We first learned about Myst getting the VR treatment back at the first-annual Facebook Connect in September of this year. It’s exciting, but not necessarily surprising given Cyan’s previous development of Obduction and Firmament, as well as publishing titles like Zed.
Arguably, Myst is the most important PC game of all-time. It ushered in a new era of gaming, legitimized the CD-ROM, and pushed boundaries in bold new directions. In many ways, VR is aiming to do the same thing for video games and technology as a whole, so it’s fitting that Myst would bring it all full-circle with a true made-for-VR adaptation.
The official Facebook blog post explains further:
“Reimagined and built from the ground up for VR, Myst lets you explore a beautiful island shrouded in mystery and intrigue. With new art, sound, interactions, updated accessibility, and optional puzzle randomization, newcomers and loyal fans alike are in for a treat. Purchase of the game will also include an exclusive Myst-themed Oculus home environment.”
Don’t blink, because next month is going to see a rash of new content coming to VR that will keep you busy well before the holidays begin. Coming in mid-December is the VR version of Myst, Quest exlusive Warhammer 40,000: Battle Sister, and massive DLC drop Pistol Whip: 2089. Check out the release dates below.
Myst
Cyan Worlds, the original developers of the iconic puzzle adventure game Myst (1993), announced at Facebook Connect in September that a remake of the game is coming to Quest and PC VR platforms. Now the studio reveals that you can set your calendars for December 10th.
This Myst “reimagining” is said to include all of the classic game, but with modern sound, art, and interactions. Add it to your wishlist here.
Myst will also be available on PC VR via Steam. Oculus made the initial announcement, so we’re checking to see if that December 10th date is timed Quest exclusivity or not.
Warhammer 40K: Battle Sister
Warhammer 40,000: Battle Sister, the first VR game in the storied universe, is coming exclusively to the Quest platform on December 8th.
Developers Pixel Toys say the narrative-driven VR shooter will offer both single and multiplayer modes, and push players through “an epic story where Ophelia searches for her lost twin sister and fights for the future of humanity itself.” Expect all of the trimmings, including iconic wargear such as Bolters, Plasma Pistols, Flamers, Las Rifles, Power Swords, Chainswords, and Acts of Faith. Add it to your wishlist here.
Pistol Whip: 2089 Update
After multiple updates, which brought to the rhythm shooter new scenes, songs, and plenty of style, Pistol Whip’s first ‘action pack’ will offer even more of the good stuff: scenes, weapons, enemies, and a few new mechanics.
This fat slice of new content arrives December 1st, including five story-driven chapters in a gritty sci-fi expansion to Cinematic Campaign Mode.
Check out the base game on Quest here. Pistol Whip: 2089 will also be available on PC VR via Steam and Rift via the Oculus Store.
What new titles will you be able to play on October 13th? Here’s our full list of Oculus Quest 2 launch titles (that we know of) to fill you in.
Facebook’s new standalone headset is now just under two weeks away. We loved Quest 2 for its improved design and added horsepower, but what games will actually be launching alongside the headset? Let’s find out.
Below is everything we know of (so far) that is coming to Quest 2 on day one. There may be a few additions to the list in the coming days, and don’t forget that Quest 2 supports every single game that released for the original Quest. In fact, these games will also be playable on the old headset. We’ve also got a list of launch window titles a little further below, so you know what’s coming in the next few weeks and months. You can see more trailers and gameplay for this content on our Youtube channel.
Also if you’re wondering why so many of these Oculus Quest 2 launch titles are from Japanese developers, Quest 2 is pushing for that market pretty hard at launch!
Oculus Quest 2 Launch Titles
Kizuna AI: Touch the Beat
Wave glowsticks to the beat in this idol-adoring simulator. Think Beat Saber, but with more J-Pop.
Little Witch Academia VR
The hit anime gets the VR game fans (and probably Harry Potter fans too) have always wanted. Shoot through the sky on your broom and interact with the series’ colorful cast of characters.
Rez Infinite
A beloved classic gets its long-awaited Quest treatment. Rez is a relaxing on-rails shooter with pulsating visuals that utterly astound you. It’s already on practically every other headset, so this was long overdue.
Space Channel 5
Another Japanese hit comes to VR. Space Channel 5 is a dancing game in which you move to the beat to take down evil forces. It’s incredibly zany, though we didn’t think the PSVR version had anywhere near enough content.
