‘Spice & Wolf VR’ Coming to PSVR & Nintendo Labo VR Soon, Sequel Now in Production

Japan-based studio SpicyTails announced that Spice & Wolf VR will land on PSVR and Nintendo Labo VR this week. Furthermore, the studio says that the experience’s sequel is already in the making.

Based on the manga/anime Spice & Wolf, the studio celebrated two wildly successful crowdfunding campaigns late last year, which brought the studio a combined amount of ¥72,457,073‬ (~$680,000) through Kickstarter and Japanese funding site Campfire. Dubbed by the studio a ‘VR anime’, the experience launched on Steam (Vive, Rift) and the Oculus Store (Rift) in June.

Now, SpicyTails says in a blog announcement (Japanese) that both Nintendo Labo VR and PSVR versions are slated to launch on September 5th. You can already pre-order the Labo VR version here for $25.

There’s still no word on when the previously promised Oculus Quest version is due for release, although SpicyTails maintains it should arrive soon.

The studio also revealed that the game’s newly announced sequel, Spice & Wolf VR 2, is already in the making. Check out some of the early concept art below:

There’s nothing much else to go on for now, although SpicyTails says that more detailed information, such as stories, platforms, and release dates for the sequel will be made public at a later date.

The post ‘Spice & Wolf VR’ Coming to PSVR & Nintendo Labo VR Soon, Sequel Now in Production appeared first on Road to VR.

PSVR Launch Title ‘Driveclub VR’ to Be Delisted from PS Store Tomorrow

Sony is taking down a few beloved games from the PlayStation Store tomorrow, including Driveclub, Driveclub Bikes, and Driveclub VR.

Servers are said to remain online until March 31st, 2020, however the Driveclub series and their DLC will be removed from the store starting tomorrow.

At the time of this writing, European-facing PlayStation Stores have already removed Driveclub VR, although the US store shows it still available for $15.

Driveclub VR is one of the few VR titles to have a physical disc, so if you’re still looking to jump into the game post-delisting, you’ll at least have a few more months to do so before the plug is pulled for good on its optional online gameplay.

Sony says in its decommissioned games page that once the ax swings on March 31st, and the servers are officially unplugged, all Driveclub games will lose the ability to use season passes online, represent Clubs online in multiplayer events or tours, play online multiplayer and compete in challenges, create your own events, and compete in leader boards, or share stats and player progress.

Driveclub VR joins StarBlood Arena (2017) as another Sony-published VR title that just didn’t make the cut for continued store listing.

The post PSVR Launch Title ‘Driveclub VR’ to Be Delisted from PS Store Tomorrow appeared first on Road to VR.

‘Beat Saber’ Gets Free Music Pack ‘OST Vol. 3’ on All Supported Platforms

Beat Games, the studio behind the popular block-slashing rhythm game Beat Saber (2018), today released a free update that brings with it six new playable tracks to the game, and a few new features and improvements too.

The OST Vol. 3 music pack is now live on all supported platforms, which includes Steam (HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Valve Index, Windows VR headsets), the Oculus Store (Rift, Quest), and the PlayStation Store (PSVR).

Original Soundtrack Vol. 3 includes:

  • Origins – by Jaroslav Beck and Jan Ilavsky featuring Mutrix
  • Reason For Living – by Morgan Page
  • Give A Little Love – by Pegboard Nerds
  • Full Charge – by Pixl
  • Immortal – by Slippy
  • Burning Sands – by Boom Kitty

Before jumping in for some block-slashing fun, you can also preview, download or stream OST Vol. 3 from multiple services, including Apple Music, Google Music, Amazon, Spotify, and more.

SEE ALSO
'Beat Saber' Scoring Explained – It's All in the Technique

Today’s update also includes new features and improvements for the game including:

  • Color scheme (for notes/sabers, obstacles and lights) override and customization.
  • Level environment override.
  • More precise swing angles detection.
  • Improved lighting.
  • Tweaked note jump start positions and speed in Expert+ difficulty for Crystallized, Cycle Hit and WHAT THE CAT!?
  • Minor fixes in WHAT THE CAT!? beatmaps.
  • Fixed bug when game doesn’t start properly if player data gets somehow corrupted.

It’s been a pretty busy summer for Beat Saber, as the game has not only received three free tracks from EDM artist Camellia in late July, but also a 10 paid tracks from the Grammy Award-winning rock band Imagine Dragons.

And yes, we’re still waiting on the fabled 360 game mode, which was teased back at E3 2019 in June.

