PlayStation VR Previews – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

July 20, 2021

Preview: Fracked – A Blockbuster Movie in VR Form

British virtual reality (VR) developer nDreams has been on top form of late thanks to titles including Phantom: Covert Ops (2020)and location-based entertainment (LBE) experience Far Cry VR. Its latest project Fracked looks to continue that success, providing players with an action-packed thrill ride where you can run and gun through elaborate levels designed for verticality, exclusive to PlayStation VR.

Fracked has the usual action-hero dynamic where you’re trying to save the world from some interdimensional aliens. So cue plenty of dramatic set pieces like skiing down a mountainside trying to outrun an avalanche or ziplining across a building whilst peppering enemies with gunfire. All fairly standard stuff but nDreams has made some interesting design choices, especially where the PlayStation Move controller is concerned.

Firstly, Fracked can only be played using Move as the gameplay style just wouldn’t suit a DualShock 4 or PlayStation Aim controller. Move is necessary when VR videogames require physical actions like climbing ladders or reloading a weapon and there’s plenty of that in Fracked. In fact, mechanics like the reloading work provide a nice balance between realism and automation. There’s no ammo belt to worry about, simply eject the magazine, push in the next and cock the weapon. The process is smooth enough so that even in the heat of battle it doesn’t feel bloated and awkward.

Locomotion and PlayStation Move haven’t always been a match made in heaven, and that’s certainly so when a fast-paced shooter requires you to be seated. However, Fracked isn’t slow and lumbering like others in this field, being able to easily move around environments (without teleportation), taking cover and planning your next move. This is aided in a couple of ways. As you are seated and there’s no crouch button all you do is grab whatever cover you’re behind to pop up, take a few shots then duck back down. A very simple yet intuitive mechanic. The other are those ziplines mentioned. Fracked has plenty of places to climb yet it’s the ziplines that provide extra dynamic flavour to the experience, quickly traversing areas to get the drop on enemies.

There first few areas also showcase a nice level of pacing, offering an instant challenge in normal mode without being too overwhelming. Fracked also has a nice visual flavour to it, kinda reminiscent of Borderlands 2 VR and that cel-shaded art style. nDreams has achieved a fitting balance between realism and comic book aesthetics, vivid with its colour palette use yet you still feel like you’re in an abandoned mining town.

Even though the demo only lasts around 30 minutes the most important factor shined through, Fracked was enjoyable to play. You’ll easily go through the demo several times over ahead of the official launch in August, testing how much freedom you really have when tackling set pieces.

From first inspection, it certainly seems nDreams is going all out to make Fracked the action blockbuster of the summer. It is up against some stiff competition from the likes of Vertigo Games’ After the Fall but Fracked has all the ingredients for an engaging experience. Considering nDreams’ previous VR escapades Fracked is its boldest, hopefully managing to maintain this exciting gameplay throughout the campaign for a truly solid adventure.

September 4, 2019

Preview: Iron Man VR – Living the Superhero Dream

Whether you’re a comic book fan or not there’s no denying the fact that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has shaped modern cinema ever since the first Iron Man movie in 2008. There have been several videogame tie-ins trying to milk the brand and for the most part have felt lacklustre, failing to grab the energy and excitement of being Tony Stark in the world’s most famous armour. Until Iron Man VR that is. Thanks to virtual reality’s (VR) unique ability to put you inside the suit, Iron Man VR could well be the benchmark for future superhero videogames.

Iron Man VR

First announced back in March 2019 and exclusive to PlayStation VR, developer Camouflaj demoed the title at the recent Gamescom 2019 event in Cologne, Germany, and the queue’s certainly testified to fans interest.

Available was a short 10-15 minute demo which served as an opening tutorial, giving players a chance to test the various flight and weapons controls. Set outside Stark’s LA home from the first couple of movies, by far and away the most important aspect to get right was flight. If you can’t freely soar through the clouds opening up for some intense straight-line speed before suddenly changing tack and nipping in and out of obstacles then the illusion would be broken before it had even begun.