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners
The big one. One of the year’s best VR games crams onto Quest, with physics-driven zombie mayhem and a sprawling set of missions to take on. This one of the biggest Oculus Quest 2 launch titles.
Beat Saber Multiplayer
Obviously, Beat Saber isn’t ‘new’, but its multiplayer support is. This free update will let five friends tackle any of the game’s tracks together. This will be coming to PSVR and PC VR headsets too, as will the upcoming BTS DLC.
Oculus Quest 2 Launch Window Titles And Beyond
The Climb 2 – Holiday Season
Crytek’s popular rock climbing game returns with new, more expansive locations and more. Plus: volcanoes. Need I say more?
Pistol Whip: 2089 Update – Holiday Season
The latest update for Cloudhead Games’ big hit gives a much more cinematic edge and campaign elements. This will be coming to PSVR and PC VR headsets too.
Myst – This Year
The adventure classic is getting a full-on remake for VR headsets. It’s a full-circle moment for developer Cyan, who also made Obduction and defined the genre so many years ago.
Warhammer 40,000: Battle Sister – This Year
The first full VR first-person shooter set in the iconic Warhammer 40K universe. Battle Sister offers a full campaign we can’t wait to get our hands on. In fact, we already got to try it out a few weeks back.
Population: One – This Year
VR gets the Fortnite treatment with an online battle royale across a giant map. Teams of three compete to be the last ones standing. This one could be a big hit.
What do you make of the list of Oculus Quest 2 launch titles? Let us know in the comments below!
Cyan Worlds’ classic game Myst is being rebuilt for VR on Oculus Quest.
Facebook announced the title is coming to Oculus Quest later this year during the keynote of Facebook Connect. The new version will feature “modern art, sound, interactions, and optional puzzle randomization for those who are up for a greater challenge,” according to Facebook.
Check out the new trailer:
For those unfamiliar with Myst, the original came out in 1993 featuring beautiful pre-rendered stills players could navigate and unravel the mystery via point-and-click. It spawned several sequels and adaptations including a version with 3D graphics and touch controls. According to Facebook, the new version is “built completely from the ground up for Oculus Quest.” It’s going to be very interesting to revisit those environments in VR. Myst’s original design seemed particularly well-suited to help players build out a really detailed mental map of the rich virtual world represented as still images. So it may represent a pretty eerie sense of deja vu for existing fans of the game to virtually visit those places again in an Oculus Quest.
We’re extremely curious to see how Cyan Worlds adapted the game’s puzzles and interactions to VR. The studio is pretty experienced in VR already so we’ve got some high expectations for this port. Are you ready to see what’s inside the linking books?
Be sure to watch our Oculus Quest 2 VR Download special show diving into the latest announcements and find a list of other Facebook Connect announcements below the video.
Myst (1993), the iconic point-and-click puzzle adventure from Cyan Worlds, is coming to the Quest platform later this year, and on SteamVR headsets “soon.”
Update (September 17th, 2020): It appears Myst will also be coming to SteamVR headsets in addition to launch on Quest later this year, as Cyan has just thrown up a Steam page and GOG page indicating that VR will be an option in addition to the PC flatscreen mode. The PC version is said to arrive “soon.”
Original Article (September 16th, 2020): Announced today at Facebook Connect, Cyan says it’s new version of Myst is a “reimagining” of the classic game, which will include modern sound, art, and interactions.
The studio also says there will be the opportunity to play the game with optional puzzle randomization, which ought to offer a healthy challenge to anyone who’s already played before.
Here’s all of the screenshots that were shared with Road to VR so far:
1 of 5
Image courtesy Cyan Worlds
Image courtesy Cyan Worlds
Image courtesy Cyan Worlds
Image courtesy Cyan Worlds
Image courtesy Cyan Worlds
Although you shouldn’t infer too much from screenshots, it appears the studio is bringing a fine level of detail to the game.
Of course, Myst for Quest isn’t the studio’s first stab at VR, having already brought its VR puzzler Obduction (2017) to PC, SteamVR headsets, PS4 and PSVR. The studio’s upcoming VR title Firmament is scheduled to arrive sometime after 2021.
Cyan says the VR version of Myst was built “completely from the ground-up for Oculus Quest.” While it hasn’t admitted as much, it’s very likely going to be a Quest platform exclusive (see update).
Developer CM Games announced that its VR debut survival horror FPS game Into The Radius is leaving Early Access on June 20. The game initially launched on Steam and other platforms in 2019 in Early Access with less content, but now the game will enjoy a full release with all the content added during the development cycle over the last several months.
