NetEase Games’ open-world multiplayer VR experience, Nostos, is shutting down less than two years after it first launched.
Nostos turned heads when it was announced in 2018, showcasing gorgeous art and promising endless multiplayer adventures. It hit Steam in December 2019 with optional VR support, where it accumulated mixed reviews. Today, though, NetEase announced that “due to changes in business development”, Nostos would be closing down on June 16th. The game’s already been de-listed on Steam (unless you have a direct link) and anyone that purchased the title after November 30, 2020 will be entitled to a full refund.
“We apologize for the inconvenience caused by the termination of Nostos’ operation and ask for your understanding that we share your feelings about the upcoming parting of Nostos,” developer wrote. In total, the game will have been active for around a year and a half.
What went wrong with Nostos? Well its trailers were certainly polished but often didn’t reflect the actual in-game experience. Check out the official ‘gameplay’ trailer below, for example, which uses headsets that the game never actually launched on.
It’s also hard to succeed in the nascent PC VR market, though the optional flatscreen support would have helped offset that. The game also landed on PS4 last December (without VR support), though this clearly wasn’t enough to save it. NetEase doesn’t appear to have any other VR content in the pipeline at this point in time.
Did you play Nostos? What did you make of the experience? Let us know in the comments below!
Originally revealed back in 2018 followed by an official launch the following year, the once promising virtual reality (VR) open-world survival videogame Nostos is shuttering operations. Developer NetEase Games has now ceased sales of the title with total termination of the videogame to take place in June.
Thank you for your continued support and love to Nostos! Due to changes in business development, the operation of Nostos will be terminated at 22:00, June 16, 2021 (PST). The followings are notice regarding the relevant matters of ceasing operation:
1. At 22:00, March 16, 2021 (PST): The purchase and download of Nostos across platforms will be closed, and players will no longer be able to purchase and download the game.
2. At 22:00, June 16, 2021 (PST): The operation of Nostos will be officially terminated and all game servers will be shut down. From then on, this game will no longer be able to log in.
3. Players who purchased the game of Nostos after 16:00, November 30, 2020 (PST), will receive a full refund.
We apologize for the inconvenience caused by the termination of Nostos’ operation and ask for your understanding that we share your feelings about the upcoming parting of Nostos.
Nostos has been removed from Steam with the only listing being its original soundtrack (OST) which requires the base software. It’s a sad end for Nostos because while it offered some beautiful environments the title never gained a solid community mainly due to the fact that it was mired with bugs and few updates in recent months.
It’s even more surprising considering Nostos only launched on PlayStation 4 back in December – without support for PlayStation VR – so it likely didn’t do well there either, all PlayStation owners will be getting a refund. As mentioned in the statement, any PC players who purchased the videogame prior to 30th November won’t get a refund. By the sound of it, Nostos won’t work offline and NetEase has made no mention of intent for it to do so.
Should any further details come to light, VRFocus will let you know.
Remember Nostos? A beautiful-looking VR RPG that launched on PC a year ago to curious fanfare? It’s quietly landed on PS4… without VR support.
Nostos hit SteamVR almost exactly a year ago. Developed by NetEase, the game made some hefty promises about building out an online multiplayer world that lots of players — both on PC and in VR — could meet up and adventure in.
Nostos PS4 Arrives… Without PSVR
Of particular note were the game’s lavish live action promotional videos which, compared with CG-looking ‘gameplay’ clips and a confused message about what headsets the game actually supported, made the title seem too good to be true.
Since launch the game has amassed over 700 reviews on Steam, earning a mixed rating, but it’s also been very quiet on social channels like Twitter. Indeed there’s been no mention of this month’s PS4 launch.
Head to the listing itself on the PlayStation Store, though, and you’ll find absolutely no mention of PSVR support. Every PSVR-compatible game on PS4 lists support for Sony’s headset, so its absence seems to confirm Nostos has no PSVR support on the platform.
