Category: cloudhead games

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Cloudhead Would Love To Make The Gallery Episode 3 For ‘Next-Gen’ VR

In a Reddit AMA Cloudhead Games explained that while they would love to work on The Gallery: Episode 3, they’re waiting on a next-gen advancement in VR. A Quest version of the series is a possibility down the line as well.

Cloudhead Games and The Gallery

The Gallery: Episode 1 is still one of my favorite gaming experiences of all-time with its cliffhanger ending and groundbreaking use of exploration and movement-based roomscale VR. I’ll never forget standing in my living room, mouth agape, staring upward as I ascended at the end.

Episode 2 channels a lot of the same ideas into another exciting adventure and it remains as one of the most compelling reasons to have access to PC VR over just Quest or just PSVR.

Obviously, as it’s the series that put Cloudhead on the map before Pistol Whip, they haven’t forgotten about The Gallery; they just want to do it justice.

In the Reddit AMA, a company representative explained:

“The Gallery holds a really special place in our hearts and of course we would love to return to it at some point–but we really do need the market to be bigger first. The way I see it, the next time there’s a massive innovation in VR, the same way roomscale and hand tracking reinvented the medium, EP3 would make the perfect candidate as a ‘next-gen experience.'”

Arguably, the Quest is that sort of  “next-generation” step they’d be looking for with its wireless standalone format, so it sounds like that is a possibility as the Quest line of headsets gets more and more powerful.

“As the Quest lineup gets more powerful, maybe there’s a chance for a Quest version as well. Nothing official is in the works, but it’s still my dream to return to the series in some way.”

Let us know what you think of this news down in the comments below!

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Cloudhead Trials New Remote Work Solution With VR Support

In the last few months, we’ve seen loads of companies jump on the remote work bandwagon and produce VR apps that let you collaborate with others in VR. However, this latest one might be the strangest and most intriguing — Cloudhead Games, the studio behind VR rhythm game Pistol Whip, is producing a remote office application with VR support.

cloudhead remote work tool

Cloudhoud detailed some parts of the application on its blog, saying that it sprung out of necessity with its own team — working remotely, Cloudhead found that traditional remote work tools, like video calls, didn’t work as an all-day solution.

As a result, Cloudhead Labs (a subdivision of Cloudhead Games focused on “experimental VR mechanics and concepts, in order to identify ideas worth pursuing”) developed CloudHEAD, an “all-day digital work environment which enables deep social cues, company culture, collaboration and play between you and your co-workers.”

cloudhead remote work

CloudHEAD uses webcams to display your real face, live from the webcam, on top of an avatar body, as pictured above. That being said, the app also has VR support for “when it makes sense.” Cloudhead feels that VR still has major challenges as an ‘all-day’ work tool, both in terms of comfort and expressing the subtleties of human communication needed when collaborating with others.

Because of that, the tool will work in both flatscreen and VR modes at any time, which gives people the freedom to use VR without being restricted to it all day. When you do go into VR, however, colleagues will be able to see your live webcam, with your face partially covered by your VR headset, as shown on the far right of the main promotional image embedded at the top of the page.

The tool has been in development for 8 months, and is now ‘roughly in Alpha’. The team has plans to share its work with “trusted peers,” but more details will come in a later blog post. You can read more about CloudHEAD here.

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‘Pistol Whip – Heartbreaker Trilogy’ Update Arrives on PSVR Today

Pistol Whip (2019), Cloudhead Games’ hit VR rhythm-shooter, got a free update on PC VR and Quest in late August called ‘Heartbreaker Trilogy’. Starting today you’ll be able to play on PSVR too.

As the name would suggest, the update includes three new scenes featuring artists from Montreal-based label Kannibalen Records and British Columbia-based label Seeking Blue.

“They represent an all-new chilled-out, colourful, and highly-musical take on classic heart-pumping Pistol Whip action,” the studio says in a previous Steam update.

