Hugh Hancock, the developer of popular VR RPG Left-Hand Path, suddenly passed away this week.
Hancock’s death was reported by his friends online, confirming that he suffered a sudden heart attack. He was in his early 40s.
Though his most recent work was within VR, Hancock is best known for founding Machinima, a gaming media outlet that currently stands as one of the biggest gaming-focused networks on YouTube. He created animations for the company under his own studio name, Strange Company, including films like Bloodspell. In 2016, the company was sold to Warner Bros. Digital Networks. Left-Hand Path, which Hancock had been working on for over a year, was the first and only VR project created under that label. He had, however, been experimenting with VR for years, having developed a project for the 2013 Rift Jam.
Left-Hand Path is a Dark Souls-inspired RPG that released in November 2017. Players cast spells to fight back vicious monsters across a full campaign. On Steam, it held a very positive average rating from over 100 reviews.
Tributes to Hancock have been coming in over the past few days.
So sad to hear about the passing away of my friend @hughhancock – a genuinely lovely guy, passionately creative and worthy of remembrance. I consider him the pioneer of ‘Machinima’ (I remember the discussions over why it wasn’t ‘Machinema’). Rest In Peace.
So sad to hear that filmmaker/game designer/entrepreneur Hugh Hancock, who created the word ‘Machinima’, died suddenly.
I worked with him on BloodSpell over a decade ago. He was one of the most passionately creative people I’ve ever known and he was a really really nice guy.
Having covered the creme de la creme for virtual reality (VR) in our ‘Best Oculus Rift Games’, ‘Best HTC Vive Games’ and ‘Best PlayStation VR Games’ articles, VRFocus has now decided to look at those videogames you may have missed during the course of 2017 that are still worthy of your time and money.
Mixing a science fiction storyline along with a surreal puzzle adventure, Charm Games’ FORMdoes just about everything right when it comes to immersing you in a fantastical VR experience. You play a scientist trying to unlock the mysteries of an ancient artifact, and in doing so are transported to an awe inspiring world filled with puzzles to test your mind, memory, hearing and more. Having launched in early June it can be quite easy for some videogames to get lost in the maelstrom that is the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3).
The Invisible Hours
Tequila Works’ The Invisible Hours is fairly new having only launched in October for HTC Vive. The experience is a murder-mystery who-dun-it, a virtual reality (VR) version of Cluedo for those boardgame fans. Rather than play an actual character, you’re instead a kind of fly-on-the-wall, able to freely wander around the mansion, watching the story evolve whilst uncovering an intricate web of interwoven stories todiscover clues to the murder of Nikola Tesla.
Siegecraft Commander
There are a few real-time strategy (RTS) title out there for HTC Vive depending on what you’re after. One that might have escaped your attention was Siegecraft Commanderby Blowfish Studios. Released at the beginning of the year, Siegecraft Commander offers an intriguing twist on tower defence style gameplay, where you have to launch your next tower from the last, with a wall interconnecting the two. This eventually leads to a carefully laid out web of towers and walls which can all come crumbling down at a moments notice should an enemy destroy a key early building with many branches leading off it. While an RTS, tower defence title may not be to everyone’s liking, it’s certainly worth a look if you enjoy a tabletop style challenge.
Left-Hand Path
Another newbie that could’ve easily been overlooked thanks to another role-playing game (RPG) being released, Left-Hand Pathis a Dark Souls inspired adventure that’s been created by indie studio Strange Company. Armed with arcane powers, players must wield their newly-found powers and explore to find even more powerful spells and rituals, while trying to stay alive long enough to solve the mysteries that lay before them. If you’re after a big RPG that offers something different to Bethesda then Left-Hand Path is certainly worth a look.
Hurl VR
Sometimes it’s the simple things in life than can be the most rewarding but also most easily missed. For most of you reading this Hurl VRprobably brings up blank expressions, sounding like a drunk party game that involves way too much liquid. That’s not the case however, as Hurl VR is about precision throwing (basketball style), trying to get a ball into a goal. Sounds easy enough but there are several types of platforms that need to be utilised to bounce and teleport the ball accurately. Hurl VR is simple to pick up yet fiendish by the end, so don’t overlook it if you’re after a cheap puzzler.
