Virtual reality (VR) developer Joy Way caught a lot of VR fans attention earlier this year when it introduced the first teasing footage of AGAINST, a very dark and moody rhythm action experience. While the team noted in a feature piece for VRFocus that the design wasn’t final they’ve now revealed the first full gameplay trailer as well as confirming that AGAINST will be out this year for PC VR headsets.
In comparison to the original aesthetics, AGAINST’s new look has certainly been brightened up and made a little more colourful. It might not be as instantly striking but the new visuals look a lot cleaner and detailed, retaining some of that gritty mood players were hoping for.
The changes are purely visual either. Previously, that dark, film noir approach was inspired by a narrative that involved you battling the mafia in 1930’s New York City. The timeline remains but the enemy has changed in favour of a far more comic book-style approach where you play a detective fighting their way through hordes of enemies working for an evil scientist called Dr. Vice. These can range from ordinary henchmen to more fantastical creatures.
Like any rhythm-action videogame, it’s all about dispatching these opponents to the beat to maximise your score. Unlike others in this genre, you’re given a range of weapons to do this with, whether that’s your bare hands, sword, guns, knuckle dusters and more. In a similar vein to Pistol Whip’s campaign mode, AGAINST will also feature end-level bosses to fight.
Currently, Joy Way has revealed AGAINST will feature seven action-packed levels that can be tackled in three difficulties. Supporting Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Valve Index headsets, AGAINST is set to arrive via Steam Early Access at some point this winter. Previously, Joy Way had released a demo of AGAINST but that has now been removed. “Since the release of the demo on Steam, the game has undergone significant improvements during development. Although the core gameplay remained unchanged, we removed the demo, because it no longer represents the final product,” Joy Way said in a statement.
AGAINST isn’t the only VR title Joy Way has in the works. Also in Early Access is parkour experience Stride whilst roguelite shooter Outlier is expected to arrive in 2022. For continued updates, keep reading VRFocus.