Something for the New Year

Christmas is past, and many people no doubt peeked under the Christmas tree to find a shiny new PlayStation VR waiting for them, some of which may well have been obtained during Black Friday, judging by the listed sales figures.

For those looking to spend their gift money on some titles for their new PlayStation VR, or veteran owners looking for a good deal, all could do worse than to cast an eye over these end-of-year deals on the PlayStation Store.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

A riotous VR party game. One person is ensconced in VR, looking at a bomb about to go off. Another person, out of VR, has the instructions. Players have to learn to quickly and effectively communicate, or… well… kaboom.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is available for £5.79, a 51% discount.

Tethered

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Players of Tethered are placed in the role of a spirit guardian who is trying to release other guadians who have been trapped by evil energy. To do this, players must solve puzzles and gather resources from across the beautiful hand-painted islands with the help of loyal servants, the ‘peeps’ who can be sent to do certain tasks to help you in your goal.

Tethered is available for £7.39, a 61% discount.

Thumper

Fast-paced rhythm game Thumper was a launch title for the PlayStation VR. Gameplay involves steering a small ship through a course filled with psychedelic colour, moving always with the beat of the music, which gradually becomes increasingly complex.

Thumper is available for £6.49, a 59% discount.

RIGS: Mechanised Combat League

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One of the PlayStation VR’s earliest contenders for an eSports title, RIGS: Mechanised Combat League is a first-person arena shooter where players take control of powerful robotic battlers to take part in a futuristic sport that mixes elements of combat, motorsport, basketball and football.

RIGS: Mechanised Combat League is available for £11.99, a 52% discount.

Windlands

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This puzzle-platform title from Psytec Games is expecting a sequel at some point in 2018, so now is a good chance to experience the original. Players need to plot a route through a stylised, hard-angled landscape by running, jumping or swinging using a grappling hook. The result is a system that is easy to learn, but tricky to master.

Windlands is available for £7.39, a 61% discount.

Battlezone

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Scarcely needing an introduction is Rebellion’s VR remake of the classic 1980s Atari title where you take control of a Tron-inspired tank and go around shooting other tanks and enemy towers to bits. The developers regularly introduce updates, so there’s often a new challenge to take on.

Battlezone is available for £9.99, a 71% discount.

Weeping Doll

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Dark winter nights are perfect for some horror in VR. Weeping Doll is a dark, story-based experience that challenges players to explore various creepy environments and solve tricky puzzles as a sinister doll, fueled by all the negative thoughts of an abused child seeks to take revenge on the parents responsible.

Weeping Doll is available for £3.29, a 58% discount.

Headmaster

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Want to improve your football skills? (Or soccer skills, for our American readers), then Headmaster is here to help. With a framing device of an unexpectedly prison-like ‘Football Improvement Centre’, the player is subjected to several lessons aimed at improving various football skills, including an option to engage in 6-player local multiplayer in a ‘pass-and-play’ high score challenge.

Headmaster is available for £7.39, a 53% discount.

The Assembly

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British development studio nDreams had its first big-budget VR title with the release of puzzle-based adventure The Assembly, which combines a relatively simple gameplay with a series of moral dilemmas as players explore a mysterious underground bunker.

The Assembly is available for £9.79, a 51% discount.

PlayStation VR Worlds

For those who have purchased, or been given, a new PlayStation VR and are unsure what genre of type of videogame to try first, there is the option of getting a compilation title such as PlayStation VR Worlds, which offers a variety of VR experiences to try, including the highly praised ‘The London Heist‘.

PlayStation VR Worlds is available for £11.99, a 52% discount.

Something for the Weekend: An Oculus Winter Wonderland

With just over a week to go until Christmas those that are prepared might be sitting back this Sunday afternoon with a nice warm mug of mulled wine, happy in the knowledge all the presents are sorted. Or you might be in the same boat as everyone else, planned nothing, going on a mad flurry of shopping next weekend instead – nothing like doing everything last minute. Whatever you decide to do today, at some point you may want to grab your Oculus Rift and enjoy some virtual reality (VR) gaming. And with the Oculus Winter Sale in full swing a Sunday afternoon is the perfect time to play a new videogame. So VRFocus has chosen ten of the best that you should consider.

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EVE: Valkyrie – Warzone

Compatibility: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR

The granddaddy of VR space combat shooters, CCP Games’ EVE: Valkyrie originally launched back in 2016, and was one of the pioneers of cross-platform multiplayer across headsets. The Warzone update expanded that reach even further by including standard PC players in the ranks as well. Currently EVE: Valkyrie – Warzone has a 50 percent discount on the Oculus Store, dropping the price from £22.99 GBP down to £10.99.

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Pinball FX2 VR

Compatibility: Oculus Rift

Pinball FX2 VR is another 2016 original, featuring three core tables: Secrets of the Deep, Epic Quest and Mars. An additional five tables can be purchase via the Pinball FX2 Season 1 downloadable content, adding CastleStorm, Wild West Rampage, Paranormal, BioLab, and Earth Defense. Pinball FX2 VR is currently discounted from £10.99 down to £5.99.

