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.
The Oculus Quest has been out for a couple of weeks, receiving significant praise from most quarters (including VRFocus). While most owners hopefully haven’t got through the entire launch lineup just yet there are more videogames on the way. Today, Carbon Studio has announced that its popular sorcery experience The Wizards – Enhanced Edition will be coming to the standalone headset tomorrow.
The Wizards – Enhanced Edition is the same version as the one Carbon Studio debuted on PlayStation VR back in March. Having originally left Steam Early Access in March 2018 for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, the enhanced edition came with new content and mechanics to further improve the experience.
The main campaign was expanded by one additional level, new cutscenes were introduced, character customisation and a checkpoint system to make progression that bit easier. All of this will be included in the Oculus Quest version. It remains to be seen how well Carbon Studio have managed to squeeze all of this on the device, and what graphical changes have had to be made to ensure a smooth gameplay experience.
Gameplay inThe Wizards – Enhanced Editionis focused around creating gestures to unleash various magical attacks – there’s no pressing the A button to fire off some lightning bolts. Players have to learn (and remember) six elemental-based spells, each with their own hand gestures. Additionally, each spell can be upgraded as the single-player campaign progresses. Once that’s completed, the Arena mode offers endless battles that can challenge even the most hardened of wizards.
To help with the replay factor special Fate cards are available, altering the gameplay in new ways. Take the “Easy Prey” Fate Card for example which makes players start with 1HP, but dramatically increases the score multiplier.
Carbon Studio is releasing The Wizards – Enhanced Editionfor Oculus Quest on 6th June. There’s been no mention of cross-buy support between Oculus Rift and Quest, when VRFocus finds out we’ll let you know.
Today sees the launch of The Wizards – Enhanced Edition by Carbon Games, bringing the spell conjuring experience to PlayStation VR for the first time as well as updating the original PC version of the title.
Originally released for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive in March 2018, the new The Wizards – Enhanced Edition has been expanded upon, with the studio increasing the size of the campaign by adding an additional level and cutscene. Also included are checkpoints, character customisation, and other features and accessibility options which have been polished or added at the request of the PlayStation VR community.
So PlayStation VR players will now be able to enjoy an approximately six-hour single-player campaign, with online leaderboards adding a further competitive edge, while game modifiers called Fate Cards help to change the gameplay, even more, altering the difficulty and other rules like the “Easy Prey” Fate Card which makes players start with 1HP, but dramatically increases the score multiplier.
Checkpoints will certainly make things easier, with the glove customisation adding a little flair to proceedings. But just like before The Wizards – Enhanced Edition is still all about the magic, letting players learn and cast six elemental-based spells which can then be further upgraded.
And once the main campaign has been completed, there’s always the chance to test those skills in the Arena mode, offering endless battles that can challenge even the most hardened of wizards.
While the videogame is arriving today for PlayStation VR, Carbon Studio hasn’t forgotten its PC fans by making all of this content available for free if they already own the title.
VRFocus gave the original The Wizards a worthy four-star review last year, saying: “If you want to feel like an all-powerful sorcerer then The Wizards is up there with the best, an entertaining adventure that will make non-VR players jealous.”
The Wizards: Enhanced Edition is now on PlayStation Store, Steam, Oculus Store and Viveport retailing for $24.99 USD / €24.99 EUR/ £19.99 GBP, supporting English, German, French, Spanish and Russian, with Japanese and Chinese (simplified) also on the PC version. VRFocus will continue its coverage of Carbon Studio and The Wizards, reporting back with any further updates.
The Wizards, when it originally released on PC VR headsets like Rift and Vive almost a year ago exactly, delivered what few games had up to that point: a fully-fledged action-adventure set in a fantastical fantasy world build from the ground up for VR. This was a solid six or so hour game, plus a repeatable arena mode, that had a lot to offer. Now, with the Enhanced Edition version that launches today, you’re getting even more of that excellent formula plus improvements to the core game as a whole.
