When comparing Space Rift vs Catlateral Damage, the Slant community recommends Catlateral Damage for most people. In the question“What are the best HTC Vive games?” Catlateral Damage is ranked 26th while Space Rift is ranked 50th. The most important reason people chose Catlateral Damage is:
The gameplay is centered around being in a cats shoes, knocking objects off of shelves and other areas. This can be quite fun to basically role play as a cat at its worst.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Simple and intuitive controls
The cockpit interface for controlling ones ship (where the majority of the gameplay takes place) is pretty minimal but easy to understand. The player will not be bogged down with too many controls and menus, meaning it is easy to figure out what to do and how to do it.
Pro Good story
For an indie VR title, to see a fleshed out story is a very welcome thing. On top of this it is not a story that has been done to death, while some tropes are recognizable, the overall experience is quite fresh and well thought out.
Pro Fun to pretend to be a cat
The gameplay is centered around being in a cats shoes, knocking objects off of shelves and other areas. This can be quite fun to basically role play as a cat at its worst.
Pro Good for letting out your anger
You knocking everything you want to the ground by making the motions in real life. It's a great way to let out your anger.
Pro Longevity through procedural generation
Each level is procedurally generated, while each level will maintain its overall theme there will be minor changes to the setup that allows for an experience that will be slightly different upon each playthrough. This allows for the games levels to stay fresh due to never being exactly the same.
Pro Choice of gameplay modes
There is a free play mode called Litterbox Mode, where there is no time limit, you just choose which level to play, to then free roam and do as you like, much like a sandbox experience. Then there is the objective mode, where you are given a time limit in order to knock off a certain amount of objects within. There will also be optional objectives given, which can make for a more intense experience when trying to complete them all at once.
Having these two modes allows for a good balance of hectic gameplay as well as free form having fun by messing around gameplay.
Cons
Con Visuals are at times odd
Objects tend to not have any particular certainty of size. Sometimes a desk may appear as though it is for a child, while other times an object may be way too big for what it is. On top of this the textures when close to objects are not that great. basically it is quite easy to see that there is a lack of polish in the game, while it does not detract from the gameplay itself, it does interfere with the immersiveness of the title.
Con A bit too easy
While there may be some challenge at first, learning how to play the game, once the mechanics are figured out the gameplay itself can be on the easy side.
Con VR controls are not precise
When using the same amount of force to swing your arm holding the controller in order to knock off objects in the game, there can be a variety of outcomes. This is due to incorrect balancing of controls, as the same amount of force in a swing should result in the same amount of force being used in game, problem being that it does not, sometimes objects will go flying, other times they will barely move.
Con No difference in cats other than looks
It would have been interesting to see each cat have their own special ability, sadly there is no difference between them other than looks.
Con Gameplay gets stale fast
While from the outset it can be fun knocking objects over, after a while this does get stale as there is little lasting appeal to the mechanics themselves.