Last week, just prior to the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2017 opening its doors – and between all those big press conferences – developer Ready at Dawn revealed during Intel’s conference that it’s upcoming space-based experience Lone Echo will also have an accompanying title, a multiplayer arena videogame called Echo Arena. While Echo Arena is scheduled for release next month, Oculus Rift owners will be able to get a taste of what’s to come with a free beta weekend which begins now.
Echo Arena pits two teams of five players against one another in low gravity arenas. They have to capture a disc and get it to the opposing side to score a goal with it. To make things somewhat trickier, the arenas are filled with an array of obstacles that not only deflect the ball in random directions but will also impede players movement as well.
The multiplayer is completely free to play over the course of this weekend, with the beta finishing on 25th June 8pm PT/ 26th June 4am BST.
If you do miss out then don’t worry, Ready at Dawn has confirmed that Echo Arena will be a free release for Oculus Rift users when it launches on 20th July 2017 for a limited time. And available now until release, Lone Echo can be pre-ordered for $34.99 USD/ £24.99 GBP saving 10 percent on the usual price of $39.99/£29.99.
For any further updates from Ready at Dawn, keep reading VRFocus.
Update: You asked for it (probably) and you’re getting it; a second public beta for Ready At Dawn’s Echo Arena is now underway. This final testing phase runs until July 10th, so it’s a good chance to brush up on your anti-gravity VR skills before the full thing arrives (still free of charge) on July 20th.
Original Story: Oculus had just one announcement at E3 last week and that was that its anticipated Studios title, Lone Echo, would be releasing next month. A multiplayer spin-off titled Echo Arena is also hitting at the same time, but you’ll be able to get a first taste this weekend.
Developer Ready At Dawn Studios is hosting an open beta for the game from June 23rd at 10:00am PT through to June 25th at 8:00pm PT. The beta is already available to download, though, and you can boot it up to try out the tutorial. It introduces you to the game’s unique locomotion system in which you use your arms to propel yourself through zero gravity environments. It’s one of our favorite movement systems in a VR experience to date, so it’s well worth downloading just to experience it.
In multiplayer, teams of players jump into an arena to throw a disc into a goal zone. It’s like a strange sci-fi take on soccer, except you’re allowed to punch each other. We last went hands-on with it at E3 last week.
The beta will feature a progression system, character customization, a social lobby and top 10 leaderboards. Parties won’t be supported until the full game launches, however.
Lone Echo itself is a single-player experience that shares similar mechanics to Echo Arena. Both games will be releasing on July 20th. Echo Arena will be free thanks to a sponsorship from Intel, while Lone Echo will be $39.99. You can grab it at a discounted pre-order price of $34.99.
It all started from a game jam. At least that’s the story behind Echo Arena. Ready at Dawn has been busy with Lone Echo but quickly realized that there’s more to their single player than meets the eye, and it’s all based on social virtual reality (VR).
Echo Arena is a multiplayer VR esport that most recently received the support of Intel, and will be playing at the Worldwide VR Challenger League. The finals are based in Poland, and with it, they hope to bring VR to eSports. Ru Weerasuriya tells VRFocus what he thinks the future of VR and eSports holds, whilst giving some additional trips to potential Echo arena competitors. Let the games begin.
Originally revealed at Oculus VR’s own Oculus Connect 3, San Jose, in October last year, Ready at Dawn’s second virtual reality (VR) title, Lone Echo, has already built a significant amount of anticipation. The studio has been keen to showcase the title at events across the globe, at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Los Angeles, will be no different.
Ahead of the opening of the show floor, VRFocus has been hands-on with Lone Echo’s multiplayer gameplay mode, now separated into a unique title, Echo Arena, which will be free for all Oculus Rift owners to download when it launches next month, courtesy of Intel. That in itself was somewhat of a surprise, but the ways in which the experience has changed since its initial unveiling even more so.
Echo Arena allows for up to 10 players to enter a match, divided into two teams of five. In VRFocus’ experience six players, comprising of two teams of three, took to the arena in a points-based challenge. Similar to CCP Games’ forthcoming Sparc, Echo Arena plays in first-person as each team attempts to push a flying disc into the score zone. The difference however, is that this score zone is a goal, and all players are free to move around it – and the whole map – however they wish.
