For the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2019 in June Neat Corp announced Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency, continuing the story from the 2018 original whilst updating the gameplay thanks to a collaboration with Fast Travel Games. Today, the pair have confirmed a release date, and its arriving just in time for the festive season.
Designed as a self-contained videogame where you don’t need to have played the original, Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency still features that stealthy gameplay the experience is known for. Offering new locations, enemies and gadgets, one of the big inclusions is the bow, a weapon Fast Travel Games is particularly known for thanks to its own VR title Apex Construct.
“Working on Budget Cuts 2 has been an amazing journey, both into dreams previously left in the past and for hardware of a future that we have finally reached. We couldn’t be more excited to let the final chapter of the story out there, and we just can’t wait to see our fans get their hands on it!,” says Jenny Nordenborg, CEO at Neat Corp in a statement.
Erik Odeldahl, Creative Director at Fast Travel Games, adds: “We’re happy to invite players back into the world of Budget Cuts. This time we let them sneak and fight their way over rooftops, through factories and looming skyscrapers, one robot murder at a time. I can’t wait to see what players think of this larger world to play in!”
Having previewed Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvencyat Gamescom 2019 VRFocus found that: “The collaboration between Neat Corporation and Fast Travel Games certainly seems to be paying off, with Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency offering a greatly improved experience. With a launch expected later this year the sequel turnaround has been quite rapid, however, the quality of the videogame shown didn’t feel rushed.”
Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency is scheduled to launch on 12th December 2019 supporting Oculus Rift/Rift S, HTC Vive and Valve Index. You can Wishlist the videogame on Steam or pre-order the title for £22.99 via Oculus Store. VRFocus will continue its coverage of Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency, reporting back with any further updates.
There are some exciting stealth-style videogames currently in development for virtual reality (VR) headsets including Espire 1: VR Operative, Phantom: Covert Ops and Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency. The latter of the three is certainly the least serious offering a comical take on running around being some elite operative. Continuing the story from the 2018 original, VRFocus caught up with the Neat Corp team to find out more.
For the development of Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency Neat Corp teamed up with fellow Swedish VR developer Fast Travel Games. This meant that the team behind Apex Constructcould help with one of the most crucial (and newest) elements of the sequel, a bow.
VRFocus has mentioned on previous occasions that the bow mechanics in Apex Construct are rather good and they’ve been transferred over to Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency. The original Budgets Cuts had weapons to destroy the robot guards, but this time you can be even deadlier at range. Not only that but you can retrieve those valuable arrows from the cold metallic corpses so you never have to run out.
Really what you want to do (I’ve you’ve managed to miss them) is take a look at the 20 mins of gameplay video VRFocus recorded at Gamescom 2019 and how awesome our skills are (they’re not!), or read the in-depth preview to see what VRFocus thought. As a taster: “The collaboration between Neat Corporation and Fast Travel Games certainly seems to be paying off, with Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency offering a greatly improved experience. With a launch expected later this year the sequel turnaround has been quite rapid, however, the quality of the videogame shown didn’t feel rushed.”
In the interview with VRFocus Neat Corporation’s Olle Axelsson some of the new features players can expect to find – not just the awesome bow – as well as how the project aims to improve on the original.
Thanks to Fast Travel Games hosting the VR Games Showcase during Gamescom 2019 last month all the developers in attendance not only showcased new and upcoming virtual reality (VR) titles, but they also handily recorded all the gameplay footage. All of which VRFocus has lovingly showcased over the last few days. Today, it’s the turn of Neat Corporation’s Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency the sequel to 2018’s stealth experience.
In VRFocus’ longest gameplay video from the event, there are over 20 minutes of embarrassing footage as we try to make it across the rooftops, taking down as many sentry robots as possible whilst showcasing some deadly bow skills.
If you’ve played the original Budget Cuts then you’ll know all about the teleportation gun, firing a blue blob around corners, into vents or anywhere else as you tried to avoid confrontation at all costs, grabbing a pair of scissors when in peril. In Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency stealth is still a factor but now you can be a lot more aggressive thanks to a new bow, care of Neat Corp’s partnership with Apex Constructdeveloper Fast Travel Games.
It’s not just the bow that’s been added with Neat Corp including a much wider variety of environments as well as enemies to deal with. The aim is to expand the gameplay variety, keeping what made the original great whilst enriching the universe.