Left-Hand Path is a very dark game. When I say it’s a dark game I mean that both literally and figuratively. Not only are the enemies inspired by the twisted nightmares of medieval-themed fantasy, but from the opening moments you’ll have to quickly become accustomed to pitch black darkness. That is until you get used to using your staff as a flashlight.
The most powerful tool at any VR developers disposal is to force the player to feel things that they wouldn’t otherwise feel outside of VR and in the case of Left-Hand Path it’s a sense of lonely terror.
Left-Hand Path is a VR-only roleplaying game (RPG) that’s been in Early Access for over a year now and it makes full use of tracked motion controllers and room-scale setups for both Rift and Vive as it launched out of Early Access in November. All of your spells are cast by drawing runes in the air, similar to SoulKeeper VR, but you’ll spend most of your time exploring the world, uncovering secrets, and solving puzzles. And dying a lot.
The moment-to-moment gameplay is more visceral and interactive than most other VR games. It doesn’t feature robust melee combat like that in Vanishing Realms, but instead relies on a dense magic system. By tapping the staff in your right hand to your head you can summon your Grimoire, a magical tome full of runes that summon different spells and powers. In one moment I was twisting in a circle to surround myself in magical energy, while in another moment I was frantically painting circles in the air to send fireballs careening towards my enemies. You move by using a mixture of teleportation and smooth locomotion.
Left-Hand Path is far from a AAA-quality VR game and that’s apparent from the very start. It was created by a small team and it lacks a lot of polish, but it partially makes up for that rough-around-the-edges aesthetic with loads of ambition. When it’s all said and done you can easily spend upwards of 15 hours on this adventure, which is much longer than most VR games that cost twice the price of Left-Hand Path.
I’ve played a lot of VR horror games in the past two years from Resident Evil 7’s foreboding sense of horror, Killing Floor: Incursion’s frantic desperation, and even the relentless onslaught of haunted house style jump scares of Until Dawn: Rush of Blood. But none of those are really comparable to Left-Hand Path. In this horror-themed roleplaying game from Strange Company, you’ll be afraid of the dark, afraid of the enemies, afraid of your environment, and afraid to open the next door.
But remember how I said Left-Hand Path was a dark game? Sometimes it’s frustratingly dark. The lighting effects are quite impressive, for the most part, but the darkness textures and light mapping sometimes look more like black smudges and flat boards rather than substantive darkness.
When that sense of dread shines through though, it’s a fear spurred on by not only spooky creatures and sudden startles, but also your impending death. The developers claim a heavy inspiration from Dark Souls, but not in the way you’d think. It’s not an action RPG with bonfire save points and a third-person camera, but is instead a devilishly difficult and unforgiving gauntlet of puzzles and combat.
Pacing in Left-Hand Path is a bit of a problem, as are the difficulty spikes, but it never gets too outrageous on the lower difficulty settings. My main gripe with games that bill themselves as “The Dark Souls of ____” is that they often misinterpret what makes the Souls series so special. It’s not just the brutal difficulty. It’s about how the world building, pacing, gameplay, and enemy design all complement one another so fluidly.
In the case of Left-Hand Path, most of the “Dark Souls inspiration” is unfortunately relegated to a sense of frustrating, sometimes pointless, difficulty spikes. Thankfully it doesn’t detract too drastically from the game as a whole.
If you’re looking for something similar that’s a bit more polished, I’d recommend The Mage’s Tale, or if you’d prefer melee-focused combat, give Vanishing Realms a look.
Final Score:6/10 – Decent
Left-Hand Path is just as ambitious as it is unpolished. It’s extremely rough around the edges across the board from visuals to sound design, but it packs enough creativity to be worth your while if you’re a sucker for dark-themed RPGs. The rune-based spell system is satisfying to master and the high difficulty level sets it apart from its contemporaries. It’s just a shame that the slightly janky execution holds it back from being even better.
Eineinhalb Jahre hat es gedauert: Nun hat der Entwickler Strange Company das VR-RPG Left-Hand Path für Oculus Rift und HTC Vive mit einem großen Update als Full Release freigegeben. Das soll jetzt auch Nicht-Hardcore-Spieler überzeugen können. Der VR-Titel hat sich von der anspruchsvollen Dark-Souls-Reiheinspirieren lassen und führt die Spieler in eine herausfordernde und düstere Welt voller Gefahren, die vollen Körpereinsatz fordert.
