When comparing Time Rifters vs Crystal Rift, the Slant community recommends Time Rifters for most people. In the question“What are the best Oculus Rift games?” Time Rifters is ranked 9th while Crystal Rift is ranked 22nd. The most important reason people chose Time Rifters is:
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.
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 Level editor included
The game has a level editor buil in which can greatly expand the gameplay due to unlimited levels through creation.
Pro You can turn off jump scares entirely
Great option to transform the game into a more relaxing experience.
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 Normal difficulty is too easy
When playing on normal difficulty mode the game can be quite easy and does not really offer much of a challenge. Of course this can be changed in the difficulty settings but it would be nice if the game was a bit more challenging without having to mess with the settings.