Eagle Flight Review – Playstation VR

Ubisoft released its VR flying game Eagle Flight on the Oculus Rift and now the game has found its way to the Playstation VR. The concept is rather original even if you could replace the birds and animals with fighter jets and people. Ubisoft has gone for a completely organic game as players assume the role of an eagle flying and living in a neo-Paris where there’s no humans left and just the wilds of nature to contend with even if it means having a bit of artistic freedom to work with such as elephants and bears running rampant (escaped from the Zoo no doubt).

The premise of the game is rather simple, you fly above, below and in-between the buildings of Paris’ zones and dominate by completing challenges in the story mode. Here you follow the plight of the eagle and fend off any threats from other birds, animals and generally show off your flying prowess and how well you can screech at other creatures in order to take them out – there’s that artistic license. It’s a shame there’s no survival element on offer where you hunt for food and keep predators off your patch but it’s not really that style of game and is far more subdued and relaxing – not to say that it’s terribly easy , in fact on the contrary. Starting off fairly tame the game eases you into collecting stars by completing events. Gain three stars for being quick and one star if you’re a slow coach, or bird in this instance. Gaining stars unlocks more events until you’ve gained a high number of stars and unlock all of Paris’ districts to freely fly around.

The missions on offer range from collecting feathers or grabbing fish jumping out of the water , navigating a predetermined route through various obstacles and hazards, flying through rings or most thrilling taking out predators and other birds in aerial combat. There’s quite a lot to work through for a VR game and your mileage might vary depending on how prone you are to VR sickness although this is entirely subjective.

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What’s rather interesting about the flight mechanics for this game is the fact players steer the eagle direction by way of turning their head rather than using the control pad which seems like an odd choice. The control pad isn’t ditched either as this is still used for speed control and defensive/offensive moves. The head steering sensitivity can be tailored in the options but there’s no alternative control where players can use the control stick to move the eagle. Whilst obviously less immersive it seems like an odd decision to not include the option as head turning can cause strain after prolonged play. There’s also an option to decouple the eagle head movement so you can look around without moving in that direction which serves as a great way to hunt down the game’s collectibles. Unfortunately this is locked in the story mode until completion which seems like another odd design choice. At least give the player the option to play the game how they like.

Eagle Flight is a pleasant looking game with an interesting take on how Paris would look like if abandoned by humans and nature left to take over. The graphics are on the simple side though with basic flat textures. There’s a massive sense of being able to explore tunnels and holes in buildings, fly low over rivers and generally feel a part of the city rather than merely observing it from above. It’s a colourful game too as it transitions from day to night and although the far draw distances could be better it’s still offers some details which look great from the air. Audio is also a massive part of the experience with a softly spoken narrator telling the story and some excellent music creating a relaxing game in VR.

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Gamers will find a lot to do in Eagle flight and spend lots of time perfecting each event to obtain the best score. You’ll also go up against others in global leaderboards so there’s always a challenge. Aside from free flight mode, collectibles to hunt down and the story you can also team up and play 3 vs 3 multiplayer which offers a fun and intense distraction although finding suitable players might post a problem at times. For the price, you’ll easily get your monies worth from this game although your neck might have something else to say about longer sessions.

Eagle Flight is an interesting game to come to VR but ultimately it works and provides a fun and challenging excursion through Paris amongst its relaxing surrounds. It’s a full-on game though that is constantly moving which means if you’ve not got your VR legs it could cause sickness issues. The question remains is it worth it? Well yes as it’s reasonably priced and has enough content to keep you busy. However, a lack of control options limits the appeal and one is sometime left imagining what the idea would be like under different circumstances such as a superhero game instead of birds. Either way, if you want something different from the VR norm that’s not a third person VR game or first person walking sim then this is worth checking out.

Score 8/10.

Written by: Rob Cram

Rob Cram has hundreds of video game reviews, thousands of articles under his belt with years of experience in gaming and tech. He aims to remain fair and free from publisher/developer influence. With his extensive knowledge, feels his gaming opinions are valid and worth sharing. Agreement with his views are entirely optional. He might have a bias towards cyberpunk.