As soon as you are ready and connected to the Internet, you can start right away: Matchmaking finds you a player or bot with a similar rank, and after the countdown, the thick colorful projectiles already float through the air. The opponents face each other on two small platforms and cover each other with numerous energy balls. The respective opponent has to dodge them, of course. It's almost like an old Bullet Hell shooter - except that the bullets fly through the room in 3D like in Superhot VR! Of course, this requires full physical effort, with a slow slalom through the sea of bullets from the shotgun, diving under a few pistol shots, or last-second evasive maneuvers when the dangerously fast red bullet whizzes past your head.
Even real hops over a projectile can be useful, since, in keeping with the motion controls, only the head, narrow torso and hands count as hit zones. You eventually become a floating fantasy creature here, for which (not too many) visual extras can be unlocked, such as eight skins, various banners, or podium decorations. If you want, you can invest real money in this. This is also possible for new weapons, but fortunately, the unlocks are also tied to the rank. It's a pity, however, that the overall experience is so minimalistic. There is only one public mode, which, depending on availability, can find a human player or a bot of a similar skill level. Additionally, like in Acron, you are allowed to create a private room for friends to join, e.g. via code. It's hard to imagine how much fun a full-fledged campaign in the style of a great tennis game would be!
Conclusion
What an intense battle: even in the implementation of PC headsets, there is a creative, incredibly physical future sports game! Developer Resolution Games may call its game a shooter - but when you wriggle through the clouds of bullets in a two-player duel with full physical effort, it becomes a sporting test of perception, body awareness, a good ear, and quick tactical decisions. Above all, penning the enemy with laser grenades and scattering projectiles plays an important role. The fun of quick reactions, the intensity, and the tension brings back memories of good old futuristic sports duels like in Hypa-Ball on the C64! Blaston could lay a similar foundation for VR future sports as the old home computer game did in its time for more complex series like Speedball. The monthly updates have also only brought small additions so far. This once again shows how cautiously VR studios still equip their multiplayer titles.
