Elysium Trials is a brand new rail shooter VR game that will put your skills to the test. Wielding a crossbow, and a lightning staff you have to fight your way through the trials and confront some extremely dangerous dragons.
In this post, we will review the game based on the following criteria: gameplay, fitness intensity, audience score, immersion, replayability and see how it stacks up against Pistol Whip, to ultimately decide if Elysium Trials is worth buying.
Verdict
Table of Contents
Video Review
Stats
| Release Date | 28 July 2023 |
| Developer | Filotimo Innovations |
| Rating on Oculus store with # of reviews | 5/5 (11 Reviews) |
| % of upvotes on Steam with # of Reviews | 100% (11 Reviews) |
| Genre | Action, Indie, Shooter |
| Replayability | Medium |
Gameplay
The gameplay of Elysium Trials is fast-paced and fun.
The game has eight different enemies, each with their own attacks and behaviors. You can also perform combos on each unique enemy by hitting their weak spots or exploiting their patterns. For example, you can shoot an archer in the head after hitting their body, or blast a dragon knight in the mouth when it opens. The game rewards you with essence for each successful hit, which you can use to upgrade to unlock new skins and progress through harder difficulties.
The difficulty is no joke, it’s way harder than pistol whip so don’t expect to just instantly crank up the difficulty and the auto aim is far less forgiving.
Elysium Trials Fitness Intensity
Elysium Trials is not a super intense VR game in terms of fitness and cardio output. It does get you moving and ducking during some fights, but nothing compared to Pistol Whip due to the lack of obstacles and no melee mechanics. The game is more focused on skill and strategy than physical exertion. However, it can still be a good way to have some fun and burn some calories and of course is gonna be far better than sitting down.
Audience Score
Still early days but the initial players have given this game extremely good feedback. With reviews saying it is the best rail shooter of 2023!
Immersion
Elysium Trials is a very immersive VR game that transports you to vastly different fantasy worlds. The game’s graphics are detailed and sufficient for a rail shooter, with realistic lighting and shadows but what surprised me was how different the levels are. The game’s music is epic and fitting for each trial, with rock and metal tracks that pump you up. If you’re the sort of person that prefers Ragnarock over beatsaber this might be the one for you.
Replayability
Elysium Trials has a decently high replay value, especially for VR gamers who enjoy skill-based challenges. The game has three difficulty modes that offer different levels of challenge and reward. You can also try to beat your own scores or compete with other players on the leaderboards. The game also has a lot of unlockable content, such as weapon skins and achievements.
At the moment, the game does not support mods or custom songs which is a bit of a shame.
Conclusion
It gets a solid 7/10. As someone that favors fitness intensity rather than skills and precisions and chasing leaderboards I can’t put this ahead of Pistol whip. But I do really like the fantasy and rock soundtrack and aesthetics of the game and would recommend this to anyone who likes skill-based challenges and fantasy settings.