Developers Pixel Toys announced a new multiplayer mode is coming to Drop Dead: Dual Strike on Oculus Quest and Rift.
Everyone knows that there’s no better combo than zombies and horde mode, so that’s exactly what we’re getting. This new mode, available now, adds multiplayer horde action to Pixel Toys’ zombie shooter, which was a launch title for Oculus Quest in 2019.
Here’s some details of the new mode, supplied by Pixel Toys
Deadly Defense is a new game mode where players work together to defend a deployed repeater from the zombie horde. The rules are simple: Defend the repeater for as long as possible and avoid being killed in the process! If players are able to surpass wave 30 the repeater will successfully locate the infamous Dr Monday’s secret lair and thus complete their mission!
As you can see in the screenshot embedded a bit further up, defending that repeater through 30 waves sounds like it will be no easy task.
Years later, zombies are still quite the staple for the VR industry, with loads of emerging games still trying to capitalize on the 2010s zombie craze. Similar to Drop Dead, popular undead shooter The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is getting a big update next month as well. The long-awaited Aftershocks update will add new end-game content with new missions, threats and story elements. There will be remixed maps and some new traps as well, with the new content being just “a small bite” of upcoming planned content for the game.
For today’s livestream we’re playing a bunch of PC VR games on the Oculus Quest 2, showing off what’s possible with Virtual Desktop and SideQuest! If you’re curious about how we livestream the way we do then look no further than this handy guide for general tips and this guide specific to our Oculus Quest setup.
This week Facebook released Oculus Quest 2! You can order one right now for yourself and experience what we’ve called “the new king of VR” as long as you don’t mind the integrated Facebook account requirement.
We’re going live with a new Quest 2 gameplay livestream today specifically focused on showing off some of the spooky and intense VR zombie games on offer, which includes The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, Arizona Sunshine, Drop Dead, and Death Horizon.
Our Oculus Quest 2 gameplay livestream is planned to start at about 12:45 PM PT today and will last for around an hour or two, give or take. We’ll be hitting just our YouTubeand we’ll be streaming from an Oculus Quest 2 via Chomecast and with colleagues in Discord chat to help with questions.
You can see lots of our past archived streams over in our YouTube playlist or even all livestreams here on UploadVR and various other gameplay highlights. There’s lots of good stuff there so make sure and subscribe to us on YouTube to stay up-to-date on gameplay videos, video reviews, live talk shows, interviews, and more original content!
And please let us know which games or discussions you want us to livestream next! We have lots of VR games in the queue that we would love to show off more completely. Let’s get ready to go!
In the current climate now might not seem like the ideal time to start job hunting but there are still plenty of jobs out there, with some industries able to carry on regardless while others have to close in the lockdown. For the most part, videogame developers can work remotely and still need new staff for current projects, like British studio Pixel Toys which is looking for staff to work on a new VR first-person shooter (FPS).
Drop Dead Dual Strike
Job listings can be a good way of finding out what a studio might have planned before any official announcements are made. Pixel Toys – best known in VR circles for its zombie shooter Drop Dead Dual Strike – is currently looking for a Lead Designer (VR) to help: ‘guide development of our big license FPS VR title,’ notes the listing.
Applicants need to be: ‘Well versed in all areas of AAA game design’, so this does sound like Pixel Toys’ biggest VR project to date. A little more info is revealed via the Executive Producer job listing which is looking for someone with experience within the VR shooter space. It goes onto say: “This is a fantastic opportunity to work on a cutting edge VR shooter game, closely partnering both with a major first party and a much sought after IP holder.”
At the moment there are no further details regarding which IP Pixel Toys is developing for but an educated guess may lean towards the Warhammer franchise. Having previously created Warhammer 40,000: Freeblade and Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realm War – with Freeblade also including an augmented reality (AR) feature – the chance of running around as a Space Marine in VR would be an enticing prospect.
The Drop Dead series began in 2016 on Gear VR followed by a launch on Oculus Rift in 2017. With the release of Oculus Quest, last year Pixel Toys updated the experience as Drop Dead Dual Strike for both of the headsets. The update added dual-wielding, melee weapons as well as cross-play and cross-buy support.
