Pistol Whip (2019), the VR rhythm-shooter from Cloudhead Games, just got a new dielselpunk-inspired update, available now on Oculus Quest and SteamVR-compatible headsets.
Called ‘Dark Skies’, the update includes a new level set on Zeppelin, replete with hanger bay and plenty of cinematic flair. Like many of the game’s other levels, ‘Dark Skies’ takes inspiration from a few works of fiction, namely the airship scene in Ninja Gaiden, The Rocketeer (1991), Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004), and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).
The update also includes three wartime-era pistols, and a new metal finish for all available weapons. Broomhandle Mauser, anyone?
Image courtesy Cloudhead Games
Cloudhead calls its latest content drop “the penultimate entry to our monthly Pistol Whip updates as we begin to move toward our long-term roadmap.” The studio says a major update is also planned for later this year.
‘Dark Skies’ comes hot on the heels of Pistol Whip’s most recent update in March, which arrived with a Mad Max-inspired scene called ‘Full Throttle’ and a number of goodies including new modifiers, new weapons, and new weapon skins.
Launched in November last year, Pistol Whip took Road to VR’s 2019 SteamVR Game of the Year Award for its uncanny ability to marry rhythm and shooting in the stylish and interesting worlds that, thanks to its many successive updates, has grown past its original John Wick vibe.
You can nab Pistol Whip for $25 via Steam and Viveport for your standard mix of SteamVR headsets, and the Oculus Store for Rift and Quest.
One of the most energetic first-person shooters (FPS) of 2019 was most certainly Cloudhead Games’ Pistol Whip, which arrived for multiple platforms in November. Offering the chance to take down bad guys like you’re John Wick since launching the studio has released the ‘High Priestess’ and ‘Akuma’ updates and today rolls out a third, ‘Full Throttle’.
Making the announcement as part of Facebook’s Game Developers Showcase which has been created to fill the gap where the Game Developers Conference (GDC) once was, Pistol Whip’s Full Throttle update adds another lively tune to the growing roster of songs. The studio claims ‘Full Throttle’ is the hardest scene yet for Pistol Whip, offering a Mad Max-style flavour to the videogame.
Along with the new scene, Cloudhead Games has included the new Tac Ops pistol collection offering more customization options including wraps, metals, and sounds.That’s not all, two new modifiers, Scavenger and One-and-Done, alter the gameplay. Scavenger requires players to pistol-whip enemies to reload their gun while One-and-Done replaces all armoured enemies with one-shot kills.
Pistol Whip and the Full Throttle update will be part of the ESL VR League Play Cup on 22nd March where competitors have a chance to win an Oculus Rift S.
“VRLeagueGG has been running Pistol Whip cups on ESL Play throughout March, and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to add ‘Full Throttle’ to our final cup. Each week the difficulty has been ramping up, and the combined challenge of Deadeye and Hardcore plus the sheer velocity of ‘Full Throttle’ will demand that players practice hard to not only post a top score, but even survive the scene. We’re looking forward to seeing how the best Pistol Whip players from around the world rise to the challenge!,” said Josh Folland of ESL in a statement.
VRFocus gave Pistol Whip a solid four-stars in its review, noting: “Pistol Whip is huge amounts of fun even on the easiest difficulty setting, suitable for VR players no matter their skill level.
Pistol Whip – Full Throttle is available today for Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, HTC Vive and Valve Index. Check out the new trailer below or some of the other showcase news today like B-Team coming to Oculus Quest or nDreams’ Phantom: Covert Ops announcement. VRFocus will continue its coverage of Pistol Whip, reporting back with further updates.
SpringboardVR, the content distribution platform for VR arcades, has partnered with Cloudhead Games and eSports organizers The Virtual Athletics League (VAL) to bring a Pistol Whip (2019) tournament next month to more than 500 arcade locations as well as at-home players.
The competition is slated to take place over three weekends in March, including an at-home section open to anyone from March 13-14 and a global VR arcade section co-hosted by SpringboardVR from March 18-22. The Grand Finals are set to take place in Salt Lake City, Utah on March 29th, and will include the top three finalists.
