Category: In&Out

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The Best Mobile Games Coming in 2019

Consumer mobile virtual reality (VR) may have been going longer than its tethered, high-end brother, thanks to Samsung Gear VR and Google Cardboard, but it was until 2018 that the industry took a shift thanks to Oculus Go and Vive Focus. While headsets like Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR have the graphical power, mobile and standalone devices have the freedom to be used anywhere, which opens up new possibilities for developers. 2019 looks to be even bigger for mobile with the upcoming release of Oculus Quest, but for now, VRFocus will be concentrating on videogames for the most currently available headsets.

The Best Mobile Games Coming in 2019

The Elder Scrolls: Blades – Bethesda

Announced during Bethesda’s pre-Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2018 press conference, The Elder Scrolls: Blades was originally due to arrive Fall 2018 for iOS and Android devices but a Tweet in November pushed the launch into this year. With classic role-playing game (RPG) mechanics the series is known for, The Elder Scrolls: Blades will feature three areas, Arena; a PvP area where players can challenge each other using melee and magical combat. An endless dungeon called The Abyss, filled with all sorts of enemies and treasure to help improve the character. And lastly The Town, which is the main campaign area, with a full storyline to complete.

Currently, there’s no precise launch date for The Elder Scrolls: Blades.

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Unannounced Title – Fierce Kaiju/Coatsink Software

Honestly, this is a complete unknown at this stage. British developer Fierce Kaiju and Coatsink Software announced way back in November 2017 that they were working on a new VR project together. VRFocus knows that the title will be an entirely new IP, but the studios haven’t released any further details since 2017. As they have both primarily worked on mobile VR titles its safe to assume this will be the case again.

Hopefully, 2019 will be the year that Fierce Kaiju and Coatsink Software reveal more info.

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Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs – Resolution Games/Rovio

Resolution Games and Rovio Entertainment announced a couple of weeks ago plans to bring one of the biggest mobile franchises to VR. Details are still scarce, including gameplay details or what it’ll look like. When it comes to headset support they’ve simply stated it’ll be available ‘across all major VR platforms’ so VRFocus is assuming a franchise born onto mobile will keep with its mobile roots.

Expect more bird-flinging action when Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs arrives later this year.

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In&Out – Underdogz

A videogame VRFocus came across while wandering around Gamescom 2018 in Germany, In&Out is a spy adventure of sorts that’s played entirely cooperatively. Designed before Oculus Casting came about, the VR player has to navigate a secret facility with the help of their ever watchful companion viewing details on a mobile device. Without teamwork, the VR player will easily die, as they don’t have all the info to avoid traps and solve the puzzles.

We’ve not heard much about the Oculus Go compatible title since that first debut, so hopefully, 2019 will be the year for further updates.

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Spectro – Borrowed Light Studios

From the team behind Vincent Van Gogh tribute, The Night Cafe is a rather spooky experience called Spectro. Originally announced way back in 2016, the studio has been somewhat quiet about Spectro’s development over the last couple of years. You are the sole proprietor of Spectro Co., a ghost detective agency, going out to explore haunted houses and ridding them of their malevolent spirits.

Borrow Light Studios says that: “Spectro is currently in development for all of the major VR headsets with a focus on releasing on mobile first.” That would make 2019 a great year for a frighteningly good mobile videogame.

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Preview: In&Out – Keeping the Party Going With Some Social VR

Virtual reality (VR) has long fought the stigma of an isolating videogame experience, whether that’s been via online multiplayer, social apps that enable users to talk to each other’s avatar, or on the local side more inventive solutions like Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (a VRFocus favourite). Indie Polish developer Underdogz looks to add its own unique take on the VR party game with In&Out for Oculus Go.

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Instead of printing reams of paper into a manual, Underdogz has gone for the technically superior smartphone app. The idea revolves around the VR player being a secret agent who needs to infiltrate a secret facility. The only downside, they have no idea where the traps are located or how to solve the puzzles in front of them. So in comes a mate with the smartphone app showing an overhead map view plus details of how to complete each puzzle.

Just like any of these types of videogame communication is key, if the VR player doesn’t accurately describe where they are and what they’re seeing then it can be much more difficult for their teammate to help. That being said, sometimes no matter how much information is given if the non-VR player(s) is a bit on the useless side then all hell breaks loose and death becomes inevitable.

In&Out’s design is simple and definitely mobile friendly, with big bold designs, a rich colour palette and minimal textures. This simplicity certainly helps when describing the layout to the other person as too much would over complicate the scenario and lead to all sorts of confusion. What also helps is if you’ve been on either side of the gameplay as both players are seeing almost different worlds. As mentioned the app is top down for the map, so describing a chair is irrelevant as it’s probably not featured, but where you walked into a room and the other doors will be. Also worth noting is that the app doesn’t mark the VR players location like the app for The Persistence.

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Being an Oculus Go title the control scheme couldn’t be simpler. With the trigger for interaction whilst the touchpad controls forward and backward movement all you need is a reasonable area to turn around in. The touchpad does feature both walk and run options depending on how far up the touchpad you press. The gap between the two is very minimal so it can be easy to run into a laser or get vaporised by a force field if you’re not careful.

The puzzles themselves which VRFocus came across are a mixture of finding the right component for a circuit board, missing floor traps, cutting correct wires and dashing out the way of lasers. Nothing to brain teasing at this stage but Underdogz are still reasonably early in development.

Gamescom 2018 didn’t particularly feature many mobile VR titles which was a shame considering Oculus Go only arrived a few short months ago. It was nice to see Underdogz not only flying the mobile VR flag but also the local VR multiplayer genre which is one of the best for showcasing the technology to family and friends. There was plenty to enjoy with In&Out, with VRFocus keen to see how the experience turns out.