To see what VRFocus thought about the title take a look at the Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency preview which noted: “The collaboration between Neat Corporation and Fast Travel Games certainly seems to be paying off, with Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency offering a greatly improved experience. With a launch expected later this year the sequel turnaround has been quite rapid, however, the quality of the videogame shown didn’t feel rushed.”
Take a look at the gameplay footage from Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency below, or head on over to VRFocus’other gameplay videos from Gamescom 2019 including The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets,Acron: Attack of the Squirrelsand Down the Rabbit Hole. The title is expected to launch later this year for PC VR platforms like Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Valve Index. As further information is released VRFocuswill keep you updated.
Neat Corporation released its first virtual reality (VR) title Budget Cuts last year after several delays, receiving a mixed response. A stealth-action experience using a rather unique teleportation system, the studio has teamed up with fellow VR developer Fast Travel Games for follow up title Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency. From what’s been shown so far the project is already coming along very well.
Demoing the title at Gamescom 2019, Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency still offers the same sneaky abilities as before, with a teleportation gun which can be fired around corners whilst offering a handy window to check for guards. You can also continue to kill robot guards by throwing scissors or any other sharp object at your disposal.
What has changed though is the inclusion of a rather deadly bow. This is no surprise as Fast Travel Games created Apex Construct, which just so happens to have some of the best bow mechanics found in any VR videogame. The bow almost feels like it has been directly lifted from Apex Construct, with a beautiful motion to drawing back the arrow and a satisfying and powerful thump when it hits a target.
The arrows look like crossbow bolts for some reason yet do behave like standard arrows once loaded into the bow. One notable difference between the two bows is the fact that in Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency you can’t liberally fire off arrows indiscriminately, they are valuable and in short supply. Which means every shot needs to count, especially as the level being demoed took place outside on the top of skyscrapers so it was very easy to lose arrows. On the plus side – and a very nice little feature – the arrows can be reclaimed from walls or heads they’re wedged into.
So killing stuff was easy and a lot of fun. What was a bit finicky and not so efficient was the menu system between the main items. So there’s the bow, the teleportation gun and the grab tool as your primary tools. Naturally, you want the bow out at all times, but this then means sacrificing one of the others. Movement is fairly key, especially when spotted by a guard. On the other hand, you can’t fire the bow without the grab tool. Hence there’s a choice to be made – and no strafing – with a slightly high learning curve for new players.
Which means you kind of need to find your own formula and preference when handling Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency. This creates very methodical gameplay so that there’s very little barrelling into a dangerous situation, and if that does happen then death tends to be inevitable as one-hit means it’s all over.
The collaboration between Neat Corporation and Fast Travel Games certainly seems to be paying off, with Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency offering a greatly improved experience. With a launch expected later this year the sequel turnaround has been quite rapid, however, the quality of the videogame shown didn’t feel rushed. As long as Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency has enough content for a robust experience then this is one to look forward to.
Next month the biggest videogame event in Europe takes place in Cologne, Germany, Gamescom 2019. And for the first time, several studios from the virtual reality (VR) industry will be hosting a tie-in event called The VR Games Showcase.
The brainchild of Fast Travel Games’ Andreas Juliusson, The VR Games Showcase will feature Carbon Studio, Survios, Neat Corporation, Resolution Games and Cortopia Studios. Only open to media and content creators (most of Gamescom is open to the public), they’ll be able to get hands-on time with some of the latest VR offers.
“The VR Games Showcase’ is a concept I came up with 6 months ago. The VR industry is still young and most active VR game studios are relatively small, like us, with the same kind of marketing challenges and lack of resources. However, if multiple studios would join forces to share costs and efforts, I believed we would be able to deliver a real heavyweight event concept with clear value for both media and content creators to attend!” says Juliusson in a statement.
“As I started to reach out about this initiative, I was met with a massive interest not only from the studios but also from Perp Games, whose investment helped bring it to life. Now, the biggest studio event collaboration in the VR games industry is finally happening, with the premiere taking place at Gamescom this summer! I am hoping we can keep building on this concept and allow ‘The VR Games Showcase’ to grow going forward. This unique collaboration really raises the bar for VR games marketing and event presence.”