Left-Hand Path: Dark Souls in VR
In Left-Hand Path von Strange Company stürzt ihr euch in eine düstere Horrorwelt, deren Geschichte von Tragik, Gier und Machthunger der Menschen gefüllt ist. Dabei trefft ihr auf allerlei gefährliche Widersacher, die versuchen, euch auf eurer Reise durch die gruseligen Landschaften und Kerker aufzuhalten. Um euch dem entgegenzustellen, steht euch ein komplexes Zaubersystem zur Verfügung, was euch Zugriff auf fliegende Geschosse, Feuerbälle und Blitze gewährt. Diese führt ihr – wie auch aus anderen Titeln gewohnt – durch das Zeichnen von Symbolen aus.
Doch Left-Hand Path fordert wesentlich mehr als das Werfen euerer Zauber, denn eure komplette Körperarbeit ist während des Spielens gefragt. In typischer Dark-Souls-Manier müsst ihr einer Menge fieser Angriffe ausweichen und den jeweiligen Schwachpunkt des Gegners herausfinden. Dabei sind gute Reflexe gefordert, denn das Parieren, Ducken oder Umlaufen eurer Gegner steht an der Tagesordnung.
Neben den fordernden Kämpfen könnt ihr mit anderen Menschen oder Kreaturen interagieren und versteckte Geheimnisse ans Licht der Welt bringen. Rollenspieltypisch schaltet ihr im Spielverlauf durch das Bezwingen von Feinden neue Fähigkeiten frei und werdet damit stärker. Insgesamt fünfzehn Stunden Spielzeit sowie zwei verschiedene Fortbewegungsmethoden stehen euch im VR-RPG zur Verfügung. Dabei können die Spieler zwischen Teleportation und einer Slide-Locomotion auswählen.
Mit dem Update auf das Full Release hat der Entwickler die Locomotion noch mal komplett überarbeitet, sie soll jetzt wesentlich flüssiger funktionieren. Außerdem gibt es neben vielen anderen Verbesserungen Hilfen für Einsteiger, beispielsweise ein neues Tutorial. Angsthasen wählen den Low-Terror-Modus, bei dem man mehr sieht und die Überraschungsmomente reduziert wurden. Wem hingegen die Herausforderung zu hart ist, unternimmt die Reise im Story Mode.
Left-Hand Path ist seit dem 10. November im Full Release für 27,99 Euro auf SteamVR für Oculus Riftund HTC Viveerhältlich.
If videogames like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Dark Souls prove anything, it’s that gamers love fantasy role-playing games (RPGs), and especially when it comes to the latter that they’re not too easy either. While PlayStation VR owners will be getting The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR soon, when it comes to Oculus Rift and HTC Vive (reviewed) players have the choice of specifically designed for virtual reality (VR) titles that obviously don’t carry the same weight and prestige as Bethesda’s juggernaut. Hoping to make a mark in the genre is indie studio Strange Company with its Dark Souls inspired horror RPG Left-Hand Path.
Having been through a year of Steam Early Access development some gamers may already be well versed in Strange Company’s magical RPG, which tasks players with mastering the arcane arts, uncovering the sprawling story and hopefully not dying too much.
Remember that inspiration? Well first and foremost Left-Hand Path teaches patience as you will die, and die and die. Certainly at some points it can feel like a proper slog as you try to learn the magic that’s going to help you on your travels, killing enough enemies to earn enough husks to upgrade at the screaming skulls and then moving on. Whilst this won’t be to everyone’s liking these type of difficult videogames definitely have their own reward. If you put the hours into Left-Hand Path then you won’t be disappointed.
No part of the title is easy going, from getting to grips with the movement to accurately performing the correct spell with its gesture system. Players are equipped with a staff in one hand – from which all your magic emanates – whilst the other activates said magic. In a similar fashion to The Wizards, you need to draw symbols in the air using your free hand to fire projectiles, illuminate surroundings, cast defensive barriers, and more, much more. There’s a significant amount of spells to learn, some of which are more intuitive than others. You’ll soon find a particular roster of spells to use in combat or for certain foes. Whilst making for immersive gameplay – you do feel like a powerful mage – the mechanics don’t work as well when a battle gets particularly fraught. Thankfully you have your trusty Grimoire spell book which automatically updates when you learn a new spell so remembering everything isn’t required.
