Sony Interactive Entertainment’s (SIE) State of Play presentations have become the company’s de facto way of making its PlayStation announcements, rather than event linked press events. The most recent showcase was jam-packed with exciting details, most notably a selection of virtual reality (VR) titles for PlayStation VR2.
If you did somehow miss all of the buzz surrounding what VR titles have been added to PlayStation VR2’s roster then take a look below.
Resident Evil 4 VR
The Resident Evil series has gone from strength to strength in VR in recent years, with Resident Evil 4 revived last year for Meta Quest 2. The State of Play event revealed that a PlayStation 5 edition is due for release on 23rd March 2023, showcasing the title in all its next-gen glory. Then, right at the end, was a PSVR2 tease, simply saying that “PlayStation VR2 content also in development”.
No indication of whether that’s full support or for bonus “VR” content as some PlayStation titles have done in the past. However, the PS5 version won’t be a 100% port of the original as Capcom will be: “reimagining the storyline of the game” whilst “modernizing the graphics and updating the controls.” So it won’t purely be a pretty makeover.
Resident Evil Village
There was more Resi good news, this time with Capcom confirming the very latest instalment, Resident Evil Village will be getting official VR treatment. Resident Evil Village will fully support PlayStation VR2, taking advantage of the headset’s eye tracking, motion controls and other features.
That means dual-wielding weapons, so you can switch up strategies by mixing between weapons. This was teased in the reveal trailer but no date was mentioned.
Horizon Call of the Mountain
Firesprite and Guerrilla Games teased Horizon Call of the Mountain earlier this year with a very brief trailer. Now, the teams have given gamers a much deeper look at the upcoming VR experience, the creatures they’ll encounter and the locations that await.
With SIE previously stating it wanted to move away simple “VR experiences” and from the gameplay trailer shown Horizon Call of the Mountain looks set to do just that. The PlayStation Blog confirms there will be a main story as well as an “immersive River Ride experience” that can be enjoyed by others watching on a connected TV.
No Man’s Sky VR
And for those eager to spend countless hours with their PlayStation VR2 on, Hello Games is working on bringing its popular space exploration title No Man’s Sky to the device. As it’s already available for PlayStation VR, the PSVR2 edition will: “take that sense of immersion and believability up by several major notches,” notes Hello Games’ founder Sean Murray.
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution
Having dropped the first teaser gameplay trailer for The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution back in March, Skydance Interactive and Skybound Entertainment released new footage of the zombie survival adventure whilst confirming both PlayStation VR and PlayStation VR2 support.
Continuing the story of The Tourist surviving the walker-infested streets of New Orleans, the PSVR2 version will offer enhanced visuals and haptic feedback support. This sequel is coming to supported headsets in 2022, with the PlayStation VR2 arriving in 2023 – seemingly confirming the headset’s launch next year.
SIE still hasn’t specified a release window or price for the upcoming headset but it’s looking more and more likely that 2023 will be the year. What has been detailed is the fact that 20+ videogames are currently earmarked for the VR devices’ arrival. As further details are made available gmw3 will let you know.
Welcome to another VR Job Hub where every weekend gmw3 gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) and now Web3 industries, in locations around the globe to help make finding that ideal job easier. Below is a selection of roles that are currently accepting applications across a number of disciplines, all within departments and companies that focus on immersive entertainment.
Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there are always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hub to check as well.
If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (community@gmw3.com).
We’ll see you next week on gmw3 at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.
The weather might be getting nicer and summer is almost upon us but that doesn’t mean our love of videogames needs to stop. Gmw3 has been playing all sorts during May, in between writing lots of awesome articles for you folks, of course.
Dan
Fortnite
This month I’ve had very little time to really dig into my gaming pile of shame. Real-life keeps getting in the way, so whenever I do snatch some time, I’m putting it into familiar titles, often with friends so I can socialise at the same time.
