Category: DLC

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Playroom VR’s Toy Wars DLC Is A Frantic Slice Of VR Co-op Action

Playroom VR’s Toy Wars DLC Is A Frantic Slice Of VR Co-op Action

Nearly four months after launch, Playroom VR remains one of the best reasons to own PlayStation VR (PSVR). Sony Japan’s brilliant minigame compilation is a free download, but it frankly embarrass some premium games with the sheer quality of its cutesy collection of single and local multiplayer experiences.

Today, Sony is adding another game to the set via a free piece of DLC. It’s called Toy Wars, and it’s a terrific blend of turret shooting and co-op action that you should definitely download.

Toy Wars has a simple premise; the VR user controls a toy gun that’s aimed using the DualShock 4’s motion controls. They have to defend the game’s cast of adorable robots from incoming enemies that slither out from beneath cupboards. Up to three other players can take a gamepad outside of VR and control giant mechs that can smash enemies with their fists. If even one baddie breaks the line and injures the turret? Game over.

Though the game can be played on your own, it’s much better with at least one friend, as things quickly become overwhelming without any help. Standard enemy types are taken down with just a few hits, but larger, tougher variations are introduced just seconds into the game. These foes take a considerable beating before they topple, and the game turns into a manic juggling act as you try to keep three sides of approaching nasties away. If (but let’s be honest, it’s actually when) you fail, then a UFO appears and sucks everyone into its illusive vacuum of doom.

It may not be as innovative as some of Playroom’s other multiplayer games, but as a shooter, Toy Wars is frantic and satisfying. It’s also proof that the DualShock 4 can be just as immersive a tool for VR shooters as a Move controller is. Spraying fire across the room feels powerful even if all you’re really using is the VR equivalent of a Nerf gun, and the communication needed with friends to ensure your safety gives it a touch of Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes. It’s one of the few VR games that shows you how great asymmetrical co-op can be.

What’s great about this piece of DLC is how naturally it fits into the overall set of games. It feels like it’s been here from day one. Not only are its mechanics as refined as anything else you’ll find in the package, but its presentation remains irresistibly adorable; seeing the characters from the other games cowering behind you as you fight for them is an especially nice touch.

Of course, what we really want to see from Sony Japan is a full-length edition of the excellent Robot Rescue minigame, but we’ll settle for this for now. Playroom VR has opened the doors to DLC in the best way possible and we can’t wait to see what else is in store.

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Hands-On: Resident Evil 7’s ‘Banned Footage Vol. 1’ Adds Replayability With New Game Modes

Hands-On: Resident Evil 7’s ‘Banned Footage Vol. 1’ Adds Replayability With New Game Modes

Last week we reported on the details of the first piece of DLC for Capcom’s Resident Evil 7: Biohazard [Review: 9/10]. Released today for PlayStation 4, Banned Footage Vol. 1, the first pack of new content, includes three things for intrepid horror junkies like myself to sink their teeth into. The aptly titled Nightmare is a wave-based survival mode, Bedroom is an escape-the-room puzzle experience, and Ethan Must Die is a brand new game mode. Only Nightmare and Bedroom feature PlayStation VR (PSVR) support.

Unfortunately, this means that the most interesting new feature (Ethan Must Die) is left out of the VR fold, but we have our fingers crossed it will get support later on.

Instead of accessing the new content from VHS tapes inside the game itself, you’ll actually go to the Main Menu and find them all under the “Extra Content” option. From here you can select the Banned Footage collection or the new Ethan Must Die game mode.

You can watch a quick teaser video above showing off what’s in store for the Banned Footage Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 collections. The second set is due to release on PS4 in two weeks on February 14th. What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than with blood, guts, and gore?

Nightmare (VR Supported)

The first piece of new content in Banned Footage Vol. 1, Nightmare, offers some much-needed replayability to a game that formerly only consisted of a single-player campaign. You’ll take on the role of Clancy, the cameraman from the Beginning Hour demo and one of the playable VHS tapes found in the core game. The events found here supposedly take place after he is separated from the rest of his crew. Your objective is to survive for 5 hours until dawn.

You’ll start off in one of the basement rooms of the Baker House, near the processing area. If you completed the base campaign, it will be immediately recognizable. You’ll start with a small collection of resource scraps that can be used to purchase items like guns, ammo, first aid kits, skill upgrades, and more. Spread throughout the basement are processor that create more scraps over time. You can also set traps in pre-defined locations.

Exploring this game mode requires quickly memorizing the layout and making trips between the different processors to stay stocked up on your scraps and supplies. The traps are best saved for late-game usage to get the most out of them. Rooms that have objects in the middle (such as tables) are useful for keeping distance between you and the Molded creatures that spawn. Careful aim and keeping a cool-head will be crucial to passing this new mode.

