The virtual reality (VR) titles on VRFocus’ list of ‘Most Anticipated Games of 2021‘ are beginning to be ticked off one by one, with Hitman 3 now out and Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife due in April. Today’s barrage of videogame announcements has final seen Vertigo Games confirm that its co-op shooter After the Fall will see a multiplatform release this summer.
Initially stencilled in for a 2020 launch after its unveiling in 2019, Vertigo Games had to push the release back due to remote working. Now that After the Fall has been given a slightly more specific Summer 2021 window for PlayStation VR and PC VR, it could be the big VR experience of the season.
Built to provide full cross-platform multiplayer for up to 4 players, After the Fall is set in a post-apocalyptic LA where the team have to fight a range of mutated monsters called Snowbreed in order to survive. They’ll be able to find normal weapons in amongst the ruins as well as components to upgrade and make new ones – like a hand-mounted multi rocket launcher. If there aren’t enough players then AI companions will be dropped in to fill the gaps.
“Since the early concept phase, After the Fall has been all about having VR gamers team up together – regardless of the device they play on – through full cross-platform multiplayer functionality. In a time of widespread social isolation it feels like that goal now has additional relevance,” said Richard Stitselaar, Studio Director at Vertigo Games. “We’re truly excited about moving into this next campaign phase, in which we’ll be inviting more players into the game and sharing more details as we gear up towards launch.”
It’s been two years since VRFocus’first demo of After the Fall and it already looked like a frantic arcade shooter back then. Hopefully, thanks to two more years of development, the team behind Arizona Sunshine have created a worthy followup.
Check out the new cinematic trailer for After the Fall below. When a more concrete launch date is revealed VRFocus will let you know.
After the Fall, a co-op zombie VR shooter from the studio behind Arizona Sunshine, is set for a Summer release date. The announcement comes alongside the release of a new cinematic trailer and screenshots.
No stranger to VR zombie games, VR publisher & developer Vertigo Games has announced its next title, After the Fall is due for a release date this Summer on PSVR, PC VR, and “yet to be announced VR platforms,” (which likely means a Quest version is in development). The game promises to bring four-player survival-shooter action to VR. A new cinematic trailer shows the post-apocalyptic vibes the company is aiming for:
Vertigo Games says After the Fall is “built from the ground up for a multi-platform VR rollout,” offering full cross-platform multiplayer including “support for a wide range of VR play styles that will offer an immersive thrillride for veteran VR gamers while remaining welcoming to VR newcomers.”
Vertigo Games today also revealed some new screenshots:
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Image courtesy Vertigo Games
Image courtesy Vertigo Games
Image courtesy Vertigo Games
Image courtesy Vertigo Games
While the game is planned for a Summer launch, the game’s official site indicates that there will be a pre-release beta and players can already sign up to indicate their interest in joining.
Prior to today’s announcement, After the Fall was delayed from what was originally supposed to be a 2020 release. Like other studios, developer Vertigo Games said the delay was largely related to challenges brought on by the Coronavirus pandemic.
In today’s announcement the studio notes: “Armed with full VR motion controls, After the Fall will make you feel like a slightly overpowered 1980s action hero as you engage in the game’s high-paced combat with real-life movements.” The references to motion controls and real-life movements are encouraging, as a lack of immersive design was our primary concern with a preview of the game we saw way back in 2019. The studio has had nearly two years since then to refine the game and we’re looking forward to seeing how things have evolved.
We’re already seeing hints of immersive design changes in a new gameplay clip the studio released today. Above we can see that some form of reloading interactions have made their way into the game.
After the Fall, a co-op zombie VR shooter from the studio behind Arizona Sunshine, is set for a Summer release date. The announcement comes alongside the release of a new cinematic trailer and screenshots.
No stranger to VR zombie games, VR publisher & developer Vertigo Games has announced its next title, After the Fall is due for a release date this Summer on PSVR, PC VR, and “yet to be announced VR platforms,” (which likely means a Quest version is in development). The game promises to bring four-player survival-shooter action to VR. A new cinematic trailer shows the post-apocalyptic vibes the company is aiming for:
Vertigo Games says After the Fall is “built from the ground up for a multi-platform VR rollout,” offering full cross-platform multiplayer including “support for a wide range of VR play styles that will offer an immersive thrillride for veteran VR gamers while remaining welcoming to VR newcomers.”