The post ‘Beat Saber’ Gets Free Music Pack ‘OST Vol. 3’ on All Supported Platforms appeared first on Road to VR.

‘Rec Room’ Reveals New Virtual Obstacle Course Mini-game ‘Stunt Runner’

Social VR activity hub Rec Room today introduced a new mini-game called ‘Stunt Runner’. Looking a bit like Sprint Vector, the game will have players speeding through a virtual obstacle course.

Set for launch in September, ‘Stunt Runner’ will pit four players in a virtual race with wall running, climbing, vaulting, bouncing, and more.

‘Stunt Runner’ will come as a free update, joining a host of other mini-game activities in Rec Room, a widely cross-platform social VR app which also allows players to build their own user-generated rooms and activities.

SEE ALSO
Studio Behind Social VR App 'Rec Room' Raises $24 Million in Funding

‘Stunt Runner’ will also support non-VR Rec Room players; developer Against Gravity has steadily rolled out non-VR access to the game, currently available on PC, PSVR, and iOS

The post ‘Rec Room’ Reveals New Virtual Obstacle Course Mini-game ‘Stunt Runner’ appeared first on Road to VR.

‘Espire 1: VR Operative’ Comes to All Major Headsets in Late September

The previously delayed espionage sim Espire 1: VR Operative is now scheduled for release on September 24. After earning several ‘Best of Show’ nominations at E3 and a ‘Best of Show’ award from UploadVR, Espire 1 is available for pre-order on Steam (Index, Vive, Rift, and WMR) and soon available for pre-order on PlayStation (PSVR). The game will also launch on Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift.

Developer Digital Lode describes the game as setting a “new gold standard” for the ‘stealth’ genre in virtual reality, including accommodations for motion sickness like the optional ‘Control Theatre’ mode, which displays artificial locomotion in the game’s world as if the player were standing (or sitting) in a control room, watching the action through a series of cameras set around the Espire Agent’s peripheral view.

In addition to engaging in standard gameplay interactions like shooting and hiding behind cover, Espire 1 players will experience the game’s world in other ways, says Digital Lode. Such interactions will include activating a ‘bullet-time’ mode while hanging off of a surface, yelling “Freeze!” at an enemy guard to make them stop in their tracks, filching a weapon right off of a distracted guard, and creating distractions with loose weapon magazines.

Additional tactics will include “dozens of unique gadgets and weapons such as a tranquilizer pistol and deployable spy cameras in order to complete the mission objectives,” Digital Lode said in its release date announcement.

Image courtesy Digital Lode

Further, Espire 1’s focus on tactical, open-ended gameplay means that anyone should be able to mix and match different playstyles to move through the game’s “complete single-player story” at their own speed.

Publisher Tripwire Interactive is giving away a free copy of Killing Floor: Incursion to any who pre-order Espire 1 from Steam ahead of the game’s launch in September. Tripwire also promises that those who pre-order Espire 1 from the PlayStation Store after August 30th will receive a 15% discount.

The post ‘Espire 1: VR Operative’ Comes to All Major Headsets in Late September appeared first on Road to VR.

Rhythm Shooter ‘Audica’ Launches on PSVR with 4 Exclusive Songs

Harmonix, the veteran music game studio behind the Guitar Hero series, released their latest VR game Audica on PC VR in Early Access back in March. PSVR users have been patient, but now the unique shooter-meets-rhythm game is available today on PSVR.

Update (November 5th, 2019): Audica is  now available on PSVR. In addition to the songs listed in the article below, the PSVR launch includes 4 free songs exclusive to the platform:

  • asms – “Reeds of Mitatrush”
  • Darren Korb ft. Ashley Barrett – “We All Become (from the Transistor: Original Soundtrack)”
  • James Egbert ft. Nina Sung – “Exit Wounds”
  • James Landino – “Funky Computer”

The studio is also making five downloadable songs available right away, purchasable on their own or as a package deal.

  • 5 Seconds of Summer – “Youngblood”
  • Ariana Grande – “Into You”
  • Billie Eilish – “bad guy”
  • Imagine Dragons – “Believer”
  • Post Malone – “Better Now”

The original article announcing its fall launch window follows below.

Original Article (August 28th, 2019): Harmonix released the news on a PS blogpost, saying that Audica will arrive on the PSVR platform sometime this Fall.

The studio says they will reveal more details surrounding exact date, price, and full soundtrack in the coming months (see update).

At launch, Audica is said to include four arenas, a variