Recent reviews by JakeDaFoxie

This is perhaps one of my favorite engineering games of all time. It's not really a game, but more of a software toy, in that there are no objectives to complete, but you can build whatever you want. And there is a lot you can build too! Think of it like a set of Legos or Knex. People have already made several amazing things that you can check out in the workshop, to give you some idea of what is possible within this game.

The game features a diverse array of parts from which you can build all sorts of mechanical devices: cars, plains, robots, pinball machines, you name it. You can then control your creations though the built-in, node-based, visual programming system that's really easy to learn. If that was not enough, you can basically create your own nodes by writing LUA script, to do virtually anything you want.

As of writing this review, the game has been put on indefinite hiatus, meaning it won't be receiving any major updates for the foreseeable future, and possibly not at all. However I still think it's worth buying, if you are the creative type and don't mind setting your own goals. If enough people support the game, then maybe the developers will be able to revive it one day. If not, you are still getting a pretty solid software toy.

Sure there are a few things I would like to see added, but even in it's current state, you are really only limited by your own imagination. It's sad that the game did not receive Multiplayer support or a campaign mode, but then I personally don't think it needs that. If you are a creative type who just wants to build things, or if you want to learn about robotics or programming through experimentation, then I still highly recommend this game!

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a Non-Euclidean space? If you are a geometry nerd like me, you probably have. This game is the closest we are likely to get to that experience any time soon! It allows us to explore true curved space, and not just a bunch of invisible portals that are still Euclidean. And on top of that, we can experience the space in immersive VR! What more could you want?

I did feel some slight dizziness from the spacial distortions in VR, but it was not enough to distract from my enjoyment of the game. Those who are more prone to motion sickness, may wish to play in desktop mode instead. Although I highly recommend the VR experience, if you can stomach it.

I was able to complete most of the game in VR, but I struggled to finish some of the in-game tasks. I especially struggled with the drone race and the snowball fight. Fortunately I was able to complete them in desktop mode, and then continue in VR. And you will want to 100% this game, in order to see everything and get the best possible ending.

I have been a fan of CodeParade on YouTube for a while, so I might be a bit biased. But I still think that Hyperbolica is the best visualization of Non-Euclidean geometry I have ever seen. I'm still amazed at how he managed to render curved space in real time, despite watching his dev-logs. It truly is a marvel!

All Hail The Cook-O-Tron is a really fun cooking game in VR. It's starts slowly and builds up over time, adding more ingredients and appliances to cook with. The number of dishes you can make in this game is quite large and varied, given the simplistic arcade style gameplay. It also has boss battles, where you compete with another chef to serve as many customers as possible. These can be very challenging, even on the easy difficulty. I struggled to get past the subway stage. If you like arcade style cooking games, and are looking for a challenge, I highly recommend All Hail The Cook-O-Tron.

I really enjoyed my time playing Sep's Diner. It feels more laid back than other VR cooking games I've tried, although it dose get challenging in the later levels. I especially like the fact that there are multiple locations you can cook in, including a Diner, a Bakery, and a Kebab stand. Although the main campaign was over pretty quickly (for me anyway), there are two different endless modes, offering plenty of replayability. Although it is not necessary to play the game in full room scale, I highly recommend it if you have the space. It greatly adds to the immersion.

I don't often write reviews, but I really want this game to succeed! I've built computers in Logisim, and I've made Redstone circuits in Minecraft, but I've been waiting for something like this for a long time.

It's hard to call VCB a "game" as it is a pure sandbox, but this is a good thing! There are no components or game-modes to unlock, no resources to grind, no esoteric puzzles to solve. You are given everything you need, to build whatever you want, right from the start. If you are the type of player who prefers playing in "creative mode" this is the game for you!

Despite being in Early Access, there is still a tone of stuff that can be built with the game. To get an idea of what is possible, just look at some of the screenshots people have been posting. It's also blazing fast! The fastest logic simulator I've ever seen. (Verilog is probably faster, but I never got into that). My main complaint with other logic simulators, like Logisim, is that they are too slow, making certain designs impractical. But I don't have that limitation here.

On top of that, the developer has several ideas they want to implement in latter iterations of the game. I believe they have mentioned real time components, a virtual monitor, and a virtual keyboard, to name a few. This has the potential to become one of the best logic simulators of all time, and could easily replace Logisim as my go-to favorite.

My favorite part of this simulator is it's speed and simplicity. You get the basic logic gates, and few extra components like a toggle latch, and that's all you really need. More advanced stuff, like IO and memory are handled through a separate system. Also, because there are no sub-circuits or advanced components, you get to see the entire circuit laid out before you, in all it's complexity, which I think is a beautiful thing.

One downside is that there is no tutorial that explains how everything works, just a short in-game manual. If you don't know anything about Digital Logic, then a game like VBC might be overwhelming. But if you are willing to learn on your own, I think it's worth it. I highly recommend Ben Eater's Youtube series on Building An 8-bit Breadboard Computer. Otherwise, there are other games that do a better job of teaching these concepts, which you might want to play first.

TLDR: If you know anything about Digital Logic, buy this game! If you don't know anything about Digital Logic, but are willing to learn on your own, buy this game! Otherwise, play a different game that teaches Digital Logic, then come back and buy this game.