The enduring “legacy” of Bulletstorm is something that puzzles and wows me to this day. Back when the game was originally released, more than a decade ago, it was well-received, sure, but the fact it managed to get remastered and re-released with brand new content on many modern consoles is something that makes very little sense. It’s almost like it’s better remembered nowadays than back when it first came out. It’s amusing, to say the least. After playing the game on an Xbox 360, on my Xbox One, and on the Nintendo Switch (with Duke Nukem as a guest playable character, for some damn reason), I am now tackling Bulletstorm VR, the game’s full conversion into the realm of virtual reality.

This section is a beautiful vertigo-inducing generator.

In theory, a no-brainer. Bulletstorm was one of the very few “neanderthal shooters” of the Xbox 360/PS3 era of gaming, not trying to emulate a realistic, militaristic, Call of Duty styled gameplay loop. Considering how VR conversions of slightly older games (Resident Evil 4, DOOM 3) tend to yield better results than, say, the Quest 2 trying to run GRID Legends, this was the perfect way to try to convert a first-person shooter that still looks good to this day to a VR headset. But I think that trying to make the Quest 2 run it natively was too ambitious of a task.

No, it’s not a disaster of a port. For all intents and purposes, Bulletstorm VR runs as well as pretty much any other game on the Meta Quest 2. The framerate never even dares to drop, being solid at all times, with responsive controls, exactly what you would expect from a VR shooter. Gameplay-wise, it’s a decent conversion, with shooting and movement mechanics still being as good as you would imagine, just with the exception of a wonky mapping of the game’s iconic grappling hook mechanic. No matter which input I chose, grappling felt clunky. Thankfully, never imprecise: thanks to some stupidly generous collision detection, grabbing enemies and assets with the hook was always easy… just not very fun.

Less enemies onscreen in order to make up for the Quest 2’s limitations.

Well, in order to get Bulletstorm VR running properly on the Quest 2, compromises had to be made with the game’s visuals and structure. You can clearly notice a step back in asset quality, character animations (especially enemies) and textures when compared to previous versions of Bulletstorm, Switch port included. Bullets simply don’t fly around the screen like they did in the original version of the game, and the amount of particles effects has been greatly reduced. The sheer idiocy of the original is still present during some specific sections, but in a more “tame” manner.

In essence, this makes Bullestorm VR a bit less exciting than its non-VR counterparts. Add in the constant loading times, as well as constant interruptions in order to present the game’s utterly forgettable plot-related cutscenes (no one plays Bulletstorm for its story). The result is something that is still pretty fun to play, which runs pretty well, but it’s slower-paced. It also showcases that, maybe (and that’s a big maybe), the Quest 2’s hardware isn’t well-suited for VR conversions of games from that specific era. If you have access to a beefier headset, play it on the Quest 3, or via Steam VR.

Not to mention the reduced visual fidelity. As to be expected from a Quest 2 port.

Whilst some setpieces were still pretty enjoyable, and the game as a whole is still pretty good, I can’t help but think that Bulletstorm is still best enjoyed elsewhere, be it on PC or console, with or without Duke Nukem’s nonsensical presence, or on a more powerful VR headset. Let me reiterate that the game isn’t broken, glitchy, or suffering from framerate problems. It just had to suffer some heavy setbacks in order to run properly on the Quest 2. You can have fun with it as it is, just make sure to understand there are better ways to experience it.

Bulletstorm VR is available now on Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, PCVR and PSVR2.

Reviewed on Meta Quest 2.

A copy of Bulletstorm VR was provided by the publisher.