When comparing Time Rifters vs Fantastic Contraption, the Slant community recommends Fantastic Contraption for most people. In the question“What are the best VR games on Steam?” Fantastic Contraption is ranked 22nd while Time Rifters is ranked 31st. The most important reason people chose Fantastic Contraption is:
Thanks to the Vive, building a contraption is incredibly fun and actually feels like you're creating something "real". You can move around your machine to adjust it and add new components in a very natural way.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Rarely seen gameplay mechanic that combines multiple playthroughs
Each level is played through multiple times with every new playthrough adding previous playthroughs alongside current one. This is done 4 times trying to complete as much of the level as possible. It essentially creates a solo co-op experience and allows for lots of strategical planning forward.
Pro Vibrant aesthetic
The game has simple, clear, blocky levels and uses bright colors. There's an Iron Man inspired hud, but that can mostly be ignored unless you want to check out the score. Important information such as enemy count is displayed on the walls of levels and there's no need to keep track of health or ammo.
Pro Good weapon variety
The game has 6 different weapons that each has a progression system associated with 5 upgrade categories - Spread, Focus, Rapid, Punch and Acid. It adds another level of strategical depth as weapon upgrades have to be planned for.
Pro Level editor and Steam Workshop support
You can create your own levels to challenge yourself and your creativity. It feels really cool playing through levels you made, although you know what to expect.
Pro Very fun to build and create machines
Thanks to the Vive, building a contraption is incredibly fun and actually feels like you're creating something "real". You can move around your machine to adjust it and add new components in a very natural way.
Pro Encourages creativity
By giving you a task and leaving how you will complete it up to your own devices the game allows for a sense of creativity as well as the feeling of accomplishment.
Pro Cute art style
The art style is cute and when you look at how you look only to see you're a cute animal, it can be quite funny and sweet. You also have a pet cat named Neko that you get your supplies from, and a dog that you press to go to the next level.
Pro Comes free with the vive bundle
Comes free with the Vive bundle, which is a bundle with no additional cost, but has limited stock, so may be difficult to obtain.
Cons
Con Abandoned support
Currently the game does not work with the retail version of the Rift, a DK2 (beta Rift model) and older drivers will be necessary to play the game. There has been no word from the developer if this will be fixed.
Con Short
While there's definitely potential for multiple playthroughs to try and get a better score, the base game has just about 2 hours of gameplay.
Con Expensive
It's the most expensive game on the Vive costing $39.99. When comparing price to content, there may be better options out there at a lower price.
Con Building can be frustrating and causes a lot of trial and error
It is almost impossible to attach objects completely straight to one another, meaning if you are trying to use multiple wheels, each will be a bit crooked, causing a lot of adjusting and restarting, which can be very frustrating.