Quar: Battle for Gate 18 Renamed for PlayStation VR Release, Delay Confirmed

One of the HTC Vive’s best strategy titles, Quar: Battle for Gate 18, was announced for PlayStation 4 back in August of this year. Compatible with PlayStation VR, the videogame has now received a new title for its console launch, set to be known as Quar: Infernal Machines.

Quar: Battle for Gate 18 screenshotDeveloped by Steel Wool Games, Quar: Infernal Machines sees players taking in the role of a general, commanding cavalry to sweep the enemy’s flanks, Baeliog armoured tractors forward to shatter hardened defences, rhyflers armed with weapons ranging from the humble Bogen rifle to heavy-automatic shotguns to hold the line as you call in deadly airstrikes to take down enemy encampments.

A turn-based experience, Quar: Battle for Gate 18’s success as a HTC Vive launch title lead to Steel Wool Games receiving a $5 million USD investment from HTC Corporation. The PlayStation VR edition of the title, Quar: Infernal Machines, is set to be published by Funbox Media.

Funbox Media has already seen success on PlayStation VR with the publishing of Big Moon Entertainment’s Syndrome and more recently Microids’ ATV Drift & Tricks, both of which offer PlayStation VR compatibility in addition to traditional monitor/TV-based gameplay. Quar: Infernal Machines however, launched as strictly a virtual reality (VR) experience on PC; whether or not the videogame will be playable without PlayStation VR on PlayStation 4 has not yet been confirmed, however the revised box art (seen below) features the ‘PlayStation VR Compatible’ slogan, opposed to ‘PlayStation VR Required’.

VRFocus reviewed Quar: Battle for Gate 18 upon release, stating of the original HTC Vive title: “Turn-based strategy is one of those genres that many would assume might not necessarily be a good fit for VR, however those suggesting this simply haven’t played Quar: Battle for Gate 18.”

Sadly, Quar: Infernal Machines has also seen a short delay. Originally expected to launch on PlayStation 4 last month, the title is now scheduled for a March 2018 release. Both Amazon and Play Asia are currently offering pre-orders for the title, which has a suggested retail price (SRP) of £24.99 GBP.

Hopefully Quar: Infernal Machines will not suffer any further delays, and VRFocus will continue to keep you updated with all the latest details.

ATV Drift & Tricks Crashes onto PlayStation 4

A new PlayStation VR compatible title from Microids has launched rather quietly this week. ATV Drift & Tricks is now available for PlayStation 4, both digitally via the PlayStation Store and as a physical boxed product at retail, published by Funbox Media.

ATV Drift & Tricks screenshotAn arcade-style experience, ATV Drift & Tricks offers both single-player and multiplayer gameplay across eight modes: League, Time Trial, Quick Race, Hot Lap, King of the Road, Golden Helmet, Last One Standing and Hunter. Multiplayer is available on online and via split-screen, the latter of which is an oft forgotten feature in the modern videogame industry.

The videogame features a variety of tracks set across multiple environments, including deserts, forests, mountain regions and lakes Oases, all filled with opportunities to pull off some crazy stunts and drifts. ATV Drift & Tricks is also compatible PlayStation VR, and Funbox Media suggest that this makes it the first virtual reality (VR) quad bike videogame. However, the full extent of the support for VR is not currently known. How the speed and elaborate stunts will translate to VR is certainly a question that needs to be answered.

ATV Drift & Tricks is developed by Microids, a studio which is not only well versed in developing racing videogames but also has prior experience with the PlayStation VR head-mounted display (HMD). The previously released dirtbike racing videogame Moto Racer 4 also featured support for the PlayStation VR, and other titles from Microids in the genre include Speed Demons, Crazy Cars: Hit the Road and the forthcoming Gear Club Unlimited for Nintendo Switch.

ATV Drift & Tricks screenshotATV Drift & Tricks is available at retail with a suggested retail price (SRP) of £24.99 GBP, however both Amazon and Play Asia are offering the videogame under that price tag including UK delivery. The digital version launched prior to the retail edition, on 26th October 2017, and is now available from the PlayStation Store priced slightly lower, at £15.99.

Funbox Media are making a significant effort to support PlayStation VR at retail, also publishing Big Moon Entertainment’s Syndrome and the seemingly delayed Quar: Battle for Gate 18. VRFocus will keep you updated with any further PlayStation VR titles set to be published by Funbox Media.

