Today sees the launch of Steam’s annual Game Festival where you can watch developer livestreams, chat with teams about their upcoming titles and, of course, play loads of free demos, over 500 in fact. And just like Steam’s summer 2020 edition of the event, there will be plenty of virtual reality (VR) videogames to sample.
Previously offering over 30 titles to try out, the 2021 edition doesn’t disappoint with 20+ VR videogames available. Some of these are entirely new which VRFocus hasn’t come across before whilst others like Monad Rock’s Blunt Force – which was first revealed four years ago – makes another return.
Those which have caught VRFocus’ eye include Battle Blocks, a competitive puzzle solver; asymmetric party title Operation Armstrong, and Desolatium, a Lovecraftian-style thriller.
As the majority of these are indie videogames the festival offers a great chance to see how small teams are leveraging VR in new and interesting ways.
The Steam Game Festival 2021 runs until Tuesday, 9th February at 10 am PST, so that should be enough time to play all those demos. For further updates on the latest PC VR releases, keep reading VRFocus.
In case you were wondering, yes, long-in-development PC VR shooter Blunt Force is still in the works, over four years after its reveal.
Developer Monad Rock took to Twitter today for the first time in nearly a year, confirming that the game is still in the works. Blunt Force is a WWII-era VR shooter that was initially announced all the way back in December 2016. After years of silence, we’d begun to think the game was canceled until it resurfaced with a surprise demo during June’s Steam Game Festival in 2020.
Long time, no see
Monad Rock is constantly working on Blunt Force and we are back with some news! Recently our code team upgraded our Unreal Engine to the 4.26 version. Now we will roll with development! #BluntForce#MonadRock#UnrealEnginepic.twitter.com/X1UgN2auK6
But, following that demo, the game again fell off of the radar. Today’s tweet reassures that the developer is “constantly working” on the game, and it was recently upgraded to Unreal Engine 4.26. How’s that for granular information?
Sadly there’s still no word on when the game might get a full release, nor if it might come to other platforms beyond PC. But we remain hopeful; last summer’s demo showcased decent visuals but some clunky gameplay, but the studio warned the demo was outdated. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that the game not only comes out but is actually worth playing once it’s here.
Are you still looking forward to Blunt Force? Let us know in the comments below!
In Blunt Force (developed by Monad Rock) you’ll play through two parallel storylines that primarily take place before and during World War II, before converging at the end. The storyline before the war sounds like it will be more of a detective mystery plot while the mid-WWII story is more of a traditional shooter with arcade and challenge modes. They’re both featuring the same character and happen nearly back-to-back.
Visually, it looks pretty good. The initial reveal a few years ago looked fantastic and it certainly appears sharper in the screenshots on the Steam page than it does in the actual headset. I played the demo on an Oculus Rift S and it looked fine, but certainly not as cutting edge as it seemed to be nearly four years ago.
The story is told in a really interesting way that involves jumping back and forth in time. For example, in the gameplay video above, you’ll see me at a pub pre-war in 1939 and then suddenly the memory fragments and puts me at the same location, in ruins, after the war starts. It’s a clever mechanic that conveys a good sense of how locations can trigger memories.
I didn’t dig through the options very much, I played with the default settings, which is just teleportation based. When you’re behind cover you can grab things like walls and tables to pull yourself up and down and to the side to go in and out of cover, or just physically move yourself.
Gameplay felt pretty clunky, but the studio has stated online this demo is outdated. It was very difficult to place the submachine gun on my back and have it stay there and my left hand had a lot of trouble getting recognized when I tried to grip the front of the gun. Shooting felt fine, although lacking in weight and impact a bit.
Voice acting is above average for indie VR games, but the animations and performances aren’t quite smooth enough to really fool you into getting engrossed in any sort of wartime drama. At its heart, Blunt Force is still just a relatively simplistic cover-based shooter with a narrative over the top and a bit of puzzle solving sprinkled throughout. Although — the developers actually making the effort to create something with a unique premise, actual voice acting, and a storyline rather than just a wave shooter or lifeless multiplayer game, is worth looking forward to.
Although it may have been several years since we heard much about Blunt Force, but that hasn’t quelled our excitement to see how the project turns out. We still ranked it on our list of top 7 VR games we’re still eagerly waiting for just a few months ago in late 2019.
