Bulletstorm VR, the recent virtual reality port of People Can Fly’s infamously crass 2011 shooter, has endured one of gaming’s most disastrous launches in recent memory. Billed as a rip-roaring action extravaganza bringing Bulletstorm’s unique kick-and-kill flair into immersive first-person VR chaos, the reality fell catastrophically short for many early adopters.
Myriad show-stopping technical troubles and poorly implemented mechanics led to an explosion of negative user reviews on day one. Now, a much-needed patch aims to rescue Bulletstorm VR from itself across PlayStation VR2 and PC VR platforms – but it may prove too little too late to salvage the game’s tarnished reputation.
Arriving on February 14th, Bulletstorm VR’s meaty new patch targets the laundry list of complaints plaguing players since its broken January 18th release. It brings fixes for frequent crashes under various conditions that previously made completing campaign levels frustratingly difficult. Visual quality is also upgraded with enhanced effects for weapons and abilities to better convey Bulletstorm’s outlandish combat.
Other improvements focus on lower level quality-of-life, such as properly skipping cutscenes, refining enemy behavior and balancing arsenal. Audio glitches and weird AI behavior receive attention too, as do finer details like shoddy graphics.
For those who persevered through technical turmoil just to experience Bulletstorm’s chaos in VR, this support patch checks vital boxes. And People Can Fly promises additional patches in coming weeks to squash remaining issues. But first impressions stick, and for many, Bulletstorm VR already did irreparable damage.
Its legacy will likely be that of squandered potential to bring a cult classic franchise roaring into the modern VR age. Sloppy design decisions, physics problems, performance struggles and rampant glitches betrayed Bulletstorm’s rowdy spirit.
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People Can Fly vows continued work so the game can “give players a thrilling, kick-ass virtual reality Bulletstorm experience they’ll enjoy playing for years to come.” But winning back disillusioned players may require an even more substantial overhaul.
For now, fans must decide whether Bulletstorm VR deserves a second chance post-patch, or if its technical tribulations and fundamental flaws at launch are unforgivable. The developers took a punt on an exciting idea that crashed harder than expected.
The question is can Bulletstorm VR bounce back from being a critically panned, user-slammed catastrophe out the gate? If not, it risks becoming yet another cautionary tale of squandered video game potential done in by poor execution.