‘The VR Games Showcase’ is presented by global games publisher Perp Games. Perp Games is a market leader in VR publishing and proud to support such innovative concepts,” adds Perp Games MD, Rob Edwards. “We truly believe VR offers players a unique gameplay experience and ‘The VR Games Showcase’ is a great way to allow gamers to experience hands-on, some of the most exceptional VR games being developed.”
VRFocus will be attending Gamescom 2019 so keep an eye out for the latest VR videogames coverage from the event.
Despite rising popularity, VR has always struggled to standout at major gaming events. That’s why we put on the first ever E3 VR Showcase last month. Next month, though, a number of independent VR developers will band together to showcase their latest projects at one of the industry’s biggest events – Gamescom.
The 2019 iteration of the show, hosted in Cologne, Germany, will be the first to feature The VR Games Showcase, presented by Perp Games. The showcase will feature the likes of Fast Travel Games (Apex Construct), Neat Corporation (Budget Cuts), Carbon Studio (The Wizards), Survios (Creed: Rise to Glory), Resolution Games (Bait!) and Cortopia Studios (Wands). Each will be showing off new titles on their way to headsets in the near future.
Focused on media and content creators at its first event, the showcase will offer hands-on time with games and access to their developers. For VR, this is an unprecedented unification of studios. It’s something that Andreas Juliusson, Marketing & Communications Manager at Fast Travel Games, says needs to happen.
“During my years as marketer in the flat screen gaming industry, I got to see the value in being present at the biggest gaming conventions where media and content creators gathered,” Juliusson said. “The reality for most VR games developers today however, with the industry still relatively young, is that we often do not have the financial resources or the expertise to make an impact on these events by ourselves.
“This got me thinking: What if I would reach out to other studios in the same situation as us and ask them to join forces in a combined initiative, where we could share costs and efforts? I was immediately met with massive interest and soon after, we found a sponsor in global games publisher Perp Games who helped bring the initiative to life. Come August, six awesome developers are premiering with ‘The VR Games Showcase’ together at Gamescom and we could not be more excited!”
In its first event, the showcase is only open to members of the media and content creators. Juliusson says, however, that if the show is successful it will come to other shows and maybe to the public.
So what can you expect at the show? We’ve rounded up the announced titles below.
Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency
Neat Corp and Fast Travel Games’ unexpected sequel was one of the big reveals at our E3 VR Showcase. This event will offer the first hands-on with the project.
The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets
This is another offering from Fast Travel. It’s an adorable-looking puzzler that plays with small-scale VR. Again, first hands-on is on offer at the show.
Acron
The latest from Resolution Games, Acron is a fast-paced multiplayer title between VR and mobile users. Its crazy brand of action will be playable at the show.
The Wizards: Dark Times
This is a standalone expansion to Carbon Studios’ successful magical VR game, The Wizards. We had a CG trailer at the E3 VR Showcase, but first hands-on is at Gamescom.
An Adventure In Wonderland (Name Not Final)
This is the first we’ve heard about the new game from Cortopia Studios. Full details are expected to be revealed during Gamescom itself.
The Walking Dead Onslaught
More VR zombie-slaying awaits in the latest VR title from Survios. Onslaught promises to bring together the team’s past learnings for a truly gory shooter experience.
Neat Corporation launched its stealth-action videogame Budget Cuts a year ago to mixed reviews. Several updates followed to improve the situation and with the first anniversary coming up the studio has announced a follow-up project. The team has partnered with Fast Travel Games (the studio behind Apex Construct) to create sequel Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency.
The videogame not only continues from where the first left off, but it also concludes the story as well. A completely self-contained title so there’s no need to own or have played the original, Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency has a much more direct gameplay mechanic than having to sneak around like before.
Featuring a multitude of new environments, gadgets, weapons, enemies and challenges, it’s easy to see the influence of Fast Travel Games in the trailer and screenshots, namely the bow and arrow combo. Apex Construct has one of the best bow mechanics of any virtual reality (VR) and those talents have surely been put to use in Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency.
“Fast Travel Games have been our good friends since back when we were both getting started and shared an office. Today, both our studios have more than tripled in size, but it’s been great to finally get to work together as well! We complete each other’s skills and experiences well,” says Jenny Nordenborg, CEO at Neat Corp in a statement.
Oskar Burman, CEO and Co-founder of Fast Travel Games, adds: “We have been bouncing ideas on VR gameplay and design off each other for a long time, so it’s fantastic to finally be able to use the different strengths of each studio and create a game together! We simply cannot wait to show more of Budget Cuts 2 later this summer.”
Neat Corporation hasn’t confirmed which headsets Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency will support, but with the previous title supporting Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, expect something similar. The studio also confirmed earlier this year that Budget Cuts would see a release on PlayStation VR and possibly Oculus Quest, there’s been no update on that front just yet.
As further details regarding Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency launch later this year are released, VRFocus will let you know.
Upon first glance, it’s tough to tell Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency — just revealed at our E3 VR Showcase — apart from its predecessor. In its pre-alpha state, it looks visually identical to the original, save for a few small tweaks. Its idle-brained robotic workers still spout adorably innocent lines and imposing enemy guards continue to flail their arms in desperation when you toss a knife into their back. A few minutes into my demo I’m starting to wonder what’s actually new here. Then it hits me; it’s what I’m not seeing that’s most important.
Namely, I don’t see a bunch of robots awkwardly colliding with each other, or tripping up on objects and accidentally killing themselves. I don’t notice objects accidentally flying out of my hands when I teleport, or collision issues that exile important items to unreachable realms. Anyone that played Neat Corporation’s original VR hit around release would have likely encountered these often game-breaking issues numerous times. By taking those learnings, the updates it made to the original and strengthening the team via a partnership with Fast Travel Games, though, Budget Cuts 2 could well make good on the promise first teased in that 2016 demo.
So what am I playing? Put simply, the game I felt like I should have been enjoying a year ago. In the hour I’ve played, I’ve found a game free of the frustrations of the first, one that finally let me embrace the joys of the mechanics Neat has been working on for so very long. I sheepishly hopped along an urban skyline, methodically picking teleport spots and combusting in frantic panic at the slightest threat of being discovered. At one point I traded projectiles with one enemy guard as I squirmed around on my knees behind a ventilation shaft for cover. In another I cruelly dangled a knife above one robot’s patrol route, letting it slip through my fingers as they passed underneath.
Budget Cuts 2 promises freedom with none of the fuss. Cautious players will be able to sneak their way up to vantage points where they can pick off targets with well-placed attacks. But, crucially, you pay for your mistakes; misplaced shots might alert guards to your location, and one wrong teleport can take you out of the frying pan and straight into the fire. These are the strategies and stumbles that held so much promise in the first game, brought crumbling down when you could simply trick guards into falling onto a lone pair of scissors.
With those hurdles out of the way, Budget Cuts 2 feels more like the self-reliant stealth game I’d been hoping for. It’s a game where skill and failure are part of the package. There’s no cheap path to victory; if you find yourself in a tight spot you can’t just shoot your way out of it. You’ll need quick reactions and sturdy aim to survive, but there’s such hilarious panic to the bullet-ridden tango of combat you can’t help but scream and laugh in tandem.
That’s not to say this surprise sequel is without its new tricks, though. The original Budget Cut’s abrupt ending hinted at a sequel that might be more aggressive and this seems to follow through on that theme. Perhaps unsurprisingly given Fast Travel’s inclusion, you can now swap risky knife throwing for much more dependable archery combat. It’s a sensible inclusion given just how erratic throwing could work in the first game, but it’s not a bail-out, either. You try knocking an arrow (or any other item, for them matter) whilst also dodging a swarm of bullets. Let me know how it goes.
Environmental variety is another big focus this time around. Though my demo does have its fair share of office cubicles, the rooftop sneaking also gives everything a touch of vertically and greater player freedom. How you get from A to B if often up to you; after dying in one section I got back to where I fell using an entirely different path. It can be dizzying and intimidating, though, and it could use a few directional pointers from time-to-time. You’ve probably also seen the train-set level featured in our E3 VR Showcase, which promises to introduce bring some new dynamics to the game.
A lot to look forward to, then. With the foundation laid, I can’t wait to see what sticky situations Budget Cuts 2 puts me in. Most of all, though, I feel relieved. There was a great game buried under the original Budget Cuts’ wealth of technical issues, good enough that it still found an audience. In Budget Cuts 2, though, Neat has a shot at redemption. With Fast Travel’s bow in-hand, I’m confident it won’t miss this time.
Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency is due for release later this year.