Despite being the most popular video game setting in years’ past, WWII has fallen out of populartiy for game developers as of late. Other than Front Defense and Front Defense Heroes, there aren’t really many existing VR games that cover the conflict — unless you count Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond from Oculus and Respawn Entertainment. That’s still slated for this year as a Rift exclusive but it’s been complete and total silence from both companies ever since Oculus Connect last year.
Here is the 2018 teaser trailer:
Did you miss out on the UploadVR Showcase: Summer Edition? Check out every trailer, article, announcement, interview, and more from the UploadVR Showcase right here.
Sometimes, things don’t go to plan. Well, in the case of VR games it often feels like things don’t go to plan. But for all of the excellent games we’ve enjoyed in 2019 thus far, there are still a few that have somehow eluded us.
So here’s 7 missing VR games we’re still eagerly awaiting news on. Let’s hope we get some good news on them soon!
Star Child
Not many developers can call themselves true VR OGs, but Playful Corp is certainly one. Lucky’s Tale was one of the first games announced to be published by Oculus itself. You’d assume this was the start of a beautiful relationship for Playful and VR but its next VR title, Star Child, is a troubled story.
We first saw the game announced for PSVR at E3 2017. It was a sort of 2.5D platformer. It looked pretty promising but, well, we haven’t really seen it since. The E3 demo was eventually released for others to play and Playful has assured us on multiple occasions that it’s still in development. At this point, though, we’re once again wondering if it will ever come out.
Blunt Force
There was a time when Blunt Force looked like one of the most visually-impressive VR games on the horizon. That’s still the case, but games like Medal of Honor VR now threaten to steal any thunder the project might once have held.
This is a promising-looking WW2 shooter. You travel the globe to take part in cinematic shootouts. But developer Monad Rock hasn’t tweeted about it since May 2018 (though still posts about its other VR game, Summer Funland from time to time). A Steam listing still says it’s coming this year but, frankly, we won’t believe anything until the game is actually out at this point.
The Elder Scrolls: Blades
This one hurts us. At E3 last year Todd Howard took the stage to proudly introduce The Elder Scrolls: Blades, a mobile spin-off of the beloved franchise that captured a slice of its RPG antics for smartphones. In the same talk, Howard said mobile players would be able to go online and battle against their friends… in VR. An image suggested the game would be playable on an HTC Vive.
Over six months on from launch on Android and iOS, though, and there’s no such feature in sight. It could well be that the game still comes to headsets (it’s meant to be coming to Switch and PS4 this year). We wouldn’t expect to see it for some time yet, though. Of all the missing VR games, this is one of our most wanted.
Dreams
So, yes, Dreams isn’t technically MIA. In fact it’s technically out, just in a limited Early Access branch. But the game’s promised PSVR support is nowhere to be seen, and we’re wondering if it will ever happen… at least on this headset.
Dreams lets you make your own games and share them online. The idea for PSVR players is that they’ll get to make their own virtual worlds to explore. That instantly makes it one of the most exciting VR titles on the horizon. We suspect, however, that this late in the game developer Media Molecule might be waiting until the launch of PS5 and/or PSVR2 to implement VR support into the platform.
Bebylon Battle Royale
We feel live we’ve been waiting for Bebylon Battle Royale as long as we’ve been alive. Developer Kite and Lightning earned our trust and patience with its excellent free VR experiences back in the Oculus development kit days, but at this point our confidence is a little shaken. In fact, we’re coming up on the fourth anniversary of the game’s announcement.
Kite & Lightning is still active on social media and prominently features the game in various posts, so we’re still optimistic about the game’s chances. Bebylon promises an utterly surreal bit of VR mayhem set on a planet where Bebys (basically babies that never physically age) battle it out. Who wouldn’t want to give that a try?
The Climb On Quest
When Oculus Quest was first announced Crytek’s The Climb was one of the first games Facebook confirmed was coming to the device. Developer Crytek later confirmed that it would be the full game making its way over. In June, we heard that release information was coming ‘soon’.
Well, soon has come and gone in our opinion. The company’s continued silence on the subject suggests to us that The Climb is taking a bit longer than expected on Quest. That’s not surprising given that the game remains one of the most visually rich VR experiences out there. It’s still possible that it makes a 2019 release date, but we won’t hold our breath.
