Let’s forget about order and self-imposed rules. I wanna talk about my favourite action game of all time, Holopoint.
I remember I first bought this game before our first group meeting for a sociology group project. I played it, and I beat the first few levels, and man it was fun. And over the next few days, I also unlocked checkpoint after checkpoint (6, 11, 16, 21…) and defeated the miniboss at level 15. Finally, I beat the game for the first time. I was ranked ninth on the leaderboards at one point. Now, as more people achieve full completion in the game, it’s dropped to 66th. Right, there are just 30 levels in total.
This game is simplistic but thrilling. You stand in something like a dojo and enemies attack you from all sides. You start off with the simplest cubes, are introduced to the most irritating diamonds!! pretty soon afterwards at level 6, then eventually the samurai that rush at you, the ninjas that throw stars at you and the floating orb thingies that make it a bit like a puzzle game. Naturally, you shoot them and survive their onslaught.
So, it’s basically like this. Aim, shoot, dodge. Aim, shoot, dodge. Swivel on your toes after clearing one side, swiftly release a next arrow, lean, shift weight, flex, repeat.
It’s a game that stimulates your senses and puts your reaction speed to the test. Sometimes, you may not have time to see an attack but you know it’s coming from the side – you have to project and act accordingly to dodge it. So in that sense, you’ll have to be focused on the overall picture…
I played it again today after so long. I have regressed, maybe, but it still feels amazingly thrilling to be shooting, dodging, swivelling and clearing levels again. In my opinion, sometimes, simple is best. Living fully, wholly stimulated – this is something the game brings to you. Perhaps it might become a mere mod in VR’s future, but to me, Holopoint will probably always hold an irreplaceable, nostalgic value.