. You rinse and repeat to continue moving forward, while doing the reverse movement will let you retreat. It’s imprecise and fiddly at best, which can be really frustrating when things get chaotic as you die quick. I would love to see an alternate movement input patched in, but I don’t expect to see it.
Graphics are very over the top and colourful, but look good. There is a lot of gore here, with heads that can be smashed to pieces, limbs that can be torn off and even eyeballs that fall out of their socket. It may sound gruesome, and to an extent it is, but it’s so cartoon-like that it is unlikely to offend. Should you have any concerns in this regard though, blood can easily be turned off in the menu.
There isn’t a huge amount of levels to tackle, but finishing each stage unlocks the weapons contained within it for use in custom battles. Endless mode is available as well with waves of enemies. Thankfully at times they will battle each other and often only come at you in single file. In this environment accuracy is even more key. Bladed weapons will need to be stabbed into exposed areas free of armour, or you can use brute power to bulldoze your way past it.
Disappointingly there is no platinum trophy on offer here, although there is an EU and US stack. Less trophies doesn’t mean an easier list on this occasion either. There are three silvers for completing every bonus objective in each tier flawlessly that with test even a seasoned VR player.
In closing, GORN is a lot of fun. Combat is very satisfying which is the core of your experience. Movement is my biggest fault with the game, but once you set up shop you can largely get away with staying in the one spot. Platinum trophy disappointment aside this is a VR title worth putting some hours into. It’s also a good cardio blast, which many of us could do with in the current climate.
-Jock
A review code for this product was kindly provided by the publisher. Reviewed on PS4 Slim.
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