VR reviews.
I recently launched a website dedicated to my reviews of virtual reality experiences, which I spent more than four years and thousands of hours building. Introducing The VR Critic, which, I hope, will find a loyal audience in time. At some point soon (hopefully) I will compile a complete list of my VR reviews, and link to them from this page. For now, you need to visit the site.
Here’s the press release that accompanied its launch.
Australian film critic launches world’s-first VR criticism initiative
Australian film and TV critic Luke Buckmaster has entered a brave new world of arts criticism, premiering a major online initiative: the world’s most comprehensive VR criticism collection, comprising more than 100 virtual reality and mixed reality experiences.
Officially launched today, The VR Critic houses Buckmaster’s reviews of the emerging medium, with a steady flow of new reviews to be added as the industry and artform evolves. Building on his PhD in virtual reality and decades as a film critic, Buckmaster has invested four years and thousands of hours to complete The VR Critic’s initial review library, marking the world’s most significant contribution to virtual reality criticism to date.
“VR is such a diverse and nascent art form, so I wanted to be sure I launched with enough breadth to truly capture the dynamism and potential of the space,” says Buckmaster.
Recently, James Cameron declared that “we’re at a true, historic inflection point” for the emerging medium of virtual reality and mixed reality experiences. Buckmaster agrees with the blockbuster film director and passionately believes in the need for sustained, informed and passionate criticism for this new space.
“We’re now in the early days of a major artistic revolution that’s creating amazing new forms of storytelling and creative expression,” explains Buckmaster. “The advent of spatial computing is the most substantial development in artistic expression since the arrival of motion pictures—and, before then, since the invention of perspective in paintings.”
The VR Critic website was launched to fill a gap in quality criticism about virtual reality and other forms of spatial art. As many are new to virtual reality as an art form, it includes a Top Picks section listing highest recommendations as a great place to start. These include:
- Stranger Things VR (“invigorating outside-the-box storytelling”)
- Pearl (“the first VR production to be nominated for an Academy Award”)
- Batman: Arkham Shadow (“grandly scaled and impressively detailed”
- Beat Saber (“a Tron-esque boulevard of pulsating neon”)
- Wolves in the Walls (“elegant and emotionally warming”)
For many years, VR has been seen as a technology on the edge of the horizon, always just about to break through.
“People always ask, when will VR go mainstream? I think there are more interesting questions such as what makes VR special as a creative medium? What kinds of productions already exist that demonstrate its extraordinary potential?” says Buckmaster.
Buckmaster, who is The Guardian Australia’s film critic and chief critic of Australia’s most popular movie publication, Flicks.com.au, completed a doctorate degree on VR in 2022. He will continue writing about film and TV—“more than ever,” he says—as well as updating The VR Critic.