Regardless of what many say, Fortnite is still one of the best shooters in the market right now, and with the release of the ‘no builds’ mode, the game is completely refreshed. A large part of my career before joining GMW3 revolved around Fortnite, it has been a mainstay in my gaming rotation; a game I play with friends, but most importantly, a game I play with my daughters.
And it’s more fun than ever. It’s no surprise that streamers have flocked back to a game that was, despite its market dominance, becoming a little stale. Over recent seasons, Fortnite had lost the sense of enjoyment it established early on, it had become an unwieldy beast in desperate need of balance.
In the past few seasons I rarely played without friends or family, this season, however, I grab a few rounds each day; I’ve reinstalled the game onto my Nintendo Switch to play in bed. For a game I believed could constantly reinvent itself, I never believed it could do so to the point where it felt like a brand new release. In the words of Al Pacino in The Godfather part 3, “just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.”
While I’ve played the game for years, I was never a very competent builder. I could barely use ramps to gain high ground, let alone ‘crank 90s’ or ‘box fight’. With the building removed, my win rate has significantly improved. I’m now popping heavy sniper distance shots, ‘one-pumping’ unsuspecting players and reaching double-digit frags every game.
Apex Legends
For Apex Legends, however, I’m still trash. My win rate here feels ridiculously low. Much like Fortnite, I’ve played every season; I have my favourite legends and weapons I love. I used to be decent at the game, but it seems 99.9% of the player base is either cracked out of their minds or a sweaty Chad. Occasionally I pop off, knock out over 2,000 damage and several kills, but I’ve relaxed into my role of sub-par player.
It doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the game. In some ways, I prefer it to Fortnite, because of the different legends who establish roles within the game and its meta. My ‘go-to’ legends tend to be more defensive or offer ability to my team, so I use Gibraltar for his bubble shield and bombardment, or Loba for her access to all items and weapons in a nearby radius.
While this season seems to have brought with it some interesting changes, it does feel like a backwards step for the game. Newcastle is a great legend who utilises defensive strategy, but outside of small map changes and a few tweaks here and there to weapon stats, the biggest change came to ranked mode and has the community (and myself) up in arms. The change to earning ranking points, by spreading them across the team, makes rising in the ranks ridiculously difficult compared to previous seasons.
Hopefully, the mid-season update reverts the ranking changes or rebalances them, but regardless I’ll keep playing and my teammates will continue to carry me every match until I finally discover a pool of untapped skill.
Rogue Legacy 2
I’ve been whiling away the hours this month with Rogue Legacy 2, which recently came out of early access.
It’s a sequel to Rogue Legacy, a formative game for the so-called “rogue-lite” genre which includes many of the features of roguelikes (such as procedural level generation and permanent death for the player character) while being generally more forgiving, with the ability to carry over upgrades between lives.
As one of the earlier examples of the genre, it lacked many of the welcome innovations made by the likes of The Binding of Isaac or Hades. Fortunately, Rogue Legacy 2 smartly updates the formula for the modern palate with conveniences like unlockable quick travel across the sprawling, randomised map.
As fans of the genre will expect, it’s suitably difficult while not veering into frustration thanks to snappy controls and quick restarts upon death. Once you get into the rhythm of dying, buying upgrades to improve yourself and getting a little further before the next time you die, it’s hard to resist the call of just playing one more turn.
Inside
Continuing the theme of sequels perfecting the original, I recently picked up 2016’s Inside. Having long ago played and enjoyed developer Playdead’s first game Limbo, I wasn’t disappointed to find that spiritual successor Inside cleaves pretty close to the same formula, being a puzzle platformer that relies heavily on a realistic physics system and a dark and mysterious story.
What is remarkable is the added level of polish. Inside very much embraces being “2.5D” – meaning while it remains two-dimensional in terms of where the player can traverse, Inside makes much better use of the third dimension to add depth to scenes and help to tell its minimalist story. Devoid of dialogue, it forces you to infer everything from the dystopian world around you as you pass by – from masked pursuers to mind-controlled pigs to a truly unexpected ending.