Lone Echo’s unique momentum system is implemented in full in Echo Arena and, despite its floaty acceleration mechanic, is actually reasonably easy to adjust to. Using your propulsion system you can maneuver your body in a similar fashion to a jet ski on the waters of Wave Race 64 or your space ship in the Gear VR’s Anshar Wars. A significant difference between that first single-player hands-on VRFocus experienced and this multiplayer gameplay is, of course, the addition of other people.
Maintaining control of your own body is actually less fun when there’s the pressure of rival players coming towards you. It may just be another level of adjustment, but the fact that you can directly attack another player – stunning them momentarily with a blow to the head – is currently more irritating than a Mario Kart blue shell on the home straight of a final lap.
Conversely however, managing to navigate the playing field and deliver the disc into the goal is incredibly satisfying. As with any team-based sport the key is ensuring that all bases are covered: opposing players are marked; you have a forward in open space; your goal is defended against counterattacks. Finding an opening and passing the disc across the arena, only to see your teammate drive it into the goal is as rewarding as leading the strike yourself.
Echo Arena has significant ambition. As with the aforementioned Sparc, bringing VR into eSports this early in the life of the new medium is going to be no easy task. However, of all the many videogame titles that have assured they’ll be the one to break the mould, it’s Ready at Dawn and CCP Games that are most likely to attract that highly competitive audience. With a beta test launching later this month, it won’t be long until Oculus Rift owners get the chance to experience Echo Arena for themselves.
Following the announcements today that Lone Echo’s multiplayer mode will launch free for all Oculus Rift owners, developer Ready at Dawn has confirmed that the multiplayer mode has actually spun out into its own game, separate from Lone Echo.
Though initially conceived as a multiplayer mode for Lone Echo, developer Ready at Dawn has apparently seen fit to spin out the ‘Arena’ mode into its own VR title, now called Echo Arena. A new trailer (heading this article) shows Echo Arena in action:
In Echo Arena—the fast-paced competitive multiplayer mode for Lone Echo—you’ll join a team of up to four other players and face off against the competition in a zero-gravity clash of robotic glory as you glide, boost, and punch your way to scoring goals in a breathtaking virtual arena. As a team sport, Echo Arena rewards players that work well together; with the incredible social expression offered by Touch, you’ll be able signal for a pass with a shout and a wave just as you naturally would, while throwing and catching the disc becomes a valuable skill to master. Even better though, Echo Arena is also full-contact sport: make a fist and use a swift punch to an opponent’s head to stun them, or grab onto another player’s back and catch a ride down-field. And of course, after you score a goal you can flaunt it with your own victory dance.
Lone Echo will launch as a separate title containing the full single player experience.
Both Lone Echo and Echo Arena will launch on July 20th. Lone Echo can be pre-ordered today on the Oculus store for a 10% discount off the $40 price tag. Echo Area will launch for free for Oculus Rift owners for a limited time.
While the first couple of E3 2017 press conferences were a bit of a disappointment for virtual reality (VR) news, the last couple have greatly improved matters. Today has seen Intel hold its event alongside the PCGamer Show, with reveals including the release date of Lone Echo on Oculus Rift as well as Echo Arena arriving alongside it for free. Additionally, Echo Arena will feature in a new eSports event being run by Intel, ESL and Oculus called VR Challenger League.
Both Echo Arena from Ready at Dawn and magical combat experience The Unspoken by Insomniac will be featured during the challenge, which will encompass both European and North American communities with regular online and offline competition. After playing online players will qualify for offline regional events, which will then seed them into the world championships at IEM Katowice in 2018.
Insomniac’s The Unspoken is a dueling spellcasting experience where players face up against opposing mages in 1v1 battles. Players can cast powerful spells and utilize the destructible environment to gain an advantage over their opponents. While on the flip side is Echo Arena which is a team-based, 5vs5 multiplayer where players have to score points by scoring goals. But the arenas all feature low gravity as well as obstacles to stop the ball and cause issues for the players themselves.
The VR Challenger League will begin in July 2017, namely due to Lone Echo and Echo Arena both launching on 20th July. The former is available for pre-order for $39.99 USD, while the latter will be free.
In terms of other VR news, Bethesda made a couple of little announcements yesterday, revealing DOOM VFRand Fallout 4 VR, the former for HTC Vive and PlayStation VR and the latter just for HTC Vive.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of E3 2017, reporting back with the latest announcements.
