I don't want to sound like one of those super negative guys that comes around to take a steaming pile on a positively reviewed game, but what the hell is with these reviews? This game is extremely boring to me. The "puzzles" are trial and error with no thought required. The pacing is slow, the sound is almost non-existant, and a few of the mechanics are actually meaningless. As a first foray into VR, sure, it's not completely terrible, but beyond the fact that you're there, which the game gets just by being a VR title, it has no wow factor or fun factor. It's not for everyone, that's for sure.
Dimensional
- Release Date:
- Dec 14, 2016
- Developer:
- Brett Jackson
- Publisher:
- Head Start Design
- Platforms:
- Windows
Game Tags
About This Game
New Arcade Mode
The Arcade Mode allows you to browse and jump to any challenge in the game. Tag your favourites to build a playlist of unique VR moments to demo to your friends.
Vive Users
Please make sure you start SteamVR before launching the game.
About the Game
A first-person, narrative-driven puzzle game
Dimensional throws you into dangerous chambers to save an alien race. This is not a passive experience. To succeed, you'll have to feel and act as though you're really there. You'll be standing, moving around, manipulating objects with realistic physics and reacting to dangers.
- Nausea-free - a very comfortable experience that won't make you feel sick
- Real-life movement - walk, duck, dodge, lean, jump to avoid obstacles and search your environment. Only 1.2m x 50cm required to play. Full room-scale supported.
- Puzzles - you'll need brains, reflexes and precision to beat the chambers
- Explore - find the hidden messages and learn the truth
- Mic support - expect to be heard as well as seen
- Choice - teleporting for comfort + optional FPS-style controls
More than just puzzles and action, I'm trying to put you in a variety of unique situations that can only be appreciated in VR.
There's lots to experience including:
- Slide along a narrow ledge as a giant pendulum swings inches from your face
- Test your courage by jumping off a high platform.
- Carefully move your head through a narrow gap filled with spikes
- Knock blocks out of a wall without bringing the roof crashing down on your head
- Dodge and jump over lasers
- + lots more
There's a story for you to find. It's up to you if you want to find the hidden messages and obscure areas and work out what's going on, or just play through the levels and enjoy the puzzles.
Area required
1.2m x 50cm required to play
Dimensional uses its own chaperone system which allows you to move around even if you only have a small playing area.
If you don't think you have enough room, try the free demo first. You may be surprised how little room you need.
The story
A trans-dimensional race is being hunted to extinction. Many years ago humans helped them build hidden chambers on Earth to safely hide their offspring. Now the hunters have built machines to smash their way into the chambers.
Can you rescue their offspring before it's too late?
The chambers are filled with traps and challenges that can only be completed by a human working together with an alien droid.
Your companion
You're accompanied by Digby. He's not the brightest or happiest droid, but give him a target and he'll hit it. Use him to manipulate objects or for more destructive purposes. Think of Digby as your hands and fists.
FPS-style controls
FPS mode allows you to move using analogue sticks like traditional first person shooters. Only use FPS mode if it doesn't cause nausea. You can toggle between teleporting and FPS mode as required. You need to exit FPS mode to teleport.To activate:
* On the HTC Vive, click the grip button to toggle FPS-mode on and off. Use the right track pad to rotate and the left track pad to move.
* On the Oculus DK2 / Rift, hold down your left shoulder button (or right grip button for OculusTouch). Use the right analogue stick to rotate and the left to move.
When in FPS mode you drive your floor grid around. For this to make sense you should face forwards (as indicated by directional arrows) before starting to move. Alternative see the in-game menu to change the forward direction to be controller by the direction of your laser pointer.
An experimental game
I'm a solo-developer and spend all my time experimenting in VR to see what works best. Dimensional is a result of my continuing experiments to see how to make the most of this new technology and create highly immersive experiences.
Standing and using real-life movements is a key component. I wanted to allow as many people to play as possible so I use a custom chaperone system where you only need enough room to take a couple of steps forward.
Teleporting provides a nausea-free way to move around, but FPS-style controls can be used if you prefer (teleporting is still required to jump over gaps and reach heights)
Dimensional insists you move. You'll have to walk, crouch and lean as you explore and duck and even jump to avoid dangers. The ability and requirement to react as you would in real life increases immersion.
Interacting with the environment and seeing it react as expected (including dynamic lighting and shadows) makes the chambers feel more believable.
The microphone is used so that you can be seen and heard. Shout at droids (some will shoot at you), or activate sensors with your voice.
To complete the chambers you'll need to solve problems as though you are really there rather than thinking about it like a typical game.
Screenshots
User Reviews
An excellent beginning! At 0.2.0 this game is already wonderfully fleshed out. If you've played Unseen Diplomacy (or wished you could!) this is a full game along the same lines, with more polish and puzzling. Level-based; there are 5 levels (plus another.... :) ) in version 0.2.0. I'm looking forward to more! The developer answered my first question in hours and seems highly motivated. Absoutely an Early Access title worth throwing a few bucks at - it's worth the price of admission for what it is, let alone what it promises to be.
