Category: Phantom: Covert Ops

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Best VR Stealth Games: Sneaky Picks For Quest, PSVR, And PC VR

Our list of the best VR stealth games is stepping out of the shadows to help you on your next sneaking mission.

Stealth is one of those genres that seems like a perfect fit for VR. The ability to physically hide around corners, distract enemies by making noises and then knock them out when they get close feels incredibly empowering, and one of the best expressions of how the medium can enhance traditional games.

But making a good, comprehensive VR stealth game is incredibly hard; not only do you have to accommodate all those elements, you have to make sure enemy AI doesn’t fold under the weight of these systems. This list of the 10 best VR stealth games definitely isn’t free of those issues, but they’re all encouraging signs developers are getting closer to nailing the perfect experience.

As always, you can find these titles on the Oculus Quest store, SteamVR and PlayStation Store depending on the platforms they’re on.

Best VR Stealth Games

10. Republique VR – Quest, PSVR, PC VR

Republique might not make the most exciting use of VR, but you can’t deny that it’s a good stealth game in its own right. Camouflaj first dived into VR with this port of its third-person episodic series, which borrows liberally from Metal Gear Solid and other series. There are some neat features here for the VR version and the campaign’s quite lengthy, but this is definitely more your traditional stealth experience that just happens to be playable in VR, putting it at the tenth spot of our best VR stealth games list.

Read Our Review

9. The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Quest, PSVR, PC VR

Though it might be one of the overall best games on this list, Saints & Sinners scores towards the high end of our top ten given that its stealth is only one small part of the overall experience. The option to sneak through enemy encampments and avoid walkers definitely has tactical advantages and works pretty well, too. Ultimately, though, it’s more fun to stab zombies than it is evade them, so Saints & Sinners comes near the start of our best VR stealth games list.

Read Our Review

8. Panther VR – PC VR

Panther VR is a hugely ambitious stealth game that aims to let players pick and choose how they navigate through its levels. And developer Wolfdog Interactive has certainly proven its commitment to the Early Access release in the past year, having released plenty of updates to help improve the gameplay. We’re looking forward to Panther’s full release, which is when we’ll really be able to judge if it can climb the ranks of the best VR stealth games.

7. Arashi: Castles of Sin – PSVR

It’s not quite VR’s answer to Tenchu, but Arashi: Castles of Sin still offers around five hours of rock-solid sneaking, tasking players with taking down six Japanese warlords. Open level design gives you some say in how to get from point A to B, and a range of weapons can make for some intentive scenarios. Plus, Arashi features VR’s goodest dog, who can distract enemies on command. Sold.

Read Our Review

6. Jurassic World Aftermath – Quest

Jurassic World is definitely on the short side (a second part is still to come later down the line), but what’s already here works really well. Remember the classic kitchen scene from the original Jurassic Park? This is basically that incredibly tense moment stretched across an entire game, asking players to sneak through environments and avoid becoming dino-food. Once the second part arrives we’re hopeful this’ll rank higher on our best VR stealth games list.

Read Our Review

5. Espire 1: VR Operative – Quest, PSVR, PC VR

Of all the games inspired by Metal Gear Solid on this list, Espire 1 is definitely the most blatant. The game directly lifts a lot of the key features first established in MGS2 but finds new use from them in VR. You can actually say ‘Freeze’ into your headset’s microphone to hold up enemies, for example, and then knock them out cold with the end of your gun. Weak enemy AI holds the game back from being something really special, but we’re hoping to see this franchise expand with a stronger sequel in the future.

Read Our Review

4. Sniper Elite VR – Quest, PSVR, PC VR

Like Saints & Sinners, stealth is really only an option in Sniper Elite VR, but it’s much more intrinsic to the gameplay. When you’re not nestled up in a sniper nest you’re crawling past enemies, scoring headshots with silenced pistols and trying to make it as far into a level as possible before the game’s up. And by building on its work with the existing series, Sniper managed to be a consistent, comprehensive and fair stealth experience. It’s an easy pick for one of the best VR stealth games, then.

Read Our Review

3. Hitman 3 VR – PSVR

Once again, stealth is merely an option in the Hitman series but, whereas Sniper Elite and Walking Dead emphasize action first, Agent 47 is all about sticking to the shadows and fighting back only when absolutely necessary. Adopting a first-person perspective for the first time completely changes the sneaking in IO’s iconic series, making every careful lean from behind the corner a potential run-ruining decision. But it really gives you the feeling of sneaking through areas you shouldn’t be in, making it one of the best VR stealth games.

Read Our Review

2. Phantom: Covert Ops – Quest, PC VR

Lots of VR stealth games aim to give players an expansive set of tools to play with. The result is something that’s often a fun sandbox, but crumbles when you expect enemies to properly react to your discovery. Phantom is a smartly constrained experience in that sense – not only is the kyack-based gameplay completely immersive, but it keeps enemies at a distance and makes their reactions much more believable. Add in some great weapons and inventive use of the game’s sole location, and Phantom: Covert Ops remains one of the best VR stealth games to date.

Read Our Review

1. Budget Cuts 1 + 2 – PC VR, PSVR (Budget Cuts 1 only)

Budget Cuts 1 may have launched with some problems but Neat Corp has addressed a lot of those issues over time and, more importantly, worked with Fast Travel Games to greatly expand on its premise in Budget Cuts 2. This is VR stealth at its physical best: teleportation-based movement that gives the world context without breaking immersion, skill-dependent gameplay that leaves you feeling lethally effective in your best moments and an utter clutz in your worst, and tongue-in-cheek humor that makes this one of VR’s funniest games. For that reason, the Budget Cuts series finds itself at the top of our best VR stealth games list.