Heartbreaker Levels

  • Letting Go – EMBRZ: Dance and shoot your way through showers of stars and rain in this upbeat transitional journey above a dreamy pastel cityscape.
  • Embers – Dabin feat. Jill Harris: Angelic vocals help you groove and vibe your way through this warm, colourful, and abstract scene.
  • Another Day – Dabin x Inukshuk (feat. Nevve): Experience the explosive and joyous conclusion to The Heartbreaker Trilogy in a fantastical journey across the road less traveled.

Cloudhead is no doubt busy working on its next big expansion to the punchy rhythm-shooter, called ‘2089’. The studio describes it as an ‘action pack’ featuring new scenes, weapons, enemies, and mechanics, as well as new tracks from synthwave artists Magic Sword, Processor, and more.

‘2089’ is slated to launch on supported headsets sometime during Holiday 2020.

The post ‘Pistol Whip – Heartbreaker Trilogy’ Update Arrives on PSVR Today appeared first on Road to VR.

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Pistol Whip 2089 Will Add Cinematic Campaign Mode

Cloudhead Games teased its new expansion, Pistol Whip 2089, promising a Cinematic Campaign Mode with new enemies, weapons, and game mechanics.

The Pistol Whip 2089 action pack is described as five chapters with a “gritty sci-fi” story and new scenes set to music from synth wave artists including Magic Sword and Processor. Cloudhead regularly teases new songs for its hit VR game and, over the months since I first reviewed it last year, the developers have upped the song count to 18 from the original 10. The latest Heartbreaker update also adds new modifiers for harder difficulty modes alongside changes to the way players can maximize score.

Overall, though, the formula for Pistol Whip hasn’t really changed and there’s only handful of enemy types. Now with this 2089 trailer, it seems Cloudhead is looking to change that up while adding a bit of story to its rhythm arcade shooter. I’m definitely getting a Terminator vibe from the new robot enemies that seem to be teleporting into your path.

Check out the Pistol Whip 2089 trailer here:

The update is confirmed as coming to Oculus Quest and Rift and the trailer for the update premiered as part of Facebook Connect announcements. Pistol Whip is also available on Steam, and the PSVR version launched this summer. Facebook lists Pistol Whip 2089 as coming “holiday” 2020, and we’ll update you as soon we learn more. 

Be sure to watch our Oculus Quest 2 VR Download special show diving into the latest announcements and let us know if you have any questions about VR!

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Pistol Whip: Vengeance And Disorder Add Extreme Difficulty In Heartbreaker Update

Cloudhead’s free “Heartbreaker” update to Pistol Whip includes a trio of new scenes with a relaxing vibe. They’re a nice trip and take the total Pistol Whip scene count up to 18 from its original 10. The update also adds two new modifiers and if you turn them on you’re in for a non-stop move-or-you-die shoot-fest that requires an entirely new level of consistency and quick reflexes.

Vengeance and Disorder can be combined with the existing Deadeye modifier to turn Pistol Whip into a harrowing effort to maximize score. Dual wield mode, meanwhile, no longer results in a score penalty. Activate them all and you’ve got two guns to cut down bad guys with a 144.5 percent score bonus to look forward to at the end of the scene. Maybe stretch your legs before doing so, though, because you’re in for quite the journey.

Vengeance adds 10% to your score and causes enemies to shoot back every time you land a shot. Disorder adds 5% to your score and changes up which enemies have armor. Deadeye mode, of course, adds 25% to your score and turns off aim assist, requiring players have the actual aim of an action movie character like John Wick. If Deadeye mode is analogous to Expert difficulty in Beat Saber, then adding on Vengeance and Disorder take it to Expert+. You can still memorize where enemies will spawn but these changes keep you on your toes and require a new kind of situational awareness that Pistol Whip players haven’t seen yet.

Walking Away From An Explosion

You know that action movie trope of a badass walking away from an explosion? These new modifiers in Pistol Whip can make you feel that. For example, at one point I missed an enemy in full body armor who was ground level and very close to my path. So I turned back around and quickly shot him four times. I turned forward again to focus on the new enemies spawning in front of me as four bullets hurtled from behind me toward my head. Can you see where this is going? Pistol Whip is already my favorite VR game and, as I said in my original review last November, it brings me back to my headset again and again. Now I need to add this feeling to the overall experience: It’s a unique kind of satisfaction to play with Disorder and Vengeance and find yourself moving out of the way — just in time — as four bullets you can’t even see at that moment fly past your head. That moment represents a special only-in-VR magic that I think speaks to Cloudhead’s growing confidence iterating on their original design for this game.

