The concept is cool and the trailer looks great, but just how good is this latest Oculus Rift game to hit Steam?

Infinity Runner is a fast paced first-person game set on a large spaceship, where the main character breaks free from what appears to be a stasis chamber before setting off at a run that never ends. The player must then use basic controls to avoid obstacles, turn corners and defeat enemies. It's a great concept for a virtual reality game, but the end product essentially feels more like an Oculus Rift demo with potential, rather than a finished game.

Currently $8.99 on Steam, the mere fact that Infinity Runner has a price tag introduces a certain level of expectation, those of which are not reached. For a start, none of the game's menus or splash screens are Oculus Rift compatible, meaning you have to remove the HMD in order to negotiate said screens. Once the game has started, a text overlay appears entirely without depth, making it not only hard to read but a distraction that sometimes obscures your vision.

The freedom to look around in-game is rather prohibited too, which is frustrating as that's sort of the point of using an Oculus Rift. For example, you cannot look behind you, and while looking left and right causes your character to turn corners in the labyrinthine corridors of the ship, your view is essentially cut off around the 45° mark. Also, your view is dragged back to face forward each time a corner is rounded, leaving you with no choice other than to physically turn back in order to compensate – it's incredibly disorienting.

Darkness plagues some areas of the game, making it difficult to see large obstacles and I died many times on T-junctions thanks to poor lighting. Other obstacles appeared far too quickly, reducing reaction time to impossible levels. Switching between jumping over gaps in the floor or sliding under fallen debris is fun, but having unavoidable objects suddenly fly into your face is not. Probably my biggest issue with the game, though, is the fights.

Occasionally you run into a room where there are armed humanoids waiting to kill you. The game slows down and you must press a series of buttons in order to defeat the enemy and move on. If successful (one wrong press will mean your death), your character then carries out a pre-determined sequence of moves, dictating the direction in which you are looking. Again, it's incredibly disorienting. I found these fight scenes to be little more than unnecessary interruptions to the gameplay, and would much prefer to simply keep running.

With that all said, Infinity Runner has the potential to be a lot of fun. Fix the lighting, widen the head tracking and improve the overlay and you'll have a pretty decent game for the Rift. Is it worth $8.99? Not in my opinion. As I said before, it feels like a demo. There are plenty of VR games out there that can be downloaded and enjoyed for free – and many of them are better!

I recorded myself playing Infinity Runner; check it out for yourself!

Penny for your thoughts,

Qelric

Follow me on Twitter: @QelricDK