MOON BASE

Introduction

MOON BASE is a free VR-only experience letting players walk, drive a rover, and complete simple tasks on a simulated lunar base. Developed by Rossiya Segodnya and RIALAB and published by Rossiya Segodnya, it launched on Steam on 25 January 2021. Its 55 English-language reviews sit at 53% positive, Mixed. This review read all 26 negative reviews in that sample alongside a range of the positive side.

Genuine charm, for those who get it working

For players whose setup cooperates, this is a real, if brief, source of wonder. "Very short like 20 minute but free and beautiful. Take time to watch the star and the earth and enjoy this short trip to the moon," reads one review. Another calls it "a great game for those new to vr," and a third, running it on an HTC Vive, reports it simply "worked... looked ok, sounded ok, played ok, was understandable."

Severely inconsistent controller support

Set against that, this review's negative sample converges overwhelmingly on one category of failure: the controls frequently don't work at all, and the specific failure varies wildly by headset. "It supports the index controllers, but stuck on leaving the space base," reads one review. Another, independently, reports the exact opposite input problem on different hardware: "Seriously jacked up controls on the Rift. It says 'Seated' as one of the play options but standing or sitting, you can't turn at all." A third simply can't start: "the game is completely broken i have a quest 2 and i have it in oculus mode and i cant even get passed the start menu." A fourth, on HTC Vive: "HTC VIVE controllers dont work. Cant interact with game. Pass on this one."

No visible fixes since launch

This review checked the developer's own Steam news feed directly and found no posts of any kind — consistent with the control problems reviewers describe, some dating back to the game's January 2021 launch, never having received a documented fix. One of the most-upvoted reviews sums up the general sentiment bluntly: "Like most Russian things, this app barely functions and is mostly held together by duct tape and dreams... It was free though."

Verdict

MOON BASE offers a genuine, if very brief, sense of wonder for the players whose specific headset and controller combination happens to cooperate, and this review's full sample confirms that charm is real when it works. But severely inconsistent controller support — different, specific failures across nearly every major headset — leaves a large share of reviewers unable to properly play it at all, with no visible fix in the years since launch. Worth trying since it costs nothing, but temper expectations heavily.