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Killing Floor: Incursion

Compatibility: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive

In Killing Floor: Incursion, players take on the role of an elite Horzine Security Forces soldier as they team up with allies to fend off the horrific hordes of monstrous creatures called Zeds, using a formidable arsenal of weapons including pistols, shotguns, blades and more. Players are able to freely explore their environment – although the levels do have a linear design to them – scavenging for weapons and ammo while searching for the best locations to fight the monster onslaught.

Another one with big savings, Killing Floor: Incursion has a 50 percent discount on the Oculus Store, dropping the price from £29.99 GBP down to £14.99.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes

Compatibility: Oculus Rift

As it’s Christmas it’s time to bring out the party games and one of the best local VR multiplayer’s is Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. The idea is simple, one person wears the headset with a bomb to diffuse – but no idea how to – while everyone outside of VR has a manual with the instructions on how to complete each module.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is available on the Oculus Store for £6.99 rather than £10.99.

Blasters of the Universe

Blasters of the Universe

Compatibility: Oculus Rift

First-person wave shooters are very common in VR. One of the most recent to hit Oculus Rift – and one of the best – is The Secret Location’s Blasters of the Universe. Set in a neon rich, 80’s inspired universe, there’s a modular weapon system to unlock, helping you get through those difficult high stages.

Blasters of the Universe is available on the Oculus Store for £5.99 rather than £10.99.

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Tethered

Compatibility: Oculus Rift

Tethered is a strategy videogame casting players in the role of a Spirit Guardian looking to restore balance to the world. All the other guardians have been imprisoned inside ancient totems by an evil consuming the world, and by gathering enough Spirit Energy players will be able to free their fellow guardians. This is accomplished by aiding the inhabitants of the world, called Peeps, who in turn help the quest.

Tethered is available on the Oculus Store for £6.99 rather than £18.99.

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XING: The Land Beyond

Compatibility: Oculus Rift

For those that enjoy big puzzle adventures, White Lotus Interactive released its long awaited title XING: The Land Beyond  back in September. The videogame is littered with environment-based puzzles which require powers and abilities gained along the way to solve them, such as rain and snow.

XING: The Land Beyond is available on the Oculus Store for £11.99 rather than £14.99.

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Wilson’s Heart

Compatibility: Oculus Rift

VRFocus’ first horror entry, Wilson’s Heart is a first-person thriller putting players in the body of Robert Wilson, a 1940’s hospital patient who makes a grim discovery upon waking up. His heart has been replaced by a mysterious device. As players wander the hospital they’ll discover increasingly maddening corridors, environmental hazards, and sinister inhabitants whilst trying to recover their heart and the reasons for this craziness.  

Wilson’s Heart is available on the Oculus Store for £8.99 rather than £22.99.

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The Unspoken

Compatibility: Oculus Rift

The ideal experience for those that want to wield magic like a powerful sorcerer, The Unspoken is a multiplayer combat title pitting players against one another around the world. The recent Acolytes update further enriches the experience with a single-player mode.

The Unspoken is available on the Oculus Store for £14.99 rather than £22.99.

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Racket Fury: Table Tennis VR

Compatibility: Oculus Rift

People tend to eat quite a lot over the festive period so you need a way of burning those excess calories off. So why not play a few games of table tennis on Racket Fury: Table Tennis VR. Racket Fury:Table Tennis VR features a range of single-player and multiplayer modes. Solo there are four cups to play through, pitting your skills against 16 AI opponents. While multiplayer is your classic one-on-one match of table tennis with players from around the world.

Racket Fury:Table Tennis VR is available on the Oculus Store for £5.99 rather than £7.99.

Google Offering $40 Game Bundle With New Daydream View Headset

From now until the end of 2017, Google is offering a game bundle worth $40 with every Daydream View purchase, which includes some of the platform’s best titles. Google’s updated VR headset was announced this week alongside their Pixel 2 smartphones, and begins to ship on October 17th.

The 5-game bundle of first-person explorer Eclipse: Edge of Light, multiplayer spell-caster Wands, asymmetrical multiplayer game Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, puzzle-adventurer Lola and the Giant, and wacky mini-game collection Virtual Rabbids: The Big Plan is a great way to kick-start your Daydream VR experience.

Announced on Tuesday, the new version of Daydream View – a VR headset enclosure for Daydream-ready Android smartphones – has improved upon the original design in subtle but important ways, with new optics, ergonomics, and a passive heat sink – read our hands-on article for some initial impressions.

The new headsets begin shipping October 17th; the game bundle will remain available until December 31st, and must be redeemed by January 15th 2018.

The post Google Offering $40 Game Bundle With New Daydream View Headset appeared first on Road to VR.

Google Daydream Summer Sale Begins

Google Daydream may not be the most talked about – or developer supported for that matter – head-mounted display (HMD) but that doesn’t mean the company has given up. In fact just the opposite as Google has recently launched a free headset promotion alongside purchases of Pixel, and widened support by finally bringing Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ out. Now for those customers who do own the HMD there’s a summer sale on a range of videogames.