The Enhanced Edition’s improvements area also coming to the PC version of the game today as well, but this review is specifically of the PSVR edition. You can read our thoughts on the PC version, as well as skipping down to our thoughts on the new content here, to get a holistic idea of the enhancements.
The Wizards is split into two game modes: the single-player campaign and the Arena mode. For the campaign you play through a linear grouping of levels, one after another, as you progress through the game. While there is a good amount of level variety in terms of locations, the flow of gameplay isn’t very original.
Most levels devolve into the same exact rhythm: explore the area until you find enemies, kill all of the enemies, and advance to the next area that’s waiting to be explored. Every now and then there is a bit of variety in terms of secondary objectives to worry about, but that’s really pretty much the entire game for a few hours until you reach the end. Boss encounters shake things up enough to keep things interesting so it’s not entirely repetitive, but it’s not winning any awards for its story either — but the new cutscenes in the Enhanced Edition are nice.
There is some great voice work, good sound design, and entrancing music to keep your ears happy while your eyes take in the blasts of color that constantly assault you from all sides. Luckily the Enhanced Edition adds checkpoints throughout levels so you don’t have to replay them entirely if you die.
The biggest new feature Enhanced Edition adds is a whole new level that’s longer than any of the ones in the base game adding easily an hour our more of content, increasing its length by about 15-20%. That’s a pretty huge inclusion for what’s otherwise basically the same game. It’s probably the overall best level as well with a lot of impressive effects.
The best part of The Wizards though, just like any good sorcerer game, is the spell-casting. Instead of drawing annoyingly complex runes in the air or something it’s all simply gesture-based.
For example, to ready a fireball in my right hand I just hold my left hand steady, make a fist out in front of me with my right hand by holding the trigger, then sliding my right hand to the side quickly. Boom, fireball. Just throw and release like any other object to send it flying across the level. Slide my left hand to the right and a shield pops up on my wrist for blocking attacks. Move each hand towards my chest and an ice bow appears with a quiver of chilling white arrows on my back.
Movement options are varied, including your typical choices like teleportation and full locomotion. With PS Move full smooth movement feels similar to the likes of Skyrim VR or Borderlands 2 VR so it gets the job done but it’s far from precise or ideal. Since you’re often slinging spells with both hands, having to tilt one hand around while moving limits your options in combat a bit. Experienced PSVR Move controller users will feel relatively comfortable, but it’s a far cry from having an actual analog stick still and deserves mentioning.
And while the spell-casting is easily the best part, even that does start to grow old by the end of the journey. There just aren’t enough spells to really keep you engaged throughout. You’ll unlock enhancements over the course of the game and find collectible cards that can be used to alter missions for replaying, but there should have been more original, different spells to cast or at least added in the Enhanced Edition.
If I had to pick a favorite spell it’s absolutely the double-handed blast of lightning. You can really feel the power of magic coursing through your veins.
The Wizards’ Arena mode is a nice change of pace, but ultimately doesn’t shake up the formula anywhere near enough. There are three environments to pick from and the only way it really differs from the campaign, on a functional level, is that you exclusively fight waves of enemies instead of breaking up the fights with moments of exploration.
By the end I was left wanting more spells, more variety, and more game modes. For example, a multiplayer mode would have been amazing to see — either competitive or cooperative — or at least some other way to use the powerful magical spells I’d been given. The core mechanics and ideas at work were so fun, I wanted to see it live up to its full potential.
Final Score:7.5/10 – Good
On the gamut of magic-based first-person action games, The Wizards: Enhanced Editions is definitely one of the better ones. Its spell-casting system is interactive without being too cumbersome and the campaign mode packs a solid amount of content. Plenty of collectibles, a replayable Arena mode, and lots of mission augmentations add up to this being a really fun journey. But some of the repetition, relatively short length, and recycled wave-shooter-style mission structures left us wanting a bit more creativity. I absolutely enjoyed my time with The Wizards, but with a few additions it could have been the definitive VR spell-casting game.
The Wizards: Enhanced Edition is available starting today on PSVR, Rift, and Vive across the PSN Store, Oculus Home, and Steam for $29.99. Read our Game Review Guidelines for more information on how we arrived at this score.