It’s not uncommon for games to remove their VR support – Oculus launch title Chronos just came to all platforms without any headset integration, for example. But for a game that was so heavily billed around VR to come to another platform and completely ignore its VR features is more than a little bizarre. We’ve reached out to the developer to ask why the PS4 version doesn’t include VR support.
Either way, we weren’t likely to recommend you pick up the Nostos PS4 version even if it had PSVR support. If you have checked the game out on the platform, let us know what you make of it!
Isekai Entertainment’s Sword Reverie has gained significant traction these last few weeks. Bringing us a single player JRPG-inspired action RPG to VR, it’s been in the news thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign.
First revealed last year with some gameplay footage, it reached their $10,000 funding goal in 72 hours and Isekai are now seeking to hit further stretch goals, including further content and support for both PSVR and Oculus Quest. As of the time of this publishing it’s got about 4 days to go.
Reminiscent of Sword Art Online, last year’s VR RPG Nostos, and VR MMO Ilysia it utilizes a hand-drawn anime visual design within a single player experience, designed to make you feel like a JRPG protagonist.
Playing a nameless Hero summoned to this realm, it takes place across an open world with explorable villages, boss fights, and dungeons. Placing you amidst a war between humans and Elementals, it promises a story-driven experience that follows this plot:
“After a thousand years of peace, the boiling tensions between the “kingdom of man” and the elemental lords continue to escalate. Seeing that the threat of a catastrophic war is imminent, the Guardian Magnus uses his powers to summon you the “Hero” to his realm, to become his new apprentice. The Guardian explains to you, that he believes the Elemental lords have grown too powerful and as legend goes, only a “true hero” from a faraway land, can bring balance, peace, and prosperity to all the realms.”
With the Kickstarter campaign finishing very soon we reached out to one of Isekai Entertainment’s founders, Frank Zhang, who was kind enough to tell us more about this exciting new project.
Henry Stockdale, UploadVR: Firstly, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Could you please introduce yourselves and your game?
Frank Zhang, Isekai Entertainment Co-Founder: Hi, my name is Frank. One of the co-founders of Isekai Entertainment. We are a game studio founded in 2018 to develop anime and manga inspired VR games.
Our game, Sword Reverie, is a single-player JRPG inspired VR action game. In Sword Reverie, you will be an anime protagonist who fights off hordes of Elementals using your sword and launches powerful abilities using body gestures. You will explore a large fantasy world alongside anime-style characters in a thrilling story-driven adventure.
UploadVR: Sword Reverie was announced last year but it’s only just gotten a Kickstarter campaign. Why choose to do this now, rather than when you first revealed it?
Zhang: Our original plan was to release the game directly to Early Access by the end of 2020. However, during our playtests this summer, we had an outpouring of support from players who wanted to see the game developed further before Early Access to realize its full potential and were asking for ways to support us financially to do so. We believe Kickstarter is the best way to continue the development of Sword Reverie with feedback and support from our community.
UploadVR: It’s planned for early access release in Spring 2021. What can we expect to be included at launch, compared to the full release?
Zhang: The Early Access release will include the first map and boss fight. The game will be roughly 2~3 hours at Early Access, with a smaller amount of enemy types and weapons. The full release will include 5 maps, 4+ boss fights, and additional enemies and weapons for 8~10 hours of gameplay. The full story of Sword Reverie will also be completed in the full release.
UploadVR: JRPGs aren’t really something we’ve previously seen in VR, though similar ideas were used in Nostos and OrbusVR. How does Sword Reverie distinguish itself from those experiences?
Zhang: Like Nostos and Orbus VR, Sword Reverie has a large fantasy world and epic stories. However, Sword Reverie is a single-player game with a greater focus on satisfying VR combat. Our game has a unique elemental combat system and players use different body gestures to launch abilities. We also do a great job recreating the anime experience with our art style and voice actors.
UploadVR: Perhaps inevitably due to the concept, we’ve seen plenty of Sword Art Online comparisons with your game and I noticed the Kickstarter FAQ discourages use of life-threatening hardware mods. All joking aside, is there any major similarities between SAO and Sword Reverie?
Zhang: We want Sword Reverie to be a game that immerses you in a VR fantasy world with thrilling action combat. Our team is a big fan of Kirito’s use of dual blades and the fights in SAO were exhilarating to watch. This is why we created a combat system that allows players to launch larger than life JRPG like abilities by doing cool battle poses using dual blades.
UploadVR: You’ve previously shown off open-world gameplay footage, showcasing combat and village exploration, so how much freedom will players have here? Can you go off adventuring to complete some side quests, or does it mainly focus on the campaign?
Zhang: Certain details are still being designed, but the player will be able to freely explore large sections of the map during the campaign and will be rewarded with experience and loot for venturing off the beaten trail. The focus is on the campaign, but side quests are a possible addition.
UploadVR: In true JRPG fashion, will there be a fishing minigame?
Zhang: Currently, the answer is no, but additional VR interactions may be added in the future.
UploadVR: Regarding combat, Sword Reverie promises a physics-based approach, using a rock-paper-scissors style system for elemental attacks and you’ve also got physical weaponry. How do these two aspects combine?
Zhang: The elemental system means that you need to change elements and use different abilities to deal with different enemies. The physics weaponry means you can’t just wiggle your sword around, that weapons have weight, and that you need to pay attention to how you are attacking enemies, such as where to attack, and when to dodge or block. You will need to choose the right element and strategy against enemies but also fight hard to dispatch enemies quickly.
UploadVR: We know that the Hero is joined by Magnus and Stella during this adventure. Stella and Magnus will join us during combat, but can players control/influence their actions during fights? Or do they operate independently?
Zhang: Magnus and Stella cannot be controlled by the player and will operate independently. However, they will both have major roles in the story.
UploadVR: Your Kickstarter video tells us we can combine elemental abilities to create our own playstyles within game. Could you tell us more about how this works?
Zhang: Each combination of elements and abilities have unique effects. When faced with different types of enemies, there are multiple strategies on what elements to use and which threats to tackle first depending on the playstyle of the player. For example, players may prefer to use fire elements to burn enemies or grass elements to root enemies. Each approach will have its pros and cons.
UploadVR: What VR headsets will be supported?
Zhang: We already support all PC VR headsets that run SteamVR (HTC Vive/Vive Pro/Cosmos, Valve Index, Pimax, Windows MR such as HP Reverb G2 and Samsung Odyssey+, Oculus Rift/Rift S/Quest with Link Cable, etc.) and Oculus PC VR (Oculus Rift/Rift S/Quest with Link Cable). PSVR and Quest are stretch goals for the Kickstarter.
UploadVR: To bring it to Oculus Quest and PSVR, you’re asking for $20,000 and $25,000 as stretch goals. Is it possible to achieve these goals with just a small financial boost?
Zhang: It will take far more money, and most importantly development time, to create proper Quest and PSVR versions of the game. For the Quest version, due to the performance limitations of mobile processors, we need to make major changes to the game. The Kickstarter is meant to be a gauge of interest in Quest and PSVR versions and not an indicator of the investment needed. If the stretch goals are met, we will seek alternative sources of funding to build these versions or put up more money ourselves.
UploadVR: Lastly, is there any message you’d like to share with the fans?
Zhang: Thank you to our Kickstarter backers for backing our project. The Kickstarter has been a huge success so far, and we will do our best to create a game that meets your expectations.
Again, thank you to all the weebs and gamers who have supported us along the way. Your support allowed us to keep moving forward during difficult times. We hope that all our fans will continue to provide us feedback to make the game better and continue to spread the word about Sword Reverie.
For more details on Sword Reverie, you can visit the official website, Kickstarter page, and Steam page. Sword Reverie is currently targeting a Spring 2021 release window for Early Access.
Sword Reverie is an upcoming JRPG-inspired action VR game from Isekai Entertainment with a hand-drawn anime visual style. Other inspirations include The Legend of Zelda and Ni No Kuni.
In the outreach email we received from Isekai Entertainment, combat mechanics were described as being similar to Gorn in an attempt to make you feel like Cloud from Final Fantasy VII or Kirito from Sword Art Online.
Visually, the inspiration from Sword Art Online is clear. However, as far as we can tell, this is a single-player offline VR action game, not an online RPG like Nostos or MMO like OrbusVR. It is an open world game with various biomes, dungeons, and areas to explore.
To get a look at what playing Sword Reverie is like, you can watch this (admittedly rough) gameplay video from November 2019. It’s narrated with details on the game’s structure and flow and featured three minutes of gameplay footage featuring lots of exploration and a bit of combat.
On the main website, the game’s story is described as follows:
After a thousand years of peace, the boiling tensions between the “kingdom of man” and the elemental lords continue to escalate. Seeing that the threat of a catastrophic war is imminent, the Guardian Magnus uses his powers to summon you the “Hero” to his realm, to become his new apprentice.
The Guardian explains to you, that he believes the Elemental lords have grown too powerful and as legend goes, only a “true hero” from a faraway land, can bring balance, peace, and prosperity to all the realms.
Visually you might be remembered of Nostos, which is an online VR survival RPG that promised a lot in its cinematic debut trailer then mostly under-delivered. While Sword Reverie has a similar quality bar for its concept art, the in-game art assets look to be noticeably less sharp. That being said, from what we’ve seen this does appear to be made for VR headsets only, which should mean a better attention to detail in its gameplay design.
For more details check out the official Sword Reverie website and visit the dev blog for a behind the scenes look at the game. And, keep an eye on UploadVR next week for more on the upcoming game.
Sword Reverie is due out this year for PC VR headsets.
In development by NetEase Games, NOSTOS is an online RPG due to launch later this year on PC with optional VR support. The game recently had a closed-beta period which gives a good look at how things are shaping up with less than four months before launch. While Zelda: Breath of the Wild inspiration is clear from the outset, the bolted-on VR gameplay speaks to a broader issue of ‘VR-optional’ game design.
The modern open-world game is often about covering vast distances on foot, collecting resources from disparate locales, crafting items to aid in your survival, and roaming the lands to fight baddies, complete quests, and collect loot. Nostos has this going in full force, drawing some clear mechanical and aesthetic inspiration from Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
The big problem is that these open-world game design themes—unless radically adapted with the VR player in mind—are nearly the polar opposite of what’s been found to make for compelling VR gameplay.
Our friends over at the YouTube channel Cas and Chary VR posted a 15 minute segment of gameplay from the Nostos closed beta, but unfortunately it doesn’t give much confidence that NetEase Games has been able to overcome the pitfalls of ‘VR-optional’ game design.
Spending time reading textual instructions, making quest and dialog selections by clicking floating buttons, ‘crafting’ via menus, ‘building’ by pointing at the ground and pressing a button, and especially sliding along the ground with stick-based locomotion for minutes at a time with nothing to do, is all a dull affair in VR. And let’s not forget the moments where immersion is broken as your perspective suddenly pops into third-person so you can see a 15 second text-based cutscene before appearing back inside your body.
Screenshot courtesy Cas and Chary VR
What’s more, with combat being such an essential component of this flavor of open-world game, VR needs more than ‘slide around with artificial locomotion while waggling your weapon at the enemy’.
Though much of the game’s menu-based systems are simply projected into floating windows attached to your controllers, some of the game’s interactions have indeed been ‘VR-ified’ (like climbing with motion controls, swinging an axe to chop down a tree, and shooting a bow and arrow by pulling the string). But it’s clear that these functions are bolted onto a system that was made from the start for non-VR gameplay, and risk becoming more tedious than interesting by the time you’ve chopped down your 20th tree, climbed your 20th cliff, or killed your 20th enemy, let alone the 500th, as these types of games often expect players to do over hours of gameplay.
The problem here is not that the overall concept of an open-world game cannot be brought to VR, but that doing so in a meaningful way effectively requires designing two separate games—which is not only heaps more work, but comes in conflict with a game like Nostos that wants to support both non-VR and VR players in the same, balanced game.
Contrast all of this with the likes of a VR native game like Until You Fall which (outside of the open-world nature) has similar systems in concept (combat, inventory, upgrades, skills, etc), but they are built in fundamentally different ways which make them rich, interesting, and interactive in VR.
A promising upcoming VR native title, Stormland, takes VR design to heart in the open world context. Instead of slowly sliding across large landscapes with nothing to do until you reach your next quest marker, the regions between meaningful spaces are covered in clouds which players quickly fly across using interesting motion input, retaining a sense of geographic scale while reducing the tedium of long stretches of locomotion.
This method of movement also means players can launch aerial attacks once they reach their destination, and once they’ve finally come down on solid ground, they have interactive means of maneuvering around enemies like jumping, climbing, and gliding, all largely driven with motion input.
I will of course reserve judgement on Nostos until we see the final product. But with less than four months before the project is set to launch, I’m not holding my breath that the VR experience will be enough for most to bother putting the headset on more than a few times before just choosing to stick to the flat screen. We’ve seen a handful of VR-optional games before, but there’s yet to be one which has truly delivered. I would argue that a game like Nostos is better off focusing all of its development efforts on non-VR or VR; splitting the difference will only make for a sub-par version of each.
We’re back again with another livestream, this time of Nostos, planned for today 9/6/19 @12:30PM PT on the UploadVR YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Mixer.
Nostos is currently running a Beta Test period that will last until September 9th, so for today’s livestream we’re diving into its gorgeous anime world to see what the online open-world VR RPG is all about. The game is in development by NetEase and is slated for release later this year. It will also include cross-play with non-VR players. We’ll be playing via Steam on an Oculus Rift S.
The Nostos stream is planned to start around 12:30PM PT today and we’ll aim to last for about an hour or two. We’ll be hitting YouTube, Twitter, Mixer, and Facebook all at once. You can see the full stream embedded via YouTube right here down below once it’s up:
You can see lots of our past archived streams over in our YouTube playlist and various other gameplay highlights. There’s lots of good stuff there so make sure and subscribe to us on YouTube to stay up-to-date on gameplay videos, video reviews, interviews, and more original content!
And please let us know which games or discussions you want us to livestream next other than Nostos! We have lots of VR games in the queue that we would love to show off more completely.
Open-world online VR RPG Nostos is currently holding a four-day long Beta Test featuring cross-play between both VR and non-VR PC players until September 9th and it will include lots of new things that weren’t in the previous test.
For being one of the most anticipated VR games on the horizon (if the popularity and interest our coverage has seemed to generate is anything to go by) we still know very little about the title, generally speaking. After getting to try it briefly at Gamescom 2018 it’s been lots of mystery. Luckily, this weekend’s Beta Test should be a good opportunity to learn more for anyone lucky enough to get picked.
According to the developers at NetEase, this Beta Test will include two specific ‘main’ missions that encompass about two hours story content. This latest Nostos Beta will also include a larger map, more gameplay elements like a motorbike you can ride, and new side missions not seen before. It will also include more graphical effects such as rain and snow, more ancillary details like clouds and grass, and more optimization fixes.
Gameplay Screenshots from Non-VR PC Version:
To play the Nostos Beta on the highest settings they recommend at least an i7 9700k with 16GB of RAM and a 1080Ti GPU. Release date is still a bit confusing because the official Nostos Twitter account says “Q3 of 2019” still, which means this month technically, but then at China Joy previously this year they stated a Q4 2019 release date. Maybe a surprise announcement is in store soon.
We’ll be playing in the Nostos Beta today and are planning to livestream it over on your YouTube, so keep an eye out for that in a few hours or you can watch the archived gameplay afterward. The beta will last until September 9th.
Let us know what you think of Nostos down in the comments below!
NetEase Games’ Nostos could potentially be one of the biggest virtual reality (VR) titles to launch in 2019, a vast post-apocalyptic survival MMO offering hundreds of hours of gameplay. If you’ve been following news of the videogame diligently then you’ll certainly want to have a go at signing up for the closed beta test which is scheduled to take place next week.
The Nostos closed beta will be held from 5th – 9th September 2019 for select applicants. To be in with a chance of playing the videogame well ahead of launch all you need to do is visit the official Nostos Twitter or Facebook pages and share the pinned posts along with the hashtag #NostosBetaTest. Players who share the post with the hashtag will be chosen at random to participate.
In the beta, you’ll be able to play through two main storyline missions offering around two hours of gameplay. New side missions will appear at random for every tester, plus an expanded map will give you a chance to explore the various terrains Nostos has to offer.
With a launch now planned for Q4 2019 on Viveport first followed by Oculus Home for Oculus Rift/Rift S and Quest, Nostos will also be made available on Steam for those with Valve Index and Windows Mixed Reality headsets as well as standard monitor support.
The world of Nostos features open grasslands, arid deserts, snow-covered mountains and ancient crumbling cities. There will be day and night cycles as well as four seasons, with dynamic weather such as rain, snow, and lightning. With a story set 1,000 years after the collapse of humanity, the ravenous Coral Sea now presents the biggest danger to life on land, slowly corroding it with its toxic waters.
NetEase Games has previously said that each Nostos World will home up to 20 players at any given point, with no limit of the number of worlds available. Players will be able to collect, craft, build and explore this seamless world to their heart’s content. VRFocus will continue its coverage of Nostos as the launch window draws near, reporting back with the latest updates and announcements.
It’s been a while since we’ve heard from promisingly gorgeous VR MMO, Nostos.
Pretty soon, though, players will get a fresh taste of the NetEase-developed game. Well, 30 of them will.
Nostos will be holding a short beta testing period for the game from September 5 – 9. Access is extremely limited; only 30 players will be chosen for the event, and at random at that. To be in with a chance of getting access, you need to share the below post and follow the instructions within.
#NostosBetaTesterCollection
Sorry for your waiting! Nostos will hold our four-day-long Beta Test on both PC and VR…
As NetEase says, the beta will feature two missions taking about two hours to complete. Players will also be able to explore the game world and use a motorbike. The beta test follows an open alpha period that ran for the game earlier this year.
We’ve been following Nostos with cautious optimism for some time now. The game’s making big promises, aiming to bring players a stunning open world to explore, but there’s still a lot to learn in terms of how it plays.
Oh and NetEase shared the minimum specs your PC will need to take part in the beta. Those are below. Currently the game is due for launch on Q4 of this year on Steam and Viveport. We’re looking forward to finding out more.
![Nostos 13 Self-built Village [screenshot in winter]](https://i0.wp.com/www.vrfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Nostos-13-Self-built-Village-screenshot-in-winter-1024x576.jpg?resize=525%2C295&ssl=1)
![Nostos 11 Driving [Screenshot]](https://i0.wp.com/www.vrfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Nostos-11-Driving-Screenshot-1024x569.jpg?resize=525%2C292&ssl=1)
![Nostos 02 Fight Against Ogen [Screenshot]](https://www.vrfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Nostos-02-Fight-Against-Ogen-Screenshot-1024x576.jpg)
![Nostos in Summer [Screenshot]](https://www.vrfocus.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Nostos-in-Summer-Screenshot-1024x576.jpg)