Thankfully the studio has got most of this right from first impressions. There’s a nice boost manoeuvre to speed you along and the all-important hand controls work very well when changing direction or merely hovering. The only real disappointment when it comes to flying is turning, and this is due to the technical restrictions of PlayStation VR. Because of the single-camera setup there’s no turning around to fly gracefully. Instead, you need to press the Square or Triangle buttons on the PlayStation Move controllers to snap turn which does ruin the magic a bit.

Iron Man VR

That being said, all the flight motion is very comfortable due to using the hand-mounted thrusters. Only those who really suffer terrible nausea maybe effected, that’s something VRFocus can’t test.

Once the basic flight controls have been mastered it was onto the weapon systems. This mainly involved using the thrusters as blasters (as shown in the films). With Iron Man’s targeting systems being automatic simply looking in a target’s direction would bring up a reticule then point hand and fire. Quick and very easy to operate.

The skill came when trying to operate flight and weapons at the same time. This was where Iron Man VR started to shine, flying across the top of the ocean, dipping in and out of rock formations while blasting away at enemies was exactly the kind of experience fans of the character have been looking for. There was also a punch mechanic which dashed you in for a devastating blow when close enough.

Iron Man VR has already created plenty of buzz and excitement thanks to the possibility it’ll be a fully-fledged VR videogame rather than the short demo experience Spider-Man: Far From Home Virtual Reality. And that’s certainly justified from what VRFocus has seen so far. With a launch still expected in 2019, Iron Man VR could very well be one of PlayStation VR’s biggest hits.

August 27, 2019

Preview: Paper Beast – As Bizarre as it is Beautiful

Most videogames are generally easy to categorise, falling into genres like first-person shooters (FPS), puzzles or role-playing games (RPG) for example. Occasionally however there are those titles which are really difficult to pin down, with no amount of screenshots and trailers helping to define the gameplay, only playing the damn thing unlocks its secrets. This certainly seemed to be the case when Pixel Reef announced its first virtual reality (VR) Paper Beast. After playing the experience at Gamescom 2019, far more questions have arisen than been answered.

Created by Eric Chahi (Another World, Heart of Darkness, From Dust), Paper Beast explores a topic very much at the heart of everyday society, even if most never see it, and that’s Big Data. Companies and governments around the world create, access, move, and distribute ridiculous amounts of data daily, and it’s this which Pixel Reef has reimagined into a living breathing digital ecosystem born out of lost code and forgotten algorithms.

Paper Beast is a quiet adventure, there’s no distinguishable narrative to speak of and the environment continues to evolve as you explore and meet the inhabitants. The demo started off by choosing one of three data points, transporting you to a desert realm with sweeping sand dunes and mountainous rock formations. As shown in the screenshots Paper Beast plays with an extensive colour palette, richly bringing the world to life with a gorgeous array of oranges, blues, pinks and reds.

The design is both striking, equally calming and bizarre, a careful look at the clouds reveals the puffy formations that are in fact numbers and letters, remanence of that lost code floating around. Gameplay was very simple with the only interaction at this point being able to pick stuff up and move it around. If you’re in a toy store then great but in Paper Beast you’re in a vast open wilderness, the only objects to interact with are the titular paper creatures born out of all this data.

Each one is seemingly unique and does its own thing. The first which stomps up is a towering beast resembling a cross between a spider with its many legs and a giraffe with a long slender neck. Way too big to pick up smaller creatures begins to appear, scuttling across the sand or walking majestically like a horse. These can be interacted with, grabbed by several points including head, shoulders and legs. Throwing one of the smaller ones of into the distance didn’t seem to annoy it, happily wandering back to say hello.

This then opened a quandary, what was there to do. Pixel Reef certainly wasn’t interested in using tried and tested mechanics when it came to challenges or quests. Having said there was no distinguishable narrative that doesn’t mean to say there wasn’t one. The lead was the giant beast, following it into a rocky area with plants sprouting from the sand and a few creatures which it began to fight. That happened next was simply awesome, for all intents and purposes a black hole began forming in the ground. As it grew larger, swallowing the smaller animals, it began to spew thousands of pieces of paper into the air creating a sand storm of what could have been deadly paper cuts. It was an assault of sound and visuals on the senses which became enthralling.

