Recently debuted in our Holiday VR Showcase, we’ve got an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at development on Pixel Ripped 1995, the sequel to the dripping-in-nostalgia VR title Pixel Ripped 1989 from last year.
Pixel Ripped 1995 was first announced back in May and will follow a similar trend to the first game, where you play fictional games on virtual recreations of classic consoles. This 1995 era of Pixel Ripped will focus on the dawn of 3D gaming, with consoles similar to the Nintendo 64, the GameBoy and the Sega Genesis.
The new behind-the-scenes video goes through some of the new environments, levels and features of the sequel to the nostalgia-fuel Pixel Ripped 1989.
“From the opening moments that see you hurtling down a retro-futuristic stylized tunnel of sound and color to the small references to gaming’s past, present, and future, I was constantly surprised. Just when you start to think you’ve seen all the tricks it has in store for you, it throws another curve ball.”
We still don’t have any confirmed platforms for Pixel Ripped 1995, only “all major VR platforms.” While PC VR is pretty much a given, it would be great to see a Quest version and a PSVR port as well. The game is currently due for a Spring 2020 release.
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our VOD of the Holiday VR Showcase to see all the other new reveals and announcements made during the showcase.
There has been a wave of nostalgia sweeping the videogame industry recently, with the likes of Nintendo and PlayStation releasing mini consoles filled with 80s and 90s classics. Even a fledgeling industry like virtual reality (VR) isn’t immune to a nod to the past, with videogames like Battlezone updating titles of old. One of the most notable in this field is Pixel Ripped 1989, a homage to old-school handheld gaming. Today, the creators behind the popular experience have announced a sequel, Pixel Ripped 1995.
Pixel Ripped 1989
Thanks to the popularity of the original, developer ARVORE has been able to start work on the next instalment. Jumping forward several years, the mid-’90s saw a significant change in the industry. Videogames were evolving rapidly, from 16-bit to the 32-bit era (and beyond), as well as from 2D to 3D environments (they even tried VR!).
The era is rich in videogame history but it wasn’t the studio who choose the year. If you’ve played and complete Pixel Ripped 1989 then (spoiler ahead) you’ll have encountered a time machine that allows you to choose your favourite year. With so many players picking 1995, that was the setting for the next chapter of Pixel Ripped.
“Thanks to the success of the first game we are able to dedicate more resources and have a lot more experience to create a game that is an even crazier nostalgic adventure. The setting of 1995 also gives us a lot of great classics to reference and a whole new world to explore,” says Ricardo Justus, Co-Founder of ARVORE in a statement.
ARVORE hasn’t released any screenshots or other details just yet but confirms that the Cyblin Lord is returning again to steal the Pixel Stone. Original Pixel Ripped designer and ARVORE’s Creative Director Ana Ribeiro will be helming the new project, destined for all major VR platforms. Expect to see the use of classic mechanics, gaming references, secrets and of course, hardcore 90s gameplay.
Since its launch last year Pixel Ripped 1989has been doing very well, winning awards and recognition around the world. Most recently it won the New Face Award at the 22nd Edition of the Japan Media Arts Festival. It will also be showcased from 1st to 16th of June in the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation (Miraikan).
As further details on Pixel Ripped 1995 emerge, VRFocus will keep you updated.
I’m a sucker for clever subversion gimmicks. One of my all-time favorite video games is Spec Ops: The Line, a war game that makes you feel like a horrible person for killing people you were led to believe were the bad guys. Virtual Virtual Reality is an excellent, self-aware VR experience that I insist everyone give a shot. And now Pixel Ripped: 1989 takes everything you love about classic, retro gaming and makes your nostalgia look and feel tangible.
In Pixel Ripped you take on the role of Nicola, a second-grade student that’s just as nerdy and obsessed with video games as most kids back in the late 80s and early 90s. Throughout the adventure you play her Gear Kid handheld (essentially a Gameboy) in which you control Dot, an 8-bit-sized heroine in the same vein as Mega Man. The bad guy is trying to take over both the digital and physical (VR) world so it’s up to you to stop him once the dimensions begin to merge together. It’s a VR game within a game…within a game? Sort of?
Perhaps what I like most about Pixel Ripped, other than the ingenious premise and wonderfully nostalgic presentation, is just how consistently inventive it all is. From the opening moments that see you hurtling down a retro-futuristic stylized tunnel of sound and color to the small references to gaming’s past, present, and future, I was constantly surprised. Just when you start to think you’ve seen all the tricks it has in store for you, it throws another curve ball.
For example, Pixel Ripped starts out simply enough as a basic 2D sidescrolling platformer game. You move from left to right, shoot bullets at baddies, and jump over gaps. We’ve all done that before. But then it starts to flip that concept on its head as you collect pixels to slowly evolve and build up your character. Then the levels merge into the world around you as it becomes more than just a game within a game. Before long, it’s not even a platformer at all, as the retro characters and VR world meld together into something that’s so powerfully nostalgic it’s almost overwhelming.
The actual platforming bits are extremely well done, thankfully, as that is the bulk of the game. If you ever played any of the classic Mega Man NES games then you’ll know what to expect in terms of not just the controls, but the difficulty as well. You should expect to die a lot which is perfectly fine given the source material. It wouldn’t feel authentically retro if it wasn’t frustratingly difficult from time to time.
Some of the VR interactions could have used some work as well. For example, during some of the levels you’re sitting in class playing the Gear Kid under the desk secretly. If the teacher spots you then you run the risk of getting thrown into detention, which can be a real bummer. To avoid this you need to shoot spitballs at different items around the class to distract her. It works well, but actually shooting the spitball requires looking at it on your desk for a few seconds, waiting, then looking at something in the world, waiting, and then having it shoot automatically.
It feels like an awkward break in the otherwise smooth, immersive action. A quick toggle on the controller (in my case, Oculus Touch controllers) would have helped.
Since I was playing with Touch instead of a gamepad, each of the controllers were basically representing one of my character’s hands. Luckily Touch has the B and A buttons in the same placement as the Gear Kid (shown below) so it felt fine, although I did miss a trust d-pad. Analog sticks for 2D platformers never felt right to me.
Pixel Ripped has an excellently realized world that oozes personality. While sitting in class Nicola has gaming magazines, game cartridges, doodles, and branded backpacks strewn all over the place. When you pause the game a HUD pops out of her Power Glove-laden wrist to give you a list of options.
The music is a wonderful combination of chip tune stylings with a modern twist. For all intents and purposes, Pixel Ripped nails that feeling of having your nostalgia come to life. So it felt like a bit of a shame that the whole thing is only around five levels (with some unlockables and collectibles spread about) and can be finished in just around three hours, or maybe double that if you want to find every last hidden thing.
Final Score:8.5/10 – Great
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.
Pixel Ripped: 1989 is out now on Steam for Rift, Vive, and Windows VR for $24.99 with a 20% launch window discount as well as on the PSN Store for PSVR for $24.99. Check out these official review guidelines to find out more about our process.
Pixel Ripped 1989 is finally released today after several years of development. In this quirky VR game you take on the role of a young grade school girl as she plays her Gameboy-inspired handheld console in class, at school, around the house, and in other areas. The game world starts to escape the small screen and merge with her real world (or the VR world) and it’s up to you to battle back the forces of evil.
It’s a really clever and creative game concept that’s got multiple layers. We went hands on with it at GDC earlier this year and came away smiling from the concept and execution, but you’ll have to wait for our full review later this week to see how the full game stacks up.
In the meantime, we’ll be livestreaming Pixel Ripped 1989 on PC today using an Oculus Rift with Touch controllers starting very soon as of the time this is being published (which means we’ll start at approximately 2:30 PM PT) and aim to last for about an hour or so. We’ll be livestreaming directly to the UploadVR Facebook page. You can see the full stream embedded right here down below once it’s up:
Come watch us play Pixel Ripped 1989, which is a sidescrolling platformer video game inside of a VR game. It's VR-gameception!Pixel Ripped released today on Rift, Vive, and PSVR! Our full review will be live later this week.
Let us know which games you want us to livestream next and what you want to see us do, specifically, in Pixel Ripped 1989 or other VR games. Comment with feedback down below!
If you’ve been following VR since the early developer kit days, you may recognize the ultra-retro nostalgia headtrip that is Pixel Ripped 1989. The multi-dimensional platformer-meets-VR adventure is slated to arrive on PSVR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Windows “Mixed Reality” VR headsets July 31st.
Set in the late ’80s in Britain, you sneakily try to play your handy ‘Gear Kid’ without getting caught by your overbearing school teacher. Letting your imagination fill in the gaps, a whole fantasy world envelops you as the game-within-a-game takes over. Following the adventures of in-game character Dot, you battle the evil Cyblin Lord, who breaks through to the real world to wreak havoc.
Image courtesy Arvore Immersive Experiences
Initially lead by Ana Ribeiro, Pixel Ripped 1989 is the living successor to her earlier project, Pixel Rift, an Oculus Rift DK2 demo developed back in 2014 as a part of Ribiero’s Master’s Degree project. Undeterred by the lack of the community support through Pixel Ripped’s failed 2015 Kickstarter, work on Pixel Ripped 1989 continued until very recently, culminating in the full game ready to be released on all major VR platforms soon.
Development of the game since shifted to São Paulo-based Arvore Immersive Experiences, with Ribiero as a developer.
Pixel Ripped 1989 will be available starting July 31st via PSN (PSVR), Steam (Vive, Rift, Windows VR) and the Oculus Store (Rift).
Back in March of this year the team from ARVORE told us that Pixel Ripped 1989, it’s highly-anticipated nostalgia-trip of a VR game was due out for release in May, but it got delayed. Now, the team is back again with a firm release date of July 31st, 2018 at the very end of this month. Hopefully this time the release date sticks.
In Pixel Ripped you play as a young schoolgirl that has to secretly hide her portable game system from teachers’ prying eyes during class. Since it’s a VR game your head movement is tracked to the young girl in the “real” world of the game, while your thumbs interface with the game system like you’re actually holding it in your hands. It creates a bizarre game-within-a-game effect that’s really intriguing.
When we tried it out at GDC earlier this year we liked the intense platforming action, which was reminiscent of early Mega Man titles, but we’re unsure whether or not the VR gimmick has enough to much to offer beyond its initial hook. Hopefully the full game uses the medium in some more novel and exciting ways.
Pixel Ripped 1989 will release on all three major platforms with the Rift, Vive, and PSVR on the same day at a price point of $24.99, although you can pre-order it starting today to save 20%. More details can be found on the PSN Store, Oculus Home, and Steam.
Let us know what you think down in the comments below!
Long time readers of VRFocus will be very familiar with the Pixel Ripped saga; a virtual reality (VR) exclusive videogame that started life as a student project for Brazilian Ana Ribeiro, then studying at the National Film and Television School (NFTS) in the UK, Pixel Ripped hasevolvedcountlesstimesovertheyears. Now, in the final few weeks prior to the launch of the first chapter, Pixel Ripped 1989 is looking set to deliver a hugely compelling 2D videogame in a 3D VR world.
The plot of Pixel Ripped 1989 is a little confusing at first. Playing as Dot, the hero of the fictional Pixel Ripped videogame series within the world of Pixel Ripped 1989, you are tasked with preventing the Cyblin Lord from destroying both the videogame world and the real world as he attempts to merge the two. In order to do so, you enlist the help of Nicola, a young girl currently living her normal life at school. In actuality, the player embodies the character of Nicola playing fictional videogames within the VR world.
The videogame Nicola plays in Pixel Ripped 1989 is a 2D platform title inspired by Game Boy titles of the era, including the visual limitations of the device. In the first level of Pixel Ripped 1989, the player engages in some basic (albeit rather challenging) platform action on their handheld Game Kid console while in a VR classroom environment. The teacher of this class is, unsurprisingly, not best pleased by Nicola’s attempts to play videogames during lessons, and so the player must distract her by interacting with objects in the environment in order to provide the opportunity to look down at the console and continue playing. It’s a genuinely enthralling mix of VR and 2D gameplay unlike anything else the medium has yet offered.
As the player continues through Pixel Ripped on the Game Kid they will encounter all manner of fourth wall-breaking interactions, culminating in a boss fight that refuses to remain in the tiny 8-bit device. Pixel Ripped 1989 isn’t afraid to use its premise to allow for some grand set-pieces that change the established formula of the videogame in a heartbeat, and with that players will undoubtedly want to push on just to see what ludicrous gameplay mechanics will be thrown at them next.
Along the way Pixel Ripped 1989 pushes all manner of homage to past videogames at the players, from infamous lines to familiar settings and much more besides. At times it’s almost as if characters have been incorporated for the sole purpose of delivering punch lines or a specific reference just to make the player smile, and that is certainly no bad thing. Pixel Ripped 1989 knows its core audience is the mature gamer, and plays exactly to that at all times.
Over the years Pixel Ripped has changed form many times: where once the player could engage in mini-games within the VR world, now the core gameplay is the 2D action while the VR activities surround that familiar experience. Pixel Ripped 1989 is both unique and challenging, and is looking set to offer the satisfying look at past videogames within the most modern of mediums that it initially set out to.
Developer Ana Ribeiro have released more screenshots of their virtual reality (VR) videogame Pixel Ripped 1989 ahead of it’s release in May.
The upcoming VR homage to all things retro sees players jump back to the time of portable 8-bit consoles and experience a game-within-a-game as they follow the adventures of Dot. As an in-game character who sees her world torn apart by the Cyblin Lord, a villain who is able to break through the videogame screen and invade the real world to cause all sorts of trouble. The player must help Dot on her quest to save both realities by facing challenges in the retro-gaming 2D world, all while distracting a cranky teacher and escaping from the angry headmaster who is always looking to stop the fun. Players will be in the shoes of Nicola, a second-grade student who just wants to enjoy the adventure with Dot.
The title began life back in 2014 when it was calledPixel Rift and the team launched a Kickstarter in 2015 which ended up failing before then joining the Boost VC Startup accelerator that same year. Thanks to the funding from Oculus and awards from Intel and the AMAZE Indie Festival, along with nominations to IndieCade and the Proto Award, Ribeiro joined ARVORE, Pixel Ripped 1989’s publisher and investor, as project director and videogame developer to make it a commercial reality.
Now the title is making a return and a planned release later this year in May on PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. To make the announcement a number of new screenshots for the title have been released which show off plenty of the titles retro inspiration. Will a strong following thanks to the core gameplay idea, many having been waiting to get their hands on Pixel Ripped 1989 and it seems the time is almost here.
Pixel Ripped 1989 is set to launch on PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive on 22nd May, 2018. The developers are hoping to continue the title and build future installments of the title spanning videogame industry history should this initial title do well.
VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest on the Pixel Ripped 1989 so make sure to stay tuned for more.
To say that virtual reality (VR) videogame Pixel Ripped 1989 has had a rocky development might be a bit of an understatement, but for fans of the title the end is almost near. Having gone quiet in 2016, developer Ana Ribeiro announced a new partnership with Brazilian VR studio ARVORE in September 2017 to bring the project back on track. Today, they’ve revealed that Pixel Ripped 1989 will finally see the light of day in May, supporting PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
Pixel Ripped 1989 has gained a loyal following due to its core gameplay idea. Much like Ready Player One, Pixel Ripped 1989 is a homage to all things retro, especially the 80’s and the early days of videogames. You play the role of Nicola, a second-grade student who just wants to play her favourite game without being caught by the teacher.
Set in the era of portable 8-bit consoles, this game-within-a-game follows the adventures of Dot, an in-game character who sees her world torn apart by the Cyblin Lord, a villain able to break through the videogame screen and invade the real world. Nicola must help Dot save both realities from this menace by facing challenges in the retro-gaming 2D world, all while distracting the cranky teacher and escaping from the furious headmaster in her own 3D world.
Having began work on this project back in 2014 when it was called Pixel Rift, Ribeiro launched a failed Kickstarter in 2015, then joined the Boost VC startup accelerator that same year. Thanks to funding from Oculus and awards from Intel and the AMAZE Indie Festival, as well as nominations to IndieCade and the Proto Award, Ribeiro joined ARVORE, Pixel Ripped‘s publisher and investor, as project director and videogame developer to make it a commercial reality.
“The most difficult part of development is over,” says Ribeiro in a statement. “We are in the final steps to deliver Pixel Ripped 1989 very soon to all of our fans. Being at GDC and showcasing our finished game to press is a dream come true, and we’re looking forward to the public’s reaction next month in Boston,”
Pixel Ripped 1989 is scheduled to launch on PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive on 22nd May, 2018. If successful, there are plans to make future installments of the title spanning videogame industry history. As further details are released, VRFocus will keep you updated.
Virtual reality (VR) title Pixel Ripped 1989 has had a long and tumultuous journey since it began life back in 2013. Started by Ana Ribeiro when she was studying at the National Film and Television School in London and Stef Keegan, the videogame had a failed Kickstarter in 2015, then joined the Boost VC startup accelerator that same year. Pixel Ripped 1989 then dropped off the radar in 2016, only to resurface now, announcing a partnership with Brazilian VR studio ARVORE.
Based in São Paulo, ARVORE will now fund and publish Pixel Ripped 1989, with Riberio now working at the company’s headquarters. In a press statement the Pixel Ripped team said that ARVORE: “is a partner that complements us in every aspect we need support: Q&A, marketing, polish, and something really important here, a family where everybody takes care of each other. This partnership allows us to focus 100% on the development of the game, and not being worried about how to accomplish our respective tasks without the huge stresses that this world brings.”
Currently there’s no word on how far through development Pixel Ripped 1989 is, or whether Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR are still going to be the intended platforms.
Pixel Ripped 1989 transports players back to 1989, finding themselves in a retro classroom environment. The lead character is Nicola a videogame obsessed kid who just wants to play her favourite game without being caught by the teacher. So they’ll need to play on Nicola’s hand-held gaming device the “Gear Girl” whilst paying attention to the virtual surroundings, if caught players will be sent to the Head Master’s office.
For those heading to Unite Austin 2017 in October, Unity Technologies has chosen Pixel Ripped 1989 as one of the titles to feature in its Made with Unity showcase.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Pixel Ripped 1989, reporting back with the latest updates from ARVORE.
The plot of Pixel Ripped 1989 is a little confusing at first. Playing as Dot, the hero of the fictional Pixel Ripped videogame series within the world of Pixel Ripped 1989, you are tasked with preventing the Cyblin Lord from destroying both the videogame world and the real world as he attempts to merge the two. In order to do so, you enlist the help of Nicola, a young girl currently living her normal life at school. In actuality, the player embodies the character of Nicola playing fictional videogames within the VR world.
As the player continues through Pixel Ripped on the Game Kid they will encounter all manner of fourth wall-breaking interactions, culminating in a boss fight that refuses to remain in the tiny 8-bit device. Pixel Ripped 1989 isn’t afraid to use its premise to allow for some grand set-pieces that change the established formula of the videogame in a heartbeat, and with that players will undoubtedly want to push on just to see what ludicrous gameplay mechanics will be thrown at them next.
