- Iron Guard Salvation — PSVR2 Review
- After a lukewarm start to the month on PSVR2 with Shop and Stuff, the big question becomes:
Is Iron Guard Salvation the game that saves the month?
- Short answer: mostly yes.
- It's a fun, polished, and addictive tower defense game, though a few issues keep it from reaching its full potential.
- Iron Guard Salvation is the sequel to the 2021 game Iron Guard.
- Even if you didn't play the original, the gameplay is easy to understand.
The basic formula:
- Enemies follow preset paths toward your base.
- They don't attack your towers.
- Instead, they explode on contact with your base, dealing damage.
- If the base is destroyed → mission failed.
To stop them you use:
- Turrets
- Upgrades
- Hero characters
- A drone weapon you control yourself
This blend of strategy and active combat gives the game a nice pace.
The PSVR2 port is
very solid overall.
Technical notes:
- Runs unreprojected on base PS5
- Mostly buttery smooth performance
- Small frame drops during huge explosions (for example orbital strikes)
- Strong colors thanks to the OLED panels
- Minimal mura in darker environments
Features included:
- Controller haptics
- Smooth zoom system to view battles from ground level or above
Features missing:
- Adaptive triggers
- Headset haptics (not clearly implemented)
None of these are deal-breakers, but adaptive triggers would have improved the drone gunplay.
The campaign moves across an
entire planetary map, visiting different environments.
Even when revisiting planets:
- Environments change frequently
- Visual variety stays fresh
- Battles remain visually interesting
You can zoom in to watch enemies at ground level, which adds a nice sense of scale to the invading machines.
The story exists, but it's not the highlight.
Issues include:
- Heavy exposition
- Weak writing
- AI-generated voice acting
The AI voices are the biggest problem.
They sound:
- Monotone
- Emotionless
- Artificial
Even amateur voice actors or text-only storytelling would have worked better.
Where the game does shine is the soundtrack.
- High-energy music runs through all 30 missions.
- Sound effects for explosions and weapons are solid.
- The soundtrack helps keep the action exciting.
Expect roughly:
- 6–10 hours for a full playthrough.
Difficulty options:
Easy is fairly relaxed, while Normal introduces a better level of challenge.
Each mission typically includes:
- 9–12 waves of enemies
- Increasing enemy variety
- Escalating difficulty
Missions aren't just about defending your base.
Objectives sometimes include:
- Escorting civilians
- Protecting moving NPCs
- Collecting resources
- Managing income
These variations force you to balance spending and defense strategy.
You spend resources to build and upgrade turrets.
Types include:
- Cannons
- Rockets
- Plasma weapons
- Sonic turrets (slow enemies)
Turrets have a
retro-futuristic aesthetic and satisfying upgrade animations.
However, one balance issue appears later in the game:
- Fully upgraded cannon turrets become extremely strong
- Combined with rocket turrets for air units, they dominate most encounters
This makes other turret types feel less necessary.
Both turrets and your drone weapon upgrade through
skill trees.
Upgrades branch into different options.
Example:
A cannon turret can evolve into:
- Dual miniguns
or
- A single heavy cannon
This allows tactical flexibility mid-battle.
You also choose
one of three heroes.
Each has unique abilities and combat tools.
One standout:
- Graves
- His airstrike ability is extremely effective against large enemies.
Heroes function like
portable super-turrets you can place around the map.
Levels also contain interactive elements:
- Explosive barrels
- Resource minerals
- Factory buildings
- Mega-turret towers
Examples:
- Minerals block turret placements until destroyed.
- Factories boost resource generation.
- Mega turrets fire massive blasts at enemies.
These systems add extra strategy and multitasking.
There are multiple enemy types:
- Speed boosters
- Healers
- Fast attackers
- Heavy units
However, during large waves they tend to
blur together visually and mechanically.
Late-game waves often feel like a
single mass of robots moving forward.
Boss enemies help break this up, though.
Boss encounters require:
- Target prioritization
- Turret targeting adjustments
- Strategic focus on the main enemy
These battles are some of the more memorable moments.
Despite some weaknesses,
Iron Guard Salvation is
very enjoyable.
Strengths:
- Addictive tower defense gameplay
- Smooth PSVR2 performance
- Strong soundtrack
- Good level variety
- Strategic systems and upgrades
Weaknesses:
- AI voice acting
- Enemy types blend together visually
- Some turret balance issues
A fun, polished tower defense game that's easy to recommend.
It may be slightly shallow in certain areas, but the gameplay loop is extremely engaging and keeps you coming back for
"just one more mission."
For PSVR2 owners looking for a strategic VR game,
Iron Guard Salvation is definitely worth playing.
March 3 — Iron Guard Salvation
Contains jump scares.
Shop and Stuff
Grimlord
Wildcard — Microsoft Flight Simulator (VR Update)
VR Game Showcase (VRGS)
What It Does Well
Gameplay Systems
Technical Notes
Overall Impression
Final Verdict
PSVR2 Performance
Level Design
Story & Voice Acting
Sound Design
Length & Difficulty
Mission Variety
Turrets & Resources
Skill Trees
Environmental Interactions
Enemy Design
Overall Thoughts
Sadly, I can't recommend it. A year after release and several updates later, it's still buggy as hell. That's a real shame, because with proper polish it had the potential to be a 9/10 game. Unfortunately, that probably won't happen, as the studio seems to be close to bankruptcy.