It’s a game that’s absolutely chock-full of ideas, and that extends to the gameplay too. Despite its relatively short length, new mechanics are constantly being introduced and smartly subverted, before being ditched for a new idea. Case in point being mind control helmets that let you control other characters. Initially, these render you stationary while you’re using them. As soon as you’ve gotten to grips with that, however, you’re moving around in tandem with the characters you’re mind-controlling.
Considering the six-year interval between Limbo in 2010 and Inside in 2016, I’m very much hoping we hear something about the developer’s next game this year, now we’re once again six years ahead.
Peter
Loot River
Such is my seemingly newfound love for roguelites that I’ve added several more to the list. I’m still playing Hades but this month I also began delving into Loot River, a new dungeon crawler from Straka.Studio.
It can be quite rare to say a game has unique features nowadays yet Loot River manages it by mixing its combat with something unexpected, spatial block-shifting – think fighting on tetrominoes. Yup, to explore these procedurally generated dungeon domains you not only have to pick your weapon, upgrade and try not to die for as long as possible but you also have to move the floor beneath your feet to get where you’re going.
At first, I honestly wasn’t sure I’d like it, seemingly a mashup for the sake of it. Lo and behold, having something else to think about other than fighting and trying to stay alive can be entertaining. Especially when trying to manoeuvre the blocks through levels or using them to strategically attack enemies when my life was low.
I will be honest, it hasn’t grabbed me as much as others in this genre. Even so, playing Tetris whilst simultaneously swinging an axe at opponents is keeping me amused.
World of Mechs
Having previewed World of Mechs earlier this month I’ve been spending time with this game in preparation for its review – which you’ll see later this week. A Meta Quest 2 exclusive, World of Mechs is part single-player campaign and part online team multiplayer, so without spoiling too much I will say this is easily digestible all-out mech warfare.
Given just one mech to start with, the mid-range “Mario” of mechs, there’s a rather substantial 32 of the war machines to unlock, each with laser cannons, miniguns and rocket launchers to play with. They’ve all got upgrades to unlock and secondary abilities depending on the actual model.
Unusually for a VR game, what I like is the standard control interface rather than finicky VR motion controls, where you’re trying to grab a lever whilst trying to look where the enemy is about to pop up. It’s all on the controllers and there’s gaze-based aiming, all of which means I can just go hell for leather in battles and try different combinations out.
I’m all for more VR multiplayer content as long as it scratches a particular itch, giant mechs shooting each other to pieces has been scratched off that list.
Welcome to another VR Job Hub where every weekend gmw3 gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) and now Web3 industries, in locations around the globe to help make finding that ideal job easier. Below is a selection of roles that are currently accepting applications across a number of disciplines, all within departments and companies that focus on immersive entertainment.
Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there are always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hubto check as well.
If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (community@gmw3.com).
We’ll see you next week on gmw3 at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.
Welcome to another weekly edition of The VR Drop, where gmw3 looks ahead to see what exciting virtual reality (VR) videogames are coming to a headset near you in the coming days. We’ve got a full roster to end the month of May and welcome in June, from brain teasers to energetic rhythm titles.
The Last Taxi – ZenFri Inc.
Take part in a narrative set in a far-flung future where you’re the very last human taxi driver. The usual dystopian nightmare where surveillance, automation and human modification run rife, The Last Taxi is all about picking up fares and being chatty to earn tips and upgrade your ride. However, conversations with your passengers soon reveal the darker side of the city, putting you in the middle of whether to inform the authorities and the repercussions of doing so.
Time for a clone making brain tickler in The Last Clockwinder. Inside an ancient tree, there are valuable plants and seeds to save, only achieved by getting the place in working order. To do so you’ll need to plant seeds to grow and harvest the fruit needed to power the place, and many hands make light work. But as there’s only one of you, you’ll need to carefully clone yourself over and over again, performing tasks that all need to link up like one giant Rube Goldberg machine.