Valve’s Flagship VR Game
Let’s end on the big one. Back in May we were introduced to the Valve Index. The company’s impressive new PC VR headset is now among us. At its reveal event, however, the company promised that a “flagship Valve game” would be releasing for the device this year. Well, it’s nearly November and… no sign of it.
Repeated attempts to reach out to Valve to clarify if the game’s still coming this year have been unsuccessful. It’s very, very possible that the company is planning some sort of surprise drop within the coming weeks. It’s just as possible, though, that this one might slip beyond the realms of 2019. Fingers crossed that’s not the case.
Are there any missing VR games you’re still waiting on? Let us know in the comments below!
Online videogame marketplace G2A.com first showcased its interest in building virtual reality (VR) titles back in 2015 announcing G2A Land for Oculus Rift, which then launched in 2017. Over the past couple of years the G2A dev studio’s plans have expanded, revealing new experiences like Blunt Force and today going independent from G2A by forming onad Rock.
Just as it has done, Monad Rock will specialise in creating videogames and app for VR headsets. Additionally, subsequent products will be developed in various other technologies for both PCs and consoles.
“We are confident that Monad Rock will achieve great success,” said Maciej Kuc, Head of PR at G2A.com in a statement. “The studio has become independent, giving it full freedom to develop projects and talk with investors,”
“Working for G2A.com has been a great experience for the entire team. It was an intense time for us. We worked hard, accomplished many things, and learned a lot,” explained Marcin Kryszpin, CEO of Monad Rock. “The next step in our development is establishing a free-standing studio. The projects and brands that we created together with G2A.com will now be continued and developed by Monad Rock. From now on, we work independently.”
The studio is currently working on two VR titles. The previously announced Blunt Force, a first-person shooter (FPS) set during World War 2. The screenplay for Blunt Force is being crafted together with Hollywood screenwriter Mark Bristol. “It is a very ambitious project, which we will give greater details on soon,” added Kryszpin. However, we are currently focused on preparing Summer Funland for its upcoming premiere.”
Second title Summer Funland is the newest of the two, a theme park simulator that offers a myriad of attractions, including all the experiences available in G2A Land. “It is worth noting that all players who currently own G2A Land will receive Summer Funland for free,” said Kryszpin.
As for G2A.com, the online retailer will be focusing on two of its biggest products: G2A Marketplace and G2A PAY. “We are investing primarily in the development of our transaction system, machine learning, and blockchain technology,” adds Kuc. “At present, this is where we will direct our maximum attention. In the future, however, we plan to work together with Monad Rock on various projects. In fact, we are still working with the studio on one joint venture – the life-saving VR application that helps teach doctors how to detect heart defects in unborn children.”
Summer Funland is scheduled to be released during February 2018 on both Steam and the Oculus Store, with a PlayStation VR version following shortly after. For any further updates from Monad Rock, keep reading VRFocus.
Last week online marketplace G2A.com released its first effort into the world of virtual reality (VR) videogames with the launch of G2A Land for Oculus Rift. Today the company its helping other VR developers from around the world by inviting several to the Taipei Game Show later this week.
In cooperation with the Warsaw Trade Office in Taipei, G2A has invited Carbon Studio, Anshar Studio, Immersion, and Sigma to exhibit alongside G2A and the Warsaw Trade Office in the B2C zone. The developers have created titles such as including Alice VR, Detached, The Ancients, and The Purgatory VR, respectively.
Alongside demoing their latest projects, the studio’s will also participate in the Asia VR Arcade Partners project. The project promotes VR videogames to specially designed clubs of VR fans, letting them try titles for a small fee. As China is becoming one of the major markets for VR, and one many western companies are endevouring to access, projects such as Asia VR Arcade Partners present useful opportunities to do so.
While at the Taipei Game Show G2A.com will also be demonstrating its 3D printing platform, G2A 3D, In the VR zone, visitors will be able to see 3D printed models from G2A’s next immersive title, a World War II VR game called Blunt Force. Models will include the signature Blunt Force rose, an airplane, and attendees will also have the chance to win exclusive Blunt Force dog tags at the shooting range.
For further coverage of the Taipei Game Show and G2A.com, keep reading VRFocus.
Long time, no see 