Set in an open-world Soviet wasteland, Into The Radius is a survival shooter with a sprinkle of horror as well. When we interviewed Brandon Marsh from CM Games earlier in the year, he described the game as “much more of a survival / stealth game, not a straight forward guns blazing FPS.” You need to use your navigation skills and prepare the right equipment for each mission, using modifiable weapons that will also need to be maintained to avoid jams.
The Early Access build started with just the open map and a handful of missions, leading some players to note that it had a slow pace and felt a bit unfinished. However, Marsh also noted to us back in February that a lot of content was being added during Early Access, such as more maps, voice acting, the full storyline and special missions, as outlined in the Early Access milestones. Once the game reached Milestone 6, it was ready for a full launch, which is now set for June 20. There’s even a new gameplay trailer to celebrate the launch, which you can view embedded above.
It’s clear that Into The Radius has come a long way since the beginning of Early Access. It launches for PC VR on June 20 on the Steam and Oculus stores, plus it will also be available through Viveport Infinity.
Into The Radius is an open-world hardcore post-apocalyptic story-driven VR shooter with heavy influences from a wide gamut of entertainment media properties. It released on Steam Early Access last November and is dropping on the Oculus Home Store in Early Access today.
Game developers that work in VR often cite very different influences than the ones that work on non-VR games. If you ask a developer what got them into traditional game development you’ll likely get a list of old-school retro games, maybe some movies and TV shows, or books that they wanted to emulate. But in the case of VR, since the medium is so new, a lot of developers cite modern, contemporary games as key influences. In the case of Into the Radius, it’s a bit of both.
Taken from the game’s store page description:
Into the Radius is a single-player survival shooter developed exclusively for premium Virtual Reality headsets. The game is a dark mix of eldritch horror, open-world exploration, realistic weapon handling and intriguing storyline that will make you feel like you’re in the middle of the post-apocalyptic Pechorsk Radius zone.
Life and death intertwine inside the Radius, lurking somewhere in the middle of everything is the answer to a question you can’t quite remember. Through the flickering memories of your tarnished life as a former resident of Pechorsk and now UNSPC specialist, your only means of survival is to stalk the strange and threatening zone and complete the missions assigned to you.
We spoke to Brandon Marsh from CM Games about the game’s release, early reception, and future plans. These questions and answers were conducted over email in late November, but due to a busy release season, holidays, and packed schedules we’re just now publishing it to coincide with the Oculus Home release.
UploadVR: Tell me more about some of the main inspirations for Into the Radius, both VR and non-VR inspirations.
Brandon Marsh: The source material the game is based on is ‘Roadside Picnic’ by the Stugatsky Brothers. The S.T.A.L.K.E.R series and their mods share the same source material, it has a diehard community and we see Into the Radius as following in that tradition.
Other Non-VR inspirations include Myst (solo exploration with a narrative) and Darksouls (Hardcore gameplay, subtle / cryptic story, Death is included as a mechanic).
VR inspiration would be Onward, which was one of the first games that showed that free locomotion shooters have commercial appeal.
UVR: Many of the main complaints about the game early on seemed to be about the slow pace and “unfinished” feeling — are these things you plan on addressing.
BM: Early Access was a major milestone for us, the primary focus was to implement the systems with placeholder assets, make the game more immersive and focus on playability and functionality over style and cosmetics. We’ve been able to quickly test everything and got a lot of feedback from the community on what is working and what needs improvements.
Right now the game has its core mechanics fully playable. There is a big open terrain map to explore, a hub to pick missions, along with buying and selling of a basic arsenal of firearms and helpful items.
Regarding the game’s pacing, Into the Radius is much more of a survival / stealth game, not a straight forward guns blazing FPS. We strive to provide tension via player decisions, skill and exploration of the unknown rather than an overwhelming sensory stimulation.
UVR: What are some of the major ways you plan to update/improve the game while in Early Access?
BM: We’re still finalizing the development roadmap from now until launch. When it’s ready we’ll be sharing it out with the community. Next week we are releasing to Oculus Store Early Access as well as setting up a HTC Viveport ‘Coming Soon’ page.
Since the release, the team has been doing a lot of bug fixing and patching getting the game in a stable, playable state for everyone. We are working on the balance especially for starter players to make the difficulty more manageable, same with improving the tutorial (which is iterated every release.)
We’ve made a quite complex systemic game with an indie sized team, there are a lot of placeholder assets to be replaced, textured and finalized over the next few months. Things like additional content (maps, weapons, anomalies and artifacts), replacing the cassette tape subtitle and text-to-speech placeholders with voice actors, the storyline and special missions will start to be inserted into the game.
UVR: How has the reception been so far in terms of sales? You probably can’t give specifics, but if you could describe the reception versus expectations that would be great.
BM: We knew getting into this that the VR games market is very niche and our game is even more niche (catering to single player hardcore). Very few premium VR games even manage to surpass 5000+ copies sold, so our expectations were pretty tempered.
That being said, initial sales have been slow, we’re launching on more platforms and continuing to do a strong marketing push to build up momentum for the full release.
UVR: What other games have you worked on before?
BM: As a group we’ve all been in the industry with an average 6-12+ years experience. Starting from PC-console game outsource to development of top mobile games.
Some of those titles include: Nitro Nation, Mushroom Wars, The X-Files: Deep State, UFO: Resistance (Android), ZooCraft, Digger HD and Hot Wheels Infinite Loop.
Into The Radius is available on both Oculus Home for Rift and Steam for all major PC VR platforms for $29.99. The Steam page states an expected Early Access duration of 6-10 months, meaning a planned full release sometime later this year. The price will increase when it comes time for full launch.
Cyan, the developers behind classic adventure series Myst and upcoming Kickstarter-funded adventure game Firmament, released their spiritual follow-up Obduction back in 2016. The game builds on the puzzle-solving and atmospheric gameplay of their iconic series and you can get it for free until June 1 on GOG.
To claim Obduction for free, all you have to do is click on the above link and hit the green “Go to Giveaway” button you see under the trailer window. Scroll down on the next page until you spot the game and click “Get It Free,” and log in with your GOG account. Once this is done, the game should show up in your GOG game library.
Obduction is a science-fiction adventure game rather than a fantasy adventure like Myst. After an artifact descends from the sky, you are transported to various locations and time periods. The warmth and attention to detail seen in Myst is still alive and well in Obduction as it was designed by Cyan founder Rand Miller, who also portrayed the character Atrus in the Myst series.
GOG purchases don’t always support VR in the same way as Steam, but users have found some success enabling VR by altering the name of program files. You will also need to have SteamVR running when you launch the game. Your results may vary as VR support isn’t an explicit feature on the GOG version, but you will still be able to play it traditionally if you cannot get the VR mode to work, though it should. That being said, any chance to go inside a Cyan game’s virtual world is a chance worth taking.
Atmospheric, puzzle-focused adventure games like Myst and Riven aren’t the massive successes today that they were in the ‘90s, but the formula has aged gracefully. Discovering the secrets of mysterious worlds is still exciting in 2019, and in Xing: The Land Beyond, developer White Lotus Interactive has crafted an experience that’s engaging both in and out of VR.
It isn’t all good news, however, as beneath the retro façade and clever puzzles are a few major bugs that threaten to tank the whole experience.
As is customary in these sorts of adventure games, the protagonist is Xing: The Land Beyond is you, or rather a version of you that happens to already be dead. Held in a purgatory halfway between the living world and whatever comes next, you’re tasked with traveling through four portals in order to free trapped spirits. Each is tormented in a different way, and their stories are uncovered through a series of narrated scrolls you find as you complete puzzles. One young girl recalls the abuse she suffered in her home, as well as the confusion she felt after the death of her mother. Other stories deal with depression and lost love, and the way they’re eventually tied together just prior to the game’s conclusion helps to add more context to the seemingly scattershot tale.
Each of Xing’s worlds has a different theme directly related to gameplay, and because they must be completed in a set order, the puzzles from one area build on those in the last and increase the difficulty at a steady pace. The objective is essentially the same in all of them – collect four quarters of a circle and reach the conclusion – but White Lotus has crafted some of the best environmental puzzles I’ve seen in years. Certain areas can only be accessed after stepping on a pad to raise the water left, revealing bridges, while others must be frozen in order to be crossed. Almost nothing is included for aesthetics alone, and it’s likely Xing is the only game to ever use a flaming durian fruit as a key component to completing a puzzle.
Alongside the mandatory puzzles, Xing also includes collectible runes that can be used to unlock additional story content back at the hub area. More often than not, these are only accessible if you solve a very difficult puzzle interwoven into the mandatory content, but this has the advantage of making the latter puzzles easier than they sometimes appear. Four blocks might be available to move into certain locations, but you will occasionally only have to move two of them into position to actually progress.
Xing is fully playable as a traditional flat non-VR game, but it loses almost nothing in the transition to PlayStation VR. The world retains its tranquil beauty and certain environmental effects are actually better realized in the more immersive mode, and when played with a DualShock 4 controller, the combination of head and analog stick movement makes solving puzzles a breeze. Options are available to turn off click-rotation in favor of smooth movement, and despite the game’s warnings about nausea, this is the way you should be playing the game in VR.
Things aren’t so smooth with the PlayStation Move controllers. One is used for moving yourself around the games’ worlds while the other controls your rotation, but the resulting jerkiness and imprecise navigation made it more frustrating than DualShock 4 almost immediately. The controllers do allow you to have more natural throwing motions when solving certain puzzles that use balls or small objects, but this is traded in for the alternative DualShock 4 mode that shows you precisely where your throw is going to land.
By the time you get to the last puzzles in Xing, it can be brutally difficult to even figure out how to start completing them, with so many different mechanics and components to keep track of. This wouldn’t be an issue if it weren’t for a bizarre saving bug that can wipe hours of progress and force you to replay them again in their entirety. After completing the third world, I closed the game and turned off the PlayStation 4, only to find that the world needed to be done again.
This was despite the fact that the game’s progress menu showed I had done so already, and after replaying the third world and completing the fourth, I turned off the system again. Once again, the most recent world I completed had to be played again, and when entering the final stage, a glitch left me floating in outer space. Luckily, closing and restarting the game this time placed me where I was supposed to be, or the console would likely be in pieces from my frustration. Theissue appears to have also been present on the earlier PC version of the game, which released over a year ago.
Final Score:6.5/10 – Decent
Were the aforementioned bugs ironed out, Xing: The Land Beyond would be an easy recommendation for adventure game fans and anyone looking for a title that succeeds across both traditional displays and VR. If you’re willing to complete the entire game in one sitting to avoid bugs, you won’t have much to worry about, but everyone else should likely wait until White Lotus has time to iron out its issues.
Das ambitionierte Fanprojekt The Starry Expanse Project verkündete kürzlich die Arbeit an einem VR-Remake vom Point-&-Click-Klassiker Riven: The Sequel to MYST. Unter dem Namen realRiven soll das Spiel in ein neues immersives Gewand gepackt werden und in die virtuellen Gefilde befördert werden, um auch der heutigen Generation von Spieler/innen einen großartigen Evergreen der Spielewelt näher zu bringen.
The Starry Expanse Project – VR-Projekt “realRiven” gestartet
Der Klassiker Riven: The Sequel to MYST von Entwicklerstudio Cyan Worlds erschien erstmals im Jahre 1997 und begeisterte ähnlich wie sein Vorgänger die damalige Spielerschaft. Bis heute gilt der Titel als einer der besten Vertreter seines Genres und erfreut sich weltweit großer Beliebtheit. Nun soll das Point-&-Click-Adventure in neuem Glanz erstrahlen, denn das Team von The Starry Expanse Project verkündete kürzlich, dass sie die Arbeit am VR-Remake realRiven beginnen.
Die Devs liebäugelten bereits seit Längerem mit der Virtual-Reality-Technologie, allerdings empfanden sie die Entwicklung eines entsprechenden VR-Titels bisher als zu aufwendig. Grund für die Umstimmung liegt nach eigenen Angaben in der verringerten Einstiegshürde, die heutzutage bei der Entwicklung eines entsprechenden Spiels vorhanden ist. So sind die nötigen Tools nun allgegenwärtig und deutlich unkomplizierter in der Nutzung. Zudem können die Entwickler/innen in den eigenen Reihen bereits Erfahrung innerhalb des VR-Marktes aufweisen und nebenbei einige neue Teammitglieder akquirieren. Darunter ein weiterer Programmierer sowie ein 3D-Artist.
Wann das VR-Remake realRiven erscheint und für welche VR-Plattformen es erhältlich sein wird, ist derzeit noch unbekannt.
Wer die Zeit überbrücken möchte, kann auf den bereits veröffentlichten VR-Titel Obduction von den ursprünglichen Entwickler/innen von Riven und Myst zurückgreifen. Dieser ist bereits seit Längerem für PlayStation VR (PSVR) und PC-Brillen erhältlich. Zudem arbeitet Cyan Worlds aktuell an dem neuen VR-Steampunk-Adventure Firmament.