Don’t expect the sale to be in the same league as Oculus Home or Steam however, with masses of titles all seeing a price chop. Instead Google has selected a choice of nine for those wishing to expand their content libraries.

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These are:

Google isn’t just focused on Daydream for its virtual reality (VR) aspirations. As you’re probably aware during the Google I/O conference a few months ago the company announced plans for a standalone headset that would use the Daydream platform and be built by HTC and Lenovo. That’s due to launch later this year, at present however, details on its final design and specifications have yet to be announced.

When they are, VRFocus will bring you all the announcements.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes Update Adds Support for Gear VR Controller

One of the best social virtual reality (VR) videogames on the market is Steel Crate Games’ Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. Originally released for Samsung Gear VR, the studio then brought it to Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR, adding motion controller support along the way. Steel Crate Games has continued to improve the Gear VR version releasing a new update this week for the headsets 3DoF controller.

Using the new Gear VR controller which launched a few months ago, players can rotate the bomb by swiping the touchpad and interact by pointing at bomb modules. The update also introduces shared leaderboards for both Gear VR and Oculus Rift versions, adding a competitive element to the title.

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Plus seven new music tracks have been included, adding some heart-pounding intensity to bomb defusal as well as relief during the brief downtime between missions.

On top of all that, Steel Crate Games has add some further tweaks:

  • Improves Wire Sequence usability
  • Fixes audio distortion when using Bluetooth speakers/headphones
  • Allows game to be installed to external storage
  • Adds slight bounce feedback when trying to rotate the bomb too far
  • Improves cursor appearance

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is unique among VR experiences in the way that it introduced a local social element to its gameplay. It revolves around one player in VR who’s got a bomb to diffuse, made up of several panels, with wires, dials, timers, codes, symbols and more to figure out. There’s just one problem, how to actually do it. To do this, players in the real world have a manual explaining how each particular puzzle works, and it’s only through cooperation and teamwork that success can be achieved.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, reporting back with further updates.

One of VR’s Best Party Games Now Supports Rift & Vive Motion Controllers

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is an undeniably fun VR party game that you can play together with a big group with only one VR headset. Now the game has added much requested support for both Vive and Rift’s VR controllers.

In Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, the player wearing the VR headset will find themselves sitting alone in a room with a ticking time bomb in front of them. The bomb has a series of ‘modules’ which are miniature puzzles that must be solved in order to disarm it. The only problem is that the headset player doesn’t have the bomb defusal manual…. That’s where the other players come in: using a smartphone, computer, or even a printed copy, anyone not in the headset can access the 23 page bomb defusal document in order to aid in disarming the bomb.

It’s a blast, and players agree: the game is rated ‘Overwhelmingly Positive’ on Steam with 98% positive reviews.

And now an update to the game has added support for both Oculus Touch and Vive controllers. Both the SteamVR version of the game (which supports the Rift and Vive) and the Oculus Home version of the game (which supports Rift), have the added motion controller support. Unfortunately the PSVR version of the game doesn’t yet support that platform’s Move controllers.

Why is that significant? Well for one, it makes the game way more accessible to people who aren’t gamers. Before, those non-gamer players would need to use a normal gamepad to control the game. But for people unfamiliar with a gamepad, playing a new game and using an unfamiliar input device that they can’t see can make the game challenging in all the wrong ways.

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Now with VR controller support, players can see their hands in the game world and much more intuitively control the bomb by physically rotating it and pressing buttons rather than needing to figure out how to rotate the bomb around three axes using a stick and having to remember new controls on an unfamiliar gamepad.

The game is also available on Gear VR and Google Daydream, and while the Daydream version has slightly better input thanks to its basic motion controller, neither of the mobile headsets support true 6DOF VR controllers.

The post One of VR’s Best Party Games Now Supports Rift & Vive Motion Controllers appeared first on Road to VR.

Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes Adds Motion Controller Support for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive

Ever since virtual reality (VR) came back into the consumer sphere the industry has been pushing to allay fears that its anti social. An early example of this came from Steel Crate Games in the form of Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, launched initially on Samsung Gear VR. The studio then expanded support to Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, but for Vive owners especially the title offered no motion controller support. Today that’s now been rectified.

For Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes first update of 2017, players can now use the Oculus Touch controllers or HTC Vive’s standard controllers when playing the bomb diffusing video game. This will be a welcome addition for owners of both devices, giving a far more immersive experience.

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If you’ve happened to miss out on the team game Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, it revolves around one player in VR who’s got a bomb to diffuse, there’s just one problem how to actually do it. Each bomb is made up of several panels, with wires, dials, timers, codes, symbols and more to figure out. To do this players in the real world have a manual explaining how each particular puzzle works, and it’s only through cooperation and teamwork that avoids everything going boom!

The full changlog can be seen below, and for any further updates from Steel Crate Games, keep reading VRFocus.

Version 1.3.0 Update Notes:
  • Motion control support added (HTC Vive and Oculus Touch).
  • Fixed issue where presence of Oculus Remote would prevent gamepads from working.
  • Fixed v-sync not working in OS X (in previous update, but forgot to include in notes).
  • Fixed issue where the last digit of the serial number could never be ‘9’.