Red Matter 2 Review (Rune)
My impressions after completing the game in about 12 hours. Using RTX 3090, i9 10900K, 32GB, Win10 and Valve Index. (Note that the Steam version supports native Oculus drivers and works flawlessly with my great old Rift CV1 too - but I prefer Valve Index for this game.) The game is optimized for lcd hmds and now uses MSAA for antialiasing (Red Matter 1 used temporal antialiasing).
The game is a very clever Quest port, and if you don't know what to look for, it looks like a PCVR game made for a GTX 970 or close, like Red Matter 1. I started with an insane Index res 500% with the RTX 3090 - and I got nice 90 fps. I really only get such extreme performance in Quest ports - res 500% is 45 mill pixels per frame combining both eyes - nearly 50% more than 8K res, lol. But going further into the game, I could not keep 90 fps everywhere, but it was close - I ended lowering to res 400% (about 35 mill pixels) and now got solid 90 fps. I also ended up using Index res 400% for Cosmonius High, which just like Red Matter 2 is a Quest port with added dynamic shadows. So performance is same as Cosmonious High, and you do not need a fast gpu for Red Matter 2. I bet even an old GTX 1080 can do Index res 200% in Red Matter 2.
You only have graphics options to set dynamic and indirect shadows on or off, so you cannot set antialiasing or other advanced options at all, only the shadows:
https://forums.oculusvr.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/40552iB24907AB8D98A4B3/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999
It's normal for Quest games not to have any options for advanced graphics settings - and you really don't have many in this Quest port.
Quest and PCVR versions have the same amount of objects, so you'll see no more objects (and furniture etc.) in a location or scene that the ultra-low-end XR2 SoC can handle. But Red Matter 1 was kinda an empty game like Myst - so not a bad choice with limited processing capabilities.
The PCVR version has up to 16 times higher texture res than the Quest 2 version (1024 res vs 4096) res - and hands do look nice:
https://forums.oculusvr.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/40558i807A49ADF2D0B97C/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999
- but Red Matter 1 does look awesome too - maybe even better?
https://forums.oculusvr.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/40570i0D984ED7C5BED3C4/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999
Devs also remade Index controllers inside the game - but no finger tracking. Devs even gave Index users the trackpad - pretty awesome:
https://forums.oculusvr.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/40560i37DE72E0E1E72820/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999
The right trackpad is used to cool down your gun, but the left trackpad is not used. Would be nice using the left trackpad to bring up the game menu?
The game has some sort of barren feeling to it - like the interior of some space shuttle pods with very limited surface complexity - and I do suspect that's due to Quest 2 processing limitations. Another example, the rings of Saturn look nice - in Lone Echo 1-2 you did get many 3D rocks and debris, here in Red Matter 2 the rings look like a moving 2D pattern - but it looks fine and is high-res, I suspect this is one method devs used to reduce the poly levels for Quest 2.
It also looks like the devs removed the awesome HDR-like lighting seen in Red Matter 1 - these 3 images are from Red Matter 1 showing the light:
https://forums.oculusvr.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/39933iCEF3DAF630226EEC/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999
https://forums.oculusvr.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/39937iCDDA301E52D7113B/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999
https://forums.oculusvr.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/39953iD3BB0C6D56E68857/image-size/large?v=v2&px=999
But there's no bloom, radiance nor anything special about the light in Red Matter 2:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2851467908
Feels like a big step backwards for the lighting. Does explain why I can run Red Matter 2 using an insane Index res 400% in solid 90 fps with the RTX 3090, while I had trouble getting much above res 200 - 250% in Red Matter. I'd so much love to get proper lighting back! Or just a setting to enable proper lighting.
Still, being designed for a phone gpu (Quest 2 uses Adreno 650 gpu made for phones, part of the XR2 SoC), Red Matter 2 definitely is the best Quest port so far - but if this game was properly designed for current PCVR rigs, surely it could have been so extremely much more.
That said, dynamic and indirect shadows do look great in the game, when they work. The Quest version has no dynamic or indirect shadows. The shadows are limited to certain objects though. Compared to Red Matter, which is a real PCVR game, your arms and hands do not cast shadows in Red Matter 2. And some surfaces don't work with shadows, and this may break immersion - never had that problem with the awesome shadows in Red Matter 1 - clearly showing the Quest origin of Red Matter 2. More info here:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/2081470/discussions/0/3428948355370041596/
In spite of all the cons, I'm still going to rate the game 80 % (and Red Matter 92 %). I just finished Red Matter, and while Red Matter 2 looks fine, I'm not that impressed with the story and puzzles. The atmosphere in Red Matter felt much darker and more foreboding, while Red Matter 2 feels lighter. In the first half of the game, puzzles seem to require less IQ and some are repeated (felt close to a walking simulator), while several puzzles in Red Matter were difficult to solve. Feels like Red Matter 2 generally is more casual and easygoing than Red Matter 1, but Red Matter 2 does have some challenging puzzles during the last half of the game.
Red Matter 2 also adds action sequences and no longer is a strict adventure game like Red Matter 1. The shooting feels like a chore and is mediocre at best, devs seem inexperienced with shooters and should have kept to adventure content.
The reason for my 80 % rating has to do with the great voyage this game represents - the game will show you many different worlds and far more environments than Red Matter. On my Index box Valve wrote "Hello Worlds" - and these words kinda summarizes the journey in Red Matter 2 - even with some shortcomings.
In short, I have no problem recommending the game, especially if you like Red Matter 1. If you have not finished Red Matter 1 then I recommend starting with that game.