Budget Cuts

Last updated
Budget Cuts
Budget-Cuts-Title.png
Developer(s) Neat Corporation
Publisher(s) Neat Corporation
Engine Unity [1]
Platform(s) Windows, PlayStation 4 (PlayStation VR), Oculus Quest 2
ReleaseWindows
June 14, 2018 [2]
PlayStation 4
May 15, 2020 [3]
Genre(s) Stealth, action
Mode(s) Single-player

Budget Cuts is an independent virtual reality stealth game developed and published by Swedish studio Neat Corporation. [4] The player is tasked with escaping an office building using a portal device while evading detection from robotic managers. [5] Neat Corporation made a demo in 2016 for a showcase with Valve Software [5] [6] with an initial release date the same year, [7] and eventually released on Steam in 2018. [8]

Contents

The sequel, Budget Cuts: Mission Insolvency, released in 2019. [9]

Gameplay

Budget Cuts has the player move around the office building using a portal gun. This device, when activated, shoots a projectile in the direction it is facing and bounces off walls to land on a movable position. Once landed, it creates a small and movable heads-up display which can be used to view the area where the ball landed to scope out the next location. The player can then teleport to the new location if desired. [10] [11]

A core mechanic of the game is throwing knives and scissors at enemies. The weapons were made to hit the target with the sharp edge so to always cause harm with an accurate aim by the player. [12]

Plot

Budget Cuts is set in a company called "TransCorp," filled with human-like robotic office workers and security guards. There are no other people to be found, except for a voice over the phone, Winta. Winta informs the player that people have been disappearing, and the protagonist is the next target of an unspecified group. The player must escape the office buildings of TransCorp, while hiding from supervisors, walking security guards with guns.

Reception

The game received generally positive reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. [13] IGN writer Mitch Dyer said that it "might be the best, most interesting VR game I’ve played." [15] Jeuxvideo.com criticized it for having a repetitive game pattern, [4] and praised by Rock Paper Shotgun for integrating the locomotion as a gameplay feature. [7]

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References

  1. ↑ Hayden, Scott (January 13, 2016). "'Budget Cuts' Uses Portals to Solve Room-Scale Locomotion Problem". Road to VR . Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  2. ↑ Hamilton, Ian (June 13, 2018). "Budget Cuts Gets New June 14 Release Date". UploadVR . Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  3. ↑ Graham, Peter. "Budget Cuts Is Coming To PlayStation VR In May". VR Focus. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Budget Cuts: Un bon jeu d'infiltration en VR, pas dénué de défauts" [Budget Cuts: A good stealth game in VR, not without flaws]. Jeuxvideo.com (in French). July 11, 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  5. 1 2 Donlan, Christian (April 21, 2016). "Budget Cuts is the future of VR right freakin' now". Eurogamer . Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  6. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (January 30, 2016). "Budget Cuts aims to take the puzzles and humor of Portal into VR (hands-on)". VentureBeat . Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Cox, Matt (May 31, 2018). "Ace VR stealth 'em up Budget Cuts budged back again". Rock, Paper, Shotgun . Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  8. ↑ Cox, Matt (June 15, 2018). "VR robo-stealth 'em up Budget Cuts sneaks out at last". Rock, Paper, Shotgun . Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  9. ↑ McCaffrey, Ryan (December 6, 2019). "Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency Preview: I, For One, Do NOT Welcome Our Robot Overlords". IGN . Retrieved April 27, 2023.
  10. ↑ Robertson, Adi (March 8, 2016). "Budget Cuts is like Mission Impossible crossed with Portal in virtual reality". The Verge . Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  11. ↑ Staff (27 April 2018). "Video: Pulling off portal locomotion in the VR game Budget Cuts". gamasutra.com. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  12. ↑ Samuel Horti (28 May 2018). "Long-awaited VR stealth game Budget Cuts to release this Thursday". pcgamer. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  13. 1 2 "Budget Cuts for PC Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved Jul 16, 2020.
  14. ↑ "Budget Cuts for PS4 Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic.
  15. ↑ Dyer, Mitch (Jan 27, 2016). "Valve VR: Hands-On With 12 Vive Games". IGN. Retrieved Jul 16, 2020.
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