First Person Tennis – The Real Tennis Simulator – Mikori Games
Originally released back in 2019 for PC VR headsets, First Person Tennis – The Real Tennis Simulator then arrived for Meta Quest’s App Lab late last year. Next week, the tennis simulator will see an official Oculus Store release, making it easier for Quest owners to find the videogame. Offering both single-player and multiplayer modes, First Person Tennis has both Arcade and Simulation settings, clay, grass, indoor synthetic and more court surfaces as well as 13 tournaments (4 Slam and 9 Masters); everything a VR tennis fan needs.
It doesn’t feel like a proper VR Drop without at least one rhythm action title on the list, next week in the form of Drums Rock. This is another VR videogame making it to new headsets, coming to SteamVR having initially released as a Quest App Lab title. As the name suggests, Drums Rock sits you behind a classic drum setup, with a 4+ hour campaign to play through featuring Hard rock, heavy metal, Nu metal, and other genres. As this is an Early Access title, developer Garage51 plans on adding further content, already collaborating with Until You Fall from Schell Games.
Finally, there’s CAVE VR, an explorative puzzler set inside a cave system – hope you are not scared of tight spaces. Discover the hidden secrets of the cave, with ancient ruins littered with puzzles that block your way back to the surface.
Yesterday was supposed to be the launch of Studio 369’s first virtual reality (VR) title, the promising World of Mechs. But due to the US suffering from another school shooting, the World of Mechs team has decided to delay the launch out of respect.
In a statement, the team said: “We are shocked and saddened at the shooting tragedy that occurred on Tuesday in Uvalde, TX. Out of respect during this sensitive time, Studio 369 will delay this week’s release of World of Mechs with a new release date to be determined shortly.”
This statement has been followed up with another over on World of Mechs’ Discord server, revealing that the new release date will be next Thursday, 2nd June. And for those that have been part of the beta testing the studio adds: “This weekend we are opening servers for you to test starting tomorrow 5pm PST through Monday 12pm PST.”
World of Mechs is one giant competitive squad-based brawler, where 10-ton machines fight one another over various terrains. With a rolling selection of multiplayer modes, from Team Deathmatch to Domination, the game supports up to 8-players at once (4v4). There’s a selection of 32 mechs to unlock, all offering their own load-outs and strategies. You’ve got hulking great Juggernauts that can take a beating or more nimble, lightly armoured mechs which can skit across the battlefield and outmanoeuvre bigger opponents.
They can all be upgraded using cash and XP collected during battle, so players can upgrade their health, improve weapon reloading or increase their damage output. Plus there’s a single-player campaign mode to enjoy in between online matches.
Previewing World of Mechsearlier this month, gmw3 said of the title: “Worlds of Mechs has all the ingredients for what could be the essential mech game on Meta Quest 2, it is loud, brash and unashamedly entertaining.”
World of Mechs is a Meta Quest 2 exclusive, so you’ll have to wait another week to find out if it was worth the wait. For continued updates from Studio 369, keep reading gmw3.
We do love a good hardware announcement here at gmw3 and Oppo hasn’t disappointed as it prepares for the Augmented World Expo (AWE) in California next week. The company has announced that for the first time North American visitors will be able to demo its augmented reality (AR) hardware.
Oppo Air Glass. Image credit: Oppo
Oppo will be demoing three of its products at AWE 2022, the Oppo Air Glass, AR Glass 2021 and its ColorOS Ray Tracing 3D Wallpaper. All of these have previously been revealed, the earliest of which was the Oppo AR Glass 2021, the company’s second AR glasses concept, introduced at OPPO INNO Day 2020. Air Glass appeared at INNO Day 2021 whilst the 3D Wallpaper was introduced during this year’s Game Developer Conference (GDC).
The Oppo Air Glass is very reminiscent of more enterprise-focused AR devices like Google Glass, providing users with time or situational information. With a sleek design, the Air Glass has a magnetic component so it can attach to users’ glasses whilst housing Oppo’s own Spark Micro Projector, a Micro LED and a bespoke diffraction optical waveguide display.