By the end though, that first question ‘what is Paper Beast?’ still remained largely unanswered. Paper Beast is a delight of design and imagination, beautiful to look and puzzling to experience. Hopefully, the final version will develop those interactive elements rather than purely being an elaborate art piece. Whatever happens Paper Beast is going to be one of the more intriguing VR titles to emerge in 2019.

August 24, 2019

Preview: Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son – Become the Coffee Bean

When listing some of Bill Murray’s greatest films what do you automatically go for, Ghostbusters, Caddyshack, Zombieland or how about Groundhog Day? The latter might not be most people’s first choice for a virtual reality (VR) videogame but that’s exactly what Tequila Works is going for with VR sequel Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son. Demoed for the first time on the PlayStation VR stand during Gamescom this past week, the title is a mixture of mini-games designed to make everyone happy.

Groundhog Day

Due to the restrictions of a games show most demos tend to be the first level or sometimes midway through the title depending on how far development has progressed. What Tequila Works had on offer was in fact three curated segments showcasing the mini-game elements of Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son.

Just like the 1993 film, you’re stuck in a time loop. However you’re not playing Bill Murray’s arrogant self-centred character, Phil Connors, instead, you’re Phil Connors Jr, who just so happens to take after his father. To get out of the situation you need to solve puzzles, or more accurately, help solve people’s problems putting them before yourself.

So first up you needed to make an awesome coffee to lift your brother’s spirits. This was a two-stage mini-game with the first part taking place inside the coffee machine. To know coffee you have to be coffee and in this instance, that means smashing apart beans in timed sequences. This particular section offered the most challenge with coffee beans weirdly floating in the air to be destroyed as quickly as possible using glowing orbs to throw at them.

Groundhog Day

After that came the outside of the coffee machine, lining up water pipes, pulling levers to hopefully pour this wondrous cup of coffee (should really have been tea). The third was a far more artistic affair, with you trying to impress a young graffiti artist by spray painting an animal design. Whilst not requiring a great deal of accuracy, so long as the relative stencil outline was met then all was good unlocking a paint mode to test those spray painting skills.

The film was always a good-natured comedy and Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son certainly gives off that vibe. In gameplay terms, the mini-games were amusing enough for a few minutes yet there was no chance to really connect with the story and the characters. A Tequila Works staff member did note there would be greater interactions and dialogue which will hopefully lift the experience above just another mini-game compilation. Additionally, there was no sign of the main time loop mechanic the whole story premise is based around which was a real shame.

Plus it’s important to get this right. Groundhog Day was a comedy gem. It may not have been a massive blockbuster but the film has garnered millions of fans around the world, becoming synonymous as the time loop movie copied many times over. As such, doing a disservice to this beloved film will likely see some intense backlash.

Groundhog Day

To be honest, VRFocus isn’t too worried. Tequila Works is well versed in VR development having released The Invisible Hours, a rather good murder mystery, back in 2017. Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son arrives in less than a month’s time on 17^th September for multiple headsets – not just PlayStation VR – so you’ll soon know whether to watch the film again or play the VR sequel.

June 19, 2019

Preview: Penn and Teller VR: Frankly Unfair, Unkind, Unnecessary & Underhanded

Magic has long enthralled mankind for generations, offering a fascinating twist on reality that’s both entertaining and perplexing in equal measure. There have been many a famous magician, from Houdini all the way up to current street magicians like Dynamo. When it comes to stage magic, duo Penn & Teller are up there with the best, mixing magic with comedy and a little danger (as well as debunking). Collaborating with Gearbox Software, the pair have created a rather intriguing virtual reality (VR) experience called Penn and Teller VR: Frankly Unfair, Unkind, Unnecessary & Underhanded which could well be a highlight for any local VR gathering.

Penn and Teller VR

Gearbox Software shared a brief demo of Penn & Teller VR during the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) this month, allowing VRFocus to gain a sneak peek behind the curtain. It’s one of those sort of videogames where discussing it can reveal too much, as once the twist is spoilt there’s no going back. You have been warned.