Bored and uninspired by your current job? Dissatisfied with the promotional prospects of your present position? Having to deal with bosses that couldn’t manage their way out of a wet paper bag? Apart from therapy, how about considering a change in job first with some of these awesome vacancies.
Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s 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 (pgraham@vrfocus.com).
We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.
After confirming development of a PlayStation VR version for The Wizards last summer, Carbon Studio revealed a couple of weeks ago that the videogame would be released in March. Today, Perp Games has now said that a physical version is also on its way, due a month later.
Now called The Wizards – Enhanced Edition, this new version of the magical combat title sees several new enhancements over the original. The six-hour-long, single-player Story Campaign now includes a whole new level, never-before-seen map, battles, and expanded lore. Another new addition is that of character customisation. Players will be able to change the colour of their magic gloves which has the added benefit of containing magical glyphs representing their health status. Plus there are checkpoints, improved hand tracking, accessibility and a whole bunch of other features to polish the experience.
The title still includes the Arena mode, where players can compete in never-ending battles, as well as the Fate Cards game modifier option that can change the videogame’s difficulty and rules. For example, players can highly increase their score multiplier by using a card that makes them start each level with only 1 HP.
“We’ve spent many months developing PlayStation VR version of The Wizards. This time was shared between polishing existing features, developing brand new content for the Enhanced Edition, and adding accessibility options based on the PS VR community feedback,” says Pawel Gajda of Carbon Studio in a statement. “We can’t wait for the release!”
“The magic of VR is the ability to transport you into new worlds and adventures. Carbon Studios use of VR and the PlayStation Move controllers to actually put you into the shoes of a young wizard, casting spells with your own hand actions, is truly outstanding,” Rob Edwards, Managing Director of Perp Games adds.
The Wizards – Enhanced Edition will launch in retail stores on 26th April 2019, with the digital version due to arrive for PlayStation VR on 12th March 2019. When the digital release for PlayStation VR takes place, the PC version for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive will be updated. For any further updates regarding The Wizards, keep reading VRFocus.
The Wizards finally has a firm release date for PSVR (not just a month) and it’s getting an upgrade. Now officially dubbed The Wizards: Enhanced Edition, Carbon Studios’ magical adventure is due out for PSVR utilizing two PS Move controllers on March 12th for $24.99 with a handful of improvements over its previously released PC VR version.
With the Enhanced Edition, players will be able to experience an “expanded” campaign by way of a brand new level, new mechanics, and a more optimized experience for PSVR users. In a PlayStation blog post, Carbon Studios Writer Anna Korczak Siwicka describes the new level as “the most expansive” one they’eve ever designed, which certainly bodes well for the quality of the new content.
Thankfully, the game will also feature checkpoints now rather than each level requiring you to play from start to finish. Oh and you can customize the color of your wizard gloves too, so there’s that.
Since fast-paced action games like The Wizards typically suffer a bit during the transition to PSVR (playing games like Skyrim VR, Borderlands 2 VR, and others is possible, but a bit of a chore) they’ve taken the time to implement a wide variety of control and comfort options too. You can do free movement or teleportation, adjust the speed, rotation, and comfort vignette, swap dominant hands, or even use aim assist.
In the comment section of the PS Blog post, the developers also confirmed there will be PS4 Pro support in the form of increased resolution and antialiasing settings. You can check out The Wizards: Enhanced Edition on PSVR very soon on March 12th. Let us know what you think of the game down in the comments below!
Having originally released virtual reality (VR) spellcasting title The Wizards back in March 2018 for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, developer Carbon Studio has now confirmed a launch date for the PlayStation VR version, The Wizards – Enhanced Edition.
The Wizards – Enhanced Edition expands upon the original PC version which was all about exploring mystical realms and fighting off monsters with your spellcasting abilities. Immersion was key for Carbon Studio so there’s no HUD or other pop-ups where you have to choose a magical attack, with the gesture mechanic putting magic directly into your hands.