Vertigo Games today also revealed some new screenshots:
1 of 4
Image courtesy Vertigo Games
Image courtesy Vertigo Games
Image courtesy Vertigo Games
Image courtesy Vertigo Games
While the game is planned for a Summer launch, the game’s official site indicates that there will be a pre-release beta and players can already sign up to indicate their interest in joining.
Prior to today’s announcement, After the Fall was delayed from what was originally supposed to be a 2020 release. Like other studios, developer Vertigo Games said the delay was largely related to challenges brought on by the Coronavirus pandemic.
In today’s announcement the studio notes: “Armed with full VR motion controls, After the Fall will make you feel like a slightly overpowered 1980s action hero as you engage in the game’s high-paced combat with real-life movements.” The references to motion controls and real-life movements are encouraging, as a lack of immersive design was our primary concern with a preview of the game we saw way back in 2019. The studio has had nearly two years since then to refine the game and we’re looking forward to seeing how things have evolved.
We’re already seeing hints of immersive design changes in a new gameplay clip the studio released today. Above we can see that some form of reloading interactions have made their way into the game.
Today Vertigo Games revealed its upcoming co-op survival looter shooter, After the Fall, is coming to PC VR and PSVR this summer with crossplay.
We first learned about After the Fall nearly two years ago when we got the chance to go hands-on at E3 2019. Back then, we described it as a “familiar FPS” but noted the potential for it to serve as an addictive hub for co-op shooter fun. Even nearly five years later, Arizona Sunshine is still one of the best co-op games out there with it’s slow-paced zombie-slaying tension. After the Fall looks to crank that all the way up.
When we tried it back at E3 the enemies moved much faster than the stumbling zombies of Arizona Sunshine and there was even a big boss fight that erupted in multi-colored loot drops once defeated.
In today’s PS Blog post, we got some new details on the upcoming game. You may recall the premise is a new twist on the post apocalypse in that, rather than being ravaged by bombs and transformed into a gray-brown wasteland, everything is frozen over this time.
Vertigo debuted a new cinematic trailer today (embedded above) inside the blog post with the promise of an “all-new gameplay trailer” coming in the next few weeks. It sounds like there will be a base camp hub area where you can prep for missions, meet up with friends, or take AI companions out with you. Or, you can just roll solo.
On PSVR After the Fall will fully support the PS Aim Controller, or it can be played with two PS Move controllers. It doesn’t sound like DualShock 4 by itself will be an option.
Check out the official website and Twitter account for more details. After the Fall is slated for a release on PC VR and PSVR this summer with crossplay.
While 2020 may have been rubbish when it comes to almost everything, virtual reality (VR) developers have provided some awesome content to fill the time. So now it’s time to look ahead and see what the next 12 months will bring.
There’s no shortage of VR titles already slated for 2021, some have moved over from last year whilst others are looking to make their mark. Those such as Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creedand Splinter Cell don’t make the main list as these aren’t expected anytime soon.
Hitman 3
The main videogame a lot of PlayStation VR players are likely to be looking forward to, Hitman 3 arrives in a few weeks, the only title on this list with an actual launch date.
Putting you back into the shoes of the infamous assassin, Hitman 3 is fully VR compatible across its main campaign as well as its four other modes. Developer IO Interactive is making it possible to bring the two previous instalment’s maps – if you own Hitman 1 and 2 – into the third edition so you can play them in VR. Plus, the PlayStation 4 version will freely upgrade to the PlayStation 5 edition, whilst the PS5 version comes with a digital PS4 copy so there’s no need to worry which console you own.
Supported headsets: PlayStation VR
Release date: 20th January 2021
Lone Echo 2
Announced as an Oculus Rift exclusive back in 2018, originally Lone Echo II had been slated for 2019. Over the course of 2020, a couple of updates were released noting that work was still ongoing as the team adjusted to working remotely but it was clear from the last one the videogame wasn’t going to make it this year.
The single-player sci-fi adventure, Lone Echo II continues the story where you play a robot called Jack who needs to help Captain Olivia Rhodes survive the perils of space. Exclusive to the Oculus Store, it’s worth taking a look at the original even if titles like Half-Life: Alyx have now surpassed it.
As there’s no actual release date just yet, Lone Echo II could well arrive after Oculus Rift S is discontinued so there’s little doubt it’ll be Oculus Quest (via Oculus Link) compatible.
A horror title with a twist, Fast Travel Games’ Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlifelooks to be quite an intriguing experience. Set within the World of Darkness universe, you play as a wraith stuck in the mysterious Barclay mansion with the ability to walk through walls and pick items up remotely.
