Tiny Bull Studios and Fellow Traveller (ex-Surprise Attack Games), today announced that Blind, the long-awaited psychological thriller, is slated to launch globally on September 18th for PSVR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and OSVR.
Blind puts you in the shoes of a young woman who has just awoken in a strange room to find she’s lost her vision—well, almost. Instead of seeing, she uses echolocation to reveal the curious world around her. Led by the disembodied narrator Warden, you navigate a sprawling mansion, solve puzzles and uncover the mystery behind it all.
Blind is said to feature around five to eight hours of gameplay.
Image courtesy Tiny Bull Studios
Initially conceived during the 2014 Global Game Jam, Blind has come a long way for the Turin, Italy-based Tiny Bull Studios. Evolving from a concept originally built for PC, dubbed Come See My House, the fledgling studio went on to rebuild the game from the ground-up for VR headsets. The concept won ‘Best Game’ of the 2014 Turin Game Jam, owing to its innovative echolocation mechanic.
“Most VR titles use the medium to flood players’ senses, but we wanted to do something special and restrict the senses in a way,” says Matteo Lana, CEO of Tiny Bull Studios. “But even as Blind inhibits our standard perception of sight, the echolocation mechanic and fully encompassing environment engage the player and enhance the puzzle gameplay in a way that only VR can.”
Image courtesy Tiny Bull Studios
Blind will be available digitally on September 18th for $25 on PSN (PSVR), Oculus Store (Rift), and Steam (Vive, Rift, OSVR). A physical retail version, published by Perp Games will become available in Europe beginning September 28th, with a North American release date to follow.
Hot on the heels of PSVR’s hit tactical shooter Firewall Zero Hourcomes a new tactical VR shooter that’s inspired by Rainbow Six Siege (2015) and the Counter-Strike franchise. Dubbed Zero Killed, the Warsaw-based VR/AR studio Ignibit today announced the four vs. four team shooter is slated to release on HTC Vive and Oculus Rift September 26th, and that a PSVR version will soon follow.
Zero Killed, Ignibit says, focuses heavily on team cooperation and communication. Players will be able to choose between 10 different characters which span several classes, including tank, demolitions expert, and tech expert—all of whom come with their own weapons loadout, unique gadget, and individual perk.
Image courtesy Ignibit
The studio touts “realistic weapons behavior,” which feature recoil, environmental damage mechanics, and obstacle penetration. While there’s still no word on whether weapons will be upgradable, Ignibit maintains both holographic and laser sights will be available for primary weapons. Secondary weapons include grenades, mines, a sonar device, explosives, deployable shields, and the ability to ‘tag’ enemies to make them more visible to teammates.
Image courtesy Ignibit
Zero Killed is said to arrive with four game modes including Data Steal, Domination, Hunt, and Tournament, which will play out across three locations: ‘Nuclear’, ‘Suburbs’, and ‘Sewers’.
Locomotion options at this point aren’t entirely clear, although the studio says teleportation will not be an option, and will include sprinting, climbing, and sliding down ladders.
Witching Tower, an upcoming action-adventure game that promises to be heavy on sword and sorcery, is headed to HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Windows VR headsets next month.
Created by Daily Magic Productions, a studio behind many puzzle, RPG and hidden object games for PC and mobile, Witching Tower is slated to land on Steam, the Oculus Store, and Viveport on October 4th, 2018.
The game is said to feature puzzle solving, bow shooting, sword melee combat, and grabbing and throwing objects. The variety of weapons also includes an enchanted lasso, magic vision, and the protagonist’s ability to control the undead.
If the early gameplay footage tells us anything, there’s sure to be some impressive gadgets and massive dungeons to explore as you battle against armor-clad skeletons.
Here’s Daily Magic’s store description of Witching Tower:
Six years ago, the Kingdom of Nemean fought a losing war against an invading empire. All seemed lost—and then a wave of sickness and undeath swept out from a tower at the heart of the Nemean capital. Skeleton soldiers fought the invaders back, but they didn’t stop there. Death and the undeath swept through the kingdom.
The pall of fear and pain that fell over the world only strengthened the undead and their creator, the Queen of the Witching Tower.
The player takes the role of Anna, a girl with a mysterious connection with the undead. For years, she’s been hunted by the Queen. Now Anna has been dragged in chains to the peak of the tower. With the help of some ghostly allies, she must break free, learn about her special connection to the undead, and face her nemesis, the Queen.
Witching Tower is also said to support PlayStation VR, although it’s unclear at this time when the PSVR version will launch.