As the job listings are very new don’t expect any more news just yet. VRFocus will let you know when further announcements are made.
Here at UploadVR we’ve had access to most of the Oculus Quest launch library for quite some time. In fact, we already have reviews for games like Superhot, Dance Central, Virtual Virtual Reality, Creed, and more. And now that the Quest is officially launching to the rest of the world today, we thought we’d collect a list of the top 10 best Oculus Quest games available on day one.
This list is written from the perspective of being able to apply to anyone even if you haven’t used VR before. Here is a livestream where we show off a bunch of the games on this list:
Worth noting we’ve left off free apps like Rec Room and VRChat because you should definitely have those downloaded regardless and since they don’t cost anything they didn’t seem useful to include in terms of recommending purchasing decisions. You should definitely install YouTube VR as well for all of the great and free 360 video content.
And we’re leaving off some games we haven’t gotten to try yet on Quest to confirm port quality (like VR horror game The Exorcist: Legion VR) or games we haven’t sunken enough time into yet (like VR MMO OrbusVR) but if preliminary indications are any value then both should be worth your hard-earned dollars if you enjoy those genres.
Without further ado, here’s the list of the best Oculus Quest games to buy at launch! They are all listed alphabetically.
As one of the few “full” games launching on Quest with beautifully rendered stylized visuals, killer bow and arrow mechanics, and a solid multi-hour campaign, this should be the feather in the cap of every Quest owner. It’s got a sense of scale and narrative consistency that few VR games have, let alone VR games on portable standalone devices.
If you are reading this article then you have probably seen or heard of Beat Saber at some point. This is the rhythm-based box-slashing VR game that’s sold over a million units and helped put VR on the map for tons of people. Now, it’s portable and plays just as good as you’d hope.
There aren’t many shooters on Oculus Quest at launch, but the few that are there are really fun. Drop Dead: Dual Strike is an expanded version of a game that originally launched on the Gear VR and now features excellent dual wielding mechanics, melee weapons, a horde mode, a decent-sized campaign, and full co-op. It’s hard to go wrong with this much zombie-slaying action.
One of the most popular VR games is making its way to Quest and it plays better than ever. Removing the tether frees you to walk around the office cubicles if you’d like and spin about without worries. It looks great too and is easily the most accessible and fun to play version yet.
Journey of the Gods ($29.99)
Watch Our Gameplay Video Above
Journey of the Gods from Turtle Rock is a Zelda-inspired action-adventure VR game that has you slashing your sword, blocking with a shield, and firing your crossbow at enemies across large, sprawling levels. If you’re a fan of larger adventures, similar to Apex Construct in scope, then this is a great one to pick up.
Robo Recall: Unplugged ($29.99)
Watch Our Gameplay Video Above
As one of the most anticipated games for Quest, Robo Recall does not disappoint. The Unplugged version ports the entire experience over from the Rift with the only downgrades coming in the form of lower graphical power. The whole game is here complete with its tight gameplay and arcade-style fun.
Even after over three years, Space Pirate Trainer is still my go-to VR game when I am showing someone VR for the very first time. It’s dead simple to play but has a ton of layers and complexity if you’re willing to dig deeper. It nails that “just one more try” feeling and the high score board makes it perfect to pass around at parties.
It’s difficult to overstate just how fantastic of a game Superhot is in VR. In this part shooter and part puzzle game time only moves when you do. That means you can freeze and contemplate your next action — a power that the game forces you to master quickly. It’s exhilarating, challenging, and really forces you to think outside the box. And now it’s without any wires!
Even though it’s immediately clear that Vader Immortal: Episode 1 is just the start of something much larger, it’s still absolutely worth the entry fee. You get a nearly hour long story that feels like an authentic part of the Star Wars universe and an addictive Jedi training dojo full of replayability. Highly recommended.
Finally this is the most meta game on our list. And by that I mean that it’s part commentary on what VR actually is and what it could be, as well as what it can do. It’s a really great story that’s full of humor, charm, and memorabe moments that everyone should experience at least once.
Drop Dead: Dual Strike is a total overhaul of the co-op zombie shooter Rift game Drop Dead. It will be a launch title for Quest and support cross play with Rift and Rift S.
Drop Dead features a full campaign as well as a cooperative horde mode and competitive mode. Dual Strike adds support for dual wielding weapons as well as a range of melee weapons such as scythes, axes, and pitchforks.
In the campaign you’re an agent trying to stop the evil Dr. Money who caused the zombie apocalypse. You team up with an ex-CIA agent to take on the evil mastermind.
The solid, smooth performance and accurate targeting make it plenty of fun and the new missions and brand new multiplayer mode add plenty of replay value. More than that though, it’s an excellent homage to the classic light gun games of old.
Dead and Buried 2, another Quest and Rift crossplay game, has a co-op zombie horde mode, but you’re in a static position, there’s no melee weapons, and that’s not the main focus of the game. That game is more meant as a competitive multiplayer shooter first, with zombies being a secondary aspect.
The major zombie games on Rift were Arizona Sunshine and Killing Floor: Incursion. Neither has been announced as coming to Quest, so Drop Dead will be the headset’s go-to for zombie survival action.
Dual Strike will be priced at $20 on both Rift and Quest. As well as cross play, the game supports cross-buy too. Purchasing the game for Rift means you own it for Quest too, and vice versa. However, there isn’t cross-buy with the Oculus Go version.
The weekend is here and you need something to get you back into the virtual world, right? We understand that need, and that’s why we always pull together the best virtual reality (VR) videogames and experiences for you. This week, here are all the best videogames to get you back into your Oculus Rift.
X Rebirth VR
We know what you want. You want to explore the universe in VR, seeing alien worlds and walking aboard incredible spacecrafts. Of course you do. Step into the shoes of Ren Otani as you rebuild your ship and trade, fight, build and think your way to victory.
Get ready for adventure in a fantasy land with The Wizards. You’ll be conjuring magic and destroying enemies while competing for high scores. The Oculus Touch controllers give an extra level of immersion as you wave your arms and cast spells in real time.
One of the most authentic and realistic racing videogames available, Project CARS offers 120+ cars, 100+ track layouts and much much more. This is one of the best VR racing experiences available.
Five a day? Who needs it. In Shooty Fruity you’ll be showing those pesky fruits the door – and a barrel of a gun. One minute you’ll be a normal supermarket cashier, and then the fruits will suddenly attack. Get ready and get armed.
End Space is another romp through the galaxy, this time you’ll pilot a United Trade Consortium starfighter, and battle for control of the Tartarus sector. Unlock new weapons and missions as you blast through enemies in the galaxy.
If you’ve ever wished you were in the movie Tron, well, this might be the next best thing. Neon takes you to a colourful and neon lit world where you’ll shoot down obstacles and collect power ups in a unique action shooter, all to prevent solar flares, somehow.
The original space exploration is bigger and better than ever, especially in VR. Explore the universe and boldly make your own mark on the galaxy in Elite Dangerous.
Visit a tiny, magical world where the Keflings live, and help them build their homes and turn their civilisation into a cultured metropolis. It’s slow paced so you can your time in this fun management sim.
Someone needs to stop Dr. Monday and save the world, and only you can do it. Shred through zombies and get high scores with great VR arcade action. Oculus Touch only makes the experience more immersive.
Defend yourself on an alien planet full of hostiles. Build an army of robots to bring under your command and defend you, as you gather resources and emerge victories. This striking VR shooter will have you building and shooting for hours.
We’re sure you’ve already found something to waste your weekend with. Make sure to check back next week for all of the latest sales and featured VR videogames and experiences, we’ll always have the news and features you need on VRFocus.
Rift versus Vive. Oculus Touch versus Vive wand. It seems like these are the only things you hear about any more in the virtual reality scene. But what if the answer to all of these questions was: neither. What if the true hero of the VR world is not some big, expensive system that demands a PC from the Batcave to properly function? What if the hero this industry deserves is small, scrappy, and — believe it or not — relatively cheap?
That’s right, I’m talking about a little headset called the Samsung Gear VR. It only costs $99, all it takes to run is a device that millions of people already carry in their pockets (a modern Samsung Galaxy, Android smartphone,) and it boasts some truly incredible games and experiences.
