Larcenauts, the new VR hero shooter from Impulse Gear, launched two weeks on Quest, Rift, and Steam. However, the studio says it ran into a last minute issue which meant the SteamVR version was only compatible with Oculus headsets out of the gate, leading to confusion among buyers who attempted to play the game with non-Oculus headsets. Now an update posted over the weekend has seemed to resolved the issue, bringing equal support to HTC Vive and Valve Index as well.
Update (June 28th, 2021): In an update over the weekend, Impulse Gear has fixed the issue with limited SteamVR headset support. Now the game is said to equally support HTC Vive, Valve Index, and Oculus Rift.
The update also brings cross-play lobbies across Steam and Oculus versions of the game, which is done by entering unique lobby codes so you can play with friends. The article explaining the now resolved issue follows below:
Original Article (June 21st, 2021): As far as Steam goes, the overwhelming expectation from customers is that VR games sold there will always support native SteamVR headsets like Vive and Index. Although this is almost always the case in practice, there’s actually no technical requirement; developers are free to sell Oculus-only titles (or for any specific headset) on Steam if they choose.
In the case of Larcenauts, developer Impulse Gear had announced before launch that the game would support SteamVR headsets, which lead to customer confusion when the Steam version of the game launched last week with support for Oculus headsets only.
Aside from marking the game’s Steam store page with Oculus as the only compatible headsets, the studio wasn’t particularly explicit that the SteamVR version didn’t support non-Oculus headsets out of the gate. It seems the studio may have expected that Steam would warn buyers that their headset was not listed among the game’s compatible headsets, but unfortunately Steam doesn’t have that functionality.
Impulse Gear says it was indeed planning to support Oculus and SteamVR headsets at launch, but ran into a bug and decided to launch the game only with support for Oculus headsets for the time being, though a fix is in the works.
“Unfortunately we ran into an issue with UE4 and SteamVR compatibility so it is Oculus only for now. We are working with all parties involved to get this addressed ASAP. This is super disappointing for us as well… we love SteamVR,” the studio told Road to VR.
Larcenauts has seen some small hot fixes on Steam since last week’s launch, but as of Saturday the studio says it’s “still working to address the SteamVR compatibility issues.”
Larcenauts’ in-game loot boxes will not be turned into a form of microtransactions in the future, Impulse Gear confirmed to UploadVR.
This week’s launch of the online shooter has brought a lot of questions from the community. Impulse Gear is already addressing some player complaints, including the addition of immersive sprint on Friday, but others are concerned that the presence of loot boxes. They unlock extra experience points and in-game currency among other factors, and you buy them with rewards for completing matches to spend in the game’s lobby.
Some fear this could mean in-app purchases (IAPs) are on the way in the future, using cash as a means to unlock more levels and experience faster in a game that already costs $29.99. The studio says that’s not the case.
“We are not planning on adding any loot boxes as In App Purchases,” Impulse Gear’s Greg Koreman told us. “We have considered offering skins as In App Purchases, but not loot boxes.”
We’re currently in the process of reviewing Larcenauts, but essentially think the game has a lot of potential should it overcome some launch hurdles. What do you think of the game so far? Let us know in the comments below!
Larcenauts’ rich gameplay and complex team dynamics overcome launch frustrations, as troublesome as they are. More in our Larcenauts review!
Don’t let VOD’s toothy grin and Stretch Armstrong attacks fool you; he’s a tough nut to crack. Those elasticated arms pack a mighty blow, but they’re not much use when there’s a corridor between you and your opponent. Better instead to take the long way round, flank your enemy and land behind them as they group together to protect a fuel point. Then it’s two tickets to the gun show.
Or maybe team up with a Chi, whose healing beam complements VOD’s already-thick armor quite nicely. Once you’re in range, activate the Cage of Thorns and trap your enemies in with you. Nowhere to run. Suddenly that grin seems a whole lot more menacing.
Options are at the heart of Larcenauts. It’s a hero shooter that takes after Overwatch and Valorant not just in style and tone but also its emphasis on strategy and teamwork. A diverse cast of characters, each with unique weapons and abilities, offers ample opportunity for dynamic, in-the-moment collaborations and the chance to exploit weaknesses in other team formations. In those moments, when a team comes together to capture an enemy point or secure safe passage for a drone, you can catch a glimpse of the fleshed-out shooter Larcenauts wants to be.
