Shaun Munro reviews Dick Wilde…
Bolverk Games’ Dick Wilde brings a distinctly Duck Hunt-esque experience to PSVR, and though it’s hardly overflowing with content, Aim controller owners in particular should be easily swayed by the no-nonsense allure of this slick arcade shooter.
You are the preposterously-monikered lead character, hired to use your grand arsenal of weaponry to clear out various backwater locations teeming with undesirable wildlife. As far as plot goes, that’s all there is, and thank God for that.
The basic gameplay loop sees the player selecting one of six weapons (ranging from a shotgun to a nail gun to a grenade launcher, should you wish to enact a Terminator 2-inspired power fantasy) and firing at a barrage of enemies swimming and flying towards them. In addition to shooting, you also need to duck and weave out of the way of projectiles ranging from bird cack to electric shocks, eliminating ten waves of foes before facing off against the boss. The end of each round will also allow the player to select one of four power-ups; a medipack, mines, rockets or an automated gatling gun turret.
The first thing worth mentioning about Dick Wilde is the Aim controller compatibility. Simply, if you own the Aim, this is an absolute must-buy, because the controller tracking is jaw-droppingly good and in fact even better than in the peripheral’s far higher-profile flagship title, Farpoint. Free of judder or other technical hiccups, the Aim feels immensely tactile and immersive inside this vibrant cel-shaded world.
Thankfully for those without the Aim, the game can also be played with PlayStation Move controllers, and this actually changes the experience fairly significantly, allowing you to wield either two guns or a gun and a shield. To this end the game actually feels somewhat more challenging with the Aim, but if you own both sets of peripherals, it’s unquestionably the better way to go.
The biggest surprise overall is the unexpectedly brutal difficulty. Dick Wilde touts nine levels spread across three zones (Swamp, Lagoon and North), with difficulties ranging from normal to hardcore, but curiously, there’s no easy mode or a tutorial of any kind. This is a shame for those hoping to show the game off to friends who presumably aren’t quite as au fait with VR, because if your screen gets gummed up by more than one or two enemy projectiles, it can become impossible to keep track of what’s going on, and you’ll most likely be done for.
Also, virtually the same experience is offered across every level, with enemy types basically just being re-skinned between zones; there are big creatures such as sharks and crocodiles swimming towards you, seagulls eager to take a dump from up high, electric eels attempting to shock you, piranhas diving at your face, and then the bigger elite enemies. This repetition also carries through to the game’s redneck commentator, whose quip quotient runs painfully dry after about 15 minutes of play. He will drive you mad.
Even with the oft-ludicrous difficulty, limited amount of content and simple manner of play, I still found myself returning to Dick Wilde again and again. Figuring out which weapon suits your play style best is a blast (for me it was the shotgun in sniper mode), and the sheer dynamic physicality of the game helps it to stand tall among PSVR’s glut of static shooters to date.
There’s also a 2-4 player Party Mode included, where players can take turns shooting away, and though it’s basically standard fare swap-the-headset VR multiplayer, Bolkverk deserves praise for actually putting some effort into the social screen (that’s the image that will appear on the TV to those not wearing the headset); it doesn’t merely replicate the VR display but snazzily frames it inside another TV. Much like the single-player experience, though, the multiplayer feels a little undercooked features-wise; it’d be incredible to see a co-op or score attack online mode patched in at some point.
Though at first glance the game may not look up to much visually, it’s actually one of the crispest PSVR titles to date, smartly exploiting the simpler textures of a cartoonish cel-shaded aesthetic rather than opting for garish close-but-no-cigar “realism”. The weapon models in particular look great, amplifying the legitimately badass feeling of using the Aim controller to put the hungry beasties down.
If you’re playing it as intended, Dick Wilde will leave you sweaty and maybe even a little out of breath, so to that end it’s perhaps not advised for less-mobile players who will struggle to evade the projectiles. Otherwise, though, at barely more than a tenner on PSN, this is a steal considering the ludicrous number of hours you can pour away, all the more impressive with a difficulty level that would prove fatally prohibitive in so many similar games.
Some more casual options would’ve been nice, but even in defeat, this barmy arcade shooter remains a blast and one of the better-looking games for PSVR. Forget about the dumb name and moldy hick humour, because beyond that silliness there’s a surprisingly well-made shooter at Dick Wilde‘s core.
Pros:
+ Excellent Aim controller tracking
+ Sharp cel-shaded visuals
+ Fiendishly addictive
Cons:
– Incredibly challenging from the outset
– Humour falls frequently flat
– Could do with more content
Rating: 7/10
Reviewed for PS4 (also available on PC)
Shaun Munro – Follow me on Twitter for more video game rambling.
