Pistol Whip Review – A Musical Hitman Simulator (PSVR)

Aug. 7, 2020 - Written by Rebecca Smith - Playstation Lifestyle

Virtual reality really lends itself towards the shooter and rhythm genres. It immerses you in the game in a way you can’t achieve with just a controller. These genres are normally very different from one another, but Cloudhead Games decided they would combine them for their latest game, whilst also drawing inspiration from “God-mode” films like John Wick and Equilibrium. The result feels like Superhot and Beat Saber had a baby, and that’s certainly not a bad thing.

Pistol Whip is an on-rails shooter set to the rhythm of dance tunes from artists like HVDES, Black Tiger Sex Machine, Draeden, LeKtriQue, Sam Lamar, and Apashe. Rather than one lengthy campaign, there are 15 individual scenarios instead, each set to an individual track. Whether it’s clearing enemies from the town’s retail district or a trip through a ruined church and its graveyard, the aim is to make players feel “breathtaking” as they take down enemies with their PlayStation Move pistols.

Pistol Whip Review – The Most Stylish Hitman

To the beat of the track, players need to shoot enemies, reload, avoid bullets, and dodge obstacles. With auto aim activated by default, you immediately feel like you’ve been a gun-toting hitman for years. Enemies quickly fall victim to your gunfire. Every now and again, enemies will spawn within arm’s reach, giving a great opportunity to pistol whip them instead, something that never gets old. Unfortunately, one of the game’s few faults is that these don’t always register. Several times I’ve pistol whipped through an enemy, rather than taking them down.

The track can’t be failed if you don’t stick to the beat. Ignoring the rhythm of the track completely and just shooting enemies is completely possible, but the resulting overall score won’t be as good. Dispatching an enemy with a headshot on the beat awards a maximum 200 points. Points are then deducted for being off the beat or hitting a limb instead. Being hit by a stray bullet isn’t a catastrophe as armor can be restored by taking down more enemies. Getting hit again before that armor is fully restored means death and the end of the scenario.

You’ll always want to have one more go because the game is extremely addictive and fun. A failed scenario will usually result in trying again and again until you’re triumphant. A higher score (and that elusive S rank) will only be obtained through practice. Only a flawless run, where all enemies are taken down, will achieve the top score. This means learning the levels and recognizing the enemy spawn points.

The latter is made much easier thanks to the game’s simplistic art style, which is similar to Superhot. Each scene is made up of just a handful of colors from a small palette. Despite the different themes, the buildings are made up of similar building blocks. If there’s a building with a ground level window, you can bet there’ll be an enemy appearing there as you approach. Holes in the floor? They’ll be enemies in the cellar too. Once those building blocks are familiar, it’s easy to predict where enemies are likely to show up, even when playing the level for the first time.

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