And it’s painstakingly close to getting all the way there, too.
Larcenauts Review – The Facts
What is it?: A 6v6 hero shooter in which teams of varied classes go head-to-heard Platforms: Quest, PC VR (with current compatibility issues on Steam) Release Date: Out now Price: $29.99
There are a few factors that are holding Impulse Gear’s multiplayer debut back in this early window but, in truth, they rarely threaten to ruin what’s here and most seem destined to be fixed in the coming weeks and months. It is, admittedly, a bit of a shame the game couldn’t have been held back until these things had been addressed, because the narrative behind Larcenauts is now that it’s been released as an unfinished ‘Early Access’ game, and that’s not really the full story.
In truth, the game’s essentially feature complete and quite generous at that. Between the three modes — deathmatch, a zone control type called Refuel and a capture the flag type called Uplink — and four varied maps, the current randomized playlist remains fresh as you jump from one game to another, and the 10-ish minute matches never outstay their welcome. Yes, there could be ‘more’ of Larcenauts, but as it stands the game certainly doesn’t seem lacking.
And that’s mainly down to the game’s brilliantly unique set of characters, the progression path each follows and the way matches evolve over time.
Though Larcenauts can be quite complex, it’s starter classes are approachable. An all-rounder character like Calmia, for example, features nimble, accessible weapons like an SMG and shotgun, plus a dash that makes her great for sprinting to capture zones or seizing the ‘flag’ in Drone Hack. But without the extra support of a class like Thal, a guardian-type that can lay down suppressing fire and throw up shields or Evander, a sniper that provides expert cover fire under stealth, she’ll be left exposed.
Learning the intricacies of each character class — a combination of unique guns, loadouts, grenades, secondary fire types and the crucial ability types — takes a long time, esepcially as you approach those later characters. VOD might seem like barrels of fun, but I’ve only found him really useful in incredibly specific scenarios, where tight confines and distracted opponents make for easy targets. Anything else and he’s just a giant, very happy bit of cannon fodder – slow, massive and not very useful when transporting a drone to an Uplink point. Fortunately you can change heroes between deaths so, if you don’t have much use for one class at a given time, they don’t really need to be involved.
Even in your first few matches, though you can start to see how plans might start to layer into high-end gameplay. Need to make up ground in Team Deathmatch? Why not send your heavy hitters out to the front lines, backed up by Chi the medic who, in turn, can be protected by Thal’s shields. Chi also boasts the smug ability to freeze on the spot and become invincible for a period of time. It’s perfect for diving in, causing a distraction and then activating on the last slither of a healthbar, when teammates make short work of an enemy’s back.
Larcenauts Review – Comfort
It’s worth mentioning that Larcenauts is definitely on the intense side of VR experiences, with a lot to remember in its control scheme. If Impulse Gear’s Farpoint was as considerate to VR newcomers as it gets, this is at the other end of the spectrum: fast sprinting, vaulting to great heights with a hookshot, quick turns, this has the lot. There are comfort options and, for the hardcore fanbase the team is pursuing, that likely won’t be a problem, but keep it in mind if you don’t think you’re one of those people.
Wade deep enough into the catalgoue of possibilities and you’ll discover a rock-paper-scissors type loop with some extra trump cards thrown in. Thal’s defensive might at first seem unfair, but ARC-L6’s zippy slide gets you round the shields in a flash. Bosun — perhaps the game’s most complex class — is lethal when it comes to supporting friends with turrets, but catch her on her own and you’re very likely to come out on top. The ever-shifting dynamics of these encounters, combined with the way the game pushes firefights from cramped confines where one class excels to wide-open spaces where others thrive makes every match of Larcenauts feel different, each with their own highs and lows.
Progression, meanwhile, is pretty pacey and allows for minute tweaking for professional play. In the early game it’s all about unlocking new characters – three through a ‘Notoriety’ track and then the rest to discover either in a loot box or from the game’s store (neither of which, for the record, require in-app purchases). But each character can be levelled up for small stats boosts, including customizable ‘Power Slates’ to specifically tailor to your playstyle. You’ll also get different loadout types that can even change a character’s weapons. Right now you have to head back to the game’s lobby to actually unlock everything which is a minor annoyance.