The update also includes a water gun with new visuals for shooting and other new cosmetic changes. The Pistol Whip Heartbreaker Trilogy is now available on Quest, Steam and Rift and coming soon to PSVR with the following new songs. Descriptions for each of the new songs are below as provided by Cloudhead:

  • Letting Go – EMBERZ: Players dance and shoot their way through showers of stars and rain in this upbeat transitional journey above a dreamy pastel cityscape.
  • Embers – Dabin feat. Jill Harris: Angelic vocals help players groove and vibe through this warm, colourful, and abstract scene.
  • Another Day – Dabin x Inukshuk (feat. Nevve): Players will experience the explosive and joyous conclusion to The Heartbreaker Trilogy in a fantastical journey across the road less traveled.
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Pistol Whip’s Heartbreaker Trilogy Free Update May Be Coming In The Next Few Days

Cloudhead Games announced three new levels and two new modifiers are coming to Pistol Whip in a free update dubbed the ‘Heartbreaker Trilogy’, and they may be here in the next few days.

Pistol Whip has consistently received free updates adding new content to the game, with 5 new levels added since launch. This new Heartbreaker Trilogy update will add three levels that involve less “face-melting music for the fighters” and more chilled out action “for the lovers.”

In the tweet below, Cloudhead pointed towards a hint about the pack’s release date, highlighting lyrics from one song that include the words “before September”.

That makes it kind of obvious, right? We should have the pack this time next week.

This update was first announced at our UploadVR Summer Showcase earlier in the year, with a tentative August release date. Now with just a few days left in the month, we still don’t have an exact date, but Cloudhead teased that the update is “almost here” and will arrive before September. We got a sneak peek at one of the three levels, called Ember, featuring enemies doing some funky dance moves — a nice change from the serious tone of the existing levels.

The video also reveals the titles of the other two tracks, called Letting Go and Another Day. The update will add two new modifiers to the game as well, but we’ve got no further details on those for the moment.

Pistol Whip launched on PSVR last month, but it looks like PlayStation players will have to wait a bit longer for the Heartbreaker Trilogy to drop — Cloudhead indicated that the update will drop “shortly after” on PSVR, with some “PSVR specific considerations.”

As announced at our showcase, this isn’t the end of the road for Pistol Whip content this year either — in Q4, Cloudhead will launch “The Concierge” update. This will be the biggest content addition for the game since launch and will be split over two updates. They will introduce new weapon types, new enemy types and a “cinematic action campaign” for all the new content.

The Heartbreaker Trilogy update will be available for Pistol Whip on PC VR and Oculus Quest sometime this week.

The post Pistol Whip’s Heartbreaker Trilogy Free Update May Be Coming In The Next Few Days appeared first on UploadVR.

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Pistol Whip Fires Onto PlayStation VR

Pistol Whip

Cloudhead Games may have added a couple of extra days onto the original launch window but PlayStation VR owners can now relish in the visceral gameplay that is Pistol Whip. Check out VRFocus’ gameplay video at the bottom to see the title in action.

Pistol Whip

There are plenty of first-person shooters (FPS) and rhythm-action videogames out there for virtual reality (VR) headsets but Pistol Whip has carved a niche all of its own ever since its initial launch at the end of 2019 for PC VR headsets and Oculus Quest.

Offering a bold, colourful aesthetic which pulses and vibrates to the pounding soundtracks, all 15 ‘Scenes’ have made it through to PlayStation VR. Set on rails, you journey through each level shooting enemies in time with the music for maximum points, with an auto-aim set as default to enable that god-like, superhero feeling of being unstoppable.

Whilst shooting or gun butting nearby enemies, you’ll also need to watch out and dodge incoming bullets – which are relatively slow motion. If a scene is too easy or too hard then delve into the modifier section to alter the gameplay, adding a second gun (which reduces your score) or switch off the auto aim (which increases the multiplier).