Outside of an all-expenses-paid trip to VAL’s headquarters in Salt Lake City, tournament participants will be vying for cash prizes, and other giveaways such as an Oculus Rift S, various swag, custom mixed reality avatars from Wolf3d, and other VIP packages. Here’s a breakdown of the prize pool structure:
Image courtesy VAL
“This tournament is our largest yet, and we are deeply grateful to all those we are working with here to bring this VR esports revolution to the world,” said Ryan Burningham, CEO and founder of the Virtual Athletics League.
More information about the competition and player sign ups forms are available on VAL’s website.
Developed by Cloudhead Games, Pistol Whip essentially marries rhythm and shooting in a package that feels a bit like a mashup between Superhot VR (2017), Beat Saber, and Smash Hit (2015).
The core of the gameplay consists of both physically dodging enemy bullets as they approach and firing back at baddies on the beat as you’re automatically pushed forward through a level—all the while underscored by a thumping EDM track.
It’s also garnered plenty of positive reviews since it launched in November 2019. It holds a ‘Very Positive’ user rating on Steam, [5/5] stars on Viveport, and well over 4 stars on the Oculus Store for both Rift and Quest. Not only that, but Road to VR crowned it ‘Best SteamVR Game of 2019’.
One of the most original rhythm-action titles of 2019 was Cloudhead Games’ first-person shooter (FPS) Pistol Whip, which recently won ‘Immersive Reality Game of the Year’ at the 2020 D.I.C.E. Awards. Today, the Virtual Athletics League (VAL) has announced a new esports tournament featuring the videogame, with the initial round starting in March.
The tournament is open to everyone – as long as you own a VR headset and copy of Pistol Whip of course!. Split into three sections the first is the home pool, where you can test your skills online against players worldwide. A prize fund of $2500 USD will be split amongst the eight best players, with the top scorer winning a cool $500.
In the second Arcade Pool section the same rules apply, just this time you have to head to a qualifying arcade to enter. SpringboardVR is supporting and sponsoring efforts to involve their 500 VR arcade customers. This also gives those who were unsuccessful in the first round to have a second shot. Once both of those have taken place then the top three scorers will move onto the finals hosted in Salt Lake City, Utah. Finalists will be flown out for an all-expenses-paid trip to Salt Lake City to compete for up to $2500 as well as a new Oculus Rift S.
In addition to the tournament VRespawn and VAL will be running a global social media contest in mixed reality (MR). Powered by LIV, this is an opportunity for creators and influencers to showcase their talents, with eight winners selected for goodies from Cloudhead Games and Wolf 3D.
The Virtual Athletics League Pistol Whip dates:
Home Tournament – 13th – 14th March
Arcade Tournament 19th – 22nd March
Grand Finals – 29th March
Social Media contest starts 1st March until the end of the tournament
Pistol Whip arrived in November 2019 supporting Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index and Windows Mixed Reality headsets. VRFocus gave Pistol Whip a solid four-stars in its review, noting: “Pistol Whip is huge amounts of fun even on the easiest difficulty setting, suitable for VR players no matter their skill level. VRFocus will continue its coverage of Pistol Whip, reporting back with further updates.
The 23rd annual D.I.C.E. Awards were held this week and there were some surprising winners and losers across the various categories, not least the virtual reality (VR) sections. While big-name titles like Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding only took home two awards from eight nominations, Cloudhead Games and Sony London Studio were the big VR winners from the event.
In the category of ‘Immersive Reality Technical Achievement’, Asgard’s Wrath, Blood & Truth, Pistol Whip, Stormlandand Westworld Awakening were all nominated. Blood & Truthwas the eventual winner.
One of VRFocus’favourite PlayStation VR titles of 2019, Blood & Truth mixes high action gameplay with a tightly woven storyline and cinematic cutscenes as you play a Special Forces officer trying to take down a crime lord. It got a full five-star review: “While you don’t have the freedom of Borderlands 2 VR for example, with Blood & Truth you have a far more focused videogame that knows what it wants to achieve, and that’s put a smile on your face. From start to finish Blood & Truth is one hell of a ride, a finely choreographed John Woo movie that’s all about sheer entertainment.”