The title is made up of 14 tricks (or ‘Bits’ as they’re referred to). Each Bit is essentially one magic trick which can either be performed with a friend or solo. For the demo, VRFocus got to see several of these, as well as some other parts of the experience. These were Bits involving the game paper, scissors, stone; a sawing in half trick and a water tank escape.

In Penn & Teller VR you are the magician which means you tend not to put the headset on as often, controlling the sequence via a monitor. This is because of the videogame’s other fiendish feature pranking. So the Paper, Scissors, Stone game is a prime example. Here both VR player and non-VR player enter into the classic game, trying to beat each other as usual. The twist is that you can then automate the hand movements without the VR player knowing. So while they’re happily trying to win, blissfully unaware they’re no longer playing you that frees you up to prank your mate. In VRFocus’ case, the Gearbox Software team member playing then snuck up and tapped me on the shoulder for a surprise scare.

Penn and Teller VR

Highly amusing, it’s easy to see how with a few friends Penn & Teller VR could be the party title to beat Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. The water tank escape, on the other hand, called ‘YOU be Houdini’ was a solo experience. Chained into a tank – for added effect both hands were put through the Oculus Touch strap – there were loads of padlocks each with different key shapes (circles, triangles, squares etc.) which needed to be unlocked by random keys being dropped in. The aim is not to drown – probably best not played if you have a fear of water or tight spaces – and needless to say, VRFocus failed but managed to survive thanks to the duo.

They’ve certainly tried to make Penn and Teller VR: Frankly Unfair, Unkind, Unnecessary & Underhanded more than just the Bits by themselves. You can go into the famous ‘Monkey Room’ which guests for Penn & Teller’s live shows in Las Vegas wait in before going on stage, and the pair have recorded videos going into greater details regarding their tricks.

What’s impressive about Penn and Teller VR: Frankly Unfair, Unkind, Unnecessary & Underhanded is that it really plays to VR’s strengths, offering an experience that’s distinctive and a refreshing change for some of the other releases on the horizon. VRFocus does have one quibble at this point, and that’s longevity and repetition. Will 14 Bits be enough? Because once you and your friends are in on the gag it no longer becomes entertaining or funny, killing any pranks in the process. Hence why most magicians keep their tricks a secret.

June 17, 2019

Preview: Sniper Elite VR – Sights are Perfectly Set

Rebellion’s Sniper Elite series is a fairly iconic franchise, sending players back in time to World War 2 to sneak around battlefields and war-torn cities picking off enemies with precision accuracy. The prospect of a virtual reality (VR) version was certainly an exciting one when the studio revealed development plans a few months ago. With the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2019 taking place this week Rebellion brought a very early, pre-alpha build along for attendees to demo, and VRFocus can confirm it’s already looking good.

Sniper Elite VR

Generally when a studio pre-warns that a build is very early – possibly too early for demonstration – VRFocus usually expects to find a bug filled experience that’s extremely rough around the edges. This just wasn’t the case when it came to Sniper Elite VR, actually surprising how comfortable and smooth the 10-minute demo in fact was.

Demoed using PlayStation VR, Sniper Elite VR fully utilises the PlayStation Aim controller and felt like a natural fit for the videogame. Rebellion has confirmed the title will also support PlayStation Move and DualShock 4 – as well as the relevant controllers on other headsets like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive – but for a first-person shooter (FPS) like Sniper Elite VR having a gun peripheral certainly helps that sense of immersion.

The brief demo featured a sequence involving a roadblock in an Italian town, with enemy forces tending to control most of the lower ground with a few sporadically place higher up. Naturally, as a sniper the gameplay involved being positioned on the top of walls or in the remains of attics, peering out through roof debris. Visually, the environment was suitably packed with details, crumbling houses, destroyed vehicles, bomb craters and more. This once peaceful, idyllic town was now a battlefield and impressively felt so.