Pistol Whip

VRFocus thoroughly enjoyed playing Pistol Whip, saying in its review: “Pistol Whip is huge amounts of fun even on the easiest difficulty setting, suitable for VR players no matter their skill level.”

Now that the PlayStation VR launch is complete Cloudhead Games’ next release will be the ‘Heartbreaker Trilogy’ update coming in August, adding 3 new abstract, colourful, and highly-musical scenes, 2 new modifiers and new customization options. That will be followed by the two-part ‘Action Pack 1 / The Concierge’ update in Q4 2020.

Pistol Whip is available now via the PlayStation Store for £23.99 GBP/$24.99 USD. For further updates on the latest content, keep reading VRFocus.

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Pistol Whip PSVR Review: Cloudhead’s Incredible Shooter Hits Its Stride On PS4

When Cloudhead’s latest title debuted on Oculus Quest and PC VR last year I awarded it my first 5/5 rating after spending dozens of hours pistol whipping through its 10-song launch collection. Pistol Whip hit a bullseye and it is only getting better with time.

This arcade shooter is instantly fun and endlessly challenging, with the auto-aim default making you feel like a can’t-miss action movie sharpshooter seconds after picking a scene. Built-in modifiers like “Deadeye” remove that superstar feeling, though, and in its place is an exhausting and rewarding grind to master both aim and rhythm.

Since launch the developers added five more scenes — Akuma, Full Throttle, Dark Skies, High Priestess, and Religion — each adding its own distinct and beautiful landscape to the growing library of hand-crafted scenes that make Pistol Whip so different from other rhythm games like Beat Saber.

That’s what PSVR buyers get at Pistol Whip’s launch on Sony’s PS4 in mid-2020 and it is still every bit the 5/5 game I fell in love with last year. Everything in that review stands, plus new modifiers added post launch which make it easier to practice and additional options to tweak gun cosmetics.

Pistol Whip – Comfort

Pistol Whip artificially moves the player forward through its scenes in a straight line at a constant rate of speed. While nowhere near the most uncomfortable type of simulated movement VR software might employ, it is possible some players might feel a little woozy or uncomfortable. VR’s current rhythm leader Beat Saber, in contrast, moves boxes past a stationary player that should be more comfortable to a wider selection of players. Still, I am one of the most sensitive people on staff to simulator sickness and experienced not even a hint of it in Pistol Whip on any headset.

Graphically, I found visual differences between PSVR and other platforms incredibly minor, though I did miss the smoothness and comfort of 2019’s Valve Index with its high frame rate and fine tuned IPD adjustment while spending time in Sony’s 2016 headset. I captured the below comparison video showing Black Magic captured on PC VR, Quest and PSVR.

Cloudhead isn’t done with Pistol Whip yet by a long shot and the Canada-based studio is doubling down on its roadmap for this game with the upcoming Heartbreaker trilogy of songs coming very soon and the Concierge campaign due for release later this year. That means Pistol Whip might be the perfect swan song addition to a PS4 library that can occupy players through the transition to PS5.

Of note for PSVR owners is that camera placement is incredibly important in Pistol Whip. Unlike Beat Saber where the boxes come in tightly packed bunches that aren’t very forgiving, sometimes in Pistol Whip you have time to turn around and take out a missed target. That’s obviously a risky maneuver with a Move controller in your hand and only a single dual-eye camera directly in front of you. PSVR owners will probably enjoy their time with this game dramatically more with a careful high camera placement that offers more tracking coverage for this infrequent, but sometimes necessary, effort to correct a mistake and increase score.

Pistol Whip PSVR Review Verdict:

Pistol Whip’s multiple difficulties and modifiers like Deadeye and Dual-wield add depth to a game that’s more addictive and satisfying than Beat Saber. The 15 scenes included at the time of this review are all in the same general musical style and a bit of variety would be nice, but that might be coming with future updates. Pistol Whip is the game that brings me back to my VR headset again and again and I expect to keep playing through every update Cloudhead has planned for it.

5 STARS

pistol whip review points

Pistol Whip is available starting today on PSVR for $24.99.

For more on how we arrived at this score, read our review guidelines. Agree or disagree with our Pistol Whip PSVR review? Let us know in the comments below!

