British developer Coatsink Software – the creators of the critically acclaimed mobile virtual reality (VR) titles Augmented Empire and A Night Sky – have now released their latest title Esper onto Steam. This puzzles title seems players need to prove they can controller their newly found psychic abilities by completing a number of challenges all within one room.
Set in an alternate version of London in the middle of the seventies, players will become one of a few who have found new psychic abilities. Now able to lift and manipulate objects with just a thought, the government is conducting a series of tests to see if an individual is not a threat to the fragile fabric of society. Having already released on Samsung Gear VR last year, the title made its way to PlayStation VR and Oculus Go late last month on June 29th, 2018. Now the title has been released on Steam with support for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.
“Esper is where the VR journey began for Coatsink and it holds a dear place in our hearts.” Explains the CEO of Coatsink Tom Beardsmore. “Having Oculus approach us in the early days of modern day VR and trust our then small team to build and create an acclaimed VR game for Gear VR was nothing short of incredible. Today, Esper is already available on three platforms and we can’t wait to take that to seven with the addition of PSVR, Go, Vive, and Mi headsets, giving VR players more choice and chances to enjoy Esper.”
With a number of challenging chapters to play through, each hosting a variety of puzzles to complete, Esper has a lot of content to be explored. The physics-based puzzles and motion controlled telekinetic powers offer a unique gameplay opportunities that players are sure to enjoy. Should the title be to your liking then the sequel Esper 2 is available now as well as part of Esper The Collection.
VRFocus’ Editor Kevin Joyce reviewed Esper when it released on Samsung Gear VR last year saying: “A wonderful example of not only what makes a good first taste of VR for modern audiences, but also how to best use the input options available on the Gear VR hardware, Esper is one of the most welcoming titles including in the launch line-up for the consumer edition. Let down only by its relatively short duration, Esper remains an attractive proposition with its accessible gameplay and low price tag. UK studio Coatsink are investing significantly in VR, and with this first instance they have already set themselves a high barrier to surpass with subsequent releases.”
Esper is available now on Steam for £6.19 (GBP) with a 10% launch discount through to July 13th, 2018. For more on the title in the future, keep reading VRFocus.
It’s an unusually quiet week across the three PC VR platforms. In fact we can only really find stuff to talk about on Vive this week. Sorry, Rift fans!
Esper, from Coatsink
Price: $7.99 (Vive)
One of the very first full VR games finally makes its way out of the Oculus ecosystem. In Esper you have telekinetic abilities that will be tested through a series of puzzles that will have you moving objects through pipes and more. It’s hardly essential but it’s a good bit of fun.
A pretty neat VR exploration app that virtually recreates an ancient Egyptian tomb with digital scanning. You’re free to roam around the remains and find highlighted paintings. Best of all? It’s completely free to download.
Not a big week in PSVR land, but there are two smaller titles that are worth checking out. That’s especially true if you’re a puzzle fan.
Esper, from Coatsink
Price: $7.99
One of the very first full VR games finally makes its way out of the Oculus ecosystem. In Esper you have telekinetic abilities that will be tested through a series of puzzles that will have you moving objects through pipes and more. It’s hardly essential but it’s a good bit of fun.
Salary Man Escape, from RAS
Price: $19.99
This looks like a pretty intriguing VR puzzle game. You help disgruntled salarymen escape their boring lives by manipulating blocks that open up passages. We can’t say that this is the sort of thing that definitely benefits from being in VR, but it is at least unlike anything else we’ve seen on the platform.
Das Rätselspiel Esper von Entwicklerstudio Coatsink (bekannt für Augmented Empire und A Night Sky) gilt als eines der ersten VR-Spiele für VR-Brillen der neuen Generation. Vor drei Jahren wurde der Mobile-Titel erstmals für Gear VR veröffentlicht, nun erscheint Esper am 29. Juli für PlayStation VR (PSVR)und Oculus Go. Zudem soll am 6. Juli der Release für HTC Viveauf Steam stattfinden.