While it’s not necessarily infinitely replayable and would be improved by more maps or multiplayer, it feels like a welcomed addition to the game. That being said, I can’t help but feel like it should have been there to begin with. It adds a missing layer to the experience that was very likely ready to include by the time the game launched.

Bedroom (VR Supported)

This bit of content feels the most similar to what’s already found in the VHS tapes from the base game’s campaign. You’ll start out as Clancy once again, strapped to a bed this time, as Marguerite stops by to deliver your supper. After she leaves it’s up to you to frantically search the room for a way out.

In practice, it plays out much like a real-life escale room puzzle would, tasking you with exploring every nook and cranny of your surroundings for a way out. But you have to be careful because if you make too much noise then she’ll come back to inspect on what’s going on. If she catches you out of bed then it’s Game Over. If you hear her coming, then you have to try and put everything back the way it was so she doesn’t notice.

Even though it’s not a wave-based survival mode like Nightmare, this one felt more nerve-wracking to me. Part of that could be because Marguerite as a character is more terrifying and disgusting than the Molded, which act much like the over-used zombie archetype that they seem to be based upon.

It’s unfortunate then that it loses its appeal after you’ve figure it all out, but it was fun while it lasted. A bit reminiscent of the Happy Birthday tape from the original game, albeit with a more frantic and rushed premise.

Ethan Must Die (No VR Support)

Finally, the most interesting piece of new content in the bunch is a brand new game mode called Ethan Must Die. While it adds the meatiest junk of stuff to do with the most interesting replayability elements, it unfortunately lacks any PSVR support. Hopefully that changes.

You’ll start out alone and afraid in an attempt to surpass the overwhelming odds of an entire game mode tailor-made just to kill you. Whereas the core campaign featured a litany of ways for you to fight back or run away and hide, Ethan Must Die doesn’t sport those same fine luxuries.

Instead, everything in this game mode appears to be randomized. The higher the star rating on a crate the better item it could have. When you die, you’ll leave a gravestone behind and if you make it back to that gravestone on your next playthrough, then you get a randomly selected item from your past corpse given back to you. It’s almost like an even less forgiving version of Dark Souls’ death and soul system.

It’s strange that this mode doesn’t support PSVR play because for the most part all of the assets are reused from the core game even if this is a “new game mode” technically. It’s a lot of fun and features a disgustingly difficult gauntlet of challenges.

If you loved the original game, then this is worth the $9.99 price of entry. However, I’d recommend getting the $29.99 Season Pass to get this, Banned Footage Vol. 2 (typically $14.99) and an unannounced third piece of paid DLC content all together. You’ll save money that way.

However, if you weren’t amazed by Capcom’s brand of first-person horror in Resident Evil 7, then this isn’t going to do anything to change that. With the most interesting piece of content lacking PSVR features, it’s a bit of a hard sell if you’re a fan of Sony’s HMD, but is still worth playing outside of VR.

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No More ‘RIGS: Mechanized Combat League’ DLC, Sony Confirms

No More ‘RIGS: Mechanized Combat League’ DLC, Sony Confirms

Last week held the surprising news that Sony closed down RIGS: Mechanized Combat League developer, Guerrilla Cambridge. The move left us with a few questions, however.

Specifically, we didn’t know what the studio’s closure meant for the future support of the game. Guerrilla Cambridge released a Winter Update for the PlayStation VR arena shooter back in December, and it sounded like there might be more on the way with grand plans to foster a competitive Esports scene. Sony has just confirmed to UploadVR, however, that there will be no more DLC for RIGS, though the servers for the game will remain open.

The statement reads: “For players of RIGS Mechanized Combat League, we would seek to reassure you that the online service is not affected by this closure but unfortunately it will mean that there will be no further DLC for RIGS. We shall also continue to provide community support.”

Community support will hopefully mean things like patches and tweaks, but that’s about the extent of what you can expect from RIGS from now on. One of out biggest complaints about RIGS was the lack of content for the game, with a sparse number of maps and modes giving players a limited amount of options. The Winter Update helped to remedy this somewhat, but players surely would have welcomed even more additions to the game. Cambridge themselves had a DLC plan that involved multiple free content updates.

In addition to the spare line-up of content for PS VR so far this year, is this further proof that Sony is pulling away from the headset?

Hopes for future DLC for Evolution Studios’ Driveclub VR were also dashed last year when Sony closed the developer before the game had even launched. PlayStation VR Worlds developer Sony London is working on its second VR title, however.

Following the news last week we took a look at what Guerrilla Cambridge did for VR in the short time that it got to work with the tech.

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