Learning the Elements: From Pebbles to Boulders

Elements Divided is a VR multiplayer action game that allows you to choose elements that you can control to train and fight other people. I know what you are thinking, 'This game sounds like Avatar: The Last Airbender.' Well, you aren't wrong. The team at Loco Motion said Avatar: The Last Airbender heavily inspired it. You can bend all four of the primary elements: earth, water, fire, and air. But can you master them without breaking the lamp in your office?

I haven't played a VR game in quite some time, so I was a bit nervous at first because this game does have you flailing your arms around a bit. When you are first training with a simple old man, it is hard to get the basics somewhat right. For some reason when I was trying to adjust it to get my height right, I was still not sure if the error was from the game itself or my Valve Index. You first go over the very basics of just walking, jumping, dodging, blocking, and attacking. After that, you are thrust into a world of bending the elements to your will.

Trial by Fire

This game is fun. At the beginning of each element, you are throwing a small rock, an insignificant flame, or maybe a wave at a dummy or opponent. A couple of hours later you can make them into weapons like knives or hammers. You are throwing walls of ice or stone. You can throw giant orbs that explode and so on. There are around 60 attacks to learn, and once you master them, they become deadly. Which, honestly, is difficult.

You can join a lobby where players can practice their elements, complete a few course runs with dummies, or change their character's cosmetics. I was naive in the beginning and just went right into a random PVP battle. Let me put it simply…I got my ass kicked. You are placed in an arena with other players, and it is set up like Smash Brothers. You fight each other, and the more hits you receive, the higher the meter is, and the closer you are to 100%, the easier it is to kick you out. Once you are knocked down several times, you are out for good. You can at least spectate as a ghost to watch the others finish the match.

I am impressed by the move sets that people create for this game. You can see the potential you can reach if you just practice. As for me, they threw me around like a rag doll. I had a few of the other team members from VGMM watching me, and we were having a laugh at how bad I was.

From Noob to... Less of a Noob

I was determined now. There are practice simulations where you can fight against robots with different maps and levels of difficulty. Here is where you want to start. You can learn new combos and help raise your level so you can unlock better skills to add to your arsenal. Initially, I believed the game would only be a PVP experience; however, the single-player activities are equally enjoyable, and you can invite friends to join in them as well. There are even bosses to go up against for each element. However, the single-player bosses are not as exciting as the PVP battles, and after a while, their attack patterns become easy to predict.

When Panic Meets Precision

The motion controls can be a bit finicky. Countless times, in a state of panic, I attempted the correct movements and pressed the correct buttons on the controls, only to find that the movements were not executing correctly. Even some of the basic actions, like dodging or blocking, didn't function when I was clearly doing them right.

It also feels a little unfinished in some ways. It doesn't take long to unlock everything, so after a while you feel like there isn't much to explore. It would have been nice to maybe have some missions to accomplish with other people possible, or maybe don't make the moves so easy to unlock so it feels worth it in the fights. There are the simulations with the robots, but they are just basic kill and be done events. Completing these simulations typically rewards you with one or two levels.

For a VR title that requires a lot of precision in movement, I was impressed by the work that Loco Motion did. Given their small team size, I would love to know what Loco Motion could achieve with more funding and additional time to polish and release a project like this.

Is It Worth Your $10?

Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed playing Elements Divided, and I can envision myself occasionally donning my headset to jump back in. My personal favorite was the earth style, where I could shoot spikes from the ground or form a giant boulder in the air to crash down on my opponents. If you have VR equipment and you are a fan of the Avatar series, I would highly recommend this.

You can find this on Steam and on Quest, and if you have friends who don't have the same equipment as you, don't worry; it is cross-platform play. The game is $10, and I think that is the perfect price for this.