Sniper Elite VR E3 2019 Movement was completely free locomotion, offering wide-ranging options as to where to place yourself when firing off a few shots. Crouching behind walls or steel sheets, after one shot the enemy forces soon know your location, making subsequent shots all the more difficult.

If you’ve ever played any of the Sniper Elite series then the VR version will feel right at home, just even more realistic. Popping heads – where else are you going to aim for? – isn’t too difficult yet made all the easier thanks to a focus mode which zooms in that little bit further whilst painting a red diamond around the enemy’s head.

But this wouldn’t be Sniper Elite if there weren’t the X-Ray Kill Cam sequences. They are well and truly in there and are even more brutal (and satisfying than ever). Rebellion was keen to ensure these sequences weren’t jarring in any way, and seem to have effectively done so. The X-Ray Kill Cam actives randomly, pulling you out of the first-person character viewpoint and into a brief close up for a couple of seconds, all very smooth and suitably graphic.

From start to finish Sniper Elite VR certainly impressed, from the gun handling to the movement and visual design. It honestly didn’t feel as early in development as Rebellion was claiming it was, which certainly bodes well for the final product. Sniper Elite VR is definitely on VRFocus’ list for top VR titles of E3 2019.

June 12, 2019

Preview: Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot – Nazi Stomping Mayhem

During the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2018 Bethesda had three virtual reality (VR) titles to talk about one of which was Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot. For 2019 only Cyberpilot returned with no other VR titles even mentioned. Thankfully, the studio did have new content to share, showcasing how development had progressed.

Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot

Just like the rest of the franchise Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot still pits you against Nazis in an alternate universe where they won the second World War. This time however you get to control a selection of Nazi war machines, turning these instruments of death against their creators.

2018s demo featured a Panzerhund; a large mechanical dog equipped with a flamethrower, while for 2019 Bethesda showcased a giant walking mech, outfitted with a machine gun on the right hand and a rocket launcher on the left. Gameplay hasn’t actually changed that much in the past year, with Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot offering a linear environment design in where you walk through a war-torn city wiping out all the enemy foes.

The mech has the exact same control scheme as the Panzerhund, with the left HTC Vive touchpad providing movement controls while the right controller handles turning. There are a few small differences, however. As you’re controlling a mech you find yourself sat inside a cockpit, with a selection of light dotted around the frame indicating health and weapon overheat. When managed correctly using a nice burst of fire rather than holding down the trigger overheating shouldn’t be a problem. Other neat features included a temporary shield which could be activated for short periods via a big red button and the healing mechanic. Take too many hits and you can completely heal the mech back to full strength, the only problem is that you’re complete defenceless whilst doing so.

Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot

The gameplay is very much a destroy everything affair, an action romp that’s easy to get to grips with and comfortable to play. Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot is a lot slower than its flat screen brethren, offering nowhere near the same intensity and flavour. That begin said, it offers a different approach which the series hasn’t necessarily seen before. Thankfully, it’s not on rails, so you can wander around and take your own approach through the narrow streets.

Enemies came in three main designs, the standard trooper who tended to stay in place with their mates providing perfect fodder for the minigun. Then there were the mid-tier dudes, mechanically augmented to take more damage and deal more out; clever strafing and a few well-aimed missiles sort them out. And then there were the really big foes, appearing towards the end of the demo, these require careful management of all systems to bring them down.

Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot might be a VR title putting you inside war machines but the essence of the franchise is in many ways still there. VRFocus has now experienced two of its segments and currently like what has been showcased so far. Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot is now scheduled for release on 26th July 2019, supporting Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR, so there isn’t too long to wait to see how the entire experience turns out.

December 7, 2018

Preview: A Fisherman’s Tale – Angling for a Unique Experience

When VRFocus first got to try InnerspaceVR’s unusual puzzle title A Fisherman’s Tale at the Indie Arena Booth during Gamescom 2018, the short demo was an instant favourite. It did exactly what a demo should, and instantly grabs you with its gameplay hook and reels you in (that pun had to go in). Several months later and the videogame is almost ready for launch, with publisher Vertigo Games (Arizona Sunshine, Skyworld) planning a multiplatform release in January 2019. This time VRFocus has managed to sit down with A Fisherman’s Tale for a better look, getting to play Chapter 2 for the first time.