A lot of ingredients, then, but Larcenauts balances them all with an assured hand. What it doesn’t especially feel like is a uniquely ‘VR’ game. Larcenauts doesn’t have the physicality of Onward, for example; lots of its interactions are assigned to button presses (more on that in a bit). A flatscreen version of the game seems like it’d be entirely possible but, having said that, it still manages to be immersive and engaging thanks to its systems and how tight its design is, from the diverse maps that have a way of keeping you locked in combat to the satisfaction of holding down the trigger on Thal’s meaty LMG.
Meanwhile, the ‘unfinished’ parts of Larcenauts are actually more to do with some questionable design choices and a handful of bugs. Impulse Gear, for example, seems strangely fond of taking control of a player’s hands as a means of imposing restrictions. So when you run with the default option, you see two hands dangling either side, stopping you from firing. When you reload, it’s a canned animation and not something you have any say in.
Larcenauts Review – Blowing Off Steam
If you’re reading this around the game’s launch then you’ll probably know Larcenauts’ SteamVR release hasn’t been very smooth. At the time of writing, a week after launch, the game only supports the Oculus Rift on the platform, when support for other devices was expected. Impulse Gear says it’s working on the issues, but keep it in mind if you’re thinking off picking it up on PC.
You can see why the idea might work on paper, to have a more precise and game-driven approach on how fast players run out of ammo and restock it. Give them more control and some players might find ways to game this system while others fumble with VR’s current inaccuracies. But, in practice, it just feels terrible to see your hands waving around on their own, and it’s telling that the developer has already implemented an ‘Immersive Sprint’ option that’s much more preferable to use. A similar solution for aiming is also on the way but, to be frank, they should have been in there from the start.
Bugs are a little more forgivable, if just as infuriating. Calima’s dash just doesn’t work as smoothly as it should, with the screen often jump-cutting back and forth to where the game thinks you should end up. Grapple points, meanwhile, put up a fight if you happen to snag a piece of geometry mid-flight, requiring you to try again.
The game also doesn’t do itself many favors in how little it explains (evident from the fact most online chatter overheard even a week in is one player talking others through the basics). Some of this is down to the meagre tutorial. Some of it’s down to the UI. In the hub area, for example, it took me multiple sessions before I realized that highlighting a specific character ability with my virtual pointer would actually explain what that ability is and what it does… if I turned my head to the right and looked under the character model. It’s completely out of view otherwise. Plus you don’t even get these explanations in the in-match character selection screen.
Larcenauts Review – Final Impressions
Larcenauts runs like a well-oiled machine, with complex and varied character classes that complement each other well for high-level play, tight map design that pushes you into new situations and strategies, and a progression system that keeps the unlocks flowing. It’s a game to commit to and learn its inner-workings with smart plays to counter enemy strategies. In that sense, it’s deeply rewarding, and it isn’t hard to envision an exciting competitive scene emerging from this ruleset.
But Impulse Gear also fills some that machine’s round holes with square pegs, like awkward canned animations and unfortunate bugs for some classes and abilities. These are definite thorns in the game’s side, but there’s a texture and depth to its fast-paced matches that ultimately outshines those shortcomings. Larcenauts may not be as accessible as Population: One or as heavily VR-focused as Onward, but that richness makes it easily one of the platform’s most enjoyable multiplayer shooters yet. Oh, and that soundtrack? *Chef’s kiss*
For more on how we arrived at this score, read our review guidelines. What did you make of our Larcenauts review? Let us know in the comments below!
Four years after its acclaimed title Farpoint, developer Impulse Gear is back with a new VR game, Larcenauts. This time around it’s something very different: a multiplayer-only hero shooter with strong Overwatch vibes.
Larcenauts Details:
Available On: Oculus Quest & Rift (cross-buy), Steam Cross-play: Yes
Price: $30
Developer: Impulse Gear Release Date: June 17th, 2021 Reviewed On: Quest 2
Gameplay
If there’s one thing that’s clear about Larcenauts, it’s that the game is technically very sound and feels like a complete package. Even on Quest 2 the game is sharp, runs smoothly, and has strong and consistent art direction. Granted, the graphics ultimately look entirely designed around Quest’s limitations.
Despite only having four maps at launch, the game’s eight unique characters (each with two loadouts and two ‘Power Slate’ slots for specialization) make it feel like there’s a lot on offer here in terms of different ways to play the game and things to unlock.
