Silicon Rising Gameplay Impressions – Cyberpunk Workout Engaged!

With the news Cyberpunk 2077 delayed until later in 2020 perhaps there is a cyberpunk void that needs filling. Cue KUKRGAME’s VR shooter Silicon Rising. Take a look at our hands-on impressions and gameplay. In addition: the developer aims to add more levels, a co-op mode, survival mode, no checkpoint mode and more which will certainly add to the mileage.

Set within a future world controlled by A.I, you play as part of team ready to save humanity. The game plans to release in February as a Steam Early Access game for VR headsets (we’re using a HP Reverb WMR headset by-the-way). From our playtime, the core experience is complete but the developer is keen to progressively add more to it over time.

After several hours playing and besting the five missions on offer, Silicon Rising presents a neat mix of shooting actions. The opening mission for example has you fight-off enemy droids through the city streets with enemies coming at you from all angles. Whilst the second sees you sniping from afar in a stealth focused mission. Add a touch of driving and shooting at the same time, some boss battles and you have a nice mixture of VR actions. The story is perhaps not the main element here and whilst it adds some context it isn’t deep or impacting. Perhaps some lore outside of the missions could help this.

Story aside, prepared to work up a sweat. Even on the easiest setting the game is quite the challenge. The introduction first mission sets the stage for what’s to come and feels quite tame in comparison. It’s quite easy to get into a rhythm and learn the enemy patterns after a few attempts. Replenish health, and grab new guns by shooting the icons which appear to increase your offensive capabilities, and chances. At the end of each mission you’re rewarded for accuracy and headshots with a total score if global leaderboards appeals to you.

Mission two changes things quite a bit and feels a lot less energetic. Perhaps to allow you to compose yourself after the full-on assault of the previous mission. Cleverly you can use two sniper positions and swap at will, but it’s pretty unforgiving if you alert the enemy via breaking glass or bodies discovered during the stealth phase. There’s some learning involved during this mission as it’s not entirely clear what your objectives are at first. Hopefully the developers make it clearer what the mission parameters are before the final release.

Mission three and beyond begins the workout. The game requires roomscale for best results, although we beat it in a very small standing play area. Enemies come thick-and-fast here and not only do you have to avoid an indestructible craft, but moving shielded droids as well. Prepare to crouch low on the floor if necessary to avoid attacks from the rear. Luckily you’re able to teleport to select points. However, these don’t always protect you from incoming fire. We found shifting quickly between the two teleport points a valid tactic to avoid damage; in fact during several moments this seemed like the only way to survive.

After several attempts and some sweating, Silicon Rising offers a pleasant workout. It took us about 4 hours to beat the campaign missions after several replays on the easiest setting. It’s not a game you can simply stand on the spot and shoot at will unless you have mad-skills. Prepare to move around or dodge by shifting your upper torso or ducking low to the ground.

Visually, the game looks fantastic and offers some cool neon-lit locations that ooze the cyberpunk aesthetic. It’s a shame you cannot linger and have a good look around. Perhaps a photo or tourist mode would be beneficial because it looks so nice. Gunplay is also pretty solid, with satisfying headshots of the droids. More enemy variety could spice things up a little though.

Silicon Rising seems like a cool shooter game for VR gamers even though shooters are quite common on the platform. Whilst this game doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it is a fun experience even if a little tiring. If we were to offer suggestion for improvement, then perhaps present alternate routes which change the outcome. Some additional modes of play such as a challenge mode where you stay in one of the more visually appealing locations with objectives or wave based survival. Perhaps some secret weapons or an Arcade Mode with a timer and score multipliers. Aside from extra difficulty and leaderboard there isn’t much more to play with. The game presents various interactive elements such as drones and seagulls, shooting these could net rewards or secrets.

Silicon Rising launches soon on PC and is a cool game so far in need of some extra bits-and-bobs which hopefully the developers include over-time. If you like Cyberpunk visuals then it’s a nice, but basic game to dive into so far.

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.