A Fisherman's Tale Chapter03_Medium-Récupéré3

If you’ve been keeping up with VRFocus’ coverage of A Fisherman’s Tale then you’ll know that you play the titular fisherman, who just so happens to be a man called Bob who’s made out of wood. Bob lives in what is essentially a lighthouse-shaped dolls house, going about his everyday duties like brushing his wooden teeth, and keeping warm by burning logs in his wood burner – seems a little dangerous if you’re also made of wood.

Intertwining a rich narrative which is narrated throughout with a puzzle experience, the main hook with A Fisherman’s Tale is how it plays with scale. Inside Bob’s little cabin next to the lighthouse is an exact scale model of the cabin and lighthouse. As the story and levels progress you take parts of this model away to access the inside. It’s through this process that most of the puzzles are solved, items are either too big or too small for their intended use, needing to be altered by placing in or taking from the model.

The first chapter helps to outline the basic principle, where you can reach into the model to remove an anchor that’s blocking the exit and is way too big and heavy to be relocated at its normal size. Each chapter has several puzzles to solve to progress, each done in turn, creating a very linear experience to begin with. Whether this changes over the entire six chapter’s remains to be seen.

A Fishermans Tale Chapter04_Characters_Medium3 Heading into the second location the actual physical area is slightly smaller than the first, yet opens up the many possibilities this magical scale model can accommodate. A Fisherman’s Tale soon has a micro version of Bob jumping into fish mouths and scurrying into walls as he aims to scale the lighthouse.

There is a concern that A Fisherman’s Tale may rely too much on this scale mechanic that it becomes a little too repetitive, although the other worry is that the first two chapters weren’t overly long, and there’s only another four to solve. Only the final launch version will answer those questions.

This preview version also introduced the selectable hints system for the first time. This is there to helpfully nudge you along after a few minutes, to ensure you don’t get too frustrated at any point. Testing it out during the second chapter, the talking fish (the title is slightly weird, you do play a wooden fisherman) doesn’t 100 percent give the answer, but the hint is fairly blunt and straight to the point.

A Fisherman's Tale Chapter03_Storm_Medium Developers are certainly finding their feet when it comes to interesting puzzle titles and A Fisherman’s Tale is no exception. Arca’s Path, Tin Hearts, Transpose all have their own unique and addictive qualities which make them stand out, offering puzzle fans a wealth of choice. A Fisherman’s Tale has all the right hallmarks to make it stand toe-to-toe with these others, and VRFocus is still very keen on seeing how the final product turns out.

November 22, 2018

Preview: Arca’s Path – Marble Madness Rolls into VR

Virtual reality (VR) has the potential to be so many things. Even when adding in a limiting factor such as fulfilling the remit of ‘videogame’, there’s still so much room to explore and design entirely new experiences not yet offered by the medium. It’s become tiring, then, when a new first-person shooter (FPS) comes into the fray purporting to offer something new to the genre and ends up with little more than cookie-cutter gameplay. Dream Reality Interactive (dRi), are refusing to follow this mould.

Arca's Path - Screenshot (E3 2018)

Having begun to push against the given boundaries of augmented reality (AR) and VR videogame design in 2017 with Orbu, a popular iOS title using ARKit, dRi are set to launch their first commercial VR project, Arca’s Path, one year later. Published by Rebellion of Battlezone fame, Arca’s Path has been specifically designed to be scalable to a full range of VR head-mounted displays (HMDs), and as such will be launched on PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Samsung Gear VR and many more simultaneously.

Considering the varied inputs available for this multitude of HMDs, dRi has chosen to use a common denominator for the basis of the entire videogame: viewpoint. For the uninitiated, Arca’s Path is a marble-based puzzle videogame in which the player guides their marble – a young lady transformed by a magic face mask – simply by looking in a specific direction. Movement is determined via the location of the ball opposed to the world scale; looking at a space won’t move the ball to it, but rather in the direction that space is in relation to the ball. Looking further afield will move the ball faster, and staring directly at the ball will bring it to a standstill.

As would be expected, Arca’s Path starts off very gently. Allowing the player experiment with momentum and turning on gentle ramps and no-fail courses. By the time the player is faced with ramps, breakable blocks and steep descents controlling the ball’s movement with the central point of your view will have become second nature. Then it’s about challenging yourself to execute tight turns at speed, hit ramps perfectly for optimum lift and exploring the levels to find all the hidden gems.

Arca's Path - Screenshot (E3 2018)

The final version of Arca’s Path will ship with 25 levels, for which basic completion is expected to take around 2-4 hours. However, finding those gems is an added incentive which in turn will unlock new gameplay opportunities. The scale of Arca’s Path may seem slight, but that’s entirely intentional. The videogame has been designed to be challenging but in enjoyable bite-sized chunks. dRi is ready to accept that VR hasn’t yet matured to the point where a mass market audience would happily spend hours at a time wearing an HMD, and while Arca’s Path will most definitely be enjoyed by the core videogame demographic it’s clearly positioned as an experience that anyone can enjoy.

August 29, 2018

Preview: Telefrag – Testing Those VR Limits to the Max

Over the years virtual reality (VR) developers have learnt what’s comfortable and what’s not, tuning their immersive experiences so that the majority of players find it comfortable. Then there are those studios who do seem to like throwing caution to the wind, creating a videogame that pushes the boundaries of VR comfort to their very limits. Anshar Studios happens to be one of these, making a name for itself with zero-gravity combat title Detached last year. For Gamescom 2018 the team had another multiplayer experience, this time with a lot more gravity and head twisting gameplay, Telefrag.

Telefrag

To say that Anshar Studios is being bold with its next venture is by no means an understatement, as Telefrag – even in its pre-alpha version – is looking to break the first-person shooter (FPS) mould with its level design and gameplay. The team essentially seem to be taking what they’ve learnt from Detached and built an arena shooter with one vs one combat.

Firstly, let’s talk about the videogame’s core mechanic, the telefrag. Currently movement is via very short teleportation jumps, whether that’s forwards, backwards or strafing left to right. You then have the option to telefrag by holding down the left Oculus Touch trigger (HTC Vive and PlayStation VR will also be supported). This unlocks a couple of options, the first being a much longer distance teleport for quick evasion or attack. The second is as a weapon. Spot an enemy and highlight them to instantaneously smash right into them. In the Gamescom build this meant instant death, so the VRFocus team great fun hopping around the arena trying to kill one another in a single hit.

This really did nullify the need for weapons but Anshar Studios did admit the feature was a little too powerful and would be turned down in the final version, they just hadn’t decided by how much, just not instant death.

Telefrag

The actual guns themselves were your bog standard Pistol, Assault Rifle and Rocket Launcher, each one selectable as a loadout prior to each map. Each match was three rounds, and upon death you could choose a different loadout to restart with, just not the same one, forcing players away from their favourite loadout to mix things up.

However there are two parts to Telefrag. While the movement design could be used across normal flat levels that’s just a little too plain for Anshar Studios. Instead the one level that was available, was a twisted and contorted maze that could almost give you a headache looking at it. Looking like an insane racetrack for Micro Machines, the floors, walls and ceilings all curved into one another, meaning you could either dash about with the whole world twisting when you came to a new vertical panel or telefrag to new surfaces.

Those who particularly suffer from VR nausea will probably read this with fright, so it’s difficult to tell how well Anshar Studios’ efforts to mitigate these issues have gone for those who are highly sensitive. On the other hand, the VRFocus team had no issues whatsoever, playing several matches in a row with no side effects.

If you’ve played Detached then you’ll know the quality level that Anshar Studios is capable of producing and even at this early stage Telefrag looks to be coming along nicely. Will Telefrag suit everyone, well that’s difficult to tell? It’s certainly going to enter a genre that’s becoming ever more competitive when it does launch, so having such a radical design might be just what’s needed.