Don’t believe me? Geez you sound like my dad when I told him I wanted to be a writer instead of a doctor. I convinced him with a total lack of scientific ability, and I’ll convince you with this list of the nine best Samsung Gear VR games you can play right now. Let the opinion shifting begin!
Land’s End
Let’s start this list off strong. Land’s Endmight be the best game on the Samsung Gear VR. With a breathtaking oceanside setting, it stands as a constant reminder of just how amazing VR can look on the this beefy little headset.
The gameplay, puzzles, and mechanics all work together within the Gear’s unique ecosystem to create an experience just as, if not more, immersive than many titles on the more advanced platforms. If you have a Gear VR, do not let this one go unplayed.
The Well
Turtle Rock is better known for its VR scare-fest, Face Your Fears, but its recently-released, visually stunning RPG, The Well, is, well, well worth talking about (sorry). Battle fantastical creatures in this dungeon-crawler inspired experience while you explore the incredible world of Tholl.
The Well offers hours of content for just $4.99, and makes great use of Gear VR’s new controller. This will give you the long-missed traditional gaming thrills largely absent on Gear right now.
Augmented Empire
If you’re looking for a hardcore turn-based strategy RPG in VR you think you’d have to turn to systems like PC and console, right? Wrong; VR’s best SRPG is actually on Gear VR and living large. Augmented Empire from Esper developer Coatsink is probably the biggest game on Gear and completely worth your time.
Empire mixes up Xcom’s nail-biting strategic gameplay with a character roster you’ll come to care for thanks to a mission structure largely inspired by Mass Effect. The result is a surprisingly deep experience you won’t soon forget.
End Space
There are lots of space shooters on the Gear VR — we even included Anshar Wars 2 on this list already — but that game is arcade-fun with a hefty dose of multiplayer. End Space, on the other hand, feels like a much more simulation-esque approach, with a bit slower-pace, larger environments, and more structured objectives.
Fans of sci-fi games and space shooters specifically should absolutely have End Space in their library as there is more than enough content to keep you busy, with a great world and excellent single player missions. Plus, the game helped launch an entire game studio. You can read more about it on the Oculus Store.
Dark Days
Dark Days may not be as viscerally terrifying as another game appearing later on this list, but it remains one of the most psychologically troubling Gear VR games to date. Channeling the X-Files and Twin Peaks, Dark Days will task you with exploring creepy locales in order to untangle an occult mystery.
Just don’t be surprised if the occult starts to fight back.
Skylight
Skylight is the kind of game that’s difficult to describe because it combines genres in really clever ways. As a mixture of both turn-based and real-time strategy games, it defies convention and opens up the door for something really special in VR.
Being able to pop on a mobile VR headset and enter into an almost Enders Game-esque representation of space-based warfare is exciting and the tactical mindset required to win is nothing short of refreshing.
Affected: The Manor
This game will scare you. This game will make you scream. This game will cause your underwear budget to double. This game is Affected: The Manor.
Navigating the titular haunted mansion in this Gear VR title is nearly impossible to do without either closing your eyes, screaming at the top of your lungs, or dissolving into a complete psychotic breakdown. If you like being scared, or seeing your friends be scared, then Affected: The Manor is the game for you.
Wands
We’ve all picked up a pencil when no one’s looking and waved it around trying to make an object float, or turn an enemy into a frog. Wands captures that childlike dream of wizardry and translates it into a truly fun and creative Gear VR experience.
Battling with magic and developing your wizarding skills is made all the more enjoyable by the gothic art style that may make some of us feel a little better that we never got a letter from a certain castle in Scotland.
Minecraft
Question: What project could be so captivating that it demands the personal attention of one of gaming’s living legends and an Oculus senior executive? Answer: bringing Minecraft into VR.
John Carmack himself, the creator of DOOM and current CTO of Oculus, made translating the worldwide phenomenon onto VR platforms his personal pet project. He succeeded this year and Minecraft is now available to play on both the Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR. Both entries are brilliant ports of an already amazing title that offer newcomers some immersive incentive to jump onboard, while also giving veterans a completely new perspective to enjoy the game they love.