Review Scale

The post Pistol Whip PSVR Review: Cloudhead’s Incredible Shooter Hits Its Stride On PS4 appeared first on UploadVR.

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Pistol Whip Sees a Slight Delay on PlayStation VR

Pistol Whip

For those PlayStation VR owners who enjoy rhythm-action videogames like Beat Saber this week sees the high anticipated Pistol Whip from Cloudhead Games arrive. That launch was supposed to happen tomorrow but the studio has now confirmed a slight delay with Pistol Whip releasing later this week.

Pistol Whip - Full Throttle

Thankfully it’s not a massive delay like Iron Man VR suffered a couple of times before it launched earlier this month. You’ll only have to wait a couple of days in fact as the launch has been moved to Thursday 30th July.

The PlayStation VR version will include all the updates released for the Oculus Quest and PC VR editions, making for a total of 15 playable scenes at launch. It’ll also include 24 Trophies for players to unlock.

“After 7 years of navigating VR’s resurgence, we’re beyond excited to finally bring our smash hit Pistol Whip to PlayStation VR,” says Denny Unger, CEO and Creative Director of Cloudhead Games in a statement. “Pistol Whip has both the depth and accessibility to keep players coming back for more, so we are super keen to be a part of the PSVR community.”

Pistol Whip

The gameplay was inspired by god-like action characters such as John Wick, where armed with a single gun you can take out masses of enemies. In highly stylised environments you can shoot faceless foes, dodge their bullets and gun butt them when within range, all in time to some thumping tunes. Plus there are custom options which change the scoring from dual-wielding to turning the auto-aim off.

Pistol Whip has received widespread praise for its gameplay with VRFocus saying in its review: “Pistol Whip is huge amounts of fun even on the easiest difficulty setting, suitable for VR players no matter their skill level.”

As previously reported Cloudhead Games has even more planned with the ‘Heartbreaker Trilogy’ update adding 3 new scenes, 2 new modifiers and new customization options in August. It will be a break from the norm with the studio saying: “Heartbreaker is meant for the lovers. Inspired by trippy, rhythmic action games like Sayonara Wild Hearts.”

VRFocus will continue its coverage of Pistol Whip, reporting back with the latest updates.

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Pistol Whip’s PSVR Release Delayed By Two Days

Cloudhead Games is moving the launch date for Pistol Whip on PSVR to this Thursday, July 30.

That’s two days after originally intended. The move should give reviewers (UploadVR included) more time to fully assess the game’s port to PlayStation VR. We’ll have our fresh review of the PSVR version of the game for you here on UploadVR.com at 10 am Pacific on Thursday, but you can read our 5/5 review of the Quest and PC VR version here.

The rhythm-action game inspired by movies like John Wick will include all 15 of the scenes which have been released so far. That’s the 10 originals plus five more which were added to the title after its original release on PC VR and Quest last November. Cloudhead is also planning a free update in the coming weeks to all platforms that’ll add the Heartbreaker trilogy of songs to the game, with a bigger update called “The Concierge” to follow later this year.

For those just catching up, Pistol Whip’s (loose) premise is that you’re outside a movie theater picking from a list of of actions scenes which are each set to thumping music lasting three to five minutes. Select one, pick your difficulty and try to survive the relentless onslaught.

Enemies appear at the same spot throughout each scene and bullets take a few seconds to arrive. So there’s time to dodge and you’re likely to memorize the levels through subsequent play throughs. By default, Pistol Whip gives you just one handgun and includes a pretty forgiving aim assist that makes it easy to hit targets, get into a rhythm and find your groove. There’s also built-in modifiers, though, that add significant depth to the game and can hook players to come back for nearly endless play. The biggest one is the punishing “deadeye” mode that removes aim assist while adding to your score and completely changing the feel of the game. There’s also dual wield and a number of other options that make it easier to practice.

We’ll bring you our thoughts on Pistol Whip for PSVR on Thursday but, until then, here’s a reminder of what one one of the latest songs for the game on PC VR plays like:

The post Pistol Whip’s PSVR Release Delayed By Two Days appeared first on UploadVR.