Crashland into the Warhammer universe and crush Tyranid hordes for the glory of the Emperor in our Space Marine VR review!

Since its debut in 2015, Zero Latency has become a household name among VR enthusiasts. Providing entertaining VR gameplay for groups without the need to invest in any VR hardware, this Melbourne-founded VR giant has provided an accessible gateway for players keen to explore immersive gameplay.

Seeing continued success and expansion across the last decade, Zero Latency secured a deal with Ubisoft to bring Far Cry into the virtual world. This saw the release of their impressive, bespoke Far Cry 3 VR experience in 2021, featuring the return of the loveable but maniacal Vaas Montenegro. Three years on, players are invited back to explore another beloved franchise brought to life at Zero Latency.

Brothers, rejoice! The next Zero Latency experience has dropped, featuring a bone-crushing, Tyranid-blasting, bullet-shredding experience as an accompaniment to the recent release of Space Marine 2. So don your Power Armour, load up your Boltgun, and praise the Emperor as we blast into our Space Marine VR: Defenders of Avarax review!

Space Marine VR Review – Story

Much like other experiences at Zero Latency, the game features a briefing before beginning the experience, setting the scene and explaining the game’s mechanics. Once in-game, players are greeted by a colossal chapel, where they’re given the duties of their holy mission before the Emperor himself.

I’m not religious, but I’d happily spend my Sunday mornings here.

The planet of Avarax is under attack from the Tyranid swarm! As powerful Space Marines, you’ve been called upon as loyal warriors warrior capable of dispatching this deadly foe and retrieving a holy relic capable of ending the war. It’s up to you and your brothers to delve deep into the vaults of the Hive City of Fervastium, recover the relic, and turn the tide against the alien swarm.

While the setup is quite simple, it does an excellent job of quickly setting the scene. For players who have previously played Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, you may be familiar with the setting, which acts as a side-mission to the main game. But for new players unfamiliar with the Warhammer universe, you’ll still enjoy the story and setting regardless.

Space Marine VR – Gameplay

Played any other VR shooter before? If so, you’ll pick Space Marine VR up almost immediately. Most of the experience plays out as a first-person VR shooter, defending against waves of Tyranid foes alongside other players in your session. Take too much of a beating, and you’ll be briefly incapacitated before respawning.

Equipped with a trusty Zero Latency rifle, you’ll have access to a range of weapons: a standard rifle, grenades for crowd control, and familiar 40K weapons like Heavy Bolt Guns and Meltas to shred through your foes. Each of these weapons feels distinctly different and certainly adds a nice level of variety to otherwise pretty straightforward VR shooter gameplay.

Who’s up for some toasty Tyranid?

Lasting 30 minutes, Space Marine VR packs in as much action as possible. There are short segments requiring traversal or cooperation between party members, but otherwise, 90% of the experience is focused on shredding through Tyranids and racking up the highest score possible.

The experience concludes with a colossal Hive Tyrant, requiring all players to work together and launch thousands of rounds into this massive bullet sponge. This is easily the highlight of the experience and requires more movement from players to avoid being taken down by vicious melee attacks.

Blasted Tyranids! Literally.

Overall, the gameplay is intense and exactly what Space Marine fans could hope for from a short VR experience. In our session, we did encounter a few gameplay bugs that didn’t hinder the experience, but still obviously require some polish. Our game master (and brother!) Alex immediately noted these and passed them on to the development team.

Space Marine VR Review – Visuals

The Warhammer universe, specifically Space Marine, is known for its sizeable setpieces, bone-crunching action, and bullets spraying across battlefields. Despite the tech constraints of the HTC Vive Focus 3 (Zero Latency’s current headset), the development team have managed to replicate the iconic world and visual style of Warhammer as closely as possible.

Environments carry a huge sense of scale, packed with detail and action in both foreground and background. Tyranid foes are grotesque and barrage players from all angles, allowing you to take in their details, especially during slow-motion sequences throughout the experience.

Actual in-game screenshot of a bat getting shot.

And while it gets close to an ideal VR experience, it’s still not quite perfect. Busy segments of the game result in moderate framerate drops, which tend to be more jarring and immersion-breaking in VR. There are also some minor visual bugs, particularly when loading between areas, which will hopefully continue to be improved.

Space Marine VR Review – Audio

Ensuring an immersive VR experience also requires similarly immersive audio. Space Marine VR nails this with crunching sound effects, exaggerated voice acting, and the hefty thump of rifle fire from all directions. You’ll have the ability to communicate with your party throughout the experience, but personally, I found myself focusing more on the audio to locate enemies from all directions.

What Else?

Unlike previous Zero Latency VR experiences, there have been a few changes made to Space Marine VR to encourage players to return for another round. The inclusion of an optional “Hard Mode” provides a more punishing experience for VR fanatics, deducting points for each death and increasing the health and difficulty of enemies.

Must be cardio day for Michael Destroyer of Worlds.

Chasing high scores is also one of the major perks of Zero Latency, which offers a global, local, and venue leaderboard for those eager to seek glory (and ego). Space Marine VR: Defenders of Avarax features dynamic difficulty, meaning the better you do, the more enemies will spawn, and the higher the score you’ll be able to achieve. As a result, playing through a second (or third) time might be your best shot at climbing the leaderboard and pleasing the Emperor!

Conclusion

With a wide range of weapons, dynamic difficulty, and a gorgeous world filled with horrific foes, this is as close as it gets to becoming a Space Marine. While the VR experience lasts only 30 minutes, this half-hour packs a punch and crams in as much action as possible. If you’re able to assemble a squad of loyal brothers, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more enjoyable VR session!

So, why should you play Space Marine VR: Defenders of Avarax?

• You’re a Warhammer fan eager to explore anything in the 40,000 universe.
• Action-packed gameplay without the need to own a VR headset.
• You’ve played previous Zero Latency experiences and enjoyed them.
• Have a group of friends who want to try out VR.

But why shouldn’t you play Space Marine VR: Defenders of Avarax?

• No other friends to recruit for a session? It’s best played in a group.
• You’re a flat gaming purist.
• No Zero Latency venue near you.

A session of Space Marine VR: Defenders of Avarax was kindly provided by Zero Latency VR for our Space Marine VR review! If you enjoyed this review, be sure to check out our impressions on Far Cry VR and join us on the Qualbert Discord to chat all things VR.