VRLove Hands-on Impressions & Video – The Sims VR in the Making?

Coming to PC to you soon and available now via Patreon VRLove is a new VR and 2D game in development from a dedicated team of the same name who seem passionate about bringing erotic entertainment to the masses. However, from the outside looking in it’s very early days for this project but having played the 0.8.3 pre-alpha build there’s a lot of potential here if they can tidy up a few things and turn this into an actual game. I’ve played a lot of adult VR entertainment on the Rift and there are some projects which look very promising indeed and others that just feel like a VR model viewer. However, VRlove seems to be one of a very few attempting to make a game and this has to be appreciated even if at this juncture there’s much to be done before it could be classed as ready. Given the right direction this could be the first VR game that is comparable to a VR version of The Sims.

Firstly, there’s quite a number of options for creating a male or female avatar which is good but takes a bit of time to adjust all of the sliders to get the right look. At times it can feel like you’re simply creating the same model unless you opt for really exaggerated features. Obviously not everyone has time to sit and create, so a neat feature would be to allow users to upload their creations for others to import into their game – saving time in the process. VRlove themselves could also offer some more templates beyond the scanned real porn stars they plan to use – Amarna Miller comes as the first scanned model by the way. That said it’s cool being able to look and sculpt your avatar in VR so that’s a plus. There’s some limited clothing options available at present as well to give your character a unique look. Currently you need to earn in-game currency by performing actions to get more credits. This is actually a good system although I wonder if they will add the option to buy credits with real cash when more items are added for those with no patience. As long as people who invest the time to get things for free is still viable then all is good here.

So, once you’ve dabbled with the character creation with your big-boobed,fat or slim muscular built god or goddess then you’re free to dive into the Story mode or Free mode. Now if you create multiple characters then you can have some fun in the Free mode with up to three others invited to your apartment. My only gripes with this mode stems from the lack of flow and interactions between the characters. Your character can perform all sorts of emotes and animations before even touching another character which is good, but without any basis behind these at present they seem like a wasted opportunity. What I would like to see (and I hope VRlove add this) is having characters not only respond to being cheered, winked at, danced with etc. but some sort of like,love or hate state for each character. Add some personality algorithms and you have something to work towards especially if elements such as jealousy are included. So let’s say you dive in all touchy feely with a character you’ve only just met it would be great to have her rebuke your advances and knock you back. If there was a way to win the favour of the characters (much like we’ve seen in the recent House Party game) then that would add another layer.

At present, you call up your contacts, they come over and then just aimless walk around or follow you. There’s no dialogue and at the press of a button you can engage in sexual activity. Interestingly you can swap from one guest to another at the touch of button. A more fluid transition would be great here alongside those watching being more interactive or responding to what’s happening (such as wanting in, playing with themselves or being totally disgusted and leaving the room).

Aside from the Free Mode, the story mode does flesh things out a little but is a rather simple affair with little challenge. It was very easy to bed the Amarna Miller character and so one would hope other characters would require more skill. The story mode shows off the most promise but also the game’s limitations. As mentioned, there needs to be more wooing, flirting and meaning with the emotes. But also the character interaction is quite static once engaged. It would be good to control the speed of strokes for example and have more facial expressions on the characters overall. There also seem to be few sound effects which is a shame. That said, The Sims like made up language when Amarna speaks during conversation is an interesting idea (I think it was made up) as it avoids repetition.

As mentioned, VRLove has potential, it’s a bit rough around the edges and could do with some more spit and polish especially with graphics effects such as mood lighting,character animations alongside soundbites, voices and sound effects. However, you can see how the game could develop over time which has me all excited. If they can go deeper with their ambitions here (adding more locations too and motion control support) then I believe this will be a must have adult VR game – game rather than just a sexual experience being key here. Certainly worth keeping an eye on at present or backing.

NSFW Version of the video can be viewed here.

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.