There are two modes in The Wizards – Enhanced Edition. The first is an approximately six-hour-long, single-player Story Campaign featuring a whole new level, never-before-seen map, battles, and expanded lore. The other is Arena, where you can compete in never-ending battles. Both modes include online scoreboards and a selection of game modifiers called Fate Cards that can change the game’s difficulty and rules.
Another additional feature is that of character customisation. You’ll now be able to change the colour of your magic gloves. But this isn’t purely cosmetic, the new glove design now also contains magical glyphs representing your health status. Plus there are checkpoints, improved hand tracking, accessibility and a whole bunch of other features to polish the experience.
When VRFocusreviewed The Wizards originally we gave it a solid four-stars, saying: “If you want to feel like an all-powerful sorcerer then The Wizards is up there with the best, an entertaining adventure that will make non-VR players jealous.”
The Wizards – Enhanced Edition is due to arrive for PlayStation VR on 12th March 2019, retailing for $24.99 USD / €24.99 EUR/ £19.99 GBP. Currently, PS Plus members can get a 20 percent discount if they pre-order. The PlayStation VR version will support English, German, French, Spanish and Russian languages, while the PC version also includes Japanese and Chinese (simplified).
Additionally, Carbon Studio isn’t forgetting about all of its fans on PC who have supported the title over the past year. The PC version will also see all of the new updates for free on launch day. For any further updates regarding The Wizards, keep reading VRFocus.
Carbon Studio’s spell-casting VR adventure, The Wizards, should finally arrive on PSVR very soon.
The Wizards PSVR edition is aiming for launch in “early March”. The team said as much over on r/PSVR this week. Carbon had planned to get the game out in February but it’s apparently just shy of making that goal. That said, the game has passed submission and the team has the all-clear for release. Expect a more solid release date in the next few weeks.
To celebrate the news, Carbon released some new footage of the game running on PSVR below. Based on first impressions the visuals look rock solid. We can definitely see a little blurriness in the textures compared to the PC VR version but overall it looks like a job well done.
We quite enjoyed The Wizards when it first hit Rift and Vive early last year. We thought the spell-casting battles were a lot of fun, though there were a few issues. “Plenty of collectibles, a replayable Arena mode, and lots of mission augmentations add up to this being one of the best ways to live out your most fantastical magical fantasies in VR,” we said in our review. “We just wanted more and preferably multiplayer of some kind.”
As we wrote in January, the game will be one of the first to support the PSVR edition of the 3DRudder foot controller. That means you’ll be able to move around using the controller on your feet instead of trying to navigate with the Move controllers.
Since March this year, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift players have been enjoying flinging magic spells across a virtual reality (VR) fantasy realm using gesture controls in Carbon Studio’s The Wizards. Now the pleasure of downing enemies will a well-placed fireball will soon be available to PlayStation VR users, as demonstrated in the new trailer.
The PlayStation VR version of The Wizards is available for attendees at Gamescom 2018 to try out, where they can try to cast powerful spells using only hand gestures.
The Wizards was first announced in early 2017 and spent some time in Steam Early Access, gathering feedback from the community before its full launch earlier this year, where multiple improvements over the initial early access offering were clear.
In The Wizards, players take the role of a wizard, who becomes the only one capable of stopping a sudden and devastating invasion by an army of dark creatures, including orcs, ogres and goblins. In order to halt this threat, the protagonist must explore a castle filled with spellbooks and mystical artefacts in order to hone the magical craft ito something strong enough to save the land.
Carbon Studio confirmed last week that work on the PlayStation VR version began once the PC VR version was completed. It has not yet been confirmed if the additional content introduced since the title was launched will be included in the PlayStation VR version.
The PC VR version of The Wizards was previously reviewed by Peter Graham, who said: “What Carbon Studio has done is combine its knowledge from debut VR title Alice VR and the months of Early Access development and distilled it into The Wizards. If you want to feel like an all-powerful sorcerer then The Wizards is up there with the best, an entertaining adventure that will make non-VR players jealous.”
The PlayStation VR trailer is available to view below. Further coverage on The Wizards and other new or upcoming VR projects will be here on VRFocus.
