When film franchises are made into videogames disaster usually tends to strike, with the content offering a sub-par experience. That’s not always the case, especially when it comes to cartoons, with Owlchemy Labs, Adult Swim Games and Other Ocean Interactive creating the rather good Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality for virtual reality (VR) headsets. That work has now led to an Emmy nomination for the teams.
Securing an Emmy Nomination in the ‘Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media Within a Scripted Program’, Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality is up against Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why, Mr.Robot, Silicon Valley and Westworld for the prize.
“We are blown away by our nomination— it’s an enormous honor to be selected for an Emmy! The nomination is a fantastic statement about the value of high quality room-scale VR and experiences built explicitly for the medium,” said Andrew Eiche, Chief Technology Owl and Cable Slinger, who was the production lead on Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality, in an email to VRFocus. “To have Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality selected alongside the other incredible experiences from such well-known properties is a huge validation for the work that we are doing in VR. We are excited that VR as a medium is getting the mainstream recognition that we believe it deserves.”
Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality first hit HTC Vive and Oculus Rift in April 2017. The teams then finally brought the videogame to PlayStation VR a year later as both digital and physical copies. Due to its popularity the title managed to secure the top download spot for Sony Interactive Entertainment’s (SIE) headset in April.
VRFocus reviewed the original launch edition on PC VR, giving it a full five stars: ““If you enjoy this style of interactive VR experience then you’ll appreciate Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality even if you’ve not seen the cartoon, there’s even sections catering to first-person shooter (FPS) fans. Really though this is a video game for those that love Rick and Morty, and quite frankly that’s no bad thing. Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality is a madcap, fun filled adventure from start to finish, perfectly suiting VR’s qualities, it should not be missed.”
If Owlchemy Labs and Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality do see success at the 70th Emmy Awards, VRFocus will let you know.