Esper erscheint am 29. Juli für PlayStation VR (PSVR) und Oculus Go sowie am 6. Juli für HTC Vive auf Steam
Der VR-Rätsel-Titel Esper versetzt euch in die Rolle einer einzigartigen Person, die von der Regierung mit telekinetischen Superkräften ausgestattet wurde. Das komplette Setting des Spiels ist innerhalb eines einzelnen Raums angelegt, in welchem ihr einer Reihe von Versuchen unterzogen werdet, um festzustellen, ob ihr eure übernatürlichen Fähigkeiten beherrscht. Entsprechend müsst ihr verschiedene Objekte und Gegenstände mit der Kraft eurer Gedanken verschieben, um die euch gestellten Rätsel zu lösen. Andernfalls werdet ihr als Bedrohung für die Gesellschaft angesehen, was ein fatales Ende für euch nehmen könnte.
Tom Beardsmore, CEO von Coatsink, kündigte den Release mit nostalgischen Gefühlen an:
“Unsere VR-Reise bei Coatsink begann mit Esper und entsprechend wird es immer einen besonderen Platz in unserem Herzen haben. Als Oculus damals in den frühen Zeiten der Virtual Reality auf uns zu kam, um unser kleines Team die Aufgabe anzuvertrauen, ein eigenes VR-Spiel für die Gear VR zu entwickeln, war das einfach unglaublich für uns.”
Esper erschien bereits für Gear VR und Oculus Rift in der Collection-Edition mit dem Nachfolger Esper 2 sowie für Windows-VR-Brillen. Ab dem 29. Juli soll das Rätselspiel für PlayStation VR (PSVR) sowie Oculus Go erhältlich sein. Am 6. Juli soll der VR-Titel zudem für HTC Vive auf Steam veröffentlicht werden.
One of the very first full VR games is finally making its way to a bunch of platforms this week.
Coatsink’s Esper will be launching on Sony’s PlayStation VR (PSVR) and the new Oculus Go on Friday. An HTC Vive launch is coming next week, too and it will also arrive on Go’s Chinese equivalent, the Xiaomi Mi, at a later date.
This is one of the oldest full VR games out there, originally launching on the first version of Oculus and Samsung’s Gear VR over three years ago now. It’s since come to the Oculus Rift and Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality headsets, but this marks Coatsink’s first VR release on consoles. It will cost $7.99.
Esper is a puzzle game in which the player has telepathic puzzles. They use their abilities to complete a series of challenges as part of an experimental testing program. Think dragging objects through glass mazes, weight-based placement puzzles, that sort of thing. It’s a little simple by today’s VR standards but still worth the price of admission.
The game spawned a sequel, Esper 2, and we’ve reached out to Coatsink to find out if that’s on its way to other platforms too.
Coatsink, the studio behind VR titles A Night Sky (2017) and Augmented Empire (2017), announced they’re bringing their first mobile VR title, Esper (2015), to PlayStation VR, Oculus Go and Xiaomi Mi on June 29th. Esper is also slated to launch on HTC Vive via Steam on July 6th.
As one of the first great titles on Samsung Gear VR, Esper puts you in the shoes of a not-so-ordinary citizen undergoing an aptitude test to determine if you can control your rare and potentially threatening extra-sensory telekinetic abilities—moving things with your mind. Using your gaze to control objects including balls and blocks, you’re urged to solve a number of puzzles, all the while chided by an E.S.P.R. training program instructor.
“Esper is where the VR journey began for Coatsink and it holds a dear place in our hearts. Having Oculus approach us in the early days of modern day VR and trust our then small team to build and create an acclaimed VR game for Gear VR was nothing short of incredible,” said Coatsink CEO Tom Beardsmore.
Esper will launch on Oculus Go, PSVR and HTC Vive for $8.
Sometimes a virutal reality (VR) videogame comes out on multiple platforms simultaneously, covering all bases from the get go. Other times they come out sporadically, maybe over the course of six months. Sometimes that’s effected by an exclusivity period, whilst other times it seems like people are waiting forever for a hint it will come to other headsets. (See: Evil, Resident.) Then again, rarely. Ever so rarely. An announcement comes along about an older title that gives it a whole new lease of life.
Such is the case today, as British developer Coatsink Software – creators of critically acclaimed mobile VR titles such as Augmented Empire and A Night Sky – have revealed in a surprise announcement that their first mobile VR title, Esper, will be making the jump to Steam, Standalone and console. Roughly two and a half years after it made its debut on the Samsung Gear VR.
Esper takes place in an alternate version of London in the middle of the seventies. Through mysterious circumstances there has been an outbreak of people with extra-sensory powers. Able to lift and manipulate objects just with the power of their minds. The government is conducting a series of tests on these individuals, having them solve various puzzles to prove they are not a danger to the world outside. Tests that the individuals themselves have absolutely every right to refuse.
Honest.
Esper will now be coming to the PlayStation VR, the Oculus Go and it’s Chinese-made twin – the Xiaomi Mi, on June 29th, 2018. With a follow-up release on Steam for the HTC Vive on July 6th, 2018. The title is already available on Windows Mixed Reality and Oculus Rift, with its sequel Esper 2, as part of Esper The Collection.
“Esper is where the VR journey began for Coatsink and it holds a dear place in our hearts.” Explains the CEO of Coatsink Tom Beardsmore. “Having Oculus approach us in the early days of modern day VR and trust our then small team to build and create an acclaimed VR game for Gear VR was nothing short of incredible. Today, Esper is already available on three platforms and we can’t wait to take that to seven with the addition of PSVR, Go, Vive, and Mi headsets, giving VR players more choice and chances to enjoy Esper.”
Esper is expected to retail at $7.99 (USD) on launch. You can see a trailer for the PlayStation VR announcement below. VRFocus will bring you more news on the latest VR videogames very soon. Be sure to check back throughout the week.
Wer auf unterhaltsame Rätselspiele steht, der sollte unbedingt einen Blick auf Esper: The Collection werfen. Die Entwickler haben dem Spiel nun ein Update spendiert, mit dem die Touch Controller der Oculus Rift komplett zur Steuerung verwendet werden können. Das Tolle an der Sache: Der Touch-Support fühlt sich nicht wie ein Marketing-Feature an, sondern macht das Spiel sogar noch besser.
Esper: A Touch of Power
Mit dem neusten Update müsst ihr in Esper nicht mehr das Gamepad und euren Blick zur Bewegung von Objekten mittels Telekinese verwenden, sondern bringt eure magischen Hände ins Spiel. Eure Hände sind jedoch nicht dazu da, Objekte direkt zu greifen, sondern sie im Raum schweben zu lassen. Dieser Hinweis könnte die Vorfreude bei manchen Spielern mindern, doch für die Immersion ist die Lösung hervorragend (ganz davon abgesehen, dass das Spielkonzept eine andere Methode auch nicht erlaubt), da ihr kein Gewicht in euren Händen vermisst, wenn ihr Objekte bewegt.
Esper: The Collection ist im Oculus Store derzeit für 9,99 Euro erhältlich. Sie enthält die bisher erschienenen Titel Esper 1 und Esper 2. Beide Teile bestechen durch Humor, Charme und das richtige Händchen für fordernde, logische und gleichzeitig faire Rätsel, die auch stets das Geschick des Spiels auf die Probe stellen. Mit den Touch Controllern ist die Bewältigung allerdings etwas einfacher als mit der Blick-Steuerung. Unseren Test zum Spiel findet ihr hier, wobei die Touch Controller noch nicht berücksichtigt sind.
It’s been a few years since British developer Coatsink first launched Esper and Esper 2 for Samsung Gear VR. Well received at the time, in 2016 the studio then created Esper: The Collection for Oculus Rift combining both into one neat little package. Coatsink hasn’t forgotten the titles as today they’ve both been brought up to date with an Oculus Touch update.
If Esper: The Collection has passed you by, it’s a single-player experience where you take the role of a test subject who has telekinetic powers. The first title is all about testing these abilities out through a series of lab experiments. While the second greatly expands the story and locations with you now playing a secret agent for an organisation called ESPR, sent on assignment to stop a nasty villain.
Over the years Coatsink has gone from touchpad support on Gear VR, then gamepad support for both Gear VR and Oculus Rift and now finally added motion controller support. Being an experience about telekinetic powers it seems only right that players can now use their hands in a more natural fashion to complete all the various puzzles. For some, playing Esper: The Collection with Oculus Touch might be more nostalgic, while those new to the title may now find it a bit too simple – it was from a time when VR was finding its feet.
Esper 2 was one of the earliest VR titles to feature decent voice acting, with the vocal talents of some well known actors, including Nick Frost (Paul, Shaun of the Dead), Lara Pulver (Sherlock, Spooks) and Sean Pertwee (Dog Soldiers, Gotham), alongside Eric Meyers from the original title.
While the update will be free for those that already own Esper: The Collection, for those that don’t Oculus Store is currently running a discount, pricing the bundle at £7.99 GBP rather than £10.99.
Since the Esper series Coatsink has gone on to create relaxing experience A Night Sky and VRFocus’ five-star rated Augmented Empire, both for Gear VR. As the studio continues to expand its VR portfolio, VRFocus will keep you updated.
Thanks to ReVive, a hack that lets SteamVR-compatible headsets play Oculus Rift exclusives, anyone with an HTC Vive can enjoy a number of unofficially supported games from the Oculus Store. Here we take a look at 5 of the games you shouldn’t miss—of course with the appended “buyer beware” warning that the Revive hack caries with it.
For non-Rift owners, losing access to a game you bought on the Oculus Store isn’t likely at this point, but it’s not something you should ignore either. Back when Oculus modified their DRM in a way that prevented Revive from functioning, thus blocking Vive users from playing Oculus games in their library, community outcry over the decision eventually led Oculus to reverse that particular stance on DRM, saying that in the future they wouldn’t use headset verification as part of the platform’s security protections. Despite the risk, we still think these Oculus exclusive games are worth playing.
People used to think that fast-paced, high-action games would be too disorienting for new virtual reality users, but in Epic Games’ Robo Recall (2017), you can teleport around at full speed as you blast away at the game’s evil (and hilarious) robot army. If being able to tear your enemies literally limb from limb and beat a robot over the head with their own dismembered arm isn’t astounding enough, the level of detail and polish put into this game will make you reassess what’s possible in VR. This is another Touch freebie you’ll have to pay for as a Vive user, but at $30, you’d be hard-pressed to find something with this level of polish at this price on Steam.
Find out why we gave Robo Recall [8.5/10] in our review.
You can probably burn through this charming, family-friendly 3D platformer in a weekend—providing you’ve got a gamepad on hand—but at exactly zero dollars, Playful’s Lucky’s Tale (2016) is an easy sell. As one of the first third-person games for Rift, Lucky’s Tale helped define the Xbone Gamepad-era of VR gaming that Oculus is leaving behind now that the controller is no longer being bundled. Whether you’re racing with Lucky through lush trees, dodging swamp pits, battling menacing bosses, or mastering mini-games, youʼll feel like you’ve truly gone inside the world of a video game thanks to the magic of VR.
With a fantasy-meets-WW2 setting, this collectible card game takes place on a 4×4 grid battlefield featuring rampaging giants, intimidating war-machines, and soaring projectiles. As a freemium game from High Voltage, there’s still plenty of opportunity to play an exciting single-player campaign if collecting (and buying) card packs in multiplayer isn’t really your thing.
There’s plenty of gun slinging fun in this Western-inspired multiplayer shooter. Darned tootin’ if you can rob a runaway train, defend from zombie hordes, or battle it out in an old saloon—of course with your trusty six-shooters by your side (and a stick of dynamite for good measure). While this is free to Touch owners upon activation, if you’re looking for a well-rounded little shooter with a cowboy flair, the $40 sticker price may fit the bill.
Esper: The Collection gives you access to Esper (2016) and Esper 2(2017)—two finely-crafted and ultimately intriguing puzzlers that give you psychic abilities to solve increasingly challenging tests. As an agent of ESPR, an organization set up to deal with the outbreak of telekinetic powers, you travel to exotic locations (not just your desk); solve puzzles, discover secrets, stop villainous plots, and fall unconscious multiple times. Interact with an array of characters, voiced by notable actors, Nick Frost, Lara Pulver, and Sean Pertwee, and Eric Meyers. Since you’re using your telekenetic powers, this isn’t a game that’ll use Vive controllers to their fullest, but it’s still a great options if you’re looking for a more passive, seated experience.
Two of the most well-received Oculus-funded games—both the campaign mode Lone Echo (2017) selling for $40 and the free multiplayer mode Echo Arena (2017)—are easy for Vive users to play thanks to the games’ native 360-degree setup. If you’re skeptical of the zero-g locomotion scheme, we suggest grabbing Echo Arena first,which doesn’t require Touch activation to nab for free. Either way, you’ll be amazed at how comfortable and immersive flying through space can really be in the first-person (i.e. not Adr1ft).
Find out why we gave Lone Echo [9/10] in our review.
Wilson’s Heart is a gritty first-person thriller from Twisted Pixel that jaunts through gads of sci-fi tropes ripped directly from the silver screen. As one of the most beautiful and visually cohesive VR games out for Touch, the game takes you through a black-and-white universe as experienced by Wilson, a hospital patient recovering from a curious surgery that has replaced his live-beating heart with a strange machine. Ripping it from your chest, you find it gives you a growing number of abilities to help you not only fight against your personal demons, but also some very real ones that have passed into the world thanks to experiments done by the brilliant, but clearly insane Dr. Harcourt
While falling into some overly campy territory, garnering it Wilson’s Heart a [7/10] in our review, the game is definitelty worth a play-through if you can find it for cheaper than its $40 sticker price.
Don’t say we didn’t tell you *not* to button-mash your gamepad before stepping into Chronos (2016), a third-person adventure by Gunfire Games. Slashing at enemies with the long-trained penchant for beat-em-ups will get you exactly nowhere in this Zelda-inspired, Dark Souls-ish-level of difficulty game where dying in the game physically ages your character. Starting out with either an axe or a sword, you leap through a multi-dimensional transport crystal to hunt down a dragon that has ruined your world. As an interesting mix of high-fantasy and a retro post-apocalyptic world, Chronos gives you plenty to gawk at, and even more to worry about as you hack and slash your way through dimensions.
Sitting at 4.5/5 stars on the Oculus Store, it’s a score we can easily get behind.
Edge of Nowhere (2016) is a third-person VR survival horror game created by Insomniac Games that strands you in the icy wasteland of Antarctica, leaving you with only a pick-axe, a shotgun, and some rocks to defend yourself against a bloodthirsty ancient species that lurk inside the snowy caverns. The lack of supplies makes for tense gameplay and forces the players to be creative and conserve resources, creating tense moments when you’re forced to decide whether you should use that last shotgun shell and blow the head off the horrible beast lurking nearby or just try the more risky route and sneak past. As a gamepad game
Find out why we gave Edge of Nowhere one of our highest ratings at [9.5/10] in our review.
Such is the case today, as British developer Coatsink Software – creators of critically acclaimed mobile VR titles such as 