Beat Games announced that PlayStation VR users should expect the PSVR version of the hit indie VR rhythm game Beat Saber (2018)to arrive sometime later this year.
While it’s still uncertain exactly when PSVR users should expect to start slicing blocks to the beat, Jaroslav Beck, the game’s principal composer and studio co-founder, tweeted recently that the team is working full-time to finish the PSVR version.
Team is working on it fulltime. It’ll be done by end of this year;)
We previously played a working prototype of the PSVR version at this year’s E3, and it was definitely a promising adaptation that generally worked well, although it bucked up against the headset’s tracking limitations. Here’s a quick blurb from our full hands-on:
At the game’s first showing on PSVR, here at E3 2018, Beat Saber made a promising impression. While the Move controllers don’t feel quite as responsive as the controllers on the major PC VR headsets, but tracking on PSVR was solid enough that I could handle the game’s tracks on the highest level of difficulty without much frustration. The only major issues came when my controllers exited the camera’s narrow field of view, which happened at one point in a song when I had to duck under one of the obstacles and hit notes while ducking, which ended up leaving my hands outside of the tracking cone, and unable to hit the notes.
[…]
Beyond the tracking limitations, the Move controllers physically feel quite nice for Beat Saber, considering that the shape of the handle is very hilt-like and easy to hold without accidentally squeezing the trigger during play. The haptics in the Move controller is also well suited to the game, offering a strong and satisfying vibration when hitting each note.
Windlands 2, Psytec Games’ upcoming multiplayer sequel to the high-flying grappling hook adventure, is nearly here. Psytec has today announced that Windlands 2 is set to land on Oculus Rift next week.
Update (September 6th, 2018): Windlands 2 pre-orders are now available on the Oculus Store, featuring a 15% pre-order discount off its regular price of $30, making it $25.50 before launch on September 12th. Check out the new feature trailer, which includes a better look at some of the upcoming bosses, maps, and story behind it all (linked above and below).
Original Article (September 3rd, 2018): Arriving as a timed exclusive on Rift September 12th, Windlands 2 takes some of its forbear’s game mechanics, such as the dual-handed grappling hook, and changes things up a bit with its imposing level bosses and four-player co-op.
Image courtesy Psytec Games
We went hands-on with Windlands 2 back at Oculus Connect 4 last year and were impressed with what we saw. The game’s major new addition, four-player co-op, is somewhat of a departure from the zen-like feel of the original Windlands, but it’s likely to strike a chord with anyone who found the first a little too lonely at times; you’ll likely be goaded into pulling increasingly harder and faster jumps on your way through the parkour-heavy levels. There is of course the option to play single-player, although having a few buddies by your side as plan your attacks on level bosses certainly sounds more fun.
Both HTC Vive and PSVR versions are slated for a 2019 release, although the exact launch dates for either aren’t certain at this point. Psytec maintains in a press statement that all platforms will launch with a $30 price tag.
Wolfenstein 3D (1992), the first-person shooter developed by id Software, kickstarted an entire genre, and now you can play the generational icon in VR.
The project, dubbed Wolfenstein 3D VR, features all ten original levels. While the game’s patented 2D sprites are still in full effect, you can enjoy a fully recreated 3D environment as you physically aim down the iron sights of your Walther P38 and try to land those decisive ammo-saving headshots.
Of course, should you run out of ammo on those last few Nazis in the level, you can always switch to your trusty boot knife too.
Image courtesy Further Beyond Studios
The game, which indie studio Further Beyond calls its “shareware release”, is free, and supports Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Windows VR headsets. Wolfenstein 3D VR is still in development, as Further Beyond has only recently added both Rift and Windows VR support after its initial Vive-only release last week.
Having played a bit myself, it’s amazing how the game flawlessly transports you back to the early ’90s while including all of the original game’s music and cheesy sound effects (Mein Leben!). A few clever modern-day additions make for a nice touch such as a hand-held status indicator so you can keep an eye on your health and overall points without it getting in the way.
You can also change your P38 to a more realistic model, switch between head and hand-relative locomotion, toggle realistic blood on and off, and go left-handed too.
Image courtesy Further Beyond Studios
Even though Wolfenstein 3D VR is missing a few comfort options outside of teleportation at the moment, such as snap-turn for 180-degree setups, it proves to be an extremely competent remake certainly worth a Jolt Cola-filled evening of nostalgia.
Stromland, the upcoming single player adventure from Insomniac Games and Oculus, came to PAX West this past weekend where the public got a chance to go hands-on with the open world game for the first time.