Definitely recommend this game for anyone who is just trying out vr and wants to see what it is capable of. after the time i played it, i would have actually paid 4x the price for it. Overall very well thought out game. There is a definitive feeling of presence in here... looking over the edge of a room to see lava below you definitely gives you the same feeling as real life. Comfort: I usually get sick playing a lot of vr games, but this one is pretty comfortable as long as you stay away from the walls(there seems to be a bug in the current version).
Excellent use of roomscale. One of my favorite vr games! Only complaint is I cant get past the laser area when you have to jump over. I've tried jumping a lot of times. No dice.
Expected to like this game, but it wasn't very good. I got the sense that there was some sort of attempt at a plot, but sorta felt like I was "along for the ride" and the plot was unfolding elsewhere and these floating robots were occasionally clueing me in. Controls were just sorta obscure and weird. Teleporting is often done by obscuring the entire play area while movement happens, which is really slow and annoying. Sometimes you get somehow misaligned from the center of your place space, and the whole thing goes white 'til you fix it. This happens far too often and seemingly for no good reason.
I wish I had tried the demo, then I might've known to stay away from this game. Very simple, not much actual gameplay to speak of. Teleport mechanics are inconsistent at best and constantly remind you that you're wearing a VR headset by virtue of forcing you to work around the limitations of your space. The "teleport here GO" minigame is interesting the first time, frustrating the second, and downright annoying after that. Teleporting to beacons would seem a fine mechanic if it didn't also randomly re-orient your space for you--just bring me there in the direction I'm still facing! There are massive arrows you can't get rid of telling you which way is the "front" of your playspace, but I'm really unsure why it should matter. That's not the sort of thing I want to have to worry about, and it shatters immersion. Controls are also rather strange, although the "hold your controllers close to your face" mechanic is nice. The story seems rather bolted on after the fact, not helped by...
I don't normally leave comments, and this has potential, but why put motion in the menus? You have enveloping domes that spin around you from the beginning, a drone shooting a green laser grid, and every menu has motion in the backdrop. All of these motions cause motion sickness, and none of them are needed. A static menu, no smoke or backdrop movement is needed at all. I will grant you used the correct form of motion in that of blink, but the other motion in the staging area and menus are just unnecessary.
I've got about 30 VR games and this is in my top 3. It's not about legging it around killing things or doing foward rolls every 5 seconds. It's just very imersive slow moving puzzel type game that gives you a good take on what VR is really good at. It has the feeling that a lot of effort from a dedicated small development team or person has been put in. The teleporting works perfectly with this alowing me to play behind my desk in very limited space without making me sick at all. While playing I like to imagine I'm not acutally pretending to be there but that I've actually been virtually placed there - so teleporting within the world is actually how you would do it in real life - if you know what I mean!!!
Only about an hour in but already very impressed. Solid graphics, humor, excellent use of room-scale & moving your body around. Bargain price! Definitely recommend.
[h1]TLDR:[/h1] A physical, physics puzzler. By turns maddening then actually kind of exhilarating. If you can tolerate the horrible indie trappings and missteps, this holds some unique fun. [h1]Amateur Pros:[/h1] Physically dodge between giant swinging hammers, nip through doorways at the last second, teleport through tiny gaps to save yourself from descending ceilings, in this horrible looking indie oddity It's a physical, physics puzzler, is what this is. Where it excels is in its indie experimentation. You get a load of ideas and tweaks thrown at you throughout its otherwise rustic but humorous 'escape the alien lab' scenario. Its main hook is the way it imports your playspace into the game and lets you orientate it for specific physical puzzles. (Will you need to dodge left and right to avoid some sentry bullets before teleporting behind it? Swivel your playspace so you're sure you can). It sounds cumbersome, and in many ways it is. (As is the proto free-motion, which you ca...
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System Requirements
Minimum
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
- OS *: Windows 7 SP1 64 bit or newer
- Processor: Intel i5-4590
- Memory: 4 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD R9 290 equivalent or greater
- Storage: 2 GB available space
- VR Support: SteamVR or Oculus PC. Standing or Room Scale
- Additional Notes: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift (or DK2) required + 1.2m x 50cm of space to move around
Recommended
- Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
FAQ
How much does Dimensional cost?
Dimensional costs $4.99.
What are the system requirements for Dimensional?
Minimum: Minimum: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS *: Windows 7 SP1 64 bit or newer Processor: Intel i5-4590 Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD R9 290 equivalent or greater Storage: 2 GB available space VR Support: SteamVR or Oculus PC. Standing or Room Scale Additional Notes: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift (or DK2) required + 1.2m x 50cm of space to move around Recommended: Recommended: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
What platforms is Dimensional available on?
Dimensional is available on Windows PC.
Is Dimensional worth buying?
Dimensional has 79% positive reviews from 47 players.
When was Dimensional released?
Dimensional was released on Dec 14, 2016.
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