Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

Sony released its latest PlayStation VR2 download charts for November, with Metro Awakening taking the #1 spot in both North America and the EU.

This morning, Sony revealed the latest monthly PlayStation Store sales charts, which showcase the top-selling titles on every active PlayStation platform. Metro Awakening was the biggest release of the month across both regions and the only PS VR title released in November to hit last month's charts. You can read our review here.

Notably, Phasmophobia, released on PS5 with optional PS VR2 support at the end of October, is listed under PS5 releases rather than PS VR2. That's because the charts only include VR-only games. As such, it's hard to say how many Phasmophobia players were PS VR2 users since these charts don't share much specific data beyond the rankings.

Aside from Metro Awakening, plenty of evergreen VR titles like Beat Saber and Among Us VR remain high up on the VR-only list.

Here's the full list of the best-selling PS VR2 titles in November:

As the year begins to wind down, we still have a few more PS VR2 titles set to hit before 2025. Both Stranger Things VR and Skydance's Behemoth have already come out, but we still have Masters of Light and Alien: Rogue Incursion to look forward to. Hitman: World of Assassination was originally slated to release this month before being delayed to early next year.

While very little is known about this week's upcoming Game Awards, Geoff Keighley's annual awards-meets-trade show tends to have at least one or two VR reveals each year, so it's always possible that we'll see some kind of shadow drop or surprise last-minute reveal.

VR multiplayer mech game Iron Rebellion enters full release this week on Quest & Steam.

Previously described as a love letter to Titanfall and Hawken, Iron Rebellion is now ready for full release on December 12. Developer Black Beach Studio revealed that the upcoming 1.0 update adds a complete progression system that begins with the easiest to use mechs and weapons. The studio states this should assist newcomers with the onboarding process. Other changes include “significant optimizations, leaderboards, and a final round of general polish.”

Initially released in early access three years ago, we've been expecting news on the upcoming full release since September's 'Abilities & Augments' update. This hefty patch notably introduced three new mech classes and new abilities for each mech, added various community maps while updating other maps, reworked various screens across the mech's cockpit, and more.

Iron Rebellion is available now in early access on the Meta Quest platform and Steam, and the full release reaches both platforms on December 12.

The prototype first-person game mode for Human Fall Flat VR is available now on Steam, with the developers seeking player feedback via their Discord server.

When Human Fall Flat VR launched back in October, the game was lauded for bringing the hilarious physics-based game play of its flat-screen progenitor into the immersive world of VR. Our review awarded Human Fall Flat VR four stars out of five, and called it "a moreish expedition well worth your time."

Now, the game's developers No Brake Games have launched a Steam-only prototype first-person mode to enjoy over the Holiday period.

To access the first-person version of the game on Steam, navigate to the Beta Participation menu and select "experimental_branch." Reverting back to the official version of Human Fall Flat VR will result in Steam re-downloading the main version of the game.

The developers note that the first-person mode is only available in single player at this time, and that it is very much a work-in-progress which may not develop past this prototype phase. However, players are encouraged to submit their thoughts and feedback on the new mode in a dedicated channel of the game's Discord server.

Human Fall Flat VR is available now on Quest, Steam, and PS VR2.

Rogue Piñatas: VRmageddon is a colorful VR co-op action roguelite coming to Quest and Steam in early 2025. Read on for our full preview.

Vampire Survivors has left an undeniable impact on gaming, and that certainly applies to VR too. Alongside recent games like Survivors of Xcalibur, Rogue Piñatas: VRmageddon wants to make similar strides with the intent of letting you feel like a badass against 100 or more enemies at once, swapping garlic and bibles for makeshift weapons in a family-friendly package.

I recently went hands-on with a preview build on Quest 3, playing some solo rounds alongside a 3-person multiplayer session with the developers, Nerd Ninjas. The comical premise starts off on a ridiculously silly note, as the now sentient Piñatas have grown tired of being battered with sticks by humanity. An uprising soon follows as local neighborhoods fall, and our goal is to simply swipe through them.