The demo, presented by Dutch YouTubers Cas and Chary, takes you through a number of mission styles as part of the tutorial. Basic missions include collecting alloy to build android upgrades, building your first weapon, collecting fruit for energy, and shooting down the patches of flying drones, and even a few land-based robots that threaten you as you hop from island to island.
The game’s locomotion scheme includes smooth-forward walking, climbing, gliding, and gliding out over cloudy ‘slip streams’, which accelerate you from one rocky outcrop to another. Everything in the game appears to be climbable, making it an exercise in getting a good vertical vantage point not only so you can complete missions like finding high-up positioning beacons, but also so you scope out the area and glide from spot to spot.
Image courtesy Insomniac Games
The environment appears to be partially destructible, with fallen enemies and exploded barrels offering up their own resources which are automatically collected once you get near them. We haven’t seen much of the crafting system yet, although Insomniac has maintained it’s a fairly important part of the game.
Stormland seems to offer both single-handed and two-handed weapon grip styles, and also provides a hand-held shield. We only get to see two real weapon types before the demo ends with a pretty nasty-looking android, the optional single/two-handed SMG and an explosive grenade, all of which can be holstered to your body.
The Stormland PAX demo certainly looks like the highly polished, open world experience we were hoping for, which is slated to release exclusively on Oculus Rift at some point in 2019.
Torn is a single player adventure game that’s inspired by arguably the greatest sci-fi television of all time, The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror. There’s much to like about Torn, but in the end it left me feeling, well, a bit torn.
Developer: Aspyr Studio Available On:Oculus Store (Rift), Steam (Rift, Vive), PSN (PSVR) Reviewed On: Oculus Rift Release Date: August 28th, 2018
Gameplay
Stepping into the shoes of a modern-day video blogger Katherine Patterson, you stumble upon a seemingly abandoned mansion, where you solve strange puzzles with a trusty gravity gun given to you by the once world-renowned physicist, Dr. Lawrence Talbot. For some reason though, Talbot has been morphed into a dancing point of light, who leads you along the way to do his mysterious bidding.
Image courtesy Aspyr Media
Visually the game is an absolute delight, with its interesting and varied objects strewn about, a vast majority of which can be picked up and tossed around with the help of your gravity gun—even large items like pianos or whole cupboards don’t stand in your way. Only in the larger rooms with more objects did I have any problem with performance, which can be knocked down in the settings to accommodate lower-spec PCs. All in all, the game fared very well considering the high quality of textures, lighting effects, and physics-based objects such as wafting curtains.
Image courtesy Aspyr Media
I can’t understate the mansion’s beauty, juxtaposed with the steampunk-ish gadgets with more than a touch of glowing cathode ray tubes and massive cabling running throughout. While this is usually reserved for the Immersion section below, it bears mentioning foremost that Torn is one of the best looking VR games to date.
Some adventure games in general tend to de-emphasize puzzle complexity, and focus more on telling a storytelling—and that’s true with Torn; if you’re looking for engaging, varied puzzles that will leave you scratching your head, then this game may not be for you. Don’t get me wrong, low complexity puzzles aren’t bad per se, but they can be awfully boring when there’s really only one puzzle type throughout the game, which is sadly the case in Torn.
The game essentially is a test in your ability to match basic shapes, and do it with such a dull level of repetition that it spoiled some of what turned out to be an excellent story line, which I really think is worth paying attention to, thinking about, and following to the very end.
Image courtesy Aspyr Media
In Torn, you use your gravity gun to both reveal and pick up everyday items marked with circuit-shaped glyphs. Plug in the hat box or dinner plate into the slot, which you can reveal with your light, and complete the circuit to move on. Each room holds within it three variations of this same puzzle, sometimes with smaller pieces and other times with pressure pads to change things up; you simply bung in the missing pieces and move on, rinse and repeat until the credits roll.
Image courtesy Aspyr Media
To make matters worse, Talbot, who floats around alternatively as a magical point of light and a globular liquid mass (thanks PhysX), never gives you a moment’s peace. He’s always directing you to the next puzzle piece, the next slot, and continues his “helpful” hints throughout the entire story, even when the puzzles increase in numbers of slots and pieces. The dogged breadcrumb trope of the helpful robot (or alternatively the helpful radio voice) really irks me, but what irks me more is I’m not ever really presented with a challenge, only a set of tasks I have to complete until I’m magically warped to an ethereal zone where Talbot explains more about his lost wife Rina, who apparently befell the same fate as Talbot in his experiment to change matter to energy.
Image courtesy Aspyr Media
While there are many objects to mess about with in the winding halls of the house, their only real importance lies in their function as square block to go into square holes. The only item you’ll hold on your person besides you gravity gun is the one of eight keys you collect along the way, so there’s no inventory system to speak of.
Besides these gripes, practically everything else about the game is really solid. You can’t cheat your way through puzzles, and level design is self-explanatory enough so that you’re never get lost on your way to learning the truth about the mansion and Talbot’s intentions. In the end, I clocked in at fours hours of gameplay.
Immersion
Since you primarily use your gravity gun to interact with objects, your hands are only really needed to pull the odd lever, or open a door. Because of the nature of the game, low hand presence isn’t really that big of a deal though.
Bad voice acting can kill immersion in any game, and for some reason hokey voice acting has a doubly deleterious effect in VR—we expect real people with real emotions. Thankfully Torn features top-notch voice actors, who genuinely hit their mark. While there are only two voiced characters, you and Talbot, the interchange between the two is believable.
Bad storytelling can also twist a few dials into feeling disconnected from even the most clever puzzle scheme, but again, Torn has made something engaging enough to keep me playing (despite the onslaught of boring puzzles) and guessing to the last minute. I won’t go much farther here so I don’t spoil the mystery. All of this comes as no surprise though, as the game’s script was written by Neill Glancy of Stranglehold (2007) and Susan O’Connor of Tomb Raider and BioShock.
A lush orchestral score, composed by Garry Schyman of BioShock and Middle Earth: Shadow of War, helped build suspense, and made for an awesome listening experience. Positional audio is also quite good, as Talbot buzzed around your head, off on his diatribes about his lost wife and his life as an inventor.
Comfort
Torn offers three locomotion schemes: blink teleportation, dash teleportation, and head-relative smooth forward walking (but no smooth turning). While the speed of walking isn’t configurable—so slow that it was nearly unusable personally—it’s at least a comfortable option that shouldn’t have your head spinning.
Snap-turning, also known as ‘VR comfort mode’ is available and at variable degrees, but thanks to head-relative walking you can also play in room-scale if you have the correct sensor/basestation setup.
Besides a fairly twisty-turny opening cutscene, which winds you through the guts of Talbot’s mansion, Torn is an extremely comfortable game.
Imogen Heap, the Grammy-award winning musician, is following in the footsteps of TOKiMONSTA, Ash Koosha, and The Glitch Mob with a social VR concert experience, hosted on TheWaveVR platform soon.
Starting tomorrow, August 31st, the Imogen Heap experience will kick off with an 11:00 AM PT showing (local time here). A second show will take place at 7:00 PM PT (local time here), which ought to fit nicely into viewing schedules for users in North and South America.
Users with an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive will be able to join in. Check out TheWaveVR on Steam (Vive, Rift, Windows VR) and the Oculus Store (Rift).
In a recent blogpost, Oculus calls the upcoming Imogen Heap concert “a spellbinding trip of sight and sound—not unlike some of Heap’s past work—but this specific debut promises an altogether fresh experience.”
The concert, like many others, will include a live VR audience with what the company calls “a more intimate affair,” which will take place inside Heap’s childhood home. A volumetrically captured version of the Imogen Heap will also be on display in TheWaveVR, which was created with Depthkit.
The show will feature multiple songs, including a previously unreleased Frou Frou track and an entirely new mix of ‘Hide and Seek’ from the album Speak for Yourself.
“From my first talks with TheWaveVR, which as it happened were in VR, I knew I wanted to get involved in this project,” says artist Imogen Heap. “With my three-year-old daughter’s future in mind, it excites me how, through virtual reality, we are already able to connect in a more human way, even when time and place would have it otherwise. Having my fans experience a musical performance from within the welcoming walls of my family home brings a whole new dimension to connecting and communicating for me.”
It’s uncertain if users will be able to check out the show after the two showings, so make sure to have TheWaveVR downloaded and ready.
Survios, the studio behind Raw Data (2017) and Sprint Vector (2018), are getting ready to release their next big VR title soon, which puts you in the boxing ring as underdog Adonis Creed on his quest to become the light heavyweight champ of the world.
Creed: Rise to Glory is slated to arrive on Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PSVR on September 25th. Pre-orders are now available through the Oculus Store (Rift), Steam (Vive, Rift), and PSN (PSVR).
Featuring a combat scheme Survios calls ‘Phantom Melee Technology’, Creed uses a sort of body desynchronization when either your stamina is low, or when you’re staggered from a powerful punch.
Image courtesy Survios
The game boasts a career mode, freeplay and training, which is conducted by a fairly convincing Rocky Balboa. Check out our latest hands-on here from GDC to find out more.
Creed: Rise to Glory will also be available in VR arcades across the US starting September 25th.
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