We’re on the third day of E3, and the game announcements keep coming. Today Intel have presented us with a bunch of new details about Ready at Dawn’s Echo Arena, which is launching next month.
But if you just can’t wait for July to try the new virtual reality (VR) game Echo Arena – sister title to Lone Echo – you can play the Early Access Beta Weekend for free from 10:00 am PT on June 23rd.
Ready at Dawn’s Echo Arena is an alternative to their new game Lone Echo. Players are split into teams of five and then compete in low gravity arenas where they must capture a ball and score goals. The arenas are filled with obstacles, making that much more difficult than it may sound.
Echo Arena launches for free on Oculus Rift on July 20th, but if you just can’t wait, be sure to sign up to the early access beta as soon as it’s available.
Stay with VRFocus for all of the E3 2017 and VR news you need.
It’s the third day of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2017 press conferences prior to the main show opening its doors tomorrow, and Intel has kicked things off with a big virtual reality (VR) announcement from Ready at Dawn. The developer has revealed that it’s upcoming title Lone Echo will also have a sister title, a multiplayer arena videogame called Echo Arena which will be free.
Ready at Dawn developed Echo Arena alongside Lone Echo, as an alternative to the space adventure. In it players are split into teams of five, they are then put into low gravity arenas where they have to capture a disc and score a goal with it. To make things somewhat trickier. The arenas are filled obstacles that not only deflect the ball but also stop players as well.
The studio has confirmed that Echo Arena will be a free release for Oculus Rift users when it launches on 20th July 2017. And for those interested in Lone Echo, that can be pre-ordered now for $39.99 USD.
VRFocus will be at E3 2017 all week, reporting back with the latest VR news from the event.
Update: Echo Arena will be free at launch for a limited time, while Lone Echo pre-orders will save players 10% off the purchase price of $39.99, dropping it to $34.99.
While Oculus had a robust day-one launch lineup of more than 50 titles back when Touch initially dropped in December of last year, owning an Oculus Rift + Touch grants you more titles than ever with unfettered access to at least seventeen pieces of spectacular free content.
There are gads of free games and experiences available on the Oculus Store to keep you busy for a while before you start dropping real cash, but before you get to downloading, take a look at some of the best free content Oculus has bootstrapped to Rift + Touch.
First Contact (free for all Touch owners)
First Contact is Oculus’ introduction for new Touch owners, similar in scope to Oculus Dreamdeck for the Rift itself. It’s a short demo-like experience that immediately follows the controller configuration and tutorial. In it, you’ll find yourself in a retro-future setting in the presence a friendly robot. It’s no Toybox, but the beautifully rendered and detailed experience will have you playing with plenty of toys as you learn how the controllers let you naturally interact with the virtual environment.
Dead and Buried (free for all Touch owners)
Dead and Buried is a multiplayer-focused Touch shooter featuring versus and co-op gameplay for up to four players all wielding badass weaponry in the game’s supernatural-western style. The title was developed in-house by Oculus.
Another first-party app from Oculus, Medium lets you sculpt 3D content in real time, as if you were shaping virtual clay. The program is more of a tool than a game, but gives users a way to create truly unique works of art inside of VR.
Another first-party creation-focused app from Oculus, Quill is more about illustration and storytelling than Medium which is more focused on 3D modeling. Quill was created by Oculus Story Studio, the company’s VR film division, as the visual foundation behind the forthcoming Dear Angelica. Quill looks similar to the Vive-exclusive Tilt Brush, though Oculus says the app is about illustrative storytelling, so we hope to find tools included which make it easy to form a narrative out of the VR sketches.
Epic Games is turning their much-praised Touch demo, Bullet Train, into a full title, Robo Recall, that will be released for free to Touch owners in Q1 2017. It it you’ll be looking to “recall” “damaged” robots run amok, using an array of satisfying weaponry and fun mechanics like being able to rip robots limb from limb and throw their own bullets back at them.
The Unspoken, by Insomniac Games, is a unique magical dueling game that pits Touch users against each other in 1 on 1 combat. With several magical classes to chose from, you’ll use buttons and gestures to cast spells to thwart your opponent.
Toybox is a multiplayer sandbox with lots of interactive virtual toys to play with. It was a tech demo that Oculus showed off more than a year ago during their debut of Touch. The demo saw lots of good feedback and although Oculus hadn’t given us any hints on what had become of it, the company just recently confirmed it would come free with Touch.
