The most popular character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron-Man, aka good old Tony Stark, is a safe bet. Funny, well-built, intelligent and handsome as a god, the hero camped by Robert Downey Jr. has become, alongside a few other Avengers, a true pop-culture icon and a walking marketing weapon. However, resuming his role without the famous American performer is a risky bet as the public is hooked on it: Square Enix will try the exercise with its Marvel's Avengers next September and, before that, Sony commissioned Camouflaj for Marvel's Iron Man VR, an unprecedented adventure of the metal man with a new vision of the protagonist.
STARK ACADEMY
At the origin of the sympathetic République released in 2013, the Camouflaj studio had already got its hands on virtual reality by making it compatible with the Occulus Quest: in other words, with Marvel's Iron Man VR, the stakes are high. so much bigger since Sony makes it one of its big exclusives alongside The Last of Us Part. II and Ghost of Tsushima: here we are in the shoes of a Tony Stark with new features, first in his debut during the test of his first armor, then five years later… when things go wrong. In its good will to clean up the planet, Stark Industries has stopped selling weapons: the problem is that these - ultra-sophisticated drones - have obviously ended up in the hands of the Phantom, a supervillain (already seen in Ant-Man 2) turned against Tony Stark and ready to do anything to make him pay. Then follow twelve chapters alternating phases of action and narration/investigation; a mind-blowing adventure that we will remember mainly… for its fan-service.
If the story and its twists and turns are, on paper, rather honest - and it must be emphasized - it is rather the writing and the dialogues that are damn perfectible. Starting with the character of Tony Stark himself: the billionaire has apparently eaten a spoiled clown and his regular punchlines cause uncontrolled facepalms. Literally. The VF probably doesn't honor him either - there is no VOSTFR here - and makes his character likeable but almost just as annoying: we can fortunately count on the presence of two other rather successful figures, the AIs of Friday and Gunsmith who keep hitting each other for a yes or a no, but it's not Pepper or the Phantom who will come to arrange a narration with crudely written dialogues. Regardless, Marvel's Iron Man VR fortunately has other crisp assets.
TONYTRUANT
In a VR game, it is clearly the sensations that take precedence the most and as much to say that with the capacities of Iron Man, there is enough to do: we have there a man who flies, who dodges, who shoots, who investigates and tweaking his armor with a bunch of fancy computers in a house straight out of your wildest dreams. Yes, all this is possible in the video game and Camouflaj was keen to apply on each of its points. How to explain this certain quivering during the first test of the armor, unfolding all around your feverish body before approaching, finally, the mythical HUD of this futuristic helmet? This is a real pleasure, no doubt, quickly joined by other mechanics faithful to Iron Man. Thus, we will raise the palms of our hands to fire our blasters; we will aim with our wrists to launch our missiles; we'll smash the ground with our relentless metallic fist or summon the full power of our artificial heart for the ultimate burst of energy.
Flying, too, is a core gameplay mechanic that will require some apprehension, reacting to hand tilt and trigger pull. He is in any case sure of one thing: Marvel's Iron Man VR does not let itself be tamed like that and it will be necessary to get involved for several hours before assimilating the workings of it to move and fight correctly. In general, the developers have been able to correctly transcribe the main gestures of the superhero on the PS Move, as well the buttons of these are not optimal for certain gestures and can be, sometimes, confused. In the end, it is above all the flight that will be the most difficult to handle: here, tackling right-angle turns at full speed promises to be particularly complicated - the same is true for all precise and rapid movements - while the loopings and other antics of the genre are impossible for obvious reasons of ergonomics. In short, embodying Iron Man is exhilarating… but not necessarily accessible. A rather solid gameplay, far from being easily digestible nevertheless, but however caught up by other sequences more posed rather pleasant. 
MKII CINEMA
Thus, between two action missions in which he will be asked to face dozens of drones - moreover, we regret only facing this kind of very generic (or almost) enemies - Tony Stark will return to his base , will investigate in certain places or go to visit well-known figures. This is how the adventure is structured: airy action sequences of narrative sequences, ideal for resting your brain and your quickly tested nerves. It is thus possible to visit Tony Stark's barracks and do some additional activities there - throwing basketball, hitting a bag, getting a shaker - and, above all, improving your equipment. Thanks to the improvement points obtained during missions or optional aerobatic courses – there are some for all the places you visit – it will be possible to upgrade your armor and equip this or that part with a specific object. Two sets of armor are thus available to adapt to situations and everything will be done from the hub: it is the same to study your enemies thanks to holographic plans or choose your missions on a huge virtual globe. It seems silly to say but juggling between these different “menus” in real time, by hand as Tony Stark would do exactly on the big screen, has a little jubilant side. It's still nice, virtual reality. 
OUCH-RON MAN
On the other hand, other small points taint the experience. The first is clearly a certain repetitiveness during the fights which fail to renew themselves sufficiently. Every once in a while we're slipped in with a minor objective to dilute the gunfights - removing a generator, unlocking a door, etc. - but the clashes often last too long, especially since the bestiary is damn lacking in charisma. A problem which is not solved by certain chopped stagings which come to weigh down the action. Many fades to black are present when a scene is scripted, and this for gestures however minor: we then have the feeling of finding ourselves on unspectacular rails while their Hollywood potential is clearly not to be proven. The plane scene at the beginning, where we find ourselves in a private jet in full tumble, is a first obvious example!
This goes hand in hand with numerous and endless loading times and an often jagged technique, relying on minimal modeling sets, which are also found for certain lambda enemies. Even if they are often very smooth, the interior environments (and therefore narrative) clearly remain the most convincing, leaving certain exterior arenas on the floor with years of delay. Of course, we know that making a game in virtual reality requires certain concessions - moreover, the PlayStation VR is starting to show its age - and certain places like the SHIELD helipad provide some inevitable chills from fans... but the whole remains uneven . In any case, we can't blame Marvel's Iron Man VR for not being generous since it requires between 7 and 10 hours of play to be completed, the lifespan varying according to the level of difficulty and your will to do, for example. example, all the optional aerobatic courses or the additional level unlocked at the end. A more complete game than we thought when launching it the first time - not necessarily varied, however, beware - but which tends to prove the growing credibility of VR titles in the video game landscape.
