PlayStation Talents – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

February 16, 2021

PlayStation Talents’ 2021 PS5 Lineup Includes VR Title Neon Hat

Sony Interactive Entertainment Spain (SIE Spain) PlayStation Talents programme for indie developers has seen several virtual reality (VR) titles through its doors including Intruders: Hide & Seek and Do Not Open. Today sees a new batch of videogames revealed for the 2021 accelerator including a PlayStation VR title, Neon Hat.

Currently, in early development by indie team Entalto Studios, the few details released so far offer a very Tron-like, cyberpunk world where players can: “Run, jump and fly over Nueva Berria’s cyberspace making your way in a world controlled by huge corporations. Glide through the air powered by your own hands and surf the web at breathtaking speeds. Information is the most valuable asset in Neon Hat world, find the highest bidders in this frantic arcade where nothing is what it seems.”

By the sounds of it, in this digital realm you’ll have enhanced abilities to explore a sprawling city buying and selling information, possibly stealing it from those mega-corporations. In one image hands do appear so Neon Hat could well support PlayStation Move, helping make that feeling of flying as immersive as possible.

Other than that, no further narrative details have been released, so it’s unclear if Neon Hat will be a linear adventure of give you a bit more freedom to uncover the cyberpunk landscape.

While the announcement does note that all these PlayStation Talents projects will be PlayStation 5 exclusives for 2021, the likelihood is that with Neon Hat being a PlayStation VR title it’ll be PlayStation 4 compatible. Or there’s a very outside chance that if Neon Hat is a PS5 videogame, they’ve just revealed a PlayStation VR 2 project – but that is a long shot.

In any case, at least this adds another videogame to PlayStation VR’s roster for the year. Owners have a few to look forward to in 2021, like Winds & Leaves from Trebuchet, Joy Way’s Stride, puzzler Maskmaker, team-based FPS Solaris Offworld Combat and Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife. As further details for Neon Hat are released, VRFocus will let you know.

November 2, 2020

PlayStation Talents Spain Showcases New Super Creepy Do Not Open Footage

Earlier this year as part of Sony Interactive Entertainment Spain’s (SIE Spain) PlayStation Talents programme, Quasar Interactive revealed upcoming PlayStation VR horror Do Not Open. Last week the PlayStation Talents The Moment 2020 event was held online with a new trailer unveiling more gameplay footage.

Whilst Do Not Open wasn’t a finalist for the VII PlayStation Awards, the trailer provided a new glimpse at the promising virtual reality (VR) horror, with a sequence inside a rundown basement. Looking impressively detailed from the peeling walls to the rather dubious looking contents of a saucepan, players need to escape whilst avoiding the creeping menace which seems to be stalking them.

A survival horror, the gameplay has been inspired by escape room mechanics, where players are confined to a house which continually changes. Previously revealing that the story revolves around Michael J. Goreng a zoologist and epidemiologist searching for his wife and daughter, he wakes up inside but as the game progresses so does the layout of the house, an analogy to his loss of sanity.

Quasar Interactive is designing Do Not Open as a non-linear experience, so players can return and make different decisions to alter the final outcome. Results of the challenges they face will also have an effect. Do Not Open may turn out to be a rather tough experience as the studio has previously mentioned it won’t include save points.

Currently, the PlayStation VR exclusive is expected to launch early next year, competing against another VR horror in the form of multi-platform title Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife from Fast Travel Games.

When it comes to new PlayStation VR releases it has been a little quiet of late, with Star Wars: Squadrons and The Walking Dead Onslaught the main headliners in October but even those were multiplatform. Most of the attention is understandably focused on the launch of PlayStation 5 this month. For those that have got one on pre-order, SIE opened requests up last week for the PlayStation Camera Adaptor, an essential component for the those wishing to use their headset with the new console.

As further details for Do Not Open are released, VRFocus will keep you updated.

June 22, 2020

First Trailer Arrives for Exclusive PlayStation VR Horror Do Not Open

Sony Interactive Entertainment Spain’s (SIE Spain) PlayStation Talents programme has seen a couple of virtual reality (VR) titles come through, the last being Intruders: Hide and Seek. Soon indie developer Quasar Interactive will add another to the mix, horror experience Do Not Open.

In conjunction with SIE Spain the studio has released its first trailer for Do Not Open today, showcasing a dark and ominous looking mansion which is most definitely going to have some jump scares in it.

Described as “a survival horror that features escape room mechanics,” Do Not Open tells the story of Michael J. Goreng a zoologist and epidemiologist searching for his wife and daughter. “A big house with a terrible history behind its walls, a doctor tormented in search of his family desperately, and whose sanity is about to fade,” notes the synopsis. “From the depths of the San Pedro Lordship, Doctor Goreng must discover what has happened … while there is still time.”

So there will be a heavy puzzle mechanic to Do Not Open as players search each room of the mansion trying to escape from this nightmare. One interesting aspect of the design is the fact that each playthrough will be different, the rooms of the house changing every time. Thus, players will be able to unlock different endings. But it won’t be easier as there are no save points.

This will be the first VR videogame from Quasar Interactive – a spin-off of Quasar Dynamics, which has years of expertise in VR, AR, and XR. Exclusive to PlayStation VR, there’s no release date at the moment for Do Not Open with one expected to be confirmed soon.

In the meantime PlayStation VR owners can look forward to Cloudhead Games’ Pistol Whip, the rhythm-action title is due to launch at the weekend. As further updates for Do Not Open are released, VRFocus will let you know.