Lucky’s Tale (free for all Rift owners)
Playful’s Lucky’s Taleis a lovable 3D platformer that follows Lucky, a cartoon fox on his adventures to find his lost pig who was stolen from him by an evil tentacled monster. Run, jump, climb, and tail-swipe all of the world’s enemies (even if they’re so darned cute).
Farlands (free for all Rift owners)
Farlands, a production directly from Oculus Studios, is basically Pokémon Snap for the VR age. Letting you collect biometric data on a swath of weird and wild aliens, there’s a lot to love about this family-friendly freebee.
Henry (free for all Rift owners)
Speaking of family-friendly, Oculus Story Studios (now shuttered) created one of the most lovable little hedgehogs in their Pixar-esque short Henry. Don’t underestimate this magical little romp that follows the hard-to-hug Henry on his quest for friendship, because Henry was lauded with the first ever Emmy awarded to a virtual reality film.
Lost (free for all Rift owners)
image courtesy Oculus
Another cinematic VR film from the now defunct Oculus Story Studios, Lost places you in a dark, mysterious forest where something lurks. We won’t spoil it any more than Oculus has by putting a picture of the giant robot on the download page, but the immensity of the creature alongside the loneliness of the forest is certainly something to experience first-hand.
Dear Angelica (free for Rift owners)
The third and final VR film from Oculus Story Studio, Dear Angelica, is a journey through the magical and dreamlike ways we remember our loved ones. Entirely painted by hand inside of VR, Dear Angelica plays out in a series of memories that unfold around you. An immersive, illustrative short story starring Geena Davis and Mae Whitman.
Facebook Spaces (free for Rift owners)
Facebook Spacesis a new take on social VR, and functions more like a Facebook VR-chat than an open digital free-for-all. Launched back in April, Spaces has everything you’d expect; an avatar customization tool, virtual selfies uploaded directly to your Facebook timeline. You can even make video calls from within VR to the outside world.
Dragon Front (free for all Rift owners)
Dragon Frontby High Voltage is an immersive collectible card-battler that mixes high fantasy with World War II on a 4×4 grid battlefield. Alive with rampaging giants, intimidating war-machines, and soaring projectiles, you can play in single-player story mode, and multiplayer with head-tracking and VOIP that brings players from all over the world head-to-head on the battlefield. Like most collectible card games, there are in-app purchases to watch out for, but the base card decks provide plenty of fun at the very manageable price of zero dollars.
Oculus Video (free for all Rift owners)
image courtesy Oculus
Watching videos in your own private cinema is a movie-lover’s dream. No coughing, popcorn-munching, talking, plastic-crinkling allowed in Oculus Video, which lets you watch Facebook 360 videos, Twitch, Vimeo, and your own movie files. You can choose from multiple VR theater environments including in a home theater, on a phone in the forest, and even the surface of the moon.
Oculus 360 Photos (free for all Rift owners)
image courtesy Oculus
The official 360 Photos app from Oculus will take you on a tour of amazing sights from around the world. View VR panoramas of breathtaking landscapes, ancient landmarks, dazzling cityscapes, underwater vistas, and much more.
Ripcoil (free with any Store purchase)
In Sanzaru Game’s Ripcoil, you enter a futuristic gladiatorial arena packed with rabid fans as you face off against networked opponents in a disc throwing duel. A wholly unique navigation system will allow you to deftly position your hover board as you reach out with your Touch controllers to launch, catch and punch the speeding, spinning Ripcoil disc.
Echo Arena (coming soon, free for all Touch owners)
Echo Arena, launching on July 20th, feels like a hybrid between Ultimate Frisbee and Rocket League. In the game’s zero-G environment, you boost around using your hand-mounted jets, push off of the arena’s structure and punch in heads as you grapple for the game’s singular disc. Toss it into the goal and you’ve scored a point. It’s a simple formula with high-speed but super comfortable controls—surely one of the first great VR sports games.
Ahead of the opening of the show floor, 
Maintaining control of your own body is actually less fun when there’s the pressure of rival players coming towards you. It may just be another level of adjustment, but the fact that you can directly attack another player – stunning them momentarily with a blow to the head – is currently more irritating than a Mario Kart blue shell on the home straight of a final lap.