Larcenauts Heroes
1 of 8
Thal | Image courtesy Impulse Gear
Vod | Image courtesy Impulse Gear
ARC-L6 | Image courtesy Impulse Gear
Bosun | Image courtesy Impulse Gear
Calima | Image courtesy Impulse Gear
Chi | Image courtesy Impulse Gear
Evander | Image courtesy Impulse Gear
Salters | Image courtesy Impulse Gear
Matches are 6v6 and played across three gametypes which roughly fit themes of territories, capture the flag, and deathmatch. Matches are generally short and sweet, not likely to last longer than 15 minutes. And when a match ends there’s little downtime before a new one begins automatically.
The gameplay is very much on the run-and-gun end of the spectrum with some opportunity to be tactical. That’s to be expected, as Larcenauts is designed to be a fast-paced game, with all characters being able to sprint and some having extra mobility options like dashing and sliding. Players can also vault over short walls and grapple at designated points to leap up significant heights. Thankfully the game manages to feel very comfortable, even with all the movement (more on that in the Comfort section below).
Image courtesy Impulse Gear
Each character has two weapons, a tactical ability, a deployable item, and a unique grenade. In the first few rounds you’re likely to feel like you’re getting destroyed by other players until you start to get a feel for how to best use your character’s weapons and abilities (not to mention learning what other characters are capable of). Characters can have vastly different damage output, so if you aren’t playing smart it’s easy to get yourself into a bad position and get melted by, say, the big robot character Thal who can raise a one-way shield and destroy you easily in a 1v1.
Image courtesy Impulse Gear
Each gun in the game also has the ability to ‘overcharge’, which you do by gripping the gun with your off-hand and holding the off-hand trigger. For instance, the SMG overcharge causes it to shoot incendiary rounds, while overcharging the shotgun tightens the choke for more damage at a greater range. Overcharging a gun uses a limited resource which is collected over the course of the match by killing enemies (though this risks creating a feedback loop that leads to a power imbalance between teams).
Between all the characters, loadout variations, abilities, grenades, and weapon overcharging, it feels like there’s a good amount of depth on paper, but I haven’t felt the gameplay really synergize into something that feels deeper than quick skirmishes scattered across maps which feel better suited to a free-for-all arena shooter than a team-based hero shooter.
There’s some fun to be had, but also some balance issues to work out. The starting character, for instance, has a loadout which allows her to dual wield SMGs. Combined with her ability to drop an AOE buff that increases the rate of fire, the dual SMG loadout can drop you before you have a chance to react. Not to mention that if she gets into a pinch she can easily dash away from the fight thanks to her movement ability. Below is two clips of me getting completely melted by the dual SMG loadout before I had any idea what was happening:
In many cases character abilities feel like they have too much influence on the outcome of individual fights. For instance, Evander, the ranged hero, has an ability which makes him instantly invisible, which can feel unfair to fight against:
Immersion
While Larcenauts scores high in technical competency and appears to have depth to its mechanics, it doesn’t offer much in the way of immersion. The gameplay is largely based on sticks for movement and buttons for abilities. The most immersive elements of Larcenauts are aiming your guns and throwing grenades with your hands, and even then these aren’t particularly immersive. There isn’t a strong sense that the game is really leaning into VR’s unique capabilities.
Gun handling is heavily simplified. While holding a gun with two hands will stabilize your aim—in fact some guns would be useless if you didn’t—only your main hand contributes to actually moving the gun. Once you grab on with your off-hand, it has no influence over the position of the gun, which almost makes it feel like you’ve lost control of your arm.
Reloading is similarly simplified with a console-style ‘press button to reload’ which triggers a pre-animated reload sequence that just sort of… happens to you. It’s weird to see the gun doing its own thing with flashy flipping animations as it reloads while you’re not directing any of it. Not every VR game needs realistic reloading, chambering, and the like—after all, Larcenauts is supposed to be a fast-paced game and you probably don’t want to be fumbling with mags—but pressing a single button and watching a reload animation doesn’t feel quite right.
It surprised me that Impulse Gear took this approach considering their prior game, Farpoint, had a very smart reloading design that was simple while also being immersive. In that game once you depleted your ammo you’d press a button and the gun would essentially recharge over time. Mechanically it’s no different than how reloading works in Larcenauts, except that the guns didn’t go flipping out of your hands on their own accord.
The character Vod, the rock alien, is really the one exception in the immersion department. Since they have no guns and instead use their stretchy arms as weapons, you initiate punches by actually doing a punching gesture which is way more immersive in this case than it would be if you just pulled a trigger to send the arms flying.
