When comparing Brookhaven Experiment vs Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, the Slant community recommends Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes for most people. In the question“What are the best HTC Vive games?” Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is ranked 16th while Brookhaven Experiment is ranked 23rd. The most important reason people chose Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is:
Both sides in the game can not see what the other does, creating a situation of confusion that needs a good bit of team work. A ticking bomb adds the tension needed for players to spit out the first things that come to mind when describing strange symbols or patterns.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Extremely creepy/scary atmosphere
The premise of the game is that you need to ward off waves of zombies coming at you from all sides. What makes this excel as a VR title is the immersiveness of the environment. Sound production in the game is superb, it is multi directional and allows the player to hear each and every creature coming at them with a clear sense of what direction they are. On top of this the visual are quite dark and creepy in that you have to use a flashlight in order to see what is coming at you. So you are constantly trying to reveal what is coming and from where in quite a bit of darkness. The creatures themselves also look quite scary, which just ads to the horror of the game.
Pro Fully a complete self contained game
When many games for VR are considered tech demos or early access, Brookhaven is actually a finished title, complete with a story and an ending. While normally this is not much of a feat, to sell a finished game, currently VR does not offer a ton of titles that are feature and story complete.
Pro Hilarious situations arise as tension increases
Both sides in the game can not see what the other does, creating a situation of confusion that needs a good bit of team work. A ticking bomb adds the tension needed for players to spit out the first things that come to mind when describing strange symbols or patterns.
Pro Great for parties with friends and strangers alike
One person has the bomb on screen, and 1-5 "experts" need to consult the manual (either online or printed out). Thing is: the bomb defuser can't see the manual, and the experts don't see the bomb with its various modules.
The person who sees the bomb will have to precisely say what they see, and then the experts will frantically flip through the manual to find the instructions for that particular module. To succeed, you will all have to work together.
Pro Bomb defusal manual is easily accessible
The manual can be viewed as a PDF download as well as a static webpage, which gives easy access to any mobile device as well as PC. On top of this the manual can be printed out for those that would rather navigate tactically, which is often the easier way to go due to touch and ease of flipping pages (over a tablet or phone). Basically you are able to pull up the manual in any way you prefer, which requires little preparation, even on short notice.
Pro Great for quick games
Not a lot of setup is necessary, and a round lasts just a few minutes, so you don't need to commit to a lot of time before starting.
Pro VR minimizes cheating
The point of the game is that those with the manual are not able to actually see the bomb, this can be difficult to achieve when using a regular monitor to play the game, as someone could sneak a peak. Using a VR headset guarantees that no one with the manual will be able to see the bomb as it is only visible to the one wearing the VR headset.
Cons
Con Can feel repetitive
Wave after wave of enemy, while being forced to basically being forced to stand in one place can not only feel a bit unnatural, but also quite repetitive, as there is little to change up this scenario in the game. While the stages can be quite different, offering a good bit change to the scenery, the gameplay itself stays the same throughout.
Con Puzzles may become stale after repetitive play
Particular modules in the game may be seen after playing repeatedly, which will make for easier play and quicker puzzle solving. This will have a tendency to make the gameplay feel stale due to ones familiarity with the puzzles.
One example, is the Keypads module where the defuser will need to describe strange symbols. Part of the fun is struggling to describe something, or figure out what is being described and calling the other person an idiot for not getting it.
Con Morse code section difficult for those with dry or bad eyes
There is a morse code module section of the game that relays morse code through visual cues, in order to understand the code the player will need to not blink for 3 seconds straight. While for most players this is not an issue, those that have chronic dry eyes or any other condition that requires blinking a lot, the code will be difficult if not impossible to understand. An optimal solution would be a setting to change this to audio cues, but sadly that is not an option.
Con Number of players can determine whether you succeed or fail
Most modules can be worked on one at a time - you start describing one to an expert, and he replies right away telling you what to do. Some modules however require some time for the expert to decipher. For example, if there is just one expert and you get the Morse code module you are pretty much screwed as deciphering the Morse code takes a lot of precious time. If you had an extra expert, you could work on deciphering it while they worked on another module.