Iron Man VR - Played at Gamescom

"Iron Man VR" surprised us in a special way at Gamescom 2019. It's a game that somehow appeared out of nowhere. After all, we hadn't heard much about the heroic flight game with the Marvel superpowers beforehand. But the demo at Sony quickly made it clear what the game is designed for: flying! And the game mechanics are really interesting.

Flying as a superhero

Flying in VR knows many spheres. There are already games like Ubisoft's Eagle Hovering "Eagle Flight" or even almost real arcade-heavy flight simulations like "Ace Combat 7". What is definitely not yet available for virtual reality, however, is a direct impersonation of a superhero who shoots through the air with supernatural jet powers. In "Iron Man VR", you stand in the real world as normal - with the two Move controllers. In VR, however, there are two powerful jets on the backs of your hands that catapult you straight up into the sky. The controls in the PlayStation VR version are almost as intuitive.

Simple controls that are also fun to use

The way in which you hold the old-fashioned PS Move sticks is special and almost a novelty. In this experience, you can also tilt them behind your back while flying, as you control the direction of flight with the backs of your hands or the "VR thrusters". This changes when you gently tilt the two Move controllers to the left and right. Newcomers might find this a little confusing at first. I also thought at first that I would have to constantly turn my body along my line of vision when flying, which is of course not possible with the PlayStation VR's 180-degree tracking on the front. But that also speaks in favour of the high level of immersion in "Iron Man VR".

Story with little depth but action with flights of fancy

After the intro sequence, we are pushed out of a plane, but are able to put on our armour in free fall just in time. We also dodge falling wreckage and use the superpowers we have learnt, as we soon have to eliminate enemy drones with booming shots using the Move button. It takes a bit of getting used to: if you hold down the X button, you strike. At first, I didn't quite understand what the point of this was, because you also smash certain power rings. But maybe you'll be confronted with more enemies over time, which you'll have to thunder away with a few good punches. It will also be interesting to see whether further armour upgrades will be offered at a later date.

Impressive flight physics

The VR flight experience in "Iron Man VR" is very impressive. Firstly, you are gallantly guided through the most important control elements. From the very first lift, things get very turbulent. The feeling of hovering very close to the sea and then staring down from above with your arms and upper body in a flash - in the buoyancy rush - to watch the goings-on on the sea surface is particularly gripping. You also use the Move controllers to perform other actions such as shooting, as enemy bases are also to be destroyed.

Other VR hero virtues include explosive power moves that give you an extra boost. We are curious to see how the game will look in the final version, but also whether there will be enough variety with enemies and flight territories. The graphics of "Iron Man VR" are certainly not bad and you won't get sick of the flying frenzy and PSVR graphics. The developers have obviously deliberately avoided too many details on rock faces so as not to create too much texture clutter during the fast-paced flights, which doesn't spoil the gameplay in any way. We think: "Iron Man VR" could be really good. An exact release date has not yet been set. However, Camouflaj will be bringing the title exclusively to PlayStation VR in 2019 in collaboration with Marvel and Sony.

We will be reporting on further gaming experiences from Gamescom over the next few days.