Vod | Image courtesy Impulse Gear
Beyond that, don’t expect to do any physical dodging of projectiles, crouching behind cover, interesting gestures, or direct interactions with teammates in Larcenauts. At a minimum I was hoping that the game’s grappling mechanic would be done by reaching out to a grapple point, making a connection, and then doing a ‘pulling’ gesture to yank yourself up the incline (in fact, the game’s trailer showed as much), but unfortunately you just press forward on your thumbstick near the grapple point and it all happens automatically.
Curiously, these missing immersion elements don’t seem to have gone unnoticed by Impulse Gear. The studio has published a post-launch roadmap which indicates that updates a planned which will indeed bring two-handed aiming and manual reloading to the game at some later date. Why these things weren’t part of the game at launch is unclear.
There’s one thoughtful immersive touch that’s actually disabled by default, which is the ‘Immersive Sprint’ setting that activates sprint when you point your gun down. Because you can’t use your weapon while sprinting in Larcenauts anyway, this ends up feeling much more natural (and even easier to do) than clicking in the thumbstick to sprint.
Outside of matches, Larcenauts actually brings a bit of immersive-focused design in the game’s menu. Instead of simply having a menu screen in front of you, the ‘menu’ is a virtual space where you move between different terminals to access various elements of the menu (ie: progression, character loadout, challenges, etc). Ultimately all they’ve done is split the menu up into different screens and scattered them around a virtual space, but I find it easier to process and remember all the different menu functions thanks to their spatial organization.
If you join a party with friends, they all appear in the same shared space which is much more interesting than just seeing their names in a party list.
Larcenauts’ in-game menu with pointer | Photo by Road to VR
And another neat little immersive touch there in the menus: while the game uses a basic laser-pointer-on-screen design for interacting with the menus, it actually makes you pick up a pointer tool that’s sitting next to each of the menu screens to give a contextual reason for having a laser pointer, rather than it simply shooting out of your hands. It’s a trivial difference mechanically, but a smart little bit of design and one I would love to see elsewhere (if games continue to insist on laser pointer menus, that is).
Comfort
Larcenauts relies exclusively on smooth locomotion and doesn’t offer teleport. Granted, I found the game surprisingly comfortable, even with all of its stick strafing, dashing abilities, grappling, and occasional vaulting.
I was able to play easily for an hour or more with no hint of nausea, which isn’t always the case for games with aggressive smooth locomotion. In my time with the game so far I haven’t found any particular ability or action where I felt any obvious discomfort.
It looks like Impulse Gear took a lot of care to get comfort right, and we can see as much in the range of comfort and control options that are made available to players:
Larcenatus Comfort Options
Turning
Artificial turning
Smooth-turn
Adjustable speed
Snap-turn
Adjustable increments
Movement
Artificial movement
Smooth-move
Adjustable speed
Teleport-move
Blinders
Adjustable strength
Head-based
Controller-based
Swappable movement hand
Posture
Standing mode
Seated mode
not explicit
Artificial crouch
Real crouch
Accessibility
Subtitles
Languages
English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean
Alternate audio
Languages
English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean
Looking for a new multiplayer VR shooter? Well good news, Larcenauts releases tomorrow for both Oculus Quest and PC VR via Steam.
The game was set for a summer release, so technically it’s actually releasing a few days ahead of schedule. Developer Impulse Gear surprise announced the release date on its Twitter account.
Larcenauts is Impulse Gear’s new VR game, following from its previous title Farpoint. It’s a multiplayer, sci-fi shooter with a playful tone and a bunch of different character classes to choose from. It will support cross-play, so you won’t have to worry about whether your friends are on Quest if you’re on Steam and vice versa. The Quest and Rift versions on the Oculus Store will also support cross-buy, but it’s unclear whether the Rift version on the Oculus Store will also launch tomorrow or at a later date.
Just this weekend, Lacenauts featured in our UploadVR Showcase, with a segment going over the game’s roadmap and revealing a first look at VOD, the brawler class.
If you’re a PC VR owner then your next week will likely be filled with playing demos from the Steam Next Fest. For everyone else, including Oculus Quest and PlayStation VR owners, here are a selection of virtual reality (VR) titles arriving over the next seven days.