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12/27/17 Update: Tactera was retired from this list to make room for Skylight.
11/23/17 Update: Anshar Wars 2 and Drop Dead were both retried from the list, while Augmented Empire and The Well were both added.
The temperature is getting colder, the nights are getting darker, and there’s more than a few unsavoury noises coming from beyond the foggy darkness. It’s the witching hour draws near and Halloween is just a short while away.
Throughout the few couple of weeks we’ve been keeping you up to date constantly on all the latest Halloween related updates, be they related to new content as we’ve seen today with Luden.io’s pumpkin-filled update for city destruction sandbox videogame VRobot. Limited time bundle deals, as we’ve seen from HTC Vive adding Star Trek: Bridge Crew into the sales deal for a short time. New releases such as OBSCURA, The Exorcist: Legion VR and Stifled. Even augmented reality (AR) videogames are getting in on the act with Scooby-Doo Go, another dog – this time a ghostly one – in the form of Bydo’s Returnand of course the inevitable update from Niantic Labs for Pokémon GO.
For Oculus themselves they have several items in the offing; includingEcho Arena‘s 2017 Halloween Bash, with the VR multiplayer title receiving a makeover with mysterious sights, new costume options to customise your avatar and a number of spooky and peculiar holiday-themed toys for you to play around with – if they don’t decide to play with you, that is. There’s been a small focus on re-advertising some fright filled experiences as well, with the likes of ABR VR receiving a new trailer upload on Oculus’ YouTube Channel.
The best news for Oculus Rift owners though must surely though be the newly announced Halloween sale which has, for the second year in a row, now gone live on the Oculus Store. Seventeen Oculus Rift along with sixteen Samsung Gear VR videogames and experiences have been reduced in price for a limited time. The full list is below.
Update:
We’ve also been informed that additionally included in the sale, though left out of Oculus’ own list (and hence this post originally) for some reason is Paranormal Activity The Lost Soul.
Independent developer and publisher Pixel Toys today announced the launch of virtual reality (VR) zombie shooting game Drop Dead on to Oculus Rift with Touch.
Drop Dead is out now on the Oculus Store for $19.99 (USD). The title is an action shooter with 40 single-player missions in story mode as well as competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes.
The title was originally released for the Gear VR, and is receiving a significant graphical upgrade for its Oculus port to take advantage of the additional processing power.
There will be full support for the Oculus Touch in all modes, so players can quickly get to grips with the large arsenal of weaponry and tech gadgets that are available with the motion controllers. Gameplay involves racking up huge combos by hitting the bullseye on every target. There will be full support for Oculus avatars, so players can play with or against their friends in Cooperative or Competitive mode with their own customised avatar.
Gear VR users are not left out, though, as the release of the Oculus Rift version coincides with a free update for the Gear VR version that will include new content included in the Oculus Rift version, such as new story missions, boss encounters and weapons.
VRFocus will bring you further updates on Drop Dead and new Oculus Rift releases as they becomes available.
When Gear VR games are ported to the Rift, you usually end up with is more of the same; a game with nicer graphics and the added benefit of positional tracking, but more or less the same experience. However with Drop Dread (2017), Pixel Toy’s port of their critically acclaimed Gear VR on-rails arcade shooter, the addition of Oculus Touch has brought the game to whole a new level of difficulty and hands-on action.
Drop Dead Details:
Official Site
Developer: Pixel Toys Available On: Oculus Touch (Home) Reviewed On: Oculus Touch Release Date: March, 23rd 2017
I can hear you saying it: “Great, another wave shooter.” But hold on just a minute, because despite a few gripes, this one is actually fun.
Gameplay
Drop Dead plays on some pretty well-worn tropes; the evil German doctor (also somehow a Nazi when required) wants to create a master race, blah blah blah. He’s evil. You’re good. There are Zombies. The rub is you’re actually traveling through one of three discrete timelines and the apocalyptic future set before you can actually be stopped before it even happens. Each trip forward offers a new spin on the overall objective of the game: Stop the evil Doctor Monday from raising his apocalyptic army of zombies, get new weapons along the way, and blow up massive, and I mean massive amounts of zombies.
