Free Lives – Page 2 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

August 24, 2018

The Crab Champion Comes To GORN In New Update

Ludicrously violent virtual reality (VR) gladiator simulator title GORN has announced a new update that brings a whole new level of crustacean released combat to the arena. Alongside the new crab related features in the update a rather unique trailer that includes a ‘Diss Track’ has been released and the title is coming to the Oculus store.

GORN Crab Update

The new crab update brings a new champion to the arena in the foam of The Crustacean Crusader known as ‘The Shellbeast’ which is more commonly known as the one and only, crab. Alongside the inclusion of a new champion, players will be able to use the new crab claw caestus to defeat their enemies in the style of the mighty crab. Reach out and grab enemies with crushing power unseen in the title to date and then bring a swift end to them as you close your grip.

Like other champions in the arena, the Crab will put up a tough fight but can easily be defeated if you aim your attacks and remove each of its limbs in order to claim victory. With its bone crushing power and thick armor, this new champion will put up a real challenge but should you overcome it the glory will be massive.

GORN Crab Update

On top of that, players will now find that enemies have the option to wear heavy armor which can make fights a lot interesting. A revamped arena also comes in this new update allowing for some changes to the gameplay and the usual assortment of bug fixes and performance improvements will see the title running better than ever. Of course, the ludicrously violent gameplay of GORN is already providing plenty of laughs for players already so the new crab update takes it to a whole new level.

In honor of the update, the development team at Free Lives have release a new trailer which you can enjoy below, featuring the beloved ROKIBE diss track, ‘KIROIM ES BEKI’ from recording artist BE KIROOD.

Earlier this year GORN got a big update that brought numerous new features and improvements to the title and with the new Crab update, players will have even more hours of entertainment to enjoy. Available now on Steam and the Oculus store, the title also has a 25% discount at the minute to celebrate the launch of the new update making it a perfect time to jump into the arena.

February 23, 2018

GORN Gets Even Bigger With Big Things Update

Over-the-top violence and copious amounts of mangled body parts have been the trademark of GORN since it was released. Apparently developer Free Lives and publisher Developer Digital are believers in the concept of ‘Go Big or Go Home’ judging by the upcoming Big Things update.

GORN is ostensibly a gladiator simulator in virtual reality (VR) featuring a suitably ridiculous combat engine that allows players to gleefully, smash, stab, rip or slice opponents to bits in a shower of blood and body parts using a variety of weapons such as knives, axes, maces and bows.

The Big Things update will be the third major update released for the title, and the development team are promising that this update will be the biggest yet. The first addition is a new opponent in the form of tag-team Giant and Mitch. Giant lives up to his name, while Mitch is smaller, but also quicker and sneakier, making them a pairing sure to prove a challenge to even experiences gladiators. Players will also be able to access new weapons, all of which are suitably oversized, the Great Axe, Chainblade and Throwing Shield.

The arena itself will be undergoing something of an overhaul as well, with a new larger location that offers more room to manoeuvre as well as tricky environmental hazards that can be used to the player’s advantage if they are careful.

Other new additions include a new crossbow companion and a Nightmare difficulty mode for those really wanting to push themselves. For those who are concerned about the effect of all this ultraviolence might have on impressionable minds, a Low Violence mode will also be made available in the new update.

Until Monday 26th February 2018, GORN will be available at 25% off as part of the Steam Weekend Deal. The Big Things update is available for free to all current GORN players. Further information can be found on the Steam store page.

Further news on updates and offers for VR titles will be here on VRFocus.

August 31, 2017

Badgermancer Update Hitting GORN Soon

There is much debate and discussion to be had about whether or not videogames count as art. Developer Free Lives and publisher Devolver Digital make no such pretensions about GORN, however. GORN is about violence, and with an upcoming update, stands to get even gorier.