This being a horror videogame, just because you’re a wraith doesn’t mean to say there aren’t nasty beings lurking in the darkness. In fact, they’re called Spectres and they stalk your every footstep. Suspense is key here, there doesn’t look to be any combat just exploration, puzzle-solving and hiding when appropriate.
Supported headsets: Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index & PlayStation VR.
Release date: Early 2021
Maskmaker
From the team that brought you A Fisherman’s Tale, InnerspaceVR is working on a puzzle adventure called Maskmaker. Set in a realm ruled by the titular character, you’re his apprentice, learning his secret, magical ways of making masks. These are no ordinary masks, allowing you to freely explore 8 levels ‘biomes’ and discover their secrets.
As an apprentice, you’ll have to learn to build various masks from blueprints using materials you find. Eventually, you’ll be given free rein to make your own designs, although the studio hasn’t revealed what will happen when you do. Grander in scope than InnerspaceVR’s previous projects, Maskmaker is expected early next year.
Supported headsets: PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive & Valve Index
Release date: Q1 2021
Low-Fi
Iris VR Inc. – the team behind Technolust – held a successful Kickstarter back in 2019 for its ambitious cyberpunk project Low-Fi, which supports both VR and non-VR gameplay. An epic sci-fi adventure where you play a cop patrolling the dark crime-ridden streets of city-block 303, you’re able to choose between keeping law and order or exploiting its seedy underbelly.
While the Kickstarter offered backers access to the development build depending on which tier they purchased, that early access was then made available to everyone. Low-Fi is available on itch.io for $35 USD, once the videogame is ready to launch you’ll get a Steam key.
Supported headsets: PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index & Windows Mixed Reality.
Only a few teasing details of the gameplay have been revealed so far such as the image below and that the action will be a mix of melee combat and powerful, motion-based spellcasting. One aspect Carbon Studio has been detailing is the storyline through a selection of dev blog’s over on Steam. If the team’s recent The Wizards – Dark Times game is anything to go by Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Tempestfall is in good hands.
Supported headsets: PC VR & Oculus Quest
Release date: 2021
After the Fall
Another videogame falling foul of remote working in 2020, Vertigo Games’ After the Fall is its next big blockbuster shooter. Originally unveiled during the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2019, the studio has released few updates over the past year, the main one being the delay.
A promising action-packed FPS from what’s been shown so far, the studio behind Arizona Sunshine is heading for chillier climes for this adventure. Not to some northern outpost, rather Los Angeles set in a desolate future consumed by climate change and where most of the population have turned into monsters because of a designer drug. Survival will require scavenging for parts to build deadly weapons and other tools.
Supported headsets: PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive & Valve Index
Release date: Early 2021
The Climb 2
Revealed during Facebook Connect in September, Crytek’s free-climbing sequel was slated for an Oculus Quest launch by the end of 2020. Nothing has been heard of The Climb 2 since then including a reason for the delay.
Just like before you’ll need a head for heights, assailing cliff faces whilst looking for the best route up. This time around, however, it won’t just be scenic views of the ocean and countryside you’ll be able to enjoy, it’ll take you into cities to scale massive skyscrapers like you’re Tom Cruise in a Mission Impossible movie. Hopefully, more news will come available in early 2021.
Supported headsets: Oculus Quest
Release date: ‘Coming Soon’
Sniper Elite VR
Bringing its popular sniping franchise into VR, Rebellion has teamed up with Coatsink and Just Add Water on the production of Sniper Elite VR. A single-player, story-driven campaign takes you to Italy during World War 2, helping the Italian resistance to rid Sicily of the Nazi’s.
You’ll be exploring scenic locations, finding the best spots to snipe enemies or when necessary employing sub-machine guns, pistols and other weapons at close range. And let’s not forget about the infamous X-ray kill camera to really make those long-range shots standout. While no official release date has been mentioned, having demoed Sniper Elite VR in 2019 VRFocus has its fingers crossed this might appear in 2021.
Supported headsets: PlayStation VR, Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive & Valve Index
Release date: ‘Coming Soon’
Unplugged
Rhythm-action videogames can be awesome fun and Unplugged from Anotherway and Vertigo Games looks like it could be a blast. It’s also the only title here which uses Oculus Quest’s hand tracking feature for some air guitar rock and roll.
So far a couple of teasing videos featuring Searching for the Truth by The Electric Alley and Roadie by Tenacious D have showcased the gameplay no guitar controllers needed. You’ll score points and build combos when playing well or booed and beer hurled at you when you mess up.
