It's common knowledge, but for those who have forgotten, let's remember that Blood & Truth has its origins in The London Heist, the ultra-popular mini-game from PlayStation VR Worlds. At the time, holding a gun in your hands and planning a robbery was enough to impress the general public. Now that the latter is experienced in virtual reality, the developers had to work on other aspects to make their 45-minute demo a game in its own right. First there is the story that allows you to play Ryan Marks, a former British special forces agent forced to return to London to protect his family from the local underworld. We won't tell you anything about the scenario, but don't expect anything crazy with unpredictable twists. It's sewn with white thread like the majority of action films to which The London Heist refers, with a quality of writing that does not fly very high either - besides, we advise you to opt for the dubbing original, the VF making the dialogues even more awful. Fortunately, the game is not just a vulgar rail shooter as we might have feared at the start, and offers a certain freedom of movement. More concretely, by looking at different points in the area, and pressing the "Move" button on the PlayStation Move (one in each hand), Ryan moves in real time without giving us nausea. We even benefit from a pseudo-strafe to adjust our angle of fire, which is practical when the enemies come from all sides.
A true ode to Hollywood action films, the game from London Studio connects spectacular scenes through a high-flying production. Rarely has a virtual reality shooter made us feel so good, thanks in particular to well-placed mechanics and total immersion.
The most exhilarating remains this need to continue to position the head well: do not hesitate to lower it, to lean it to one side or the other in order to stay sheltered, and to raise it as soon as the we have a shooting window. A mechanic that requires a little getting used to so as not to take much against tough opponents, it's true, but once mastered, Blood & Truth becomes a real ballet on which John Woo would not spit. If the title of London Studio is often associated with the Hong Kong director, it is among other things because he multiplies the slow motions with class. Some slow motion sequences trigger on their own to punctuate key scenes, others, on the other hand, are activated when the two “Move” keys are pressed simultaneously. As you will have understood, this is a special ability that is unlocked and whose function is double. It not only slows down time (classic), but also highlights the weak points of over-equipped soldiers. We can therefore get rid of it in three or four well-placed bullets; ideal for saving ammunition although you rarely run out of it in Blood & Truth, whatever the chosen difficulty level. It's a shame because it would have put more pressure on the player's shoulders, especially since we notice quite quickly that no indicator is visible on the screen. The idea is not necessarily bad in the sense that it pushes us to play on instinct, to get out of our comfort zone.
The lack of a vital gauge doesn't change anything (the hero's health regenerates gradually), but not knowing how many cartridges are left in the magazine can be confusing at first, as can ignoring whether the slow motion can be activated or not. The surest way not to end up with the empty barrel is to constantly reload your arsenal, which allows you to appreciate the efforts made in terms of movement recognition. To draw Ryan Marks' guns, you have to pretend to take them out of their holsters, knowing that he can also carry two popguns on his back. Same thing when you have to reload them: 1) remove the magazine from its case, 2) slide it into the weapon. To be honest, the system isn't the most accurate, especially when bullets start flying everywhere. No doubt aware of the approximations in terms of calibration, the developers have made sure that the PlayStation Move vibrates slightly when the hands of the character are correctly placed on his weapons or his chargers. Well seen. Well seen also the recoil to encourage us to firmly hold a pump or a big assault rifle. Against opponents equipped with bulletproof vests, it is better to aim accurately. And since we are talking about the intricacies of the game, let us point out the possibility of shooting a grenade sent by a guard; better, we can catch it in flight before returning it to him. Twirling the gun like a cowboy is still on the program, putting the magazine on the butt to slide it into the weapon with a sharp movement of the wrist as well.
GANGS OF LONDON
In short, nothing has been left to chance, including the shooting glasses with which the illusion is perfect: even with the PlayStation VR screwed on the head, we are invited to close one eye before pressing the trigger. Fun, we swear. On this subject, the silencer does not act as a gadget in Blood & Truth because it allows you to enter buildings without alerting all the cavalry. Even if the opportunities are not as numerous as in a game dedicated mainly to infiltration, there are still passages where the enemies turn their backs on us; we would then have liked to be able to neutralize them with our bare hands. A frustration quickly erased by the chases which, again, were the subject of particular care. Consistent in its approach, the studio does not require that pursuers be systematically shot to get rid of them. Explode the wheels, shoot the driver directly when several enemies are in a car, or even engage the bullet time to highlight the sensitive points of the machine; the pleasures are varied. Blood & Truth's AI won't make an impression, let's be clear, but the chases have the merit of pushing us to watch each side of our vehicle. Indeed, the militia is not content to attack from the front, and it happens that we take bullets without knowing where the shooters are positioned.
Everything is not perfect, however, and we regret the poverty of the scenario as well as the "weak times" punctuated by laborious climbing. And then, apart from the main story, we must admit that the content is not crazy.
Interesting on paper, Ryan's toolkit is ultimately just a pretext to integrate uninteresting puzzles. The problem is that an indicator automatically shows which material to use to pick a lock, unscrew an electrical panel, or short-circuit an electronic box. Obviously, London Studio wanted to cram all the characteristics specific to action films. Moments of calm where you have to climb, crawl, or even hang in the void, do not really send dreams. With gyroscopic features that twist at times, these Yamakazi-style sequences become painful. On the other hand, nothing to say about the sound design, and we are not only talking about the soundtrack worthy of Hollywood productions. No, we first think of all those sound effects that give character to each place that Ryan Marks explores: in the middle of the desert, the treatment will not be the same as in a factory or a nightclub. The kind of detail that sublimates an already top-notch achievement. Without achieving the same level of authenticity as a Detroit: Become Human, the facial expressions are top-notch; just compare Colin Salmon to the agent Carson he plays in the game to understand that London Studio wanted to take a step forward in this area. Motion capture obliges, the animation and the modeling of the protagonists are not left out, whether it is the main cast or the attackers.
ONLY THE TRUTH, SHE RECKONED SHE OWED
We are used to saying of virtual reality that it damages the graphic quality of games; this is absolutely not the case for Blood & Truth which is undeniably one of the most beautiful action games on PlayStation VR. There are some really kick-ass scenes, the most incredible being the final mission which looks like a huge firework display. But even before the epilogue, we are entitled to explosions that put the mouthful as well as rail shooter type sections (for once) that we replayed just because they slam. Once the main campaign is complete (between five and six hours), you can take the time to scrape the stars hidden in each level to afford additional equipment, or even try the "Time Trial" mode in which the objective is to reach a maximum of targets in a minimum of time. We'd love for Blood & Truth to host major DLCs in the future, but aside from the Hard tier, nothing has leaked out. As long as you think about it, the less seasoned can rely on the "Kinematics" mode with which the ammunition is unlimited, the health more solid, the aiming assisted by a laser, and the parts unlocked automatically. Finally, it is important to point out that the game is compatible with the DualShock 4, but the ergonomics take a big hit.
