Bohemia Interactive’s post-apocalyptic survival game, Vigor, puts the player into the role of an outlander attempting to survive the harsh environment of post-nuclear Norway. The player is tasked with going on various “encounters” to a variety of different regions and environments within the mostly vacant country. In these encounters, players will be placed into a controlled space for them to loot for items such as springs, nails, ammunition, and weapons in order to increase the player’s chances of surviving the new world and upgrade their base to become more hospitable. While the Arma creators seemed to be attempting to replicate a similar experience wih this Xbox One exclusive, they sadly fell short in a variety of areas.
One of the challenges with these encounters, however, is that other players will be placed in the same place and if you are killed by one of these players, they can take everything that is left on your body. This aspect of the game forces players to be smart about what items they bring with them on encounters and what items they leave in the stash back at their main base. In order for players to gain truly exceptional weapons or items, players can rush into the “air-drop” area, but be wary of the fact that this region will also have the highest concentration of players who will fight you for a take of the care package. The high radiation levels from the prior nuclear war result in radiation storms that force players to return to base after only a short amount of time on one of their excursions into the untamed countryside. Once players have looted to their hearts’ desire and returned back to their base, they have opportunities to craft new materials or weapons in addition to upgrading their base with things such as tarp coverage or a chopping block for harvesting wood.
The environmental design of Vigor is exceptional, perfectly doing justice to the beautiful rural landscapes of Norway. While the landscapes are rather gorgeous and lush, the gameplay itself is incredibly clunky and difficult to maneuver. Opening doors, tool boxes, and safes all took multiple presses of the “X” button in order to actually get it to work, and loot was sparse at best (although I guess this is realistic) unless the player decides to spend coins (which can be purchased in the game’s item shop) to boost the amount of loot that they will find in their encounter. This aspect of the “free-to-play,” “pay-to-succeed” game is very frustrating to me and really took away from the experience as a whole.
Another aspect of Vigor that I found to be frustrating was the movement. Jumping and running were so imprecise that I had quite a challenging time just navigating my way through the deadly terrain. The lack of proximity chat also meant that basically every single person I met during encounters would instantly try to kill me even though many times I would go on encounters empty-handed. Now I would like to get into my biggest issue with Vigor, the gunplay. In all of my years of gaming I have never encountered a less refined and more infuriating gunplay quality. When I first picked up a pistol that I found in a garage, I was instantly attacked by another player. I aimed down my sights at the enemy and found that the third-person reticle took up almost the entire screen. I shot five rounds at the enemy and they went in all different directions. I gave Bohemia the benefit of the doubt and guessed that it was supposed to add to the realism of the game since my character was simply a survivor and not an elite soldier. I charged at the enemy player as he fled through a field and got within about three yards of him before popping off another eight rounds… all of them missed. This level of accuracy was not specific to handguns, however, as I also experienced these difficulties with shotguns and machine guns. In about 15 encounters I never hit anyone with a single bullet, nor was I ever hit with a single bullet. I honestly felt as if I may be better off just throwing the gun at them to protect myself as my player was apparently shooting wildly with his eyes closed.
I think that Vigor has a lot of potential in theory, but the abhorrent gunplay and monotonous quality of the game really make it a highly mediocre game that I would not play again unless some serious changes are made. Don’t get me wrong, Vigor certainly has some positive aspects, however, it also has almost no replay value.
Check Out the Vigor Trailer:
For more information, please visit: https://vigorgame.com/
Xbox One Review
I've been playing video games since I got a Playstation 2 when I was about 5 or 6 years old. The original Star Wars: Battlefront series and the Spyro series initially ignited my interest in gaming, but it wasn't until I got older that I truly appreciated the subtle details that make video games such a unique form of entertainment. My favorite type of video game would have to be any lengthy and plot-driven open world game, with my favorite games of all time being Batman: Arkham City, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Assassin's Creed: Revelations, and Firewatch.
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