It’ll have all the input methods you’d expect from an XR device such as this, using touch, voice, head movement and hand motions to scroll through and select information. While Oppo has been developing AR technology since 2014 the Oppo Air Glass will be the company’s first commercially available XR product. An actual release date has yet to be confirmed.
Oppo AR Glass 2021. Image credit: Oppo
“With the explosion of digital information, the ways in which we interact and exchange information between the physical and digital worlds are constantly evolving,” said Yi Xu, Director of XR Technology at OPPO in a statement. “Our belief that AR can be used to create a new digital world entirely based on the real world has been the driving force behind our investment and R&D in AR technologies, including the development of fundamental technology, applications, user interfaces and ecosystems.”
Or for something slightly different there’s always the ColorOS Ray Tracing 3D Wallpaper. Nope, this isn’t some hi-tech home wallpaper, this is a ray tracing application for smartphones. It allows Oppo phone users to interact with their wallpapers using hand gestures, so they can rotate, tap and wave whilst enjoying more vivid and life-like wallpapers.
For further coverage from AWE 2022, keep reading gmw3.
After Fast Travel Games teased working on multiple PlayStation VR2 videogames earlier this week, now Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) has divulged something even more exciting. Details have emerged that PlayStation VR2 will have over 20 titles available at launch – whenever that might be.
The details come from a recent Sony investor presentation, with page 23 of the deck (seen above) clearly stating “20+ major first-party and third-party titles confirmed for PS VR2 launch.” So not even the launch window – which is usually the first 2-3 months after release – but on day one by the sound of it.
No further information was released regarding which videogames these might be although it was paired with an image of the previously announced spinoff Horizon Call of the Mountain from Firesprite and Guerilla Games. That’s not the only title that’s been teased for the upcoming headset. Medieval Dynasty,Pavlov Shack, Engram, Runner, as well as unnamed projects from Coatsink and Fast Travel Games.
“Right now, there is a considerable amount of money being spent on partnerships with independent and other third-party developers to secure a considerable pipeline of attractive VR content at the launch of PlayStation VR2,” said SIE president Jim Ryan, VGC reports. “That energy, that effort and that money will continue to grow as the installed base of PlayStation VR 2 headsets grows also.”
While it is certainly good that SIE is planning a strong lineup of games for PlayStation VR2’s launch, when that’ll take place is still unknown. PlayStation 5 is still suffering from supply chain issues making the console extremely difficult to get hold of. This is detailed on page 12 of the deck with PlayStation 4 outselling the PS5 in year 2 and that’s not expected to change until the PS5’s fourth year.
Web gaming platform Kongregate has been gradually moving towards a more Web3 centred approach, planning to release 8-bit inspired metaverse The Bitverseas well as blockchain game Blood Vessels. Delving further into the Web3 space, Kongregate has announced a new $40 million blockchain gaming fund in collaboration with crypto solution provider ImmutableX.
Image credit: Kongregate
The fund looks to inspire developers to build blockchain games for Kongregate.com, consisting of an IMX token pool that will be awarded as grants to creators. While Kongregate.com has always been about web-based gaming, the site will relaunch later this year focused on the Web3 space, therefore it’s looking to invest in a library of content to support that vision.
“With the relaunch of Kongregate.com for web3, we’re once again creating a destination unlike any other for developers and gamers to come together to discover, chat about and play games,” said Max Murphy, Kongregate’s Chief Technology Officer in a statement. “As gamers ourselves who have long been dedicated to what made the original site so fun and special for millions of community members worldwide, we’re excited to reopen doors with new, sustainable technology that enables players to uniquely experience and be a part of the games they dedicate their time to.”
Kongregate is continuing its partnership with ImmutableX which began with development of upcoming title Blood Vessels. Currently being built by Kongregate’s new blockchain-focused development team, Electric Visions, Blood Vessels is set during the 19th Century at the Chicago World’s Fair, with players NFT vampire characters.