Free Lives are planning on releasing a large update for the title on Steam later today, 31st August, 2017. The update has been dubbed the ‘Badgermancer Update’. The update includes the following new features:

Asymmetrical local multiplayer
Honey badgers
Custom game modes
Performance and visual updates
Improved physics and even more blood

The addition of honey badgers explains the name of the update. Honey badgers are widely respected as vicious, so their addition into this title is to be expected. Gameplay already features much over-the-top violence involving swords, maces, axes, bows, knives or bare hands. Screenshots for the new update show that players can now go into a fight with a honey badger as a battle pet alongside you, or, if you are feeling brave, pick them up and use them as weapons.

The developers have also said that a discount for GORN will be available when the update goes live. It has not yet been confirmed how much the discount will be. The title is currently priced at £14.99 on Steam. Further information and updates can be found on the Steam store page.

A trailer for the new update can be viewed below.

VRFocus will bring you further news on GORN as it becomes available.

July 10, 2017

Visceral VR Gladiator Title GORN Hits Steam Early Access

A couple of weeks ago VRFocus reported on Devolver Digital and indie studio Free Lives announcing a new gladiator inspired virtual reality (VR) title called GORN. Today, the bloody fighting experience has arrived on Steam Early Access.

GORN is an over-the-top, violent VR gladiator simulator, from the developers of Broforce and Genital Jousting. Featuring a ludicrous combat engine, GORN players will be able to creatively execute all sorts of violent gladiatorial moves, savagely ripping apart an infinite supply of poorly-animated opponents with all manner of weapons – from swords, maces, and bows to nunchucks, throwing knives, massive two-handed warhammers or just their blood-soaked bare hands.

GORN Screenshot 3

“While many have had their doubts about the future viability of VR and its potential contributions to society it is worth noting that in GORN you can rip off an opponent’s arm and then beat them with said arm until their head caves in,” said Devolver Digital CFO Fork Parker in a statement.

GORN will stay in early access from three to 12 months, with the developers planning to add consumer focused features. “For us, a large part of Early Access is figuring out what people like about our game – so most of the work will be prioritised by what YOU would like to see,” said the studio on Steam. “More and better content will be the focus of our work – we’d like to add many, many more weapons, more enemies to fight, and more and better champions to defeat. The feeling of progression and variety in the campaign also has a lot of room for improvement as of Early Access launch.”

If you like what you’ve seen of GORN so far it’s available to purchase now for £11.24 GBP until 17th July. After which it’ll return to its regular price of $19.99 USD/£14.99/€19.99 EUR.

Checkout the new trailer below and for further updates, keep reading VRFocus.

July 4, 2017

Ultra-violent Battle Sim ‘Gorn’ to Hit Steam Early Access July 10th

Gorn, the blood-soaked battle simulator from the makers of weird and wild games Broforce (2015) and Genital Jousting (2016), is officially coming to Steam Early Access on July 10th.

Free Lives, the studio behind the game, have developed Gorn on a unique, fully physics-driven combat engine that lets you melee battle in a single-player arena against brutal AI combatants. The game is releasing on HTC Vive, and required a 360 degree tracking area with at least 2m x 2m of space to play.

If the game weren’t already enough tongue-in-cheek, the studio says in their official description that Gorn lets you “savagely strike down an infinite supply of poorly-animated opponents with all manner of weapons—from swords, maces, and bows to nunchuks, throwing knives, massive two-handed warhammers or even your blood-soaked bare hands. The only limits to the carnage are your imagination and decency, in the most brutal and savage VR face-smashing game ever produced by man.”

‘GORN’ on Steam

First released as a free demo last year for HTC Vive, Gorn showed off some basic combat against the square-jawed, “poorly animated” gladiators. Now, while in Early Access, the developers plan on adding “many, many more weapons, more enemies to fight, and hopefully a boss encounter at the end of the game to tie it together,” the developers say on the game’s Steam page.

Check out Node Studio’s latest impressions of Gorn for a better idea of what to expect.

The post Ultra-violent Battle Sim ‘Gorn’ to Hit Steam Early Access July 10th appeared first on Road to VR.

