ARVORE, the studio behind the Pixel Ripped VR game franchise, announced it’s currently developing a VR soccer game called PAWBALL, which aims to get you leaping around and scoring goals like only a feline can.
On the studio’s Discord (invite link), Arvore Community Manager Freddy Pavão reveals the idea initially came from wanting dinosaurs to play soccer, although the team eventually settled on cats, which can move around in interesting and dynamic ways.
“With the change to our feline friends, the main idea for the game (and all the prototypes that came after) got a whole new range of possibilities,” Pavão says. “The game is still about soccer, but now using verticality, as the cats can jump super high, climb, hit the ball in aerial attacks, and so on. It is by far our game with the most possibilities for gameplay diversity, as players can do basically whatever they want to hit the ball and score a goal.”
Developer Ana Ribeiro shows off a peek at an early build:
Like many free-to-play games, the studio says it will be providing cosmetic upgrades. Granted, it’s still early days, however hopeful testers could also soon get their chance with early builds, which the studio says it will provide without the need of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) like many studios tend to do with still-in-development betas. That could arrive as early as June, Arvore says.
There’s no indication yet on what platforms the game is targeting either, however you can bet the free-to-play game will be searching for the widest possible distribution in hopes of replicating the sort of viral success of an obvious analogue, Gorilla Tag.
The primate-focused game of tag reported early last year it had garnered $26 million in revenue since its 2021 launch. That’s a tall order to fill, although if a pretty simple game of immersive tag can do it, maybe cats playing soccer can too?
Virtual reality’s favorite nostalgia-fueled game-within-a-game is back, this time throwing you into a handful of reimagined Atari 2600 titles from the early ’80s. It’s another solid entry into the series, and as its casual approach to serving up a rash of classic gaming tropes are fairly tried and true at this point. While its first-person RPG focus this time around doesn’t really feel like the sort of substantial evolution that it could be, 1978’s smorgasbord of novelty and undoubtably heartfelt love of classic games does a lot to smooth over many of its rougher spots.
Pixel Ripped 1978 Details:
Available On:SteamVR, Quest, PSVR 2 Release Date: June 15th, 2023 Price: $25 Developer: ARVORE Publisher: Atari Reviewed On: Quest 2
Gameplay
Pixel Ripped returns with our digital hero Dot, this time taking us to the dawn of home video game consoles of the late ’70s and early ’80s. You do visit 1978, although you’ll spend a good amount of time in the pre-NES days of the early ’80s too. If you haven’t brushed up on your gaming history, that means stuff like Frogger, Donkey Kong,Pac-Man, Space Invaders, etc. Okay, not those games specifically, but more on that in a bit.
If you’ve played the previous two standalone games, Pixel Ripped 1989 (2018) and Pixel Ripped 1995(2020), you probably know the score: the series mixes in classic gameplay on CRT monitors with more immersive 3D action when you jump into the game. The new entry into the series follows this pattern, so if you’re looking for more of the same Cyblin Lord-beating action, you’re in the right place. Now your overworld character is Barbara ‘Bug’ Rivers, a fictionalized Atari developerwho must help Dot stop Cyblin Lord from going back in time and completely changing the fundamental nature of the Pixel Ripped console game Bug is working on.
Image captured by Road to VR
Having Atari as an actual publisher comes with a few new perks for the series. For the first time Pixel Ripped 1978 has done away with its ‘near-beer’ approach to game references, which relied on its own litigation-free versions of popular console games to complete the nostalgic feel. Granted, the name brands you jump into, both as Dot and the overworld character Bug, aren’t the most iconic Atari has on offer: Crystal Castles, Fast Freddie, and Yars’ Revenge. In the game, they’re called Bentely’s Quest, Groovin’ Freddie, and Grave Yar, although the characters are all there.
Still, you’ll find some easter eggs as well as mini-games related to the system’s best-known titles, such as Frogger, Breakout, and Space Invaders to name a few, making it a true love letter to the second generation of console gaming.
Image captured by Road to VR
While late ’70s and early ’80s nostalgia is on full display—there’s an actual Atari 2600 console, game cartridges galore, and Atari 400 home computer—thankfully you won’t just be limited to the system’s eight-drectional joystick and single button when playing on your office CRT. As the game progresses, you’re handed more buttons which give those games significantly more depth and modern playability when played in 2D.