Community Download is a weekly discussion-focused articles series published (usually) every Monday in which we pose a single, core question to you all, our readers, in the spirit of fostering discussion and debate. For today’s Community Download, we want to know what you think are the biggest stories in VR this year?
Finally, 2020 is almost over. In what will go down in history as one of the most tumultuous ever experienced, a lot has happened. Amidst everything else, we’ve obviously had a burgeoning VR industry continue to grow spurred on by new hardware, groundbreaking software, and a nurturing base of followers and fans.
One of the biggest headlines this year is of course the various ways the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has impacted the market. From shuttering location-based VR arcades to leading towards wider adoption overall for in-home VR, it’s had a dramatic impact.
We’ve continued to push forward with our own remote solution — The VR Download — which you can see a snippet of above. It’s a virtual studio in which we stream live podcasts from, while interacting with chat, using our VR avatars in a custom-built studio. It continues to get better and better as well!
Then we’ve of course had amazing VR titles like Half-Life: Alyx and The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners setting new bars of quality for the entire industry to aspire to going forward. There are tons of great VR games on the horizon too, such as Lone Echo 2, Hitman 3, and Maskmaker to look forward to next.
Let us know what you think was the biggest or perhaps most surprising headline for 2020 down in the comments below!
Vertigo Games made the announcement via the After the Fall Twitter account, noting that: “We have made the difficult decision to move the launch of After the Fall to early 2021, to ensure the development team has sufficient time to deliver the experience that meets our vision.” Like many studios having to adjust to remote working conditions, the team cites Covid-19 restrictions as the main source of the delay.
Whilst no delay is ever great news fans can be rest assured that After the Fall will retain its co-op functionality – a feature many were disappointed to see removed from The Walking Dead Onslaught. Replying to a disgruntled tweet Vertigo Games confirmed that: “Co-op is the core gameplay of After the Fall.”
Set to offer both solo and multiplayer modes, After the Fall takes place in a grim, icy future consumed by climate change and where most of the population have turned into monsters because of a designer drug. Players will be able to explore a ravaged Los Angeles, scavenging parts to build deadly weapons to survive against the mutants.
A lot has happened since those first early announcements, especially where the Oculus Quest platform is concerned. PC VR headsets and PlayStation VR are supported but there could now be a possibility that the standalone headset may get a version, with the studio responding with: “More info soon!” when asked (which isn’t a no).
VRFocusenjoyed its preview of After the Fall last year, saying: “In its current form After the Fall is a nice generic shooter that would be home on VR as well as non-VR systems. The gameplay is slick, fast and in your face, which tends to mean a certain nuance is missing. Snow zombies are all well and good but there needs to be more, Vertigo Games has the talent, hopefully, it can deliver.”
As Vertigo Games release new details for After the Fall, VRFocus will let you know.
After a long silence, upcoming zombie VR shooter After The Fall has been delayed.
The game, developed by Arizona Sunshine studio Vertigo Games, will now be releasing in early 2021, a tweet today confirmed.
After The Fall Delayed
“However, with the COVID-19 outbreak and everything going on in the world, we are facing several challenges that require more time to safely develop After The Fall and meet our high standards,” the message reads.
Towards the end, the developer says that it “cannot wait” to show more of the game off and that it has “big plans” for the title.
We first revealed After The Fall as part of UploadVR’s E3 VR Showcase in 2019. It’s a co-op game for up to four players, trading Arizona Sunshine’s blistering heat for a frozen post-apocalyptic world. At the time, the developer confirmed the game was coming to PC VR headsets, and it was confirmed for PSVR shortly thereafter.
But it’s been around a year since we last heard anything meaningful from the game and we had long assumed it wouldn’t be releasing this year. We do wonder if Vertigo, which was recently acquired by Koch Media, is working on a Quest version of the game too, though it’s made no such announcements to date. It’s not clear if the studio still plans to go ahead with a beta for the game that was previously mentioned, but we’ve reached out to the team to find out.
What do you make of the After The Fall delay? Are you planning to pick the game up? Let us know in the comments below!
After a long silence, upcoming zombie VR shooter After The Fall has been delayed.
The game, developed by Arizona Sunshine studio Vertigo Games, will now be releasing in early 2021, a tweet today confirmed.
After The Fall Delayed
“However, with the COVID-19 outbreak and everything going on in the world, we are facing several challenges that require more time to safely develop After The Fall and meet our high standards,” the message reads.