June 26, 2017

Devolver Digital and Free Lives Announce VR Gladiator Simulator GORN for HTC Vive

Devolver Digital, the publisher behind virtual reality (VR) title such as Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope and #SelfieTennis has today announced a new over-the-top videogame coming to HTC Vive called, GORN.

Created by indie studio Free Lives, GORN is a sort of VR gladiator simulator, where players find themselves fighting for their lives inside an arena. As you’d expect from a gladiator title, there’s an assortment of ways to kill and be killed – if you’re not careful – ranging from the tried and tested hand-to-hand combat, punching and smashing opponents faces in with your fists, to all manner of weapons – from swords, maces, and bows to nunchuks, throwing knives and massive two-handed warhammers.

GORN_Screenshot_3

With highly stylised cartoon animations players can savagely strike down an infinite supply of poorly-animated opponents, that are just waiting to be dismembered or smashed to pieces.

“The Devolver Digital VR Division spent over a half million dollars to research what consumers wanted in a next generation virtual reality experience and the results were unanimous – they want to rip off someone’s arm and then beat that someone to death with said arm,” said Devolver Digital CFO Fork Parker.

GORN is set to release for HTC Vive on 10th July through Steam Early Access.

Checkout the first gameplay trailer for GORN below, and for further updates keep reading VRFocus.

March 8, 2017

Gorn Turned Me Into a Gory and Violent Colosseum Gladiator

Gorn Turned Me Into a Gory and Violent Coliseum Gladiator

With a shield in my left hand and a massive flail in my right hand, I stared down my enemies. They were heavily armored; I was not. I reached above my head, signaling to the master seated above us all that I was ready and he lowered the gates in the middle of the arena. My right hand swirled above my head, readying my flail as my adversaries inched ever closer. Once in range, I swung the flail forward with all of my power, lopping off the head of my first enemy, sending his now lifeless corpse careening into my next enemy off to the side. This fight was off to a great start.

Not every fight in Gorn goes this well. As you can tell, Gorn is a comical yet bloody gladiator fighting game currently in an early prototype stage and I had the pleasure of checking it out first-hand from the creators themselves while at the 2017 Game Developers Conference (GDC).

You can see a gameplay video of an older build of the game right here:

I’m told the version I saw at GDC was a “much more polished and brutally visceral build” of the game, hinting towards not just the visual fidelity, but content as well. For example, the walls weren’t just lined with floating heads — the leader issuing me commands to fight was actually sitting in a chair. The textures were vastly superior — especially the ground as far as I can recall — and the physics seemed to work better.

While playing I got to try out a variety of one-handed and two-handed weapons, from swords and hammers to spears and a bow/arrow. They all presented their own pros, cons, advantages, and challenges, which helped keep the game fresh. It was only a wave-based combat game, but the visceral nature of each encounter made it much more satisfying than many “full” VR games I’ve played. It’s also the most I’ve sweat while in VR in quite some time.

Melee combat is hard to get right in VR because there is no physical object you’re hitting with resistance, but with clever haptics and visual cues games like Gorn do a more than serviceable job of convincing you that you’re in an actual fight for your life.

My favorite weapons were the large two-handed ones I got to try near the end of the wave-based experience. They did a tremendous amount of damage and required even more careful use since you can’t swing them around too wildly. Sending an enemy flying across the arena as a ragdoll never got old.

The larger your play space the better the experience will be as well, since nimbly moving around the environment is a more effective method of evasion. The alternative movement method used to cross larger areas in the game wasn’t very intuitive and was extremely awkward. Hopefully the developers can work out a better solution to explore environments by the time the game is ready for release.

You can download and play a free pre-alpha early prototype of the game off of the developer’s itch.io website right now, but it’s unclear if this is the updated version I saw at GDC, or if it’s the older (albeit still fun) version that was already distributed months ago. This teaser is hosted by Ruan Rothmann of Free Lives, the same studio responsible for the exquisite sidescroller, Broforce.

Gorn is expected to hit Early Access “no earlier than April” according to a statement on the company’s website.

Tagged with: Free Lives, Gorn