Developed by the 3d Visualisation Aesthetics Lab (3DVAL) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Art and Design Nanoscape VR takes you on a microscopic journey. “Using data from high-resolution electron microscopy we have reconstructed a human breast cancer cell in 3D VR in order to better visualise mechanisms of nanoparticle internalisation and trafficking.”
Being released through Oculus’ App Lab, Smash Drums is a drumming rhythm action videogame featuring 21 songs from up-and-coming indie rock bands. There are destructible environments including a prison, a crypt, and an office as well as 360-degree gameplay to keep you entertained.
Supported platforms: Oculus Quest
Launch date: 17th June
Larcenauts – Impulse Gear
From Farpoint developer Impulse Gear, Larcenautsis a 6v6 multiplayer where you can choose from eight specialists to fight it out across game modes such as territory defending Refuel and the classic Deathmatch. This looks set to become one of the big VR launches of the summer, with plenty of cross platform action between Quest and PC VR headsets.
The first title from indie studio White Noise Games, Eternal Starlight is a real-time strategy (RTS) title putting you in command of a fleet of starships. Featuring a 28 level campaign mode and a skirmish mode to access all the vessels, missions revolve around protecting various alien races from attack. In doing so you gain access to their resources and technology so you can upgrade your flagship. The Oculus Quest edition also features support for hand tracking.
ILMxLAB released Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series for PlayStation VR back in 2020 as a digital-only version. Next week sees the arrival of a special retail edition with a few extras added on. Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series takes you to the planet of Mustafar where Darth Vader is searching for a way to bring Padme back. You’ll be able to wield lightsaber’s, use the force and uncover a storyline set between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.
It’s time for our final installment in our Larcenauts Upload Access spotlight, and we’re rounding things out with some fresh gameplay.
Feast your eyes on another seven minutes of gameplay from the team-based hero shooter below. This time around we’re looking at a new map, Blight, and showing off the DroneHack mode. This seems like an interesting map, with a lot of alien flora and fauna as well as Uplink areas that take you inside a facility.
We also see some new class powers at work. At one point you can see a player setting bear traps for others to stumble into, while we also get to spend some time with the Guardian class, Thal, and see his heavy weaponry and defensive capabilities in action.
Make sure to stay tuned at the end where there’s also a first look at the game’s victory screen and match statistics.
And that’s it for Larcenauts on Upload Access! Missed the action? Make sure to scroll back through our content, which includes yet more gameplay, a live interview with the developer and a look back at the making of the PSVR Aim Controller for the team’s first game, Farpoint.
Larcenauts itself is due out this summer on PC VR and Oculus Quest, so stay tuned for more news soon.
Today we’re introducing the Guardian class, Thal, and the Excavation map.
Thal – Guardian Class
Overview
Thal is Larcenauts’ Guardian class. He’s also, if you hadn’t noticed, a robot. He was discovered decommissioned in the depths of space, though his true origins remain shrouded in mystery. As a Guardian, he lends the crew some muscle, designed to hold positions whilst others get to work.
Weapons & Abilities
Brave-Hammer – A strong defensive class needs a meaty weapon, and the Brave-Hammer certianly provides. The light machine gun sprays bullets for suppression fire. When Overcharged the rate of fire further increases, too.
Shield – Thal’s core ability lets him summon an energy-based Shield on his hand. This isn’t the area-spanning shield you might’ve spotted in the trailers (more on that in a sec) but a personalized alternative. It stops most attacks and even deflects grenades. The Shield breaks down after sustaining a certain amount of damage.
Bulwark – Another energy shield, but this time deployed over a circular perimeter. It lasts a short duration but lets allies in and hurts enemies, too.
Halemar Grenade – The Halemar Grenade works on both allies and enemies. For the latter, it’ll deal damage. Interestingly, though, it also heals teammates.
Excavation trades in the grassy surroundings of Relay for a dry, canyon-style map. It’s a dig site in which alien ruins and an unexplained power source have been discovered. That’s bound to attract the interest of some thieves.
There are four sections to Excavation, though the main area is the Foreman’s office. It’s the highest point on the entire map making it a good sniping spot, but multiple entrances may mean someone gets the drop on you. From there, the level winds down into the Facility, comprised of small rooms for sudden encounters. Doors in this area can be opened and closed, too.
Moving outside there’s the Natural Area, where caves and rocks provide some cover from the sniper nests above. Finally, there are the Ruins, which hold Refuel zones and respawn points but little in the way of cover. You’ll need to use a lot of caution here.
