Open World Cyberpunk Adventure ‘LOW-FI’ is Coming to PSVR 2 This Year

IRIS VR, the studio behind TECHNOLUST (2016), announced that its long-awaited open world cyberpunk adventure LOW-FI is slated to launch sometime this year on PlayStation 5, PSVR 2, and PC VR headsets via Steam and the Meta PC platform.

Update (March 10th, 2023): It’s been nearly two years since IRIS VR announced a PS5 version was coming, which initially was set to arrive sometime in 2021. Now studio head Blair Renaud says in a tweet that LOW-FI is officially coming to PS5 and PSVR 2 this year. You can wishlist it on the PlayStation Store here.

The still in-development game has been available for purchase on PC and PC VR headsets for some time via the game’s itch.io, however Renaud also says we should expect to see it on Steam and the Meta PC platform in 2023 as well. You can wishlist it on Steam here.

If you haven’t followed along with the project, here’s a description courtesy of IRIS VR:

As the player, you are “low-fi”, the street name given to those who cannot merge with the platform, a ubiquitous virtual reality simulation where most of the population now live their lives. You are a police officer and have been transferred to a particularly crime ridden section of city-block 303. The only inhabitants of note in your jurisdiction are other low-fi, and the human intelligence (or lower) artificial life forms who have remained among the citizens after the AI singularity.

The original article announcing LOW-FI’s PS5 availability follows below. We’ve also included the latest trailer below this update:

Original Article (June 12th, 2020): A successful Kickstarter campaign late last year helped get LOW-FI off the ground, having garnered IRIS VR over $80,000 USD. At the time, it was pitched as a VR-native game intentionally built from the ground-up for PC VR headsets and “next-gen PSVR.”

The game’s developer, Blair Renaud, says that anyone can pre-order the PC version now, which gives you early access on SteamVR headsets. At the time of this writing the pre-release PC VR version costs $35 USD.

And it’s certainly an ambitious undertaking, boasting a massive, non-linear open world, “hundreds” of crimes and stories to solve and explore, branching narratives, and dialogue from what the studio says will be “photo-realistic NPCs.”

While the game’s creator seems fairly certain of LOW-FI’s 2021 launch window (see update), Sony hasn’t actually released word on when a next-gen follow-up to the PSVR is set to arrive.

We do however know that the current PSVR will be compatible with PS5 when the console launches holiday 2020, so upcoming VR releases for PS5 don’t necessarily indicate any implied time frame for a prospective PSVR 2.

Cyberpunk Adventure ‘LOW-FI’ to Feature Exclusive Music by GUNSHIP

Fans of British synthwave band GUNSHIP rejoice: LOW-FI, the upcoming cyberpunk VR game and spiritual successor to TECHNOLUST (2016), is getting an exclusive Gunship EP.

IRIS VR released word in a Kickstarter update this week, revealing that not only will the game feature a number of cool ’80s inspired tracks, but that the campaign now has a number of rewards that fans of the band should appreciate.

Backers of the ‘CYBERPUNK’ tier or above, which starts at $60 CAD (~$45 USD), will receive a digital download of the exclusive GUNSHIP/LOW-FI EP.

Many tiers now feature the ability to enter into a lottery to hang out with Gunship in the social VR platform VRChat too.There’s also a Gunship themed in-game credit, and high resolution GUNSHIP/LOW-FI artwork.

Gunship made this statement in support of the game:

“We  ( GUNSHIP ) are big fans of VR. Like you guys, we grew up reading about cyberspace, the metaverse, the matrix, and more recently the Oasis… . It feels  like a cool thing to do, to help bring this project to your attention  – like  adding a small brick to the big wall of VR gaming progress over history. LOW-FI  is being built by Blair Renaud and his band of VR renegades – these guys were responsible for ‘Technolust’, a game which we all felt was as close to getting inside  Blade Runner as currently possible. We spent a lot of time wandering around in ‘Technolust’ channeling inspiration for tracks like ‘Cyber City’ and ‘Woken  Furies’. LOW-FI is being built with the indie spirit, and we feel that its team are precisely the type of people who will usher in the VR experience which fans of our collective nature & tastes have all been long waiting for. These guys are pioneers, let’s help them push VR forward!  We are hugely excited to channel our years of obsession surrounding dystopian sci-fi narratives and cyberpunk lore into some original music for LOW-FI. It’s going to be FUN, come get involved, maybe we’ll see you in ‘the  platform’…”

The stretch goal was initially unlocked when the campaign passed the $52,000 mark (~$70,000 CAD). Soon after, the campaign also unlocked a stretch goal at $64,000 (~$84,000 CAD) which is slated to bring a new Wastelands area to the game.

SEE ALSO
'LOW-FI' Kickstarter Reaches Funding Goal in 3.5 Days, Now Eyeing Stretch Goals

At the time of this writing, the project’s campaign is sitting at a little over $64,000 (~$58,000 CAD). Two major stretch goals are still on the horizon, namely a version for the next-gen PSVR at $256,000 (~$380,000 CAD) and an Oculus Quest version at $600,000 (~$780,000 CAD).

There’s still a few more unrevealed stretch goals on the horizon though, so there’s no telling what cybernetic implant madness IRIS VR has up its duster coat’s sleeves.

Make sure to check out the Kickstarter here.

The post Cyberpunk Adventure ‘LOW-FI’ to Feature Exclusive Music by GUNSHIP appeared first on Road to VR.

‘Technolust’ Studio to Bring Cyberpunk Game ‘LOW-Fi’ to Kickstarter in September

IRIS VR, the indie studio known for the cyberpunk adventure Technolust (2016), today announced that the next VR project is headed to Kickstarter on September 1st, 2019.

Dubbed LOW-Fi, the game is described as the spiritual successor to Technolust, as it clearly taps into the same gritty cyberpunk feel that fans of the iconic film and literary genre know so well.

Unlike Technolust however, which is an Oculus platform exclusive, IRIS VR founder and indie VR veteran Blair Renaud says via Twitter that Low-fi is slated to support Oculus Rift, SteamVR headsets, Windows VR headsets, and PC at launch.

Here’s a quick rundown of the story:

As the player, you are “low-fi”, the street name given to those who cannot merge with the platform, a ubiquitous virtual reality simulation where most of the population now live their lives. You are a police officer and have been transferred to city-block 303, a particularly crime ridden section or Toronto. The only inhabitants of note in your jurisdiction are other low-fi, and the human intelligence (or lower) artificial life forms who have remained among the citizens after the AI singularity.

SEE ALSO
‘Lion King’ Director’s VR Film ‘Gnomes & Goblins’ is Back From the Dead, Now “Coming Soon”

Renaud maintains Low-fi will see release “sometime in 2020.” There’s no word on what the campaign’s initial goal will be, although considering the number of platforms the game is targeting, it could be more than the initial $64,477 CAD (~$49,000 USD) that Technolust garnered through its successful Kickstarter all the way back in 2014.

We’ll keep you posted on all things Low-fi leading up to the campaign. In the meantime, check out the game’s teaser below:

The post ‘Technolust’ Studio to Bring Cyberpunk Game ‘LOW-Fi’ to Kickstarter in September appeared first on Road to VR.