Apex Construct Review: A Practice in Futility

Apex Construct is an unpolished view into the future of VR gaming. It offers an engrossing FPS combat system, but falls flat in just about every other aspect. 

Fast Travel Games’ Apex Construct focuses on the feud between two sentient AI. The AI Mothr is the main antagonist of this story. As revelations continue to unfold you — the last human on Earth — begin to realize that you may just be a pawn for the AI Fathr. Your trusty bow is what will lead you to victory against Mothr’s army of vicious robots. 

Not a Looker

A future of dulled colors is the only thing worse than a future run by robots

I know people like to say that something “looks like a PS2 game” if they think it looks bad. I almost started to think that until I looked more closely at the textures.  

What a cuddly metallic bear

Luckily Apex Construct’s combat is so fun, because you’ll be facing the same enemies quite often. 

Moving from level to level you’ll find “new” enemy types. In reality, it’s essentially the same models with slightly different gimmicks — shields, rapid fire, teleportation. Some enemies don’t even get different abilities. Instead, these enemies will just look the same as before, but they have more health now. This is one of my biggest pet peeves in gaming. Why make unique enemy types when you can plaster the same robot everywhere? 

The biggest letdown when it comes to reusing enemies is the one boss in the game. He looks like a giant robotic bear so of course I love it. However, this is the only boss you’ll ever encounter. You’ll have a few run-ins with Mothr’s Colossus, but they all work the same way. Hit the weak points where they’re exposed and then you win. This boss battle is one of the more entertaining points in the game, but it is fleeting. More unique bosses and boss battles would go a long way if a sequel is in the works. I love the design of the Colossus, but one battle against this robot-bear is enough.

AI (Animated Idiots) 

These dummies don’t even know what’s coming next

I just want to rave all day about the combat in this game, but then I would never get anything done. As satisfying as it is to stuff the hordes of murderous robots with pointy arrowheads, they don’t give you too much of a challenge. 

Most of the time you can just run right by enemies on the way to your goal. Standing still can even be an effective strategy in rooms that you need to defeat every enemy. When you stand still the robots will erratically run towards you while firing off blasts in your general direction. Anyone who is a decent shot should be able to clear enemies as they approach in this manner. If one shot manages to be headed for your body then you can just pop up a shield quickly and get back to shooting in a split-second. 

One of the biggest hurdles in Apex Construct is the movement controls. The controls for combat are well-honed, but movement difficulty is the only thing that gives these dull droids a chance. Standing still isn’t a viable strategy 100 percent of the time. You’ll die swiftly if you’re not a great shot or if you’re battling the one boss in the game. There are multiple times when you’ll try to move to a different spot and for some reason you just can’t. There’s nothing impeding movement. It just seems the game doesn’t want you to go there.

Don’t Drop the… Anything 

This is another sign that we’re in the early stages of VR. If you drop a crucial item have a fun time quitting out of the game to start the level again and pick it up. This may be a fault on the side of the PSVR, but access cards and any other small items are a pain to grab from the floor. The ground is out of the range of the PS Camera so you have to get enough downward momentum to reach dropped items.  

The worst thing in the world was dropping an access card. These items are crucial for navigating each level. They’re also incredibly easy to drop. While I can blame PSVR for not having a big enough play area, I still need to put some responsibility on Fast Travel Games.  

When you add an item to your inventory you drop it in there and it clicks into place — or at least it’s supposed to. The inventory slot usually lights up orange when you can safely drop in an item. Multiple times I got to drop access cards on the floor thanks to the inventory slot turning orange but not actually grabbing hold of my item. It’s clear they understood this annoyance since most places where you find access cards have a stash of at least four. Instead of fixing the issue they decided to give you a band-aid that you’re supposed to figure out by first backing yourself into a corner. There’s no beating around the bush, this is just bad game design. 

Apex Construct Verdict 

I hate typing

I don’t like to pull punches for VR games. The only way the platform will improve is through honest criticism. I like Apex Construct, but it’s not a great game. It’s very clear that this developer is just getting their feet under them when it comes to VR. The bones of this game predict a bright future for the developer. It’s not a bad first shot into the VR space, but many improvements are necessary to move forward. 

The game as a whole is okay. The combat is like nothing I’ve played before, but the presentation immensely drags down the quality of the game. The repetition of enemies and immersion-breaking moments also prevent me from recommending this title. If you’re into VR FPS games then you might want to check it out.

Thanks for checking out our review of Apex Construct. Let us know what you think about the game or my opinions in the comments.