Today’s reveals wrap up another week for Larcenauts on Upload Access. Check back news week for a new interview with Impulse Gear and more multiplayer match gameplay!
At the beginning of the month, Farpoint developer Impulse Gear revealed its next virtual reality (VR) title, a cross-platform multiplayer shooter called Larcenauts. Coming to Oculus Quest/Rift and SteamVR, the studio has so far said the launch is slated for ‘Summer 2021’. However, the Oculus App indicates a far more specific release date in June.
The Oculus App is a great way to remotely install VR games and apps on your Oculus Quest, plus just like the desktop online store, it shows you what’s to come in the Coming Soon section. But the app can sometimes provide a little more information. In the case of Larcenauts, a release date for 17th June 2021 is listed. That would put the videogame exactly four weeks out.
While online retailers such as Amazon quite often put placeholder dates and prices – or sometimes completely leak launch info – data on the Oculus App tends to remain entirely accurate. So if you’ve liked the look of Larcenauts then you could be playing it fairly soon, on Oculus Quest at least. As for the Steam version, VRFocus would assume that’s the same date as well considering Larcenauts was due to hit all supported platforms. Kind of important for player numbers as it’ll be a PvP, multiplayer-only experience.
Continuing a trend for fast-paced, team-based shooters Larcenauts will see players compete in 6v6 matches where they can choose from eight specialists to fight it out across several game modes. These offer players various character classes, whether they prefer a tank with plenty of defence, a sneaky sniper or an explosive grenadier. As experience is gained they’ll be able to customise loadouts to further finesse their characters as well as improving skills through Power Slates.
To ensure the action stays fluid and exciting Larcenauts‘ gmae modes will include the capture-the-flag-style DroneHack, the territory defending Refuel and some classic Deathmatch action. These will all play out across four maps Relay, Excavation; Blight, and Hazardpay.
If you are buying Larcenauts om the Oculus Store Impulse Gear has confirmed it’ll support cross-buy between the two headsets. For further updates on the PvP shooter, keep reading VRFocus.
Wondering exactly what you’ll be getting in Larcenauts when it launches this summer?
For today’s Upload Access drop, we’re giving you a full run-down of the upcoming team-based shooter. We’ve got info on characters, weapons, abilities, maps, modes and more.
Characters, Weapons And Abilities
Larcenauts launches with 8 unlockable specialists. Each is essentially a different class for the game, like the Grenadier (the recently-revealed Salters) or Medic.
Generally speaking, each character has 2 weapon load-outs. It might be that they either have a dual-wielding option for one gun, or perhaps they have a sidearm to go with their main weapon, too. Every weapon in the game also has a secondary firing ability called Overcharge. You activate this by killing enemies to fill a meter.
Each character also has abilities that give them the edge in battle. Some of these refer to specific items, like Unique Grenades or a Deployable Item, like the teleportation device Salters uses. Others are called Quick Skills and are thought of as the character’s primary ability. For Salters, for example, it’s the Charge that throws her into the heat of battle. These work with a cooldown mechanic.
Progression
Every specialist in the game has 20 levels to progress through. Doing so will unlock stat boosts to health, movement speed, ammo and Overcharge storage. This will also unlock new Power Slate slots (more on those in a second). Each character also generally has around 4 skins and weapon skins to match.
You can further enhance your character’s performance with Power Slates. You can use up to two Slates at a time (once slots are unlocked) and they’ll modify either your weapons or abilities. Winning games will also help you grow Notoriety, which serves as player rankings. The game will also have Daily and Weekly Challenges for players to complete to help them further their journey.
Modes And Maps
Every mode in Larcenauts supports 6v6 gameplay and you can play with smaller teams too. At launch there are 3 game modes spread across 4 maps.
The modes include Refuel, in which players steal fuel in hopes of getting off-planet. This is done by controlling different territories on a map that will slowly refuel a ship. DroneHack, meanwhile, is a capture the flag gametype in which players secure a drone and must take it to an uplink point to hack it before it self-destructs. Finally, there’s your standard Team Deathmatch.
Platforms And Purchasing
Larcenauts releases this summer on Oculus Quest and SteamVR. It supports cross-play across all platforms and, if you’re picking the game up on the Oculus Store you’ll also get both the Quest and Rift version via cross-buy.
We’ve got plenty more on Larcenauts coming this month, so stay tuned and check out the full Upload Access schedule below!