Between a small child, the towering Dad and an ex-Marine granny, six characters are available with different stats for health, damage and more. Not all of the weapons, stages, and characters are available immediately, though my build having everything unlocked means I can't directly judge the long-term progression system just yet.

What follows is basically sweeping through zombie hordes; only this time, candy pours out instead of blood and guts. Collecting these sweet treats will gradually level you up during missions to unlock some helpful perks, like gadgets that cause attacking enemies to suffer counter damage or new weapons with dual wielding available.

There's a creative weapon range a younger audience will enjoy. The Dad using a weaponized pizza paddle that's been turned into an axe gave me a laugh, while seeing six baseball bats taped to another baseball bat is frankly smart engineering. That's assisted by decent enemy variety with different weaknesses, like how shielded enemies require getting up close since they're resistant to ranged attacks.

My session involved exploring two large maps with goals that were signposted well by a radar on your HUD. In one map, we didn't get much further than simply fending off these villains. Another map involved activating generators by standing within a radius surrounding it. It's pleasing to see them encourage exploration with events or hidden secrets, like loot with increased rewards, and each level ends with a boss fight.

My biggest criticism so far is that Rogue Piñatas would benefit from greater physicality that really uses VR's capabilities beyond aiming weapons. There's a lot of flatscreen-derivative design which, while certainly easier for younger players or VR newcomers to understand, leaves something to be desired. Standing around an area and fending off foes isn't the most exciting thing, though I need to try more stages before I can fully judge the objectives.

Even if it's simple actions like having pushing a power-on button on those generators to activate the countdown, this would go far in letting you feel more involved in the action over just wandering from area to area. There's also no on-body inventory system, either. You need to push A to switch between weapons, which is a little disappointing.

At launch, the game will feature 20 weapons, 18 gadgets, six stages, and 27 different enemies. Mixed reality support isn't included and though Nerd Ninjas isn't opposed to such an idea, I'm told the team is prioritizing development resources elsewhere.

Ultimately, I need more time with Rogue Piñatas: VRmageddon before making any further judgements, but smashing through piñatas in co-op is entertainingly silly. I certainly want more VR interactivity, what's here is often flatscreen-derivative, but it's a humorous, family-friendly twist on the tired idea of killing zombie hordes. So far, I think younger audiences will have fun.

Rogue Piñatas: VRmageddon reaches the Meta Quest platform and Steam in Q1 2025 with support for cross-platform multiplayer. A closed beta begins this week and you can register here.

Beyond Blue: After the Storm, a VR follow-up to the 2020 aquatic narrative adventure, launches next month on Quest.

Co-developed by E-Line Media and Chaos Theory Games, Beyond Blue: After the Storm is a follow-up to the 2020 flatscreen game Beyond Blue. Starring Erika Ishii (Ghost of Yōtei, Cyberpunk 2077) as the deep-water explorer and scientist, Mirai, this near-future narrative adventure sees you exploring an ocean world in standalone VR. You can see this in action below.

Beyond Blue: After the Storm swaps between various characters across this adventure, each with their own personalities and abilities. You'll aim to uncover what's going beneath the waves while swimming across these different biomes, interacting with different creatures. E-Line Media are also taking an educational approach too via 'Ocean Insights,' unlockable mini-documentaries that explore the science behind Beyond Blue: After the Storm.

For more details, here's the full synopsis:

After a severe tropical storm damages an underwater research station, Mirai and her crew are asked to help repair the damage and lend aid to the creatures in the surrounding biosphere.  What they uncover there is more dangerous than they could have realized and will take all their skills, and help from an unexpected ally, to make right.

“Even before we had released the original Beyond Blue, people were asking us if we were going to bring it to VR… so now we have! However, Beyond Blue: After the Storm is not a port of the original flat-screened game, but a whole new story and unique experience created specifically for VR, featuring Mirai and her ocean world,” states Steve Zimmermann, Vice President of Marketing at E-Line Media in a prepared statement.

Beyond Blue: After the Storm targets a January 2025 launch on the Meta Quest platform, and you can pre-order it now at a discounted price of $9.99.