When playing inside the game, which is more consistently focused on first-person RPG gameplay, you’re again treated to a bright and blocky world that puts you head-first in reimagined 3D versions of each title, albeit infected by Cyblin Lord’s disruptive rips in space. The objective of each cartridge is to collect a crystal that will close each rip, leading you to an end-stage boss encounter.
Image courtesy ARVORE, ATARI
The RPG part of the game equips you with a few things: on the left hand is a wrist-worn device that can shoot out bug repairs, making up the bulk of the game’s casual puzzle-solving. On the right is a blaster which… blasts. And over your right shoulder is a random melee weapon, which is more comical than effective, offering stuff like an oversized tennis racket, a fish, or large ‘chancla’ slipper.
On first blush some things seem to be clear detractors in these first-person bits of the game, including repetitive shooting and melee combat, and some fairly lackluster upgrades. Enemy variation is also fairly low, offering up a pretty middling handful of flying and ground types, all of which feel like bullet sponges with their own unseen health bars.
Still, the game’s rhythmic drips of novelty do a lot to smooth over some of these momentary rough patches. Since there’s always something new around the corner and unique boss battle ahead of you, you might even think of those parts less as flaws and more like the sort of gameplay bottlenecks that were part and parcel of an era of gaming that was simplistic by necessity. Granted, Pixel Ripped 1978 is significantly more complex, but maybe it should be forgiven somewhat given the neurons it’s attempting to spark.
Immersion
Pixel Ripped 1978’s focus on first-person RPGs stuff gives a new latitude to move around and explore the world than previous titles, which were nearly entirely seated. Here, level design feels mostly logical and consistent, although at times I was left scratching my head as what to do next, which led to some unintentional backtracking through levels. Upon death, all enemies reset, which is basically on-brand for any classic game out there. Thankfully the game autosaves, which is a merciful break in immersion from the titles of the early ’80s.
While Pixel Ripped 1978’s first-person RPG focus isn’t the homerun I was hoping for, its higher fidelity connection to the nostalgia certain ups the overall immersion factor. There’s something about seeing a real Atari 2600, handling the cartridges, and hitting play on a small CRT that just clicks a few neurons in my brain way more than a ‘Game Girl’ or ‘Turbo Drive’ playing ‘Rad Racoon’ ever could.
Image captured by Road to VR
Characters inside the 3D-ified Atari games are suitably blocky and colorful, while the art style in the overworld feels decidedly more Pixar-ish than previous titles. Character design and voice acting is effective here, although some of the mouth movements seem to be a little less refined than they ought to. Object interaction is also something that feels like could need more refinement, as found items only have a single attach point which can make selecting through multiple items a more difficult task than it should be.
Image courtesy ARVORE, ATARI
Overall, Pixel Ripped 1978 is a little rough around the edges when it comes to physical immersion, although it’s difficult to be too wrapped up in its sore spots when it’s so charming and heartfelt. It doesn’t feel like the result of a developer who’s just going through the motions and trying to pump video game references in your face for the sake of hitting some sort of nostalgia quota; Arvore’s love for classic gaming definitely shines through.
Comfort
Dot’s helmet HUD does a lot to help mitigate some of the woes of free locomotion, so you can glide in all directions with minimal discomfort. There’s also teleportation and variable snap-turn available, which should keep basically everyone comfortable. The entire game is played on a single plane, so there isn’t any first-person platforming to speak of or vehicles that might cause user discomfort. Notably, like its other titles the studio designed Pixel Ripped 1978 to be played seated. Check out the full comfort checklist below:
‘Pixel Ripped 1978’ Comfort Settings – June 14th, 2023
Turning
Artificial turning
Snap-turn
Quick-turn
Smooth-turn
Movement
Artificial movement
Teleport-move
Dash-move
Smooth-move
Blinders
Head-based
Controller-based
Swappable movement hand
Posture
Standing mode
Seated mode
Artificial crouch
Real crouch
Accessibility
Subtitles
Languages
English
Dialogue audio
Languages
English
Adjustable difficulty
Two hands required
Real crouch required
Hearing required
Adjustable player height
Full disclosure: The game features a number of voice-over cameos from people in the XR industry, most of which are found in a ringing telephone back at Bug’s office. I was offered a small, unpaid cameo here as well.