So while Drop Dead sounds a pretty basic in that respect, Drop Dead surprisingly boasts 27 single-player levels (throughout the three timelines), a broad swath of enemy units, and multiple guns to use (read: not keep or upgrade) along the way—not to mention some pretty good voice acting and a level of cheesiness to the story that’s entirely self-aware. Besides the obligatory online leader boards, single and online multiplayer survival mode also extend the game’s playability.
Graphics aren’t incredible, with the art style wandering somewhere into mobile game territory, but it is visually cohesive and overall very likeable.
the evil Doctor Monday
As for the weaponry, all of the game’s buffs and guns can be found in-level and no market exists in the game, so guns, grenades and slow-mo power-up drinks (very Call of Duty Nazi Zombies-esque) are only obtained temporarily during the level.
Shooting zombies can be repetitive at times, but that may just be a relic of the arcade wave shooter genre than Drop Dead itself. Whether that’s good or bad to you, there are some definite flaws that start to infringe on my personal expectation of “fun”.
No dual guns, i.e. you’ll drop a shotgun automatically if you go for your holstered pistol
Exposition is non-skippable, meaning you will have to sit through Doc Monday’s diatribes over and over and over until you beat the level
Zombies sometimes “stack up” and clip through each other, making it tough to get a clean shot
You can’t bat away incoming Zombies to get an extra second before getting mauled to death
I was tempted to add too things to the list; Drop Dead’s reload mechanic because of how fiddly I found it at first—sort of a count down marker that you can jump if you hit it just right, giving you a quicker reload—but after a while it eventually fades into the background as you get the hang of it. The second is the difficulty level. If you’re a pretty good shot, this may not be an issue, but the game doesn’t provide any gun sight upgrades, so there’s no assistance for those long shots besides iron sights—on Gear VR it is as simple as gazing and taping a button, but Touch controllers require more tactility, which can be good or bad depending on your skill level. No variable difficulty level is available, so it’s either shoot the best or die like the rest.
Immersion & Comfort
Between having to hit the reload marker on time and prioritize running, trudging and flying targets, you really start to get into a certain flow with Drop Dead. Like all arcade shooters though, which by definition rely on scripted baddies popping up, it can lead to a certain predictability, making it less scary and more like a real-time puzzle, except the puzzle pieces are 8 screaming zombies coming at you while you only have enough time to fire off exactly 8 bullets.
Cowering from the hordes when you miss, which come at you in a little over 180 degrees (make sure to look to your extreme left and right!), is all but useless, so hitting the reload marker, executing headshots, grabbing guns and slow-mo drinks in concert really makes this game a fast-paced romp that immerses by sheer chaos alone.
This, however, is where the overall comfort of the game breaks immersion. Because this is an on-rails shooter, you’re necessarily swept from position to position across the map, and the game accomplishes this in two ways; ‘normal mode’, which automatically transitions your POV to each shooting position, or ‘comfort mode’, a removal of the sweeping camera in favor of automatic teleportation. Neither are really great in terms of immersion, one less so, one more so.
If you haven’t guessed where I was going with that, I’ll just come out and say it. Normal mode is downright sickening. Oftentimes I found myself being moved laterally, forward and being stopped without warning—a recipe for nausea if I’ve ever seen one. If you happen to have an iron stomach and a penchant for non-controllable locomotion, this may not bother you as much as it did me, but I could only play a two 10-minute levels before I gasped for the relief of comfort mode.
While the automatic teleportation of comfort mode also infringes on immersion by not giving you control over your own movement, it is much less jarring even though it left me feeling uneasy about when and where I would be whisked off to next.
That said, Drop Dead was surprisingly fun despite these flaws, and is an easy game to pick up for short excursions into zombie carnage. Take a look at our ’10 minutes of Gameplay’ for Drop Dead to get an eyeball-full of the intense action of this on-rails wave shooter.
We partnered with AVA Direct to create the Exemplar Ultimate, our high-end VR hardware reference point against which we perform our tests and reviews. Exemplar is designed to push virtual reality experiences above and beyond what’s possible with systems built to lesser recommended VR specifications.
The best news for Oculus Rift owners though must surely though be the newly announced Halloween sale which has, 
