Cortopia Studios said that new game announcements are coming soon, alongside 120Hz support for Down the Rabbit Hole on Quest 2.
The news come from a press release celebrating the studio’s fifth anniversary. Cortopia is the team behind popular VR titles like Wands and Down the Rabbit Hole. The former released almost five years ago, initially just for Gear VR before making its way to Rift, PC VR, PSVR and Quest. Speaking on Cortopia’s anniversary, Head of Studio Ricky Helgesson said that Wands “was just the beginning for us,” and that the studio is “very excited about what’s next.”
Later on in the press release, Cortopia referenced some “exciting new game announcements coming in the near future.” The studio’s most recent release was 2020’s Down the Rabbit Hole, a VR puzzle game available on Quest, PSVR and PC VR that takes place in Lewis Carroll’s fantastical world of Wonderland. Cortopia confirmed that the Quest release of Down the Rabbit Hole will soon receive 120Hz support, joining Echo VR, Superhot, Eleven and more in the fairly exclusive 120Hz club on Quest 2.
We were big fans of Down the Rabbit Hole when it released last year. Here’s an extract from Jamie’s review.
Even Down The Rabbit Hole’s sheer existence seems like lunacy. It’s as strange a VR game you’ll find, one that refuses to be pegged down to any one demographic or tick any certain box. There might be a touch of tameness to some of its puzzles and the adventure is over a little too soon, but when the game tips its box of ideas upside down, magic usually falls out.
Cortopia’s Wands is the second VR game this month to discontinue Gear VR support.
The developer will no longer issue updates to one of the original versions of the game as it rolls out significant improvements to other platforms. “Unfortunately, we have to discontinue updates for Gear VR, as the Oculus SDK Wands uses is not supported,” a note on the game’s website reads. Last week we reported the Mojang’s Minecraft was also discontinuing support for Gear VR. The headset, which launched in its original form in 2014, is now all but dead after Facebook removed support in its Oculus SDK and Samsung stopped making phones compatible with it.
But Wands is far from done; in this month’s update, the game finally gets support for major features like roomscale and dual-wielding.
Wands originally launched on Daydream and Gear VR, where roomscale tracking isn’t available. But with Daydream dead and Gear VR left behind, Oculus Go is the only three degrees of freedom (3DOF) platform the game still supports. The roomscale update allows players on 6DOF platforms like Quest, Rift, Vive, Index, Cosmos and Windows Mixed Reality to navigate wider physical spaces in the virtual environments. No PSVR support is mentioned, though the kit isn’t really capable of roomscale tracking.
Dual-wielding, meanwhile, lets players load up spells in two hands for new combinations out on the battlefield. To top it all off, Cortopia has overhauled some of the game’s other stats and features to account for the new play options.
Will you be checking out the new Wands update? Let us know in the comments below!
Cortopia Studios, the Stockholm-based team behind spellcasting combat game Wands (2016), is set to release its upcoming puzzler Down the Rabbit Hole next month.
The game, which was originally slated to arrive in December 2019, is now set to arrive on all major VR headsets on March 26th, which includes versions for Oculus Quest, PSVR, and your standard mix of PC VR headsets.
Following a lost girl through a miniature world inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland (1865), you’re pitted against a variety of puzzles in a sprawling 360-degree diorama; as you literally descend down a rabbit hole, you solve puzzles in both the first and third-person until you ostensibly get to the bottom of it all.
We got a chance to go hands-on at Gamescom last year, and while it’s difficult to judge a game on only a 15-minute demo, we experienced a good variety of puzzles that made use of multiple characters. This appeared to up the complexity, and also make it necessary to keep your head on a swivel to properly keep track of the entire map—if you can call the little doll house-sized cubbies a ‘map’.
Pre-order pages for the game are now live on the Oculus Store for both Quest and Rift versions, priced at $20. Links for both Steam and Viveport versions are coming soon, so keep an eye on the game’s website for more info.
Indie virtual reality (VR) developer Cortopia Studios’ first immersive title was a magic spellcasting videogame called Wands, first appearing on Samsung Gear VR. The title has come a long way since then, appearing on multiple mobile and PC-based platforms. Today, it’s the turn of Oculus Quest.
Wands is a multiplayer experience which casts you in the role of a powerful mage who is able to wield a number of powerful and deadly spells. Just like all wizards like to do, practice makes perfect so you can dual opponents from around the world using a mixture of 24+ spells – which you have to unlock through playing – offering both offensive and defensive capabilities.
Offering 1 vs 1 dual in expansive arenas, before each match you must select four spells to attach to a magical staff. As you unlock more these can be mixed and matched to suit your play style. To ensure the matches are fast yet comfortable for most players, the arenas feature teleportation points dotted high and low. You cast spells by the selecting the desired one rather than gesture-based spell casting like you’d find in The Wizards.
To ensure you can usually find someone to fight Cortopia Studios has made Wands compatible with Oculus Rift, Oculus Go, HTC Vive, Valve Index, Samsung Gear VR headsets. Should that prove to be difficult in August the studio released its 1.6.0 patch which added a new feature, an AI opponent called Machina, allowing you to practice first.
While Cortopia Studios has continued to support Wands at the recent Gamescom 2019 event in Germany the developer showcased its latest project in the works, Down the Rabbit Hole, a puzzle title inspired by The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland. Take a look at VRFocus’preview of the videogame on Oculus Quest or the gameplay footage.
As further Wands updates are released VRFocus will let you know.
Cortopia Studios, the Stockholm-based team behind the spellcasting combat game Wands (2016), showed off their next entry into the realm of VR at Gamescom 2019 this week. Called Down the Rabbit Hole, I got a chance to go hands-on with the third-person adventure game, which tasks you with solving a variety of puzzles while leading a lost girl through a miniature world inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland (1865).
Strapping on an Oculus Quest, I find myself looking at a two inch-tall pair of characters, a girl (simply called ‘The Girl) and a little playing card-shaped knight, the so-called 4½ of Spades.
Grabbing onto a large root suspended below the scene, I pull the diorama of the dark forest closer to me, and absentmindedly brush my fingers through a river and play with the leaves of the bonzai-sized trees.
Image courtesy Cortopia Studios
The narrator tells me that the plucky duo is searching for something called the King’s Keep on their quest to follow the White Rabbit, and as luck would have it, a tiny Cheshire Cat is there to help.
Much of my 15-minute demo was played in the third-person; character locomotion is achieved by either moving the pint-sized people via Touch’s thumbstick or drawing a path to the desired destination (the latter is especially useful when you have to backtrack through complex pathways). However at times you’ll also snap into a first-person mode too. Walking close to the Cheshire Cat, I’m presented with a dialogue tree populated with a few options to interrogate the curious kitty.
Image captured by Road to VR
If you know your lore, you’ll remember that Cheshire Cat is pathologically incapable of answering straight forward questions though, so he instead saddles us with the important task of rounding up five pesky butter-flies—literal sticks of butter with wings, which is the overarching task for the demo.
Although I say ‘most’ of the game is in third-person, I can’t really be sure of that from what I’ve played. As with dialogue trees, some of the puzzles I encountered were actually in the first-person too, so it feels like there’s going to be plenty of latitude for interesting and varied interactions between the two.
Ambling my characters separately through a few adjacent rooms to complete some door puzzles—all of it in service of those hidden butter-flies—it becomes clear to me that it’s actually I who is down the rabbit hole. The numerous dioramas eventually create a cylinder around me, and the black void above and below me keeps revealing more and more little rooms stacked on top of each other. Using the same locomotion method as when I leaned in to get a better look, I shift the world around me and climb around by using the many roots as handholds.
Eventually we run into more familiar faces, including the hookah-smoking Caterpillar himself, and a pretty suspicious-looking King, who is really just a low-numbered card with hastily painted on whiteout and a big ‘K’ scribbled on his chest. That’s some low-key Swedish comedy for you.
Image courtesy Cortopia Studios
The demo’s puzzles, both first and third-person, were fairly simple, although were varied enough to keep my attention. A puzzle with a singing bird and musical set of flowers was the most difficult for me personally, although that’s because every musical instrument I’ve ever laid my fingers on turns to dust and flies out the window in a magical tornado conjured by the ghosts of classical musicians past.
In the end, it appears the game isn’t going to offer a single prescribed ending either, as Cortopia say that you’ll be able to make “many choices about the girl’s backstory” and how you want to deal with the various characters, something they say will ultimately determine the ending of the game.
Down the Rabbit Hole is slated to arrive on PSVR, PC VR headsets, and Oculus Quest sometime in December 2019. Check out the gameplay trailer below to get a taste of what’s in store:
I’m almost jealous of all of the cool ideas Down The Rabbit Hole has.
The moment I jumped into the demo for the latest game from Wands developer Cortopia, it clicked. Mashing novel with VR, it plays a little like a panoramic comic book, with new panels unfolding around you as you move your characters from one scene to the next. If they climbed a ladder to a higher panel, I could grab roots dotted around me and hoist myself up to see them.
When two characters spoke, the game shifted from a third-person perspective to a more direct and personal first-person approach. In some puzzles I had to reach into the world myself to manipulate objects as if I were the god of Wonderland itself. Even the name has me asking why I didn’t think of it first.
Needless to say, I’m fascinated by what Cortopia has on its hands.
This is a puzzle game at heart. Cortopia describes it as more of a prequel to the novel than a straight up adaptation. In my demo, the Chesire Cat — appearing as vibrant and toothily grinned as ever — tasks me with finding five butterflies. Two characters, including an unnamed girl (as in: probably not Alice) navigate Wonderland together, and I can swap between them on the fly.
There are sparks of genius here. I really enjoyed jumping into first-person to get up close with Wonderland’s fantastical cast of characters. Reasoning with the King of Spades, who’s face changed from one scribbled emotion to another was a rare moment of VR magic.
My concerns lie with the game’s puzzle elements. Down The Rabbit Hole has some fun brain-teasers, but some pretty obscure ones too. For example, at one point I had to guide the other character, a card (specifically which card I forget), through a small gap between a door. The developer had to point it out to me, otherwise I would have had no idea it was there. I want to spend time exploring this world and being rewarded for it, not getting frustrated at road bumps like that.
Based on the trailer above, it looks like it’ll be worth persevering. There’s simply too much potential in this universe and Cortopia seems to be making the most of that in the ways that count. Nothing gets weirder than Alice and Down The Rabbit Hole promises to live up to that status quo.
Down The Rabbit Hole is coming to PC VR this year. PSVR and Quest versions are also in the works, though jury’s still out on exactly when they launch.
Having announced the acquisition of Zens VR and the creation of a new umbrella organisation, Cortopia Group, virtual reality (VR) developer Cortopia Studios has just revealed the closure of a new funding round for the group.
The Cortopia Group has managed to raise an additional 12 million SEK ($1.4 million USD) in a funding round that closed on 30th April, 2018. This new funding round will help accelerate the Group’s R&D of new VR, augmented reality (AR), and esports initiatives alongside support of Zenz VR which joined the Cortopia Group on 27th April.
“Mobile AR is accelerating quicker than we first anticipated and in order to remain competitive, we need to embrace the advances in technology and the ways in which users show us they want to play games,” says Cortopia Group CEO, Andreas Skoglund in a statement. “With the release of ARCore by Google and Apple’s ARKit, building compelling AR experiences is more appealing than ever before and this additional funding round will allow us to pursue additional paths for our group.”
Cortopia Studios’ VR development will continue with its successful PvP combat title Wands, which supports most VR headsets and cross-platform gameplay. Originally launched for Gear VR before expanding to other mobile and PC-based headsets – most recently Oculus Go and Lenovo Mirage Solo – Wands pits wizard against wizard in strategic duels where players not only have to look out for enemies but also the dangerous world around them.
Zenz VR’s three titles HordeZ, X-Fire VR, and Xion are now under the Cortopia Group banner, plus Zenz VR has confirmed work on a fourth VR project although no details have been released just yet.
An update for Wands (version 1.4) is expected soon, with the team having previously revealed it a few months back. When those details arrive VRFocus will let you know.
Cortopia Studios, the developer behind popular multi-platform, PVP title Wands has announced the creation of Cortopia Group. And with its creation Zenz VR has now been acquired and brought under the group’s umbrella.
The acquisition brings Zenz VR’s three titles HordeZ, X-Fire VR, and Xion to the Cortopia Group as well as a fourth unnamed title currently in development. HordeZ came to HTC Vive in 2016, the first of Zenz VR’s VR projects. Currently available through Steam, followup titles X-Fire VR, and Xionare currently in Steam Early Access.
Wands has gone from strength to strength since its initial launch on Samsung Gear VR. The magical combat experience which pits players against one another across interactive battle arenas is available on HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Google Daydream, Oculus Go and Lenovo Mirage Solo.
“Building on the success of our cross-platform VR title Wands, Cortopia Group is keeping a pulse on the top studios that fit our ambition for excellence in VR,” says Cortopia Group CEO, Andreas Skoglund in a statement. “Cortopia is an effective team of talented VR creators and have shown that we can develop incredible experiences that capture the hearts and minds of VR enthusiasts. We are thrilled to lend our support to Zenz VR to help them do what they do best, and to expand our studios influence in the industry.”
“Zenz VR is delighted to be joining Cortopia Group,” adds Niklas Persson, games industry veteran, founder and CEO of Zenz VR. “The Cortopia team has been very pleasant to work with and I am excited to continue as CEO of Zenz VR in this next exciting chapter for our company.”
While Zenz VR is working on a new VR project, Cortopia Studios continues to develop Wands, with patch 1.4 revealed in March. This will see character customisation options introduced as well as a whole new arena, new spells and a tutorial mode. As further details are released, VRFocus will keep you posted.
Virtual reality (VR) adoption is continuing to grow and likewise so are the amount of developers and the content that they create, which is great. However, there’s a catch when studios want to create multiplayer focused experiences. Originally it was the amount of players available that could cause issues, whereas now there’s a lot more content vying for gamers attention. One way to help ensure there are always players online is to support as many devices as possible, which is exactly what Cortopia Studios has done with magical combat title Wands.
Wands already supported HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, and Google Daydream. Now with the recent launch of Oculus Go and Lenovo Mirage Solo, Wands can now be played on both these headsets, offering an even wider choice of compatible head-mounted displays (HMD) and more match-making opportunities.
On the Lenovo Mirage Solo Wands can make full use of the headset’s WorldSense 6DoF tracking capabilities, so players can use the positional tracking to their advantage.
The title is a first-person, cross-platform, social VR PvP experience that pits players online against each other in magic duels, while others can watch through the custom-built spectator mode, enabling a full tournament experience. As players progress and level up they’ll be able to unlock more powerful spells, thus enabling strategic tactical changes depending on how they like to play. One of the most recent updates has added dynamic environments, meaning not only do players have to watch out for their opponent but also the world around them.
“Cortopia is an early pioneer of online competitive VR games,” says Cortopia Studios CEO, Andreas Skoglund in a statement. “With Wands, we’re very happy with the number of fans our title has attracted across the major platforms. Bringing our title to Oculus Go is a very important milestone for us, we are excited to welcome more future master wielders to compete in the global leaderboards in the beyond.”
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Wands, reporting back with the latest updates for the title.
Virtual reality (VR) adoption is continuing to grow and likewise so are the amount of developers and the content that they create, which is great. However, there’s a catch when studios want to create multiplayer focused experiences. Originally it was the amount of players available that could cause issues, whereas now there’s a lot more content vying for gamers attention. One way to help ensure there are always players online is to support as many devices as possible, which is exactly what Cortopia Studios has done with magical combat title Wands.
Wands already supported HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, and Google Daydream. Now with the recent launch of Oculus Go and Lenovo Mirage Solo, Wands can now be played on both these headsets, offering an even wider choice of compatible head-mounted displays (HMD) and more match-making opportunities.
On the Lenovo Mirage Solo Wands can make full use of the headset’s WorldSense 6DoF tracking capabilities, so players can use the positional tracking to their advantage.
The title is a first-person, cross-platform, social VR PvP experience that pits players online against each other in magic duels, while others can watch through the custom-built spectator mode, enabling a full tournament experience. As players progress and level up they’ll be able to unlock more powerful spells, thus enabling strategic tactical changes depending on how they like to play. One of the most recent updates has added dynamic environments, meaning not only do players have to watch out for their opponent but also the world around them.
“Cortopia is an early pioneer of online competitive VR games,” says Cortopia Studios CEO, Andreas Skoglund in a statement. “With Wands, we’re very happy with the number of fans our title has attracted across the major platforms. Bringing our title to Oculus Go is a very important milestone for us, we are excited to welcome more future master wielders to compete in the global leaderboards in the beyond.”
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Wands, reporting back with the latest updates for the title.
