Review of Retronika: An Effortlessly Smooth Experience

Retronika is certainly a title that evokes mixed emotions. While not plagued by poor design, the game’s early access version clearly requires substantial balance tweaks to be genuinely recommendable.

When the initial trailers were released, they sparked a thrill of anticipation that carried through to my first experience with the game. The concept seemed straightforward yet thrilling: a single-player VR hoverbike racing game where you zip around, dodging obstacles and firing lasers at enemies in a future teeming with flying cars. Your mission is to return home after getting pulled through a wormhole into this high-tech earth as an alien.

For an indie studio from the Netherlands like 4Players-Studio, Retronika’s ambition is impressive. They seem aware that players need time to adjust to its mechanics. The controls are designed to feel like steering a real motorcycle, only airborne. You extend your arms to grip virtual handlebars, thrusting forward to accelerate and pulling back to slow down.

Initial gameplay restricts your navigation to a horizontal path, allowing you to get comfortable before full vertical freedom is introduced. Mastering the art of ducking and weaving through traffic comes next. Throughout this gradual introduction, the game holds off on adding combat elements until you’re somewhat seasoned.

Once armed, you find that your guns activate depending on which hand isn’t steering, letting you target drones bent on halting your progress. The gameplay revolves around speeding through challenges within a 3×3 grid, often involving time-sensitive or drone-destroying missions.

The game’s first impression could hardly be better. It offers a visually captivating experience with its VR immersion and simplistic yet evocative cel-shaded cityscapes. You zip past a lively cityscape where myriad vehicles populate your racing path, and the setting feels so alive that it’s easy to imagine the stories of the people inhabiting this animated world.

However, the initial enchantment soon wanes, giving way to frustration. Your health diminishes not only when struck by enemies but also when crashing into vehicles or even firing your weapon. Stray outside the narrow racing zone, and your health plummets quickly. This means that even if you manage to claw your way back to safety, it often costs half your health.

The major hurdle is certainly the game’s balance. While the dynamic city settings are commendable, they can become a cluttered mess. With up to nine vehicles packed into the grid, it can feel like rush hour, where only one slot is clear. Although player awareness is tested to find gaps, errant cars moving unpredictably causes undue damage or throws you out of bounds.

Combat with drones also proves vexing. They descend upon you, attacking swiftly before you have a chance to react. Their accuracy is relentless, and despite switching weapons, you’ll often lose health in the skirmish. The only way to counter is by halting movement completely and using both guns, leaving you exposed.

The frustration peaks when multiple drones appear, turning survival into a luck-based challenge rather than a test of skill. Levels are long, and defeat means losing considerable progress, which quickly saps any initial enjoyment.

In theory, improvements could be made through upgrading your bike and weapons. Completing missions earns currency for enhancements, such as better braking, speed, and acceleration. However, the labeling confuses and upgrades feel sluggish unless stacked. Crucially, desired enhancements for health and defense seem absent, with a protective shield only unlockable later.

Even when upgrades do come into play, their expense is prohibitive. After standard progression, I couldn’t afford meaningful upgrades, forcing a repetitive grind through earlier stages to gather necessary funds, dampening my once-keen enthusiasm.

Now, here’s where Retronika stands. It’s not beyond rescue. The game is structurally sound, with responsive controls and visually appealing missions, spreading across 50 diverse adventures with an arsenal of weapons. But these features shine only if the underlying balancing issues are rectified. Adjustments in NPC patterns and drone accuracy alongside health restoration features are critical to foster a rewarding experience.

4Players-Studio suggests they’re wrapping up early access, but it’s essential they don’t sidestep these problems before launch. There’s untapped potential here, and Retronika doesn’t require drastic reworks to hit its stride, just some thoughtful recalibration.

Yet, as it stands, the game doesn’t deliver on the escapist fantasy it promises—a shame, given its promising foundation.