For intense battles you need to learn to move and there are a couple of options available. As standard, Left-Hand Path features teleportation which is activated on the HTC Vive’s touchpad. While this is fine, seasoned VR players will want to active trackpad smooth movement, the direction of which is controlled with your magical staff. Unlike other VR titles where you have to choose one system, Left-Hand Path allows you to use both – one on each controller – mainly due to how the levels are laid out. Some areas are only accessible via teleportation, whereas being able to strafe or quickly move backwards is very handy in combat.
There are a few little issues here and there. Collision detection can be a bit hit and miss when dealing with simple things like opening doors, or if you pick up a book it can drop under a bed, seemingly lost forever. The same goes for melee combat, with staff swings never really feeling or looking like they connect, so it descends into wild flailing until an enemy dies – or you do again. Another gripe would have to be enemy AI. Monsters aren’t generally highly tactical in most videogames but something more than seeing you and running straight at you would be nice.
At points Left-Hand Path is a little rough around the edges, it’s not as polished as The Mage’s Tale for example. But that doesn’t mean it can’t have a charm of its own. Strange Company has created a massive world that you can spend far too many hours in – the studio claims around 15, depending on deaths it’s going to be more. If you’re an RPG fanatic who wants to head out on a brutal adventure then Left-Hand Path is the videogame for you.
Left-Hand Path is a Dark Souls-inspired single-player VR adventure developed by Strange Company. The studio recently announced that the spell-casting RPG, which promises 15+ hours of content, is heading out of Early Access November 10th.
Launching out of a year-long stint on Steam Early Access next month for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, players must learn a host of arcane gestures to cast powerful demon-killing spells, perform ancient rituals, and learn the terrible truths behind the ‘Well of All Rewards’.
Turning up the difficulty in classic Dark Souls fashion, Left-Hand Path provides few save points, no regenerating health, respawning enemies when you die, and all in the dark and dank world filled with monsters that look torn straight out of a D&D monster manual.
“Dark Souls changed everything in game design, and I felt strongly that VR needed an experience that captured the ‘Souls-like’ essence. Fans will recognize the atmospheric environment, subtle storytelling, and the ever punishing gameplay of the genre in Left-Hand Path,” said Hugh Hancock, indie developer behind the game.
Because Left-Hand Path makes uses of Vive and Rift’s room-scale capabilities, you’ll have to actually duck, dodge, outmaneuver as you cast powerful spells like acid missiles, lightning, meteors, flaming boulders, and even conjure an army of screaming skulls.
We haven’t had a chance to dive into Left-Hand Path, but the Steam reviews look promising, currently sitting at an 86% positive score and retaining a ‘Very Positive’ rating.
In what seems to be a running trend of early access titles from 2016 seeing full releases recently – both Raw Data and Space Pirate Trainer have had 1.0 updates, today Strange Company has announced that its Dark Souls-inspired, spell casting videogame Left-Hand Path is due for its full release next month.
Left-Hand Path is a role playing game (RPG) designed to maximise roomscale virtual reality (VR) gameplay, with hours of single-player campaign, dangerous monsters to fight, and complex ritual magic system based on historical Hermetic magic to master
“Dark Souls changed everything in game design, and I felt strongly that VR needed an experience that captured the ‘Souls-like’ essence. Fans will recognize the atmospheric environment, subtle storytelling, and the ever punishing gameplay of the genre in Left-Hand Path.”
“Isaac Newton said ‘If I have seen further than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.’ I agree with that,” said Hugh Hancock, indie developer behind Left-Hand Path in a statement. “In the case of Left-Hand Path, those giants turn into horrific pus-monsters when you get them to half health.”
The storyline revolves around players awakening in a cursed darkened castle with a tragic history full of never-before-seen creatures that are after your skin. Armed with arcane powers and a thirst for exploration, players must wield their newly-found powers and explore to find even more powerful spells and rituals, while trying to stay alive long enough to solve the mysteries of Well of All Rewards.
“Left-Hand Path is not your traditional VR experience. This is a full 15 hour video game with immersive storyline written to sink you further into the game. This is not your grandma’s VR and this is not a seated experience. You will need room to cast spells, avoid enemies and their weapons, peak into secret passages, and bring hidden items into view. This is a room-scale game only. Prepare to die and try not to soil yourself,” said Hancock.
