In the summer of 1945, atomic weapons were used for the first time in human history. This VR game allows you to experience the feeling of being in Hiroshima, watching the atomic bomb slowly fall, the mushroom nuclear cloud rises, and everything around being dissolved by nuclear energy radiation.
From the product description
About William of/at Oxford
With over 100 virtual reality games on Steam, “William at Oxford” (sometimes “William of Oxford”) must be the most prolific VR creator out there. Title after title based on either something historic, or something related to anime women. How “William” does this comes down to the quality. Every title I’ve looked at has mixed to negative reviews (not sure where the “mixed” comes from) and the graphics and gameplay look like “my first VR title” done again and again. There’s no nicer way to refer to them except as shovelware.
About the Experience
An experience about Hiroshima needs to be done with compassion and empathy. It also needs to be done with respect. Unfortunately, little of any of that is visible here. Rather than a historical documentary, you have a reliving of the day the bomb fell. No context, just the ability to run around a generic medieval Japanese town while samurai (?) run around the roads and into each other. Planes fly overhead and eventually the bomb drops. If you’re lucky, you can also see the magical fairy (I’m not kidding). The whole thing only lasts a few minutes, but you won’t feel like you’ve gained any new understanding or sense of the history.
Graphics and Sound
There are so many problems with this title, and they are immediately visible when you start it. Looking around, it seems obvious that the people, buildings, planes, and other items were all downloaded from somewhere and just dropped haphazardly in place. There’s little effort to create a cohesive environment. There are tanks that don’t look remotely historic, and what appear to be heat pumps on the outside of some buildings.
The only people you see are soldiers (depicted as rather primitive warriors) who travel quickly through the streets, frequently bumping into each other and getting stuck (as their legs keep moving). I’m no historian, but I’d be surprised if their soldiers or police were running around with swords in 1945.
When the bomb goes off, I have to admit that the explosion and mushroom cloud are better than expected. Unfortunately, the effect on the poorly-done little village (of a quarter million people…) is bizarre and suggestive of LSD. The buildings are covered in odd multicolored circles and do a weird fade out, being replaced by grey flat ground with some standing walls. I guess with no budget it’s difficult to simulate a bomb, but it’s not really making much effort here.
The post-bomb version of the city is just a bizarre collection of walls. It seems that some quick research might have suggested better ways to render the damage, but clearly that wasn’t their goal.
I guess to symbolize some kind of hope, you can view a rebuilt version of Hiroshima that includes technicolor plants, perfectly synchronized birds, and a floating fairy. It’s a bizarre way to depict the rebuilding, looking like a fever dream.
Information Content
If you’re looking for a documentary or nuclear blast simulation, keep looking. This app isn’t going to teach you anything new or provide a deeper look at how things came to be, how they might have been, and how they rebuilt.
Navigation and Interactivity
Other than a selection dialog when you launch it, there’s nothing to interact with. You can move around the town and watch things happen first-hand. You can’t enter buildings, move between key locations, or impact anything.
Updates and Support
none
Summary
I can’t think of any redeeming quality here. It’s a horrible event in history that requires sensitivity to portray. There are historic details relating to both Japan and the USA that need to be discussed to understand the situation and what led to it happening. There was horrendous destruction of both people and property and just watching a psychedelic explosion over a poorly thrown together city model doesn’t do it justice.
Pros
- It’s an important topic that should be covered
Cons
- Disrespectful amateurish depiction
- Weird fantasy fairy
- Graphics, sound, animations