Quar: Battle for Gate 18 Dated for PlayStation VR

Last month Funbox Media revealed that Steel Wool Games’ Quar: Battle for Gate 18 will be coming to PlayStation VR later this year. It’s now been confirmed that the virtual reality (VR) strategy title will make its console debut with a retail boxed edition on 27th October 2017.

Quar - Battle for Gate 18 screenshotBased on the award winning Table Top Game system This Quar’s War by ZombieSmith, Quar: Battle for Gate 18 is a turn-based strategy videogame. The title includes a story mode which plays through 12 levels of tactical defence and attack, from small outposts to trenches and night time battles. A wide variety of units is at your disposal as you battle your way to Gate 18.

Quar: Battle for Gate 18 launched alongside the HTC Vive last year. VRFocus delivered a review of Quar: Battle for Gate 18 at that time, stating: “Quar: Battle for Gate 18 is an easy recommendation for the HTC Vive, with the hope that Steel Wool Games will expand upon the formula in the months to come.”

Quar: Battle for Gate 18 will launch on PlayStation VR, both at retail and digitally via the PlayStation Network, on 27th October 2017. VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest details on Quar: Battle for Gate 18 and other VR titles from Steel Wool Games.

HTC Vive’s Best Strategy Game Heads to PlayStation VR

Steel Wool Games’ Quar: Battle for Gate 18 launched alongside the HTC Vive last year as something of an unknown quantity. An obscure real-time strategy (RTS) videogame that had received little attention prior to launch turned-out to be one of the PC’s best virtual reality (VR) strategy titles, and now that experience has been confirmed for release on PlayStation VR.

Quar: Battle for Gate 18 is a turn-based VR experience set in the world of Alwyd. For the last 700 years the Quar have been waging The Long War to a bloody stalemate that has wracked their world. But the balance of power is shifting and Alykinder’s Crusade is attempting to end The Long War by conquering all the Quar nations. The videogame takes players to one battle in one theatre of The Long War: the Battle for Gate 18 between the Crusader Army and the Royalist Coftyran Crymuster.

In Quar: Battle for Gate 18, players will command cavalry to sweep the enemy’s flanks, send Baeliog armoured tractors forward to shatter hardened defences and rhyflers armed with weapons ranging from the humble Bogen rifle to heavy-automatic shotguns will provide support. The videogame challenges the player to combine limited numbers of each of these unit types in strategic offences.

At the time of its original release VRFocus delivered a review of Quar: Battle for Gate 18, stating: “Turn-based strategy is one of those genres that many would assume might not necessarily be a good fit for VR, however those suggesting this simply haven’t played Quar: Battle for Gate 18. It’s a genuinely fun and often tense videogame, and though a non-VR version is also in the works it’s impossible to see how removing VR from its genetic model would deliver the same experience.”

Quar: Battle for Gate 18 box artQuar: Battle for Gate 18 is due to launch for PlayStation VR in October 2017, courtesy of Funbox Media, with pre-orders already available via Amazon and Play Asia. VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest details on the PlayStation VR edition of Quar: Battle for Gate 18.

Syndrome Re-emerges for PlayStation VR

Camel 101’s Syndrome was originally revealed back in 2015, with Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC releases announced; the latter of which compatible with the Oculus Rift. Now however, the title appears to have made the jump to PlayStation VR and is set for release next month.

Syndrome box art

Syndrome aims to take the science-fiction horror genre back to its roots with the aid of virtual reality (VR) technology, as players wake up on a deserted spaceship. Dazed and confused from a deep cryosleep, they soon discover that most of the crew are dead or have been mutated. Surrounded by reactive enemies that pick up on every move and sound, players must discover what has happened to the spaceship and how to escape its claustrophobic confines alive.

Originally slated for a June 2016 release, Syndrome disappeared off the radar for quite some time. VRFocus had previously toyed with the idea that a PlayStation VR version was on the cards but no confirmation was available at that time. Now, the PlayStation VR version is coming in hot and we’re left wondering about the Oculus Rift edition, and indeed the potential for HTC Vive to see a compatible release also.

Due to be published both digitally and at retail via Bigmoon Entertainment, Syndrome will be made available for PlayStation VR on 28th April 2017. The videogame is expected to retail for 34.99 GBP in the UK, and VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest details on the PlayStation VR and potential PC editions of Syndrome.