Towards the end, the developer says that it “cannot wait” to show more of the game off and that it has “big plans” for the title.
We first revealed After The Fall as part of UploadVR’s E3 VR Showcase in 2019. It’s a co-op game for up to four players, trading Arizona Sunshine’s blistering heat for a frozen post-apocalyptic world. At the time, the developer confirmed the game was coming to PC VR headsets, and it was confirmed for PSVR shortly thereafter.
But it’s been around a year since we last heard anything meaningful from the game and we had long assumed it wouldn’t be releasing this year. We do wonder if Vertigo, which was recently acquired by Koch Media, is working on a Quest version of the game too, though it’s made no such announcements to date. It’s not clear if the studio still plans to go ahead with a beta for the game that was previously mentioned, but we’ve reached out to the team to find out.
What do you make of the After The Fall delay? Are you planning to pick the game up? Let us know in the comments below!
After the Fall, the long-awaited co-op VR zombie shooter from Vertigo Games, has an official launch date. It’s now slated to arrive on all supported platforms on December 9th.
Update (October 28th, 2021): Vertigo Games today revealed that After the Fall is coming to supported VR headsets on December 9th. There’s also a short announce video which shows a bit of actions, embedded below.
The previous updates have been moved to the foot of the article for clarity’s sake.
Original Article (November 6th, 2020: After the Fall was first announced back at E3 2019, offering up zombie-shooting four-player co-op action in a frozen wasteland. It was originally projected to arrive sometime in 2020, which at this late date would have put it releasing around the holidays.
Now, Vertigo Games says it won’t make the 2020 launch due to “the Covid-19 outbreak and everything going on in the world.”
Here’s the full statement below, which the studio tweeted out earlier today:
We have made the difficult decision to move the launch of After the Fall to early 2021, to ensure the development team has sufficient time to deliver the experience that meets our vision.
We want to make After the Fall the best and most gripping co-op VR FPS experience possible. However, with the Covid-19 outbreak and everything going on in the world, are facing several challenges that require more time to safely develop After the Fall and meet our high standards.
We understand that this is not the news you were hoping to hear and we can assure you we would have loved to have delivered you a great experience this holiday season. At the same time, we want to deliver the best 4-player co-op action VR FPS that you can expect from us. Therefore we are taking the additional time to get everything just right. We have big plans for After the Fall and we cannot wait to show you more.
Thank you for your patience and support, please stay safe.
We went hands-on with After the Fall back at E3 2019, and although clearly very early in its development, Road to VR’s Ben Lang said it was lacking a clear a sense of immersion for multiple reasons, including less than optimal object interaction and overly arcade-y controls, making it feel more like a point-and-click experience than a proper shooting experience.
Here’s what Lang concluded Vertigo Games needed to accomplish if they wanted a more immersive, more fun game for VR players:
After the Fall has a long way to go if the developers want to deliver gameplay that feels native to VR, and I hope they do. The only thing the game really seems to have going for it is some pretty darn good visuals (a big upgrade from the studio’s previous title, Arizona Sunshine). Right now it almost feels like Vertigo Games is designing After the Fall to work on flat screens too—maybe they have ambitions to release a non-VR version of the game? Being overtly distracted with high-level non-VR game design goals that evoke the non-VR loot shooters is a sure-fire way to end up with a VR game that feels like a port, and Borderlands 2 VR already has that covered.
We haven’t seen the game in the wild since then due to the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent cancellations of all in-person events, so we’re curious to see how much headway the studio was able to make in the meantime. Whatever the case, we’re hoping for a pleasant surprise after more time in development.
Update (October 27th, 2021): In a tweet today, Vertigo Games announced it had “big news for you tomorrow,” which ostensibly means we’ll have some idea of when the game is coming. The studio previously said that After the Fall will release on PlayStation VR, Oculus Quest 2 and SteamVR headsets “later this year.”
Update (July 23rd, 2021): After the Fall was originally supposed to release in 2020, and was then delayed to early 2021 due to complications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now Vertigo Games says it’s pushing the multiplatform release of After the Fall to later this year. The game is targeting PlayStation VR, Oculus Quest 2 and PC VR.
“With After the Fall, we have set ourselves with the ultimate goal of bringing you the best possible 4-player co-op experience in VR. To ensure a smooth multi-platform launch with cross-platform support, we are giving our development team the time they need to finalize their work,” the studio says in an update.
Additionally, if you’re looking to play on the 2019-era Oculus Quest, the studio says that release will likely come in 2022. The original article detailing the previous delay follows below:
