Today’s Meta Quest Gaming Showcase has been filled with surprises and none more so than Vertical Robot’s unveiling of Red Matter 2. The original Red Matter came to PC VR headsets in 2018, offering an engrossing mix of puzzles and a creepy sci-fi atmosphere. Vertical Robot will expand upon this premise whilst bringing the title to Meta Quest 2 exclusively.
Red Matter 2 will be a direct sequel so if you haven’t played the original and don’t want any story spoilers look away now: “After breaking free from the simulation that held your own mind hostage, your first priority is to escape the AtlanticUnion’s base. However, you unexpectedly discover a distress signal belonging to an old friend. Determined to come to his rescue, you will travel to the farthest reaches of the solar system to find him,” the new synopsis explains.
Whilst the first game was all about building an intense atmosphere with an almost horror-like element but without any scares, Red Matter 2 will be dropping in some action. New mechanics like the jet pack will see you traversing environmental puzzles whilst the controller designed tool can turn into a weapon to shoot enemies.
Talking about some of the features that have gone into Red Matter 2, Vertical Robot’s Norman Schaar said in a statement: “We just can’t wait for players to feast their eyes on the incredible graphics that we’ve succeeded in creating, thanks to our tremendous efforts in optimizing for Meta Quest 2. We believe immersion is key, and have therefore developed a fully ‘physicalized’ world to maximize this sense of immersion, while also enabling us to create exciting new gameplay possibilities around it.”
What’s great to hear is that Red Matter 2 is going to be bigger and feature more content than its predecessor. Because that was one of the main issues in the original, there just wasn’t enough of it with gmw3’s four-star review of Red Matter saying: “All in all, Red Matter is a very high calibre VR experience, neatly weaving its story and puzzle elements together. It is by no means perfect, following the line of other puzzles in VR that are seemingly unable to offer plenty of reasons to come back for more. So like a good meal take it slowly and savour the moment.”
Red Matter 2 is currently slated for a Summer 2022 launch on Meta Quest 2, so as further details are announced gmw3 will get back to you.