The other category was ‘Immersive Reality Game of the Year’ with Asgard’s Wrath, Blood & Truth, Pistol Whip, The Curious Tale of the Stolen Petsand Trover Saves the Universe all up for the coveted award. That went to Cloudhead Games’ rhythm-action shooter Pistol Whip a videogame which has received lots of positive feedback from players. VRFocus’ review went onto say: “Pistol Whip is huge amounts of fun even on the easiest difficulty setting, suitable for VR players no matter their skill level.”
Pistol Whip arrived in November 2019 supporting Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index and Windows Mixed Reality headsets. December saw the studio release the “High Priestess Update” adding a new scene and updating the modifiers. Cloudhead Games recently released a new scene called “Akuma”, inspired by the Neo-Tokyo of anime action classics like Akira and Ghost in the Shell. The update also laid the groundwork for monthly content updates, each including a free new scene, leading up to the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2020.
Canada-based Cloudhead Games is adding its 12th track ‘Akuma’ from Kannibalen Records to rhythm shooting VR game Pistol Whip.
Check out the video for the full song below. The new track is available in a free update this week.
Pistol Whip is available on Oculus Quest as well as all PC VR headsets. The developers are also planning to release it for PSVR but we don’t have a release date yet. The game released in November and we rated it 5/5 stars with the included 10 tracks. Built-in modifiers like dual wield and the incredibly challenging “Deadeye” mode, which turns off the default auto-aim assistance, add significant depth to its Beat Saber-meets-Superhot style of non-stop body-moving action.
In December, Cloudhead added an 11th song called High Priestess inspired by the movie Oldboy which focused on the game’s titular tactic of pistol whipping baddies. “Akuma” from hvdesmusic is the game’s 12th track and it’ll be free in the new update. According to Cloudhead, the new update also lays the groundwork for monthly updates going forward leading up to E3 2020, with a new free scene planned for each update.
The new track “Akuma” features a background inspired by cyberpunk Japan and the Neo-Tokyo depicted in anime classics like Akira and Ghost in the Shell.
We’ve been hooked on Pistol Whip’s incredible action sequences since its release and look forward to seeing how the game evolves in future updates. We know PSVR owners are anxious to play it as well and its forward-facing design makes it a great fit for the headset’s tracking system. We’ll update readers as soon as we know when it’ll launch on Sony’s headset.
Cloudhead Games released its addictive rhythm-based shooter Pistol Whip last month across multiple virtual reality (VR) devices, receiving a lot of positive reviews in the process. Today, the developer has released the first major update for the title, expanding upon the content whilst fine-tuning other parts of the experience.
Dubbed the “High Priestess Update”, Cloudhead Games has added a new scene which the studio says was: “Inspired by the hallway fight scene in the movie Oldboy.” This new level has been designed to be melee heavy, so expect plenty of close-quarters combat.
For those wishing to alter the gameplay in new ways, two new modifiers have been added. Unarmed Foes offers a new way to practice scenes without the fear of elimination, while No Obstacles has been designed for accessibility and standing room playspaces.
Two of Pistol Whip’s most popular modifiers, Dual Wield and Dead Eye have been updated, with the former seeing a reduction in penalty so players to challenge the leaderboards. The latter has received a revamped scoring system designed to punish missed shots. In addition to these updates, Cloudhead Games has initiated a leaderboard reset so players can start fresh and chase new scores with friends this holiday season.
VRFocus gave Pistol Whip a solid four-stars in its review, noting: “Pistol Whip is huge amounts of fun even on the easiest difficulty setting, suitable for VR players no matter their skill level. Like any videogame of this type there is an overly repetitive value to the gameplay, and with only 10 scenes to begin with, it could’ve done with a few more; especially when it comes to music variety. Even so, Pistol Whip can still be heartily recommended for all you VR fans.”
Supporting Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index and Windows Mixed Reality headsets, Pistol Whip was inspired by action movies like John Wick. With a distinctive art style and thumping soundtrack, you can shoot punch and dodge however you see fit. VRFocus will continue its coverage of Pistol Whip and Cloudhead Games, reporting back with further updates.
One of the best games of 2019 receives its first major post-launch update today with the new song High Priestess, new modifiers, and changes to the scoring system.
The new update to Pistol Whip arrives today for Quest and PC VR and, according to development studio Cloudhead Games, “Due to popular demand, Deadeye has seen significant improvements including a revamped scoring system designed to punish missed shots. Dual Wield has also seen a reduction in penalty, allowing players to challenge the leaderboards no matter their style of play.”
The leaderboard is also being reset along with these changes.
The new track and level “High Priestess” from Kannibalen Records lives up to the game’s name as you’ll be hitting a lot of enemies with your gun to make it through. Cloudhead says the level is inspired by the movie Oldboy.
The new modifiers include “Unarmed Foes” to practice scenes without risk of elimination and “No Obstacles, intended for accessibility and standing room playspaces,” according to Canada-based Cloudhead.
Pistol Whip was announced in our E3 VR Showcase earlier this year and I gave it 5/5 stars when it debuted in November, writing that “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.” We’ve nominated Pistol Whip as one of the best games of 2019 and Cloudhead is promising a regular update plan for the game with new scenes, modifiers and customization options.
Cloudhead is planning to release Pistol Whip for PlayStation VR headsets in 2020.
The road toUploadVR’s Best of 2019 awards starts here! Every weekday for the next fortnight, we’ll be revealing one of the ten nominees for our Overall VR Game/Experience of the Year, counting down to the reveal of our full list of categories and nominees later in December. Put on your suit and tie, because today we’re nominating the incredible rhythm shooter Pistol Whip.
About 10 to 15 minutes into my first play session in Pistol Whip a moment of confusion overtook me as I realized I didn’t have to actually aim my gun perfectly at baddies to take them out. I tried to think about whether practiced shooters would get turned away by this automatic assistance, but that thought fell apart as instinct took over and I moved my body out of the way to avoid more bullets than I could count.
This undeniably addictive hook continued to wind its way deeper and deeper into my brain as my skill at the game increased through multiple phases, first learning to dance my way out of bullets then activating “Deadeye” mode to increase my score and hone my aim like a practiced marksman — repeating a song over and over and over again until I truly felt like the Baba Yaga himself, John Wick.
When Cloudhead Games introduced the world to Pistol Whip during our E3 VR Showcase earlier this year its influences were so obvious — they mentioned Wick’s name multiple times in the video and they are far from the only developer to try something rhythm related after seeing the success of Beat Saber. The bar for success was so high from the very outset, and they set expectations right up there alongside the threshold for success. The pressure was on and Cloudhead needed to deliver on a lot of fronts.
On November 7 they hit a bullseye, releasing 10 tracks from Kannibalen Records with built-in modifiers adding significant depth to the game. I’ve spent dozens of hours with those tracks, hobbling my way to bed with sore legs after multi-hour sessions battling through just one song. Cloudhead strayed so very far their first Myst-like VR games and made something instead so instantly accessible and deeply satisfying that it we absolutely cannot wait for Dec. 19 when the game’s first major software update arrives with a new free track called High Priestess.
Pistol Whip is available for both Oculus Quest and PC VR headsets with a PSVR version planned for next year.
Pistol Whip is out now and Cloudhead’s new game is garnering extremely strong reviews. Some players, however, are finding it difficult to find their groove with the game. So we’ve got some tips that can help.
Pistol Whip can be played practically endlessly through the use of built-in modifiers available in the scene selection area. The Modifiers menu is on a board to the far left of the player after you shoot past the “start” screen — turn your body and head to the left to find it. While there’s no way yet to add custom maps to the game, shooting the board reveals a list of options that can dramatically change Pistol Whip play style, difficulty and the overall level of fun you can find with the game.
The modifiers menu in Pistol Whip can change the challenge and play style of the game.
Here’s a look at some of the ways you can use this menu in tandem with each scene’s Easy, Normal and Hard settings, to change Pistol Whip around for different players and play styles.
Rhythmic Standard Play Mode
Each of the included 10 scenes in Pistol Whip (you can listen to them all here) comes with Easy, Normal and Hard difficulty settings. Each option changes the number of enemies you’ll encounter as you are pulled through the level. When you find the right settings and get familiar with a map it can become exhilarating to shoot and move with the rhythm.
Pistol Whip’s three main difficulty settings.
We’ve broken down how many enemies you’ll find in each Pistol Whip scene below. Keep in mind that on the harder settings some of the enemies will also take more shots to eliminate. Be sure to remember that if they have a white vest it takes two shots to destroy and if they have a helmet and full body armor it takes four shots.
Enemies Per Difficulty Setting:
Death: 246 (easy), 274 (normal), 360 (hard)
The Grave: 123 (easy), 153 (normal), 239 (hard)
Download The Future: 149 (easy), 180 (normal), 222 (hard)
Before looking for the modifiers below you’ll want to find a song you like and then get a sense of how different it feels to play that scene on, say, both easy and normal. If you’re a little more skilled at Pistol Whip, check out the difference between normal and hard.
Once you’ve got that experience it is time to check out the modifiers menu.
Dual Wield
Dual Wield can be accessed in the modifiers menu and should probably be the first stop for players ready to dive deeper into Pistol Whip’s rhythmic play on harder difficulties.
Harder Pistol Whip difficulties feature more enemies wearing a bulletproof vest or armor, so activating dual wield can make it more satisfying to destroy two enemies on beat by pulling two triggers at once.
The drawback is that activating dual wield results in a scoring penalty — so there may be a cap on how high you can score in this mode. Nonetheless, some players may find a quicker and more satisfying route to rhythm play in Pistol Whip through dual wielding. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear some players always play dual wield just for the added fun, because it can translate to a more satisfying embodiment of John Wick or Neo.
Deadeye
The Deadeye modifier in Pistol Whip is not a challenge someone should jump into very quickly if they don’t know what they’re doing or aren’t familiar with shooter games. Deadeye, though, is also the gateway to high scores and endless play in Pistol Whip.
Some Pistol Whip players may take a while to realize the game includes an aim assist system that helps enable rhythmic gameplay. Aim assistance gives players the confidence (and time to move) they need to start memorizing where enemies spawn. The feature opens up the game to lot of players with a wide range of experience while ensuring nobody is feeling too crushed even on Easy.
Deadeye takes all of that assistance away and can convert a scene that was easily beaten before into one that’s just soul-crushing. That’s because, instead of one bullet pointed in the general direction of an enemy, each time you shoot you’ve got to line up your sights carefully before firing. Those lost seconds need to be balanced by either extraordinary aiming skill, lots of bullets sent in a specific direction, or more body movement overall to dodge all the extra bullets coming from missed bad guys.
Some players very familiar with shooter games — and perhaps with those who know how to fire real world guns — may turn the Deadeye modifier on immediately.
Deadeye + Dual Wield
The Modifiers menu in Pistol Whip includes a number of options including No Fail, Hardcore, Deadeye, Dual Wield, No Ammo and Infinite Ammo. The options affect your score in different ways and you can’t combine all of them. Some though, including Dual Wield and Deadeye, may work well together for players who prefer two guns and want to get better at their aim. Combining these two modes won’t provide a bonus to your score but it also won’t make it impossible to post a decent score either.
Rhythmic Deadeye?
It may be possible at Pistol Whip’s highest levels with the Deadeye modifier turned on to essentially dance your way through a scene by being surgical about when to take your shots. If you can move your body enough to wait for the enemy to come closer then you don’t have to waste as many bullets on shots you might not be able to hit.
At the time of this writing I don’t think I’ve seen anyone play Pistol Whip this way on a map set to hard. I don’t know that I’ll ever be good enough to play this way and I can’t imagine many people will achieve this tier of Pistol Whip. Still, it may be possible and the players who achieve it will have a true sense of what it is like to be John Wick or Neo that the rest of us mere mortals can hardly grasp.
You can find Pistol Whip on the following store pages:
