I've always thought that sports games were the secret sauce for VR. While it's exciting to pretend you're aiming a gun or grabbing an apple in the virtual world, and playing Tetris with blocks all around you is a compelling experience, sport has always felt like the most natural link. This goes for all movement-based games - just look at the success of Wii Sports. Rather than adapting the usual confines of a video game to fit VR as in, say, an adventure game, sports games remove the hurdles between video game and the true version, and bridge the gap. Unfortunately, C-Smash VRS has built a bridge that is rickety. Beautiful, intelligent, but still rickety.
C-Smash is a quasi-remake of the forgotten Sega game Cosmic Smash. The pitch for that game was strange word soup, but in my limited experience of it, it all worked. It was squash set in outer space, except it was also Arkanoid. If you don't know what those words mean either, you used a racquet to hit a ball at breakable blocks, but in outer space. That's exactly what C-Smash VRS is too, only in VR. You use the left thumb stick to move your character left and right, and swing the paddle by swinging your arm. That's all there is to it, and it should be a simple, relaxing time. Unfortunately, it is not.
I started as I meant to go on: the first time I pulled the ball toward me to serve, I missed it. I play actual squash sometimes - less than I should, but get off my back - and regularly play Nintendo Switch Sports. I'm no Harvey Globetrotter, but I'm fairly sporty. Sporty enough that missing the ball on the first easy lay-up should not have happened. As I played, I got better. I was able to hit the ball frequently and accurately, directing it where I needed it to go, gaining a better sense of moving my avatar and timing my swing, and was able to clear levels with confidence. I got better, but I'm not sure the game did.
At times I convinced myself it had, but the overall framework of the game just lets it down too often. As part of the cosmic narrative, you plot a path from space station to space station, moving through new levels and travelling to new moons. New obstacles arise as you progress, with blocks that must be hit multiple times, barriers in your way, moving blocks, exploding blocks, all sorts of variety that makes you feel like you're getting somewhere. But the game is determined to make you feel like you aren't.
Each level has a strict time limit, and failing to clear every block means the entire journey through the system is a bust. These times are harsh and unforgiving, paired with the overly precise nature of swings required. The press release informs me that the ball is slightly attracted to the player, making contact easier, but that should have been dialled up if it were the intention. Even as I got better and was able to clear levels, I didn't feel the sense of satisfaction sports games bring because any mistake would be costly, and the game otherwise is not geared for that intense approach. It doesn't help that if the VR fails to detect you, as is to be occasionally expected with the PS VR2, the game doesn't pause, but instead the ball implodes into nothing and you must serve again, disrupting your time, rhythm, and possibly wasting a good shot.
There's a Zen Mode for more casual play, but this doesn't give you any extra time, it only allows you to replay levels you fail, which doesn't seem like particularly useful scaffolding. I love the look of C-Smash and, once you get into a flow, hitting the ball back and forth is great. Wii Sports had a tennis minigame where you would aim at different flashing targets on the wall, and I wanted to feel that rhythm in C-Smash. The fact you manage your own court position adds an extra dimension, but with such a small room to play in, I think the easier mode could have done with removing the position management aspect all together, as well as letting you select levels more obviously than plotting your journey and hoping for the best - even a softer difficulty curve would be welcome.
Visually, C-Smash is fascinating. The space jump sequences riff on Cosmic Smash's own, so they're more like 2001's vision of the future. Obviously here in 2023 we still haven't made it to space, but seeing the future interpreted as a black void with smears of colour recalls turn of the century operating systems and acts as a nostalgic time capsule. Everywhere else, visuals are clean and used effectively, with brilliant white lights and pops of colour, particularly the bright orange detailing here, there, and everywhere. There's even some background storytelling through the shuttle's crew who watch you smash blocks beyond the stars. It's a good looking game and a fresh palette for a sports game, but it's not without its frustrations.
C-Smash VRS is an interesting revival of a forgotten classic, perfectly suited for the virtual reality medium from the active nature of the gameplay to the futuristic visuals. However, it conspires to make the experience frustrating with precise controls, harsh timers, and a lack of solo play modes despite the (doomed to be mostly unused) multiplayer option having a far greater range. It's not quite 6-Love, but it's just about 6-Like.
Score: 3/5. A PS VR2 code was provided by the publisher.