Survivorman VR The Descent

Survivorman VR: The Descent, developed by Cream Productions Inc. and Descent VR Productions Inc. and published by VRKiwi, is a grounded virtual reality survival experience that prioritizes realism and immersion over traditional game design conventions. Inspired by the philosophy of the Survivorman series, it places players in a harsh, unforgiving Arctic environment and challenges them to endure using practical survival techniques rather than exaggerated mechanics or combat systems. The result is a focused, atmospheric experience that feels more like an interactive survival scenario than a typical video game. The premise is simple but effective: after a helicopter crash, you are left stranded on a frozen mountainside and must make your way to safety. From the beginning, the game emphasizes the essentials of survival—managing body temperature, conserving energy, and navigating treacherous terrain. Every action has a cost, and even basic movement can drain stamina or expose you to the elements. This creates a constant sense of vulnerability, where the environment itself is the primary threat. Unlike many survival games that rely on crafting complexity or enemy encounters, this experi…

I am a big fan of Les and the Survivorman series. No fault of Les but the game has a lot of bugs that were never fixed. Equipment randomly disappears, while you can generally get it back by reloading it is still an annoyance. The pole can't be turned around in your hand so that you can reach in front of you as needed in multiple parts of the game. I turn my controller upside down to compensate. Assembling items as needed has bugs as well. Some bugs result in death. There is a vignette that creates black around the edges of your vision for people with motion sickness but it can't be turned off for the "action" sections. Story-wise there are issues as well. I won't give spoilers, but for those who have played the situation with the pilot?? Also a few things I am sure are not what Les would have you do in a survival situation, but used to make it a game. On the other hand the mountainside looks spectacular and other areas are nice as well. I like having Les talk to you at various points. A short game that probably ran into budget or time constraints in the making. 4 1/2 hrs to complete. Still it is the only Survivorman VR you are likely to get, so I say buy on sale.

A little bit less than 2 hours of game play for me. Yeah, so I died a few times (once to a polar bear!). It is a fairly easy game. The survival tips(?) were the best part of the game. The arctic region has a good feel to it with the scenery and the sounds. I never felt any sort of urgency and played it at a fairly casual pace. I only hated the suitcase sliding section as I couldn't figure a way to slow yourself down and just plummeted down the mountain. The kayak/canoe section was a nice change of pace and quite enjoyable. Since it is such a short experience and not really any replay value, get it on a good sale like I did. Enjoy the Arctic!

Les Stroud for Order of Canada

My nostalgia for Survivorman carried this game. Less Stroud does a great job but this is a lazy port with Quest 2 graphics. Buy it on sale if you must.

[Valve Index review] Watch Bear Grylls or Les Stroud, the experience is better... Don't watch them in VR. GOOD - [Goof] Bigfoot appearance - [VR UI] Guided objectives on handy watch MIXED - [Survival] To survive I learned to -- always wait for Stroud to appear and mono what to do next -- steal blubber from seals being eaten by polar bears -- light a fire with frozen poop BAD - [Controls] This is 2018 quality VR: No full finger tracking, shoddy grab and continuously hold controls - [LackOfGameDesignOrImmersion] Walk around the wrong way to the objective? DIE Without warning - [HardResetBugs] Pole collision not detected once in 10 min? die without warning AND reset back to 10 min ago - [Unclear controls] There's a tutorial on how to run with the stick, but when you pick a backpack and figure it would extend slots on your belt it talks about running back to camp to heat up instead. With 2 planks in hands and belt out of 8. THEN halfway up the 5 min walk mountain you figure out yourself you can swing a handy 10 slots backpack out. Summary There is about 1 hour of mostly boring "content" out there, the rest is filled up with buggy, frustrating gameplay causing you to redo parts o…