One word I would use to describe Blood and Truth is: adrenaline. From tense signal shootouts to massive multi-enemy gunfights, I never for a second got bored. There were times I felt like James Bond, stealthily sneaking through compounds, while silently killing enemies; and times where I felt like John Wick, dual wielding handguns and shooting my way through hordes of enemies as they chased after me. To put it another way, Blood and Truth is the type of game PlayStation VR truly needed.
Developed by SIE London Studio, creators of similar VR title, London Heist, Blood and Truth gives you what you want out of a first person shooter. Responsive guns, heart pounding action, and plenty of bad guys to fill with holes. In addition to an action packed experience, there is an equally intense story.
The game follows Ryan Marks, a Special Forces operative, who after returning home learns his father died. As you progress through Blood and Truth, you uncover secrets about your family, adversary and even interrogator. The story is surprisingly deep and well thought out, it manages to avoid being too cheesy, while keeping some of the genres more amusing tropes. Though, that doesn’t stop it from being, at times, a bit cliché.
Something that I didn’t expect was the amazing soundtrack. It was reminiscent of Casino Royale, with exciting cinematic music, and a good helping of London Grime, a very underrated genre of rap that is oddly underutilized in games. It blends perfectly with a variety of scenes, be them action or just spending time with your family. The orchestral sounds sync with the James Bond-esque elements, with Grime offering a grittier sound that accentuates crazed gunfights across London. Overall it was an amazing mix, one I’m sure we will see recreated in the future.
Then there are the graphics. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were a significant upgrade from previous titles, though it still has a ways to go. It looked realistic enough feel immersed, through there were times I felt uncomfortable due to brightness. Other than that, and the slight hiccup where shooting a gun while looking down the sight with the muzzle flash, it was an overall enjoyable game to look at.
To round it out, the gameplay is fantastic. The action was immersive, with guns and threats that felt real. Every gun has a different feel. Pistols have little to no recoil and are extremely accurate, with automatic rifles requiring two hands to have any kind of accuracy. As for damage, when you get hit blood drips from your forehead and your vision will go blurry. I found myself jumping in real life and moving from side to side to avoid bullets as though it was me actually being shot at. For those looking for an easier time, cinematic mode is a more laid back version of normal, allowing you to focus on making choices to progress the story.
There were only a few issues I had with Blood and Truth. At times, the tracking would be off and it felt like I was losing calibration more than I should’ve. The other was, sometimes a dropped gun would disappear, making it extremely difficult to progress further. These can be fixed with a future patch, though for now they’re pretty annoying. Another issue dealt with two handed guns. Loading on the right side didn’t work, forcing me to use my left hand, something that is needlessly difficult as a right handed person. This is another thing that can be fixed in the future or by resetting your console, but players still should be aware of.
Verdict
Overall, Blood and Truth is amazing. I enjoyed it greatly and something I’ll be playing for the foreseeable future. There were multiple times I forgot it was just a game, and where I actually cared for Ryan’s family as though they were my own. The soundtrack was one of the better ones as of late, and gives me a reason to push grime on my friends and family by making them play the game. If you have a PSVR, this game is a must play.
[Editor’s Note: Blood and Truth was reviewed on PSVR platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]