ARVORE and Atari announced the upcoming sequel to Pixel Ripped is set to arrive on all major headsets next month.
Update (May 22nd, 2023): ARVORE confirmed with Road to VR that Pixel Ripped 1978 is coming to Quest 2, PSVR 2, and SteamVR headsets on June 15th.
We’re sure to see plenty more gameplay between now and then. In the meantime, the studio released a behind-the-scenes look at the game’s development, posted below this update. The original article follows below:
Original Article (March 22nd, 2023): To bring the latest entry in the Pixel Ripped franchise to life, the Sao Paolo, Brazil-based Arvore has struck a major branding partnership with iconic gaming house ATARI.
In the trailer, you’ll see an Atari 2600 and a number of games, such as Crystal Castles (1983), Fast Freddie (1982), and Yars Revenge (1982).
While not the most influential titles to grace the console over its 15-year lifespan (1977-1992), the partnership is essentially allowing the studio to dispense with the ‘Pretendo’ and ‘GearKid’ soundalike consoles and near-beer versions of classic games, offering up a more direct homage to late ’70s and early ’80s gaming.
Here’s how Arvore and ATARI describe Pixel Ripped 1978:
Dot must join forces with “Bug,” the quirky visionary who developed the original Pixel Ripped series. Help Dot maneuver through multidimensional challenges to protect Bug’s childhood memories from the evil Cyblin Lord, a villain able to break through the screen and invade the real world. In the game. The setting? The intense burst of creativity that vibrated through the San Jose suburbs in the late 70s and early 80s. Feel the mighty effects of how the Pixel Stone alters reality itself!
The franchise’s titles are standalone experiences, which also includes Pixel Ripped 1989 (2018) and Pixel Ripped 1995 (2020).
Atari CEO Wade Rosen says Pixel Ripped 1978 is also aimed at “fans of Pixel Ripped and […] the broader Atari community.”
Pixel Ripped 1978 is slated to launch on PC, PSVR 2, Meta Quest 2, and PlayStation 5 at some point this summer.
Pixel Ripped 1978 hopes to recreate the golden age of video games through VR, launching this summer on PC VR, Quest 2 and PSVR 2.
Developed by ARVORE and published by Atari, Pixel Ripped 1978 marks the third installment in this retro-themed adventure series and strikes a different tone from its predecessors, Pixel Ripped 1989 and Pixel Ripped 1995. Playing as Dot, a video game designer working for Atari at its headquarters in Sunnyvale, you will travel between different classic Atari games like Yars’ Revenge and Crystal Castles to debug them and stop “Cyblin Lord’s diabolically demented plans.” You can read the full description below:
In Pixel Ripped 1978, players will experience the magic and wonder of the blossoming video game industry during the golden age of home entertainment. Through the eyes of the game’s protagonist, Dot, players will travel between dimensions as they play games within games; a multi-layered adventure full of retro classics, unreleased gems, and undiscovered easter eggs.
“It ushers in something totally new for Atari… we’re confident that Pixel Ripped 1978 will be appreciated by the fans of Pixel Ripped and introduce the franchise to the broader Atari community,” says Atari CEO Wade Rosen in a prepared statement.
“We have always paid homage to our favorite games from the past in this series,” said ARVORE CEO Ricardo Justus, “but now in Pixel Ripped 1978, thanks to our partnership with Atari, we can actually reference the fantastic games and consoles from that era.”
Pre-orders are available now on the Quest platform, with a 10% discount attached along with 48 hours early access to the game before release as well. ARVORE is the team behind the game — the studio previously released Emmy-winning immersive movie The Line and the Pixel Ripped series.
The concept is not dissimilar to something like Shooty Skies Overdrive — your hand becomes one with a flying object that can also shoot bullets. Here’s a description from the Oculus blog:
In YUKI, you’ll enter a kid’s wild imagination and fly through multi-dimensional worlds by controlling an action figure using your hands. Move your body to dodge bullets and obstacles while fighting evil forces that want to control the universe in this challenging game where each defeat is just another step closer to victory.
So while it does sound similar to Shooty Skies, there’s also some roguelike elements mixed in for good measure. Every attempt and run will give you the opportunity to unlock more weapons and power-ups that you can take into future runs.
In an interview with the Oculus blog, Yuki’s creative direction Kako says that early 80s cartoons and toys were a big inspiration for the game. You can see the influence loud and clear in the latest trailer, embedded above, which obviously draws from those childhood memories and time period to create the game’s aesthetic.
Kako also hints towards future content, stating that they wanted to make a game that could be built on after launch. While there will be lots to do on release, Kako hints that there’s “a lot of new stuff in the making for the future as well.”
YUKI is an upcoming VR bullet-hell roguelike from ARVORE, the studio behind the Pixel Ripped games, The Line, and more. Today the studio released a new gameplay trailer and revealed a July 22nd release date for Yuki on SteamVR and Oculus Quest. A PSVR release is planned later this year.
Update (July 22nd, 2021): Studio ARVORE’s next game, Yuki, is now set for a July 22nd release date. While the game is also coming to SteamVR, on Quest the game can be pre-ordered with a 10% discount which also includes 48 hour early access to the game (on July 20th).
A new gameplay trailer reveals a clearer look at the bullet-hell challenges that await and offers a glimpse of the progression systems and abilities that players will encounter.
Yuki is planned to launch on PSVR later this year.
Original Article (June 2nd, 2021): In the Pixel Ripped games, ARVORE mixed authentic gameplay from classic gaming franchises with a VR flair. While the studio pulled this off successfully, the homage to classic games necessitated a heavy emphasis on pure gamepad gameplay without too much motion control in the mix.
With Yuki, the studio is leaning more into the native VR side of things, with an interesting bullet-hell roguelike that looks like it’ll play a bit like the ‘Xortex 26XX’ mini-game from Valve’s The Lab. Unlike ‘Xortex 26XX’, which was played in a spherical arena, it appears that the levels in Yuki will take players along a linear path that eventually brings them face to face with bosses. The studio released a new gameplay trailer today:
In the game the main character is effectively attached to the player’s hand, which means you’ll need to guide them by maneuvering your hand through the bullet-laden battlefields. In fact, the premise of the game is that the character is an action figure and the player is literally holding them and flying them around like a kid with a vivid imagination.
YUKI Screenshots
1 of 5
Image courtesy ARVORE
Image courtesy ARVORE
Image courtesy ARVORE
Image courtesy ARVORE
Image courtesy ARVORE
And while ‘Xortex 26XX’ is just a mini-game, Yuki looks to go deeper—the roguelike element means that when players are defeated, they’ll be able to improve their abilities with powerups and new weapons to make themselves stronger for the next run.
Although Yuki diverges from the ‘game within a game’ premise of Pixel Ripped, the studio still cites inspiration from classics like Star Fox, and promises the game will “challenge the player’s spatial awareness and precise reflexes across multiple levels, each filled to the brim with procedurally placed enemies, obstacles, and bullets.”
The Pink Cassette Edition is exclusive to the Perp Games Online Store and only 1,500 will ever be sold. This makes it a must-have for collectors and a very rare giveaway option for fans of the series and fans of VR in general.
This extremely limited Pink Cassette Edition includes an exclusive, limited-edition retro-styled 1980s game box with a physical boxed edition of Pixel Ripped 1989 on PlayStation VR inside, a limited edition retro pink cassette USB drive which contains the digital soundtrack, wallpaper, exclusive art, and three limited edition postcards, including one signed by Pixel Ripped’s creator, Ana Ribeiro.
Pixel Ripped is a love letter to all things classic gaming. From the inventive melding of retro graphics with a modern VR game setting to the way it subverts medium stereotypes by putting you in the dress and shoes of a grade school girl with a trusty Gameboy, it’s hard not to smile while playing this nostalgia-fueled adventure. A few minor hiccups hold it back from truly transcending the medium as a whole, but anyone that has fond memories of video games from the 80s and 90s absolutely needs to check this one out.
And if you love Pixel Ripped 1989, definitely check out the sequel, Pixel Ripped 1995, which builds on everything that made 1989 great and delivers an even better (in my opinion) nostalgia trip that’s dripping with charm.
To enter into the giveaway fill out the form above or at this link here. A winner will be randomly selected and contacted via email on April 9th. You’ll send us your shipping information and we’ll give that to Perp Games so they can ship you the physical Limited Edition.
Let us know if you have any questions down in the comments below!
Wie das VR-Studio ARVORE und Publisher Perp Games mitteilen, wird Pixel Ripped 1989 eine limitierte Edition für die PSVR bekommen und zudem soll das Spiel auch im Einzelhandel als Box erscheinen.
Pixel Ripped 1989 erhält limitierte Pink Cassette Edition für PSVR
Die Pink Cassette Edition kann exklusiv über den Store von Perp Games bezogen werden und enthält eine Retro-Box, das Spiel für PlayStation und einen USB-Stick in Form einer Kassette. Dieser Stick enthält den Soundtrack, Wallpaper und digitale Kunst. Zudem liegen drei limitierte Postkarten bei, wovon eine von Erfinderin Ana Ribeiro signiert ist.
“Dies ist ein unglaublich aufregender Meilenstein für den Perp Games Store.” sagt Torode von Perp Games: “Wir wissen, dass die Fans begierig darauf waren, mehr über unsere Pläne mit Pixel Ripped 1989 zu erfahren. Die Pink Cassette Edition ist etwas, das wir nicht erwarten können, mit euch zu teilen.”
Neben der Limited Edition, welche am 12. April erscheinen soll, wird es das Spiel zukünftig auch als Standard-Box im Einzelhandel geben, was bisher nur sehr wenigen reinen VR-Titeln gelungen ist.
Pixel Ripped 1989 konnte bereits unzählige Awards gewinnen und das Spiel ist auf allen wichtigen Plattformen erhältlich:
Arvore, the studio behind popular nostalgic VR series, Pixel Ripped, today announced its latest project, Yuki.
Like Pixel Ripped before it, Yuki looks a little like a throwback to classic gaming genres, combining VR and the bullet hell shooter. Paying tribute to games like Star Fox, you pick up a virtual action figure and then steer it through arcade-style levels with your hand. It’s like revisiting your childhood and bringing it to life, a theme that’s becoming increasingly common in the developer’s games. Check out the trailer below.
Yuki Reveal Trailer
Yuki actually started life in VR arcades via SpringboardVR back in 2019, but will now be making the transition to home headsets. We’re not sure if the home version will match the arcade edition 1:1, though. It’s a similar idea to games like Shooty Skies Overdrive, requiring quick reactions as you dodge obstacles, enemies and attacks which using power-ups to upgrade your own arsenal.
The game’s also influenced by anime art styles (though, notably, developed in São Paulo so not actually anime itself) and sees you fighting off giant cat heads and skulls. Judging by the trailer, boss fights seem to be included too.
No word on a possible Pixel Ripped 3 for now, then, but this looks like it could keep us happy in the meantime.
Yuki is coming to Oculus Quest and PC VR headsets in the first half of next year, with a launch on PSVR planned for the second half of 2021. Will you be checking out Yuki next year? Let us know in the comments below!
In something of a surprise launch, the original Pixel Ripped 1989 has finally arrived on Quest, though not in the expected fashion.
The full 1989 is available inside the game’s sequel, Pixel Ripped 1995 as paid DLC. The game costs $14.99, which is the same price as the full game on other platforms, though it’s currently got a 25% launch week discount.
The Pixel Ripped series pays tribute to different eras of gaming’s past. Players time travel back to the titular years to play fictional games on virtually-recreated retro consoles. 1989, for example saw players use a Game Boy-like system, whereas 1995 pays tribute to rental stores and 16-Bit systems like the SNES.
It’s an interesting move, especially when considering that Facebook initially rejected the game for release on Quest, despite approving its sequel for release last April. In a prepared statement, ARVORE Creative Direct Ana Ribeiro said the team was “really happy to have found a way together with Oculus to bring the game to so many more fans!”
Facebook never provided specific reasoning for why 1989 had been rejected from the store.
Still, it’s great to see Pixel Ripped 1989 arrive on Quest in whatever form it can. We reviewed the game back in 2018, saying: “Pixel Ripped is a love letter to all things classic gaming. From the inventive melding of retro graphics with a modern VR game setting to the way it subverts medium stereotypes by putting you in the dress and shoes of a grade school girl with a trusty Gameboy, it’s hard not to smile while playing this nostalgia-fueled adventure.”
Will you be picking up Pixel Ripped 1989 on Quest? Let us know in the comments below!