The Bitverse. Image credit: Kongregate
“As an early innovator in web-based gaming, we’ve been proud of our partnership with Kongregate to help power the next generation of blockchain games,” said Robbie Ferguson, Co-Founder and President, ImmutableX. “With today’s launch of our blockchain developer fund, we’re excited to deepen our relationship with Kongregate as we work together to attract the best and brightest developers to build new titles on Kongregate’s relaunched Web3 platform.”
Kongregate will be initially sharing how to access the fund to current developers on its platform, new teams interested in being part of it will have to reach out to Kongregate directly. As further details regarding the platforms’ Web3 plans unfold, gmw3 will keep you updated.
I’ve seen some weird and wonderful content in virtual reality (VR), from twisted ethereal landscapes to horrifying monstrosities you’d not want to meet in your nightmares. VR has managed to transcend so many aspects of entertainment I’m always curious as to where creators go next, with some of the more unexpected ideas coming from the artistic community. One of the biggest advocates in the space over the last few years is Vive Arts, returning once again with an exhibition that mixes multiple mediums.
Vive Arts has reunited with Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster for her solo exhibition Alienarium 5 at the Serpentine Gallery in London’s Hyde Park. It’s an exhibition that encompasses the artists’ 20-years of experimentation with ideas surrounding deep space, science fiction and the myriad possibilities of alien life.
Stepping into the gallery you’re instantly presented with a bright, eye-catching Alienarium 5 neon sign, the use of neon signage a long-time favourite of Gonzalez-Foerster’s. The vibrant use of colour can be found throughout the exhibit, draped across the walls and floors; even hidden behind a selection of eyelets that fill your vision with cascading hair and a pungent, crisp perfume that I couldn’t quite place.
It was almost too easy to miss the carpet that curved around the foyer, taking inspiration from the planet Uranus with deep hues of blue gradually fading into vivid reds and yellows. In actuality, it’s a very sedate start to what’s to come, with the VR portion completing the whole ensemble.
Through the archway and into the Serpentine’s central gallery, if you’ve not been there before it’s an impressive domed ceiling encircled with lights at its centre, giving an even yet dramatic illumination to the artwork below. On the floor, was a selection of what looked like large recreations of books all carefully placed. These actually turned out to be cushions, enabling guests to sit down and take in the huge piece of artwork that encircled the space.
Partly space-themed with a giant image of the Earth dominating as you first enter, the sci-fi design becomes even more abundant with a collage of alien designs interspersed with imagery of people, all harking back to those 1950/60s glory days of space travel. It’s an impressive piece of work that you can keep coming back to spot areas you’d not noticed before. But I’m no art critic, I’m here for the VR and how Vive Arts and Gonzalez-Foerster have deployed the tech. It is worth remembering that many have not tried VR, especially a device like the Vive Pro 2 in use here, so Alienarium 5 could well be their first step into an immersive digital space.
That definitely seems to have been part of the thought process here, as there are five headsets placed on stools and I’m told to stay seated forwards. With no need to turn around and no controllers to worry about the VR portion of Alienarium 5 is a tranquil, almost meditative experience that doesn’t so much feel like you’re floating in space, more the ocean deep.
You embody an alien, a different creature for each headset. Coming in at around 9 minutes, each experience is like a visual dance, imagine a murmuration where thousands of starlings twist and churn almost magically in the sky. It’s quite captivating with both audible and visual cues drawing your attention around the space. As it turns out, during the sequence you’ll spot what looks like other unusual alien creatures which are in fact the other exhibition guests.
While I didn’t have time to try them all I did test two out, with significant differences between them. The first portrayed what seemed to be a shoal of fish flitting around my vision. Their movement random, I came away relaxed but not connected to the piece or with a desire to re-experience it. The second headset was entirely the opposite. Almost like static rain in neon blue, what set it apart was the gaze-based control, wherever I turned my head would make a tunnel through the undulating haze, altering the spatial audio to suit. A far more dynamic presentation, the time quickly disappeared as I played in the space, stepping away far more energised and appreciative of the artist’s work.
London always has some amazing art on display but if you’re looking for some a little more tech-savvy then Alienarium 5 is worth popping into. The exhibition runs until 4th September 2022.