What did you make of our list of the best VR stealth games? Let us know in the comments below!

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Phantom: Covert Ops Review – Solid Footing For A VR Stealth Franchise

Our full Phantom: Covert Ops review is here. Does nDreams’ long-awaited stealth debut sneak out of the shadows in full stride? Find out below.

Oh to be a fly on the wall — or perhaps an agent in a kayak — when someone at nDreams pitched Phantom: Covert Ops. “An entire stealth game set in a kayak? Yeah right, like that’ll wor– wait that could work.”

Such is the thought process of anyone that pays more than a passing minute to Phantom. The concept behind it is undeniably ridiculous; an entire Cold War-era naval facility systematically dismantled over the course of a single night by a lone operative and their trusty paddle. If it were a movie, it would star Gerard Butler and carry the slogan: “They’re going to need a bigger base”. I would gladly devour six buckets of popcorn to get through it.

But this unusual premise feeds a powerfully immersive — if not exactly plausible — experience bolstered by intelligent VR-first design. While it might not fully realize all of that potential, Phantom establishes solid footing for a stealth franchise for VR to call its own.

Trivial as it may seem, Phantom’s mode of movement is one of the most convincing and enjoyable means of getting around in VR we’ve yet seen. Alternating rows, fending off of the sides, dipping your paddle into the water to brake, every element of traversal is intuitive and immersive. Paired with a physical UI that straps weapons and items to dedicated positions on your boat and body, Phantom has surprisingly few of those irritating reminders of your physical presence in the real world. This is not a game to play half-hearted; find a comfy chair, a pair of headphones and space to lean around and reach out in, and you’ll discover an experience to truly get lost in.

This also serves as the foundation for a single-player campaign that delivers the surface slickness of great stealth games with far less of the clumsiness we’ve seen in other recent attempts. When all’s going well, Phantom is a game of lethal professionalism, with last-minute scurries into the shadows and pinpoint assassinations with a silent pistol that aren’t too far removed from Splinter Cell’s secret agent satisfaction. Waiting in the reeds, slowly inching your hand towards your sniper rifle, and then shutting one eye, raising the scope and pulling the trigger before sailing to the safety of a nearby underpass is an efficient showcase of empowering VR role-playing.

Phantom: Covert Ops Review – Comfort

Phantom: Covert Ops is a seated experience, but only includes smooth movement. The added comfort and context of sitting down will definitely make the experience more manageable than other titles, and you can use snap turning instead of the standard smooth turn if you want. However, fast movements and quick reverse turns could leave you feeling a little dizzy on one or two occasions.

nDreams hits many of those thrilling beats over the course of its three-ish hour campaign. Dramatic escapes under a hail of bullets, explosive sabotage missions, cat and mouse games with snipers, this has the lot. Much of what makes Phantom work is its rare sense of coherence, propped up with rules and parameters that make sure its players understand when they’re fully hidden and when they risk being spotted. Enemy spotlights skim the water, threatening to catch you like a deer in headlights, and level design features plenty of cover, distractions, and multiple paths to see you through to safety. When enemies do spot you, they shoot back without descending into a flustered confusion that kills immersion. By clearly establishing those boundaries, Phantom finds itself uniquely manageable.

The little things play a big part in the fun, too. If you’re out of noise-making sticky speakers to throw at enemies, for example, you can hurl an ammo clip behind them for a quick distraction. Opening doors and sabotaging machinery, meanwhile, are carried out with authentic physicality, rooting you in the experience that bit more. You can tell nDreams has poured a lot of love into the details here, mostly evident in Solid Snake actor David Hayter’s turn as a crazed Russian general that, while underutilized, feels like an alternate universe Metal Gear baddie.

It’s true, though, that the game’s welcome lack of mishaps stems from its relative simplicity. Boiled down to its core, Phantom isn’t about staying out of sight so much as staying out of the illuminated circle of an enemy flashlight. As long as you don’t accidentally sail too far into one, even on the hardest difficulties, chances are you’ll be able to sneak by without issue. Darkness should provide cover, yes, but in Phantom you’ll often find it’s more like an invisibility cloak.

Overcoming obstacles, too, is usually achieved by one of only a handful of tricks. Either you’re patiently waiting in the reeds for an enemy boat to pass (sometimes running so close you’d be impossible not to spot) or shooting something to cause a distraction. Phantom’s design is both a blessing and a curse, as there’s no verticality to open level design up, but there are missed opportunities under the ocean that I’d love to see explored later on. Phantom is undoubtedly a decent stealth game, but it’s the VR-centric design that really makes it stand out.

The game also adopts a sort of half-hearted Metroidvania structure you get the sense nDreams wanted to expand on. Early levels drop hints about returning to open up new paths with new tools, but the linear structure means you can only do this at the exact time the developer wants you to. Instead of a sprawling naval base, it’s a little like repeatedly circling around a one-way system. There’s a foundation here for a far more open-ended game that allowed players to familiarize themselves with an evolving environment that would become more intricate to navigate as you unlocked new mechanics and enemies became more advanced.

Phantom: Covert Ops Review – Quest vs Rift

Given that you’re seated for the entire experience, the wireless benefits of the Oculus Quest aren’t as obvious in Phantom as they are in most games (though they do still weight in). The PC version of the game is, obviously, the visually superior of the two with increased foliage and complex lighting. Quest is stripped back, but by no means unsightly. More details are in our comparison article right here.

Fragments of that idea, at least, are evident, like revamping old levels with sniper nests and sea mines, though they don’t radically change up the gameplay so much as give you new obstacles to avoid. Save for a few tight spots, I sailed through on Hard difficulty without too much issue, though self-imposing certain restrictions like no-kill playthroughs will obviously augment the challenge, and you’ll unlock extras for beating missions as skillfully as possible. Those extras are important, too, because they give Phantom a welcome degree of longevity past its snappy campaign. You’ll unlock new challenge modes, items to revisit levels in freeplay and even old-school cheats to put a fun spin on things.

Phantom: Covert Ops Review – Like This? Try These

Phantom’s rock-solid foundations help it keep pace with other great VR stealth games like Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency, and its polished presentation help it overtake Espire 1: VR Operative. If you’re a fan of VR stealth in particular, it’s an easy recommendation.

Phantom: Covert Ops Review Final Impressions

Far-fetched as it may be, Phantom’s fantastically immersive design makes for a VR mission well worth accepting, even if its campaign is shorter and simpler than hoped for. But what it lacks in gameplay complexity, it often makes up for in its giddy role-playing, going a step beyond many other VR games to convince you that you’re really in its (admittedly daft) world. A deeper sequel with more advanced gameplay would elevate the series to essential status, but Phantom already navigates the rough waters of VR stealth better than most.

4 STARS

 

Phantom Covert Ops Review 1

Phantom: Covert Opts is available from today on the Oculus Rift and Oculus Quest headsets. For more on how we arrived at this verdict, see the UploadVR Review Scale below and check out our review guidelines. 

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What do you make of our Phantom: Covert Ops review? Let us know in the comments below!

 

The post Phantom: Covert Ops Review – Solid Footing For A VR Stealth Franchise appeared first on UploadVR.

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Review: Phantom: Covert Ops

Phantom: Covert Ops

Unlike normal first-person shooters (FPS) which are all action and generally require lightning-fast reactions, when a videogame revolves primarily around stealth there’s a nice added level of intensity. Virtual reality (VR) titles like Espire: VR Operative or Budget Cuts are good examples of this, sneaking around corners and climbing walls to avoid being seen really invests you in the whole experience. Yet what happens when your feet are taken away, quick side steps or ducking behind cover removed because you’re in a kayak? That’s where nDreams’ Phantom: Covert Ops comes in, offering a uniquely engaging experience.

Phantom: Covert Ops
Oculus Rift image

VRFocus has been covering Phantom: Covert Ops for a while now and each step has built genuine excitement for this stealth experience as it is so heavily centred around its locomotion system. You can’t say there are many kayak videogames in VR, let alone ones where you’re armed to the teeth with an assortment of both subtle and bullish weaponry.

Thankfully nDreams has at least decided to add context to this method, and not just plonking you in a camouflaged kayak for the sake of it. Phantom: Covert Ops is a military shooter where you play some elite specialist sent into a secret base by NATO to gather intelligence on a rogue Russian general. This base has fallen into disrepair after it was bombed several years prior, and because it’s located on the coast just so happens to be flooded, hence you have plenty of waterways to traverse.

So there’s the narrative behind the kayak, the other reason is far more practical, VR comfort. Even big AAA titles like Half-Life: Alyx have to include a wealth of comfort controls like teleportation and snap turning to ensure there’s minimal barrier to the gameplay. Phantom: Covert Ops does away with a lot of these issues because it is seated and requires plenty of upper body movement, all of which is very natural – even if you’ve never been kayaking. There is snap rotation if you really need it but hopefully, that shouldn’t be too much of a concern.

Phantom: Covert Ops
Oculus Quest image

Simply get a nice place to sit and settle in. As stealth is the key you don’t generally need fast, hectic paddling motions, gently sweeping at the water to move. There are several actions to learn such as braking and hard turning yet they’re not that overly complicated to learn. Nice little touches include being able to push away from a wall with a paddle if too close. While for the most part the rowing was well executed there were occasional moments where braking just didn’t seem to work, or the kayak tail got stuck and no amount of paddling would dislodge it. Prepare for a good arm/shoulder workout as there’s plenty to do.

When it comes to gameplay nDreams has continually said Phantom: Covert Ops gives you the option to choose either stealth or more direct action. In reality it’s all about being as silent and sneaky as possible if you want to achieve the highest rankings and unlock all the extras. There are 7 core missions which will grade you at the end, with a maximum ‘S’ ranking unlocking different missions in the Challenge Mode. Naturally there are plenty of ways to achieve this, which is another of Phantom: Covert Ops’ strong points.

Most of the time then you’re trying to stay hidden, avoiding spotlights by hiding in reeds – a lot of reed beds – or creating distractions by shooting fire extinguishers. While the approach does mean maximum points it does become somewhat sedate and there are times where there doesn’t seem to be much to do apart from paddle. It can be really, really, tempting to just pop a couple of rounds off at the guards for fun. In that case, the whole level should be played like that, not serious and purely to see what you can do.

Phantom: Covert Ops
Oculus Rift image

And replay you will. In fact nDreams has done a remarkable job on the replay side so that you get maximum bang for your buck even when it’s a single-player experience. Each level takes around 20-30 mins depending on how cautious you are. There are then secret toy crocs to find and ‘number stations’ for those 100%ers. These aren’t purely trinkets, unlocking them all will gain you audio logs, new loadout options and even cheats – yeah remember when games had cheats! There are 14 challenges to complete, from target practice to time trials and the Freeplay mode allows you to tweak your kayak and weapon selection for another run through to get a higher rank. Plus there’s the online scoreboard for those who like gaining first place worldwide.

Phantom: Covert Ops offers a decent slice of immersive VR gaming that will be well suited to most gamers. The main campaign is a little short especially as the levels are repeated and the core gameplay does lack depth for more experienced players. Even so, Phantom: Covert Ops is entertaining and there’s enough to keep you invested for a good few hours. Hopefully, nDreams will build upon this concept rather than letting it sink into the depths.

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‘Phantom: Covert Ops’ Review – Stealth on the Waterways

Phantom: Covert Ops is a rather unique take on a stealth action game, and one that’s clearly been designed with virtual reality in mind. With paddle in hand, you’ll find yourself sleuthing through sluices in a tactical kayak. But are the waterways a welcoming venue for fun stealth action? Read on to find out.

Phantom: Covert Ops Details:

Publisher: Oculus Studios
Developer: nDreams
Available On: Oculus Store (Rift, Quest)
Reviewed On: Rift S, Quest
Release Date: June 25th, 2020
Price: $30 (supports cross-buy)

Gameplay

Phantom: Covert Ops is built entirely around being in a tactical kayak—which is just like a normal kayak, except that it’s camouflaged and has some deadly guns and gadgets attached. Throughout the game’s campaign you’ll find yourself paddling through shadowy spillways, distracting guards, and destroying key objectives. The story is nothing you haven’t heard before: a bad guy (who’s just evil because… why not) wants to hurt some good guys, and it’s your job to stop him.

The core gameplay involves following objective markers along a quite linear path which will sometimes be blocked by guards at the water’s edge. Stealth tends to be the best option because when the bullets start flying you’re mostly a sitting duck in the kayak. Luckily you can slip under docks and into reeds to stay concealed, and occasionally you’ll need to dodge a flashlight or security camera as you slide from one hiding spot to the next.

As you paddle around, you can pull out your night vision goggles; with the click of a trigger they’ll ‘mark’ any guards and interactive objects in the area. Unfortunately there isn’t a particularly large variety of objects. There’s things that distract guards (like an air canister or … a box-shaped air canister), generators which can be disabled to turn off lights, and explosive barrels.

Image courtesy nDreams

These are your tools for dealing with guards, boats, and security cameras that watch the water’s edge. If you do get spotted, you have a brief moment to take down the guard that spotted you, otherwise they’ll alert the other guards too.

As for tackling objectives, you’ll be regularly asked to slip underneath structures like satellite dishes to disable them, and occasionally you’ll use explosive charges to blow up other objectives.

While Phantom: Covert Ops starts out strong with solid mechanics and interactions, the mechanics and the ensuing scenarios plateau pretty quickly.

It didn’t take long before the gameplay felt formulaic; I would enter a new area, mark everything in the vicinity with my night vision goggles, and then either slip past the guards undetected or create some small distraction and then go along my way. If I was feeling lazy I’d just drop a lone guard with my silenced pistol or sniper rifle. There was little sense of planning & executing, resource management, or overall strategy.

I was happy to see when the game finally introduced mines and security cameras—the sort of things that pushed the challenge and intrigue up a notch by requiring me to make more deliberate moves—but unfortunately that’s pretty much where the gameplay arc plateaued. About half way through the game I bumped up the difficulty from its medium setting to its highest setting which made things a little bit more interesting.

While Phantom: Covert Ops has some strong gameplay ideas, it doesn’t manage to get them to synergize particularly well; the gameplay sandbox isn’t quite dynamic enough to support the kind of thrilling scenarios that you’d expected from a great stealth action game.

Beyond the campaign mode, which took me around four hours to complete, there’s also Free Play mode and Challenges.

Free Play allows you to replay any level to try to improve your score (which is determined by factors like how many times you’ve been spotted) and you get to select your own loadout from equipment that you unlock throughout the campaign. You can also enable any of a few dozen cheats (like big head mode, super difficulty, unlimited ammo, low gravity, etc) in Free Play. Earning a high score on levels in Free Play (or the campaign mode) will unlock one of 14 challenges.

Challenges are mini-games that grade you based on time or score, and they’re actually worth a spin. Though they only take a minute or two each, they’re fun little extras like racing through a series of gates to score the best time, a range of pop-up targets to test your marksmanship, or a challenge to kill all guards along a path. Each challenge has leaderboards, so you can see just how well you match up against everyone else.

The challenges typically push the game’s mechanics to more interesting extremes, but unfortunately they smack of gameplay beats which couldn’t be effectively integrated with the main campaign.

Immersion

The core interaction and locomotion design of Phantom: Covert Ops is inherently quite immersive. Being in the kayak and paddling your way along the water feels really good. The way that weapons and gadgets are attached to your kayak around you and right within arms reach makes for a perfectly intuitive inventory system that’s always right where you expect it to be.

If there’s a lever or latch to pull, it almost always feels satisfying, and nDreams thoughtfully placed extra hand-holds near key switches and levers which makes it easy to grab hold of and pull yourself in closer for the interaction.

Weapon handling also feels quite good. The weapon models are reasonably high quality and the game applies a smoothing effect to the movement of your hands depending upon how heavy the weapon is. That prevents weapons from wiggling unrealistically, and provides a sense of virtual weight. You can also two-hand pistols right along with the explicitly two-handed weapons like the SMG and sniper rifle.

But there’s a few misses too. While the weapons look good, their actual use and mechanics are quite arcade-y. If you release any object like a gun or your paddle, it instantly snaps back into its holster. While this is of course convenient, it means you don’t need to focus too much attention on managing the items around you. You can, for instance, aim your sniper rifle and then simply release it to then reach for the SMG on your back (knowing that the sniper rifle will just pop back into its holster).

Reloading weapons also feels awkward (and even unnecessary). Throughout the whole campaign I think I might have reloaded each weapon a single time (there’s just not much need to shoot). You do so by grabbing a magazine from the pouch in front of you, and then moving it toward the magazine on the gun. Then you’ll watch as the old mag magically ejects and the new one pops into its place.

This is made more awkward by the poor hand-posing on the magazines; the way the hand clasps most magazines means that you’ll probably bump your controllers together when you try to put the new mag in—it’s as if the developers were exclusively building the game on the original Rift CV1 (which had controllers with rings facing down instead of up like on Rift S and Quest controllers).

A greater emphasis on those near-field interactions with weapons and gadgets could have been a great way to diversify the gameplay and move the player’s attention between more than just looking out for guards and the next hiding spot.

Unfortunately the game’s trite story doesn’t help on the immersion front. After playing the game’s four hours of campaign, I recall the names of two characters—neither of which were interesting in the slightest due to a complete lack of character development. In fact, I found some of the throw-away guard dialogue more interesting than whatever the main characters (AKA voices on the radio) were up to.

The game’s sound and visual design are passable, but left me wanting. I found the game’s lighting to be often confusing, both visually and mechanically. In many cases, light seems to emanate from no source in particular, leaving the environment often looking light a patchwork of oddly lit and unlit spaces. And then there were places that seemed perfectly bright but I could easily go undetected right in front of a guard while waving at them in jest. P.S. Do yourself a favor and disable anti-aliasing; the reduction in aliasing isn’t worth how much sharpness the game sacrifices.

On Quest specifically, the headset’s OLED black-smear issues are truly exacerbated by the game. Dark areas of the scenes get smeared around a good bit during head movement, largely defeating the benefit of having the OLED display in the first place. The game is still playable, but I’m hoping this could get patched in the future to prevent the game from using true-black so often (thereby hopefully reducing smearing).

Sound in Covert Ops is a mixed bag too. At the start of the game you’ll see a big pop-up that says “Headphones recommended.” And you should absolutely follow that advice for an instant boost to immersion (though that’s more on the sub-par speakers of Rift S and Quest than anything else). Even with headphones, sounds in the game don’t seem particularly well polished—like the very uneventful sound effects for when you’ve been detected or the sound of incoming gunfire when you’re being shot at.

Comfort

Image courtesy nDreams

I was quite worried about the comfort of Phantom: Covert Ops in my most recent preview because the game’s smoothly turning ‘sharp turn’ mechanic clearly grated on my brain. Too much of that smooth turning and it would be a trip to nausea town.

I’m very happy that the studio has added an ‘incremental turn’ option which causes the kayak to snap-turn when you employ the ‘sharp turn’ button. Although the motion doesn’t feel as natural as smooth turn, I found that it was a hell of a lot more comfortable and that it had almost no impact on gameplay. Thanks to the incremental turn option, I could play Covert Ops indefinitely without the risk of nausea slowly building.

Thanks to the addition of incremental turn, I found the game very comfortable throughout.

Those who are highly sensitive to motion might take issue with ‘strafe’ paddling (which can slide the kayak sideways) or when using the paddle to push against the shore to move the kayak, though both can be avoided easily with almost no impact to gameplay.

I also didn’t notice a single instance where tracking was an issue—either when reaching for objects in my inventory or using the two-handed sniper rifle—which means that nDreams designed around the inside-out tracking limitations of Rift S and Quest very well.

As a seated game, Phantom: Covert Ops can be played easily in a fairly compact playspace. While I started out sitting on the floor, eventually my back got a bit sore due to no support. I stuck an arm-less chair in the middle of my playspace for the second half of the game and much preferred the back support.

The post ‘Phantom: Covert Ops’ Review – Stealth on the Waterways appeared first on Road to VR.

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The VR Game Launch Roundup: Wingsuits, Kayaks and Murder

Phantom: Covert Ops

It’s been a proper week of virtual reality (VR) videogame announcements from new titles like Star Wars: Squadrons to exciting updates. For PC VR players there are currently plenty of demos to keep you busy and next week a nice selection of videogames await. Here’s VRFocus’ regular Friday roundup.

Rinlo

Rinlo – GuraShop

A puzzle adventure set inside a steampunk dystopia, Rinlo will be an Early Access title when it arrives next week. “Join Agatha, in her quest to discover why her parents sent her away and what happened to the place she remembers so clearly.”

Mini Motor Racing X – The Binary Mill

Already supporting PlayStation VR and Oculus Quest, now it’s the turn of PC VR headsets to receive Mini Motor Racing X. A pint-sized racer where you can jump in the driving seat or control your car from above, the title offers an abundance of tracks and cars to choose and modify, in both single-player and multiplayer modes.

Mini Motor Racing X

Phantom: Covert Ops – nDreams

The big VR title launching this week is nDreams’ Phantom: Covert Ops a stealth experience entirely set on the water. You play a highly trained operative investigating a military base using a kayak. Learn to row through enemy-infested waters, silently take out hostiles with a sniper rifle or grab an MP5 and take a less subtle approach, the choice is yours.

Rush VR – The Binary Mill

For those PlayStation VR owners who love to collect physical versions of their games, Perp Games is releasing wingsuit racer Rush VR into stores. Jump off of mountains and hurtle through valley’s across a range of competitive modes either solo or in multiplayer.

  • Supported platforms: PlayStation VR (Physical copy)
  • Launch date: 26th June
The Rig: Starmap to Murder

The Rig: A Starmap to Murder – Sunset Division

The first VR videogame from indie studio Sunset Division, The Rig: A Starmap to Murder has been inspired by classic point-and-click adventures from the ’90s. A story-driven experience set in 2132, you have to explore a space-freighter on its way to a remote mining facility, chatting to inhabitants and solving puzzles along the way.

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David Hayter Teases Phantom: Covert Ops In New Trailer Ahead Of Release

Kayaking stealth game Phantom: Covert Ops is out on Oculus headsets on June 25th and the iconic voice of David Hayter (aka Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid) is here to tease the game one last time before release.

Hayter voices the villain General Zhurov, an ex-Soviet running the rogue Cold War-era naval installation that players infiltrate by kayak. Hayter teased the Oculus Studios game from nDreams in the UploadVR Showcase. Check out the latest trailer here:

While the premise might sound like a bit of a stretch we’ve played early versions of the game on a number of occasions and remain impressed by just how immersive it feels. You’ll find yourself carefully inserting your oar into the water and navigating through tight channels at just the time to avoid detection and reaching for the right weapon to take care of the task at hand.

Here’s how Jamie Feltham described it in a recent write up:

Sitting in a chair and using motion controls to paddle through reeds, taking one end of an oar to push yourself off from a wall, or grabbing a side and pulling yourself into position; all of this feels distinctly convincing in a way we don’t normally experience. It’s equal parts authentic and intuitive, offering truly human-powered movement mostly without the strange disconnect that comes from moving your virtual self while your real self stays in one place. I only say mostly as I don’t believe that contrast will ever completely vanish in any VR game for current systems, but it’s certainly diminished here. Plus constant paddling is, quite rightly, a bit of a workout.

Phantom: Covert Ops is out on Rift and Quest on June 25th.

Check out every trailer, article, announcement, interview, and more from the UploadVR Showcase right here.

The post David Hayter Teases Phantom: Covert Ops In New Trailer Ahead Of Release appeared first on UploadVR.

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Preview: Phantom: Covert Ops – Who’d of Thought Sniper Rifles & Kayaks Work?

Phantom: Covert Ops

A year after nDreams released the first teasing details of its next virtual reality (VR) title Phantom: Covert Ops, the project is nearing launch, set to arrive in June. VRFocus got its hands on an early demo showcasing some of the first area during the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2019 and was suitably impressed by what was shown. Now, nDreams has been kind enough too expanded upon that initial demo so VRFocus can delve a little deeper, continuing the positive trend for this watery stealth experience.

Phantom: Covert Ops

Time for a bit of a catch-up. Phantom: Covert Ops is a first-person shooter with all the military trademarks you’d expect, a wayward Russian general, deadly toxic nerve agent, a secret installation and of course a variety of weapons and tools to bring the whole showdown. The one major twist is that as most of the base is waterlogged, you’re not running around hiding behind crates; instead, you’re completely constrained to a kayak with everything you need within arm’s reach.

The whole kayak idea was born out of VR comfort, as not everybody can handle smooth locomotion controls and some titles don’t always suit teleportation. The kayak is an ingenious idea as it forces you to think about stealth and combat completely differently, there’s no quick strafe into cover or hastily avoiding a spotlight. You’re in a kayak and need to paddle, therefore everything needs to be planned and thought out. Wade in brazenly and you’ll quickly become a floating target.

Thankfully, the paddle controls are up to the job and feel more refined. When the locations permit you can pick up a reasonable speed as you time each stoke, plunging one side into the water to break if needed. By holding one of the face buttons down on the Oculus Touch controller you can perform tight turns to help you navigate some of the narrower waterways. The mechanic also means you can sit down for the entire experience, great for when you don’t have the energy for a full roomscale videogame.

Phantom: Covert Ops

For this preview, the first two areas of Phantom: Covert Ops were available highlighting more than ever that this is a stealth title first and foremost. There are two ways you can attack the levels, loud or quiet but it’s the latter which shows the experience at its best. Slowly paddling through the water into a set of reeds, pulling out the sniper rifle to shoot a fire extinguisher, thus creating a distraction and then carefully manoeuvring under a bridge while an enemy has their back turned provides nailing biting excitement.

You don’t have to do this, of course, grab the MP5 and take a less subtle approach mowing down anyone who dares raise the alarm. But Phantom: Covert Ops doesn’t exude action, in fact, it actively encourages quiet as once a level is complete you’re given a ranking based on how many times you’ve been spotted, if you’ve killed anyone and other variables. Getting an S rank came down to mostly being a ninja pacifist.

And that’s an important point to consider, options. Phantom: Covert Ops does have a core linear strategy to completing the campaign yet certain areas do offer route variation, take the quicker more hostile laden path or go for the longer journey which is less exciting. There’s little exploration to do, however, caches of ammo and grenades which extend out the water do require a keen eye, especially if the louder approach is being taken.

Phantom: Covert Ops

What’s also nice about Phantom: Covert Ops is that it still manages to remain very interactive as much as possible. From paddling and grabbing the binoculars to scout ahead to pulling apart power relays which operate the CCTV cameras, as a VR developer nDreams is very aware that an immersive experience needs to be just that, doing so through as many physical connections as possible.

As a sales tool, any demo should leave you wanting more and from this extended look at Phantom: Covert Ops nDreams has done just that. The menu revealed that replay will be a core factor of the videogame, with a free play mode allowing you to go back and try a completed campaign level differently. Plus there was a Challenge Mode – which wasn’t available. All in all, VRFocus is still very much looking forward to playing Phantom: Covert Ops when it arrives next month.

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‘Phantom: Covert Ops’ Preview – A Compelling Take on VR Stealth, but Comfort Challenges Could Muddy the Waters

The premise of Phantom: Covert Ops almost sounds ridiculous at first blush: you’re a special forces dude in a tactical kayak who is slinking around the waterways of an old Russian base. But don’t let the silinees of a tactical kayak fool you, this is actually a fundamentally compelling and immersive approach to a VR stealth game, but with one unfortunate conceit.

Phantom: Covert Ops is a game that’s played entirely from inside a kayak. And while that might sound strange at first, let me tell you, the whole thing feels incredibly immersive. Covert Ops is a seated game, and something about being seated and feeling like you’re gliding just over the top of the water feels (perhaps ironically) very grounding.

Your tactical kayak has mounted on it several tools and weapons, and as you see it constantly stretched out in front of you, it almost starts to feel like an extension of yourself right there in VR, bringing a sense of embodiment which is a key element of immersion.

On the left side you’ve got your kayak paddle which works pretty much exactly like you’d expect: alternating paddling on the left and right propels you forward, while paddling more on one side or the other turns you in the opposite direction. If you’ve ever kayaked or canoed before, it’s entirely second nature.

When you aren’t paddling, you’ll find an ammo pouch and night vision goggles sitting in front of you, a sniper rifle mounted on the right side, as well as a pistol on your chest and an SMG on your back. This makes up your trusty tool kit with which you’ll use to do all the usual stealth game stuff like sneaking through dark areas to avoid enemies, shooting out lights, causing distractions, and sabotaging the bad guys from the shadows.

Building the whole game around the kayak as a means of embodying the player, acting as their inventory, and moving them around the virtual world is an absolutely cool concept not seen anywhere else in VR. But there’s one conceit to this design which may limit the game’s audience, and that’s comfort.

Because you’re in a kayak, Phantom: Covert Ops is inherently built for smooth locomotion. That’s not an issue, at least for me; gliding along the water in mostly straight lines feels just fine. Unfortunately the kayak-based locomotion also brings with it smooth turning.

Smooth turning is when the player’s virtual perspective is continuously rotated. Most VR games employ ‘snap turning’ instead, which rotates the player’s view in large increments to avoid the perception of continuous turning. In the games that even support smooth turning, the option is never enabled by default because it makes lots of people nauseous, including me.

Unfortunately, smooth turning foundational to Covert Ops, and the developers don’t have plans for a snap turning equivalent. To be fair, a snap turning solution that makes sense in the kayak context doesn’t seem obvious to me, but requirement of smooth turning is a conceit it seems the game and its players will need to live with.

You could make the case that—if a VR game had to include smooth turning—Covert Ops is a best-case scenario. Because players don’t have control over their rotation with a joystick, they won’t be rotating nearly as much as they would in a standard FPS. Instead, rotation happens only when you paddle enough on one side of your kayak to turn, and levels have been clearly designed to minimize excessive rotation. Even so, it might get to you.

Image courtesy nDreams

In my preview of Covert Ops, played on a Rift S, I was able to play for about an hour at a time before feeling like I was reaching that dreaded threshold of pushing the comfort limit too far and paying for it with an hour of post-headset nausea. For the most part, gliding along the water in relatively straight lines felt just fine, and a little bit of turning here and there felt ok too. But it was the ‘sharp turn’ mechanic where I could really feel my brain saying “nah man, this isn’t cool.”

The sharp turn mechanic allows you to turn extra sharp by holding a button on your controller and paddling at the same time, causing your kayak to turn much sharper than normal. You don’t need to do this constantly, but every few minutes you might find yourself at a bend in the waterway that requires a sharp turn, or a rapidly approaching guard boat that you need to quickly divert from.

It’s clear that Phantom: Covert Ops‘s developer, nDreams, is aware that sharp turns are a comfort issue. The game does its best to help maintain comfort by bringing heavy peripheral blinders into view during sharper turns. Even so, it wasn’t enough to avoid that slow buildup of discomfort that eventually made me take off the headset before I otherwise would have.

But I’m with nDreams here—I can see why they have continued to pursue this design. The kayak concept is so cool and the execution seems really quite good. Players who know they can handle smooth turning with no problem should be excited for Phantom: Covert Ops. Those who struggle with smooth turning should be careful not to push themselves too far with the game. And for those who are very sensitive to smooth turning, this game simply may not be for you.

To nDreams’ credit… the primary issue here for someone like me (who is in the middle camp of ‘struggles with smooth turning’), is that I wanted to play the game in long stretches. If it was a 15 minute session here or there, the extent of the smooth turning  might not be much to tolerate. But so far Phantom: Covert Ops has been a really unique and interesting VR game that I want to dive into and stay immersed in for meaningful stretches of time.

I’m still looking forward to Phantom: Covert Ops because of all the stuff it’s doing right so far, and I hope nDreams might able to find some solutions to improving smooth turning comfort ahead of the game’s June 25th release date on Rift and Quest.

The post ‘Phantom: Covert Ops’ Preview – A Compelling Take on VR Stealth, but Comfort Challenges Could Muddy the Waters appeared first on Road to VR.

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Why Phantom: Covert Ops Is One Of The Most Immersive VR Games You’ll Play This Year

I’ll confess, I wasn’t sure nDreams had it in itself.

For years, the UK-based VR developer, one of the first brave/crazy enough to dedicate itself exclusively to the platform, seemed to zig zag from near miss to significantly wider miss. The Assembly was a good-natured, story-driven adventure that felt old before its time and Shooty Fruity provided likable produce-murder entertainment for as long as that sounds like it would last. The less said about Danger Goat, the better. Nearly a decade on from its first VR experiments, it feels like the studio is yet to make the mark it wanted to a long time ago.

Consider this some cautiously optimistic speculation, then; Phantom: Covert Ops might just sail over that line and then keep on swimming (or rather, paddling).

Stealth Steps Up

Every time I play Phantom, I come away more and more convinced we haven’t just got a modestly entertaining and novel approach to VR stealth here, but a genuine contender for the genre’s best entry yet. You surely know by now that the entire game places players in a kayak, which they steer through a hostile, Cold War-era naval yard overrun by a crazed Russian separatist. You’ll silently skulk from level-to-level, sabotaging important equipment that, as luck would have it, just happens to be right by the water. It sounds ridiculous and, if you stopped to think about it for too long, you’d find enough holes in the practicality of the concept to sink an armored gunship. But that isn’t really the point.

The point is that, when you slip into the world of Phantom, there are considerably fewer barriers to immersion than you’ll find in almost any other VR game. This is something you’ll hear us drive home again and again in the run-up to the game’s June 25 launch; when we play Half-Life: Alyx, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners or any other well-regarded VR title, we are constantly suspending our disbelief, accepting immersion-breaking concessions with movement or interaction in order to get a ‘full’ gaming experience in VR. With Phantom, that doesn’t happen nearly as much.

Moving On

Sitting in a chair and using motion controls to padel through reeds, taking one end of an oar to push yourself off from a wall, or grabbing a side and pulling yourself into position; all of this feels distinctly convincing in a way we don’t normally experience. It’s equal parts authentic and intuitive, offering truly human-powered movement mostly without the strange disconnect that comes from moving your virtual self while your real self stays in one place. I only say mostly as I don’t believe that contrast will ever completely vanish in any VR game for current systems, but it’s certainly diminished here. Plus constant paddling is, quite rightly, a bit of a workout.

Also there are other means of movement you might not expect the game to have considered. You can strafe by pushing your paddle away from you, for example, and you can fine-tune turns by keeping one side in the water as you drift. There is at least some degree of simulation here, even if the game occasionally makes some smart cuts in the name of accessibility, like holding a button for sharp turns.

Gone, too, are the magic over the shoulder backpacks and impossibly deep inventory systems. Every weapon, sidearm and ammo pack is given a home either on your person or the kyack itself. Your long-range rifle rests to one side but, if you’re suddenly discovered, an instinctive reach for your chest will summon a pistol to silence anyone trying to sound an alarm.

Sensible Sneaking

Phantom_Screenshots_Rift_01

One of the big downfalls of immersion in a lot of VR stealth games is AI. Enemies are great at sticking to patrol routes and spotting you but, once they do, things tend to go a bit haywire. With Phantom, the barrier between you and your enemies, plus the thoughtful systems in place make this less of an issue. Enemies are scattered on island platforms and walkways, removing their ability to give chase.

On top of that, the game gives you the necessary indicators to stay hidden. A built-in interface in your kyack will let you know when you’re obscured or exposed, and the radar flashes yellow and red cones for when enemies are suspicious or aware of your presence. Little ideas like this help reduce much of the confusion.

Evolving Environments

It’s also important to highlight Phantom’s great work in environmental design. In the first level, you progress from boggy swamps with forgotten wrecks and crumbling scenery dotting the water’s edge. Slowly but surely, you make your way behind enemy lines and brutalist architecture makes itself more and more apparent. We’ll be interested to see how this element evolves to inject some variety as you explore more of the base over the course of the game.

Paddling It Home

That’s all just one side to Phantom, though. Immersion is one thing, compelling gameplay is another, but based on the few hours I’ve spent with the game’s opening levels, I remain pretty encouraged this will hold up where others haven’t. However that pans out, though, Phantom: Covert Ops has already proven itself to be one of the most immersive VR experiences we’ll see this year. Just keep your fingers crossed it’s one of the best ones, too.

Phantom: Covert Ops arrives on Oculus Quest and Rift on June 25.

The post Why Phantom: Covert Ops Is One Of The Most Immersive VR Games You’ll Play This Year appeared first on UploadVR.

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David Hayter On Metal Gear Solid VR – ‘I Think It Would Work Very Well’

Think a Metal Gear Solid VR game could work? David Hayter, the iconic voice of Solid Snake reckons so.

Hayter said as much in an interview with Upload last week. Discussing his new role in VR stealth game, Phantom: Covert Ops, he talked about how the genre is well suited to the platform. “It gives you such paranoia about what’s going on behind you and what angle [enemies] can see you from, and you’re really right in it,” Hayter said.

“The silenced pistol is so effective at hugely long ranges and, just like you say, in Metal Gear you have to line up that laser just right, but you can hit guys way across the wind,” he later added. “It’s really cool.”

But does Hayter think Metal Gear itself could work in VR? “I was also in a game called Republique and that was produced by Ryan Paton who produced Metal Gear 3 and so I got that for the Oculus and it really works,” he explained. “It’s different from Metal Gear but a similar sort of stealth mechanic and it’s really immersive and very effective. I’d love to see Metal Gear on Oculus.”

There have been a lot of interesting takes on the stealth genre in VR over the past few years; some more influenced by Metal Gear than others. 2019’s Espire 1: VR Operative, for example, was a solid attempt at adapting many of the series’ core mechanics to VR. But Hayter agrees that a Metal Gear VR game could add a uniquely cinematic feel.

“You have real face-to-face meetings with these characters and you’re right in it,” he said. “I mean that was the thing about the first Metal Gear was that it was the first truly cinematic game experience and now of course we’re into multiple levels beyond at this point. But I think it would work very well.”

Sadly we’re not likely to get a Metal Gear Solid VR game anytime soon; the series has been silent since 2018’s Metal Gear Survive and creator Hideo Kojima (who has a few interesting ideas about VR himself) split from publisher Konami all the way back in 2015. But, if Konami ever did decide to revitalize the series, we’d definitely love to see it reimagined in VR. Especially all those hour-long cutscenes.

Do you think Metal Gear Solid VR could work? Let us know in the comments below!

The post David Hayter On Metal Gear Solid VR – ‘I Think It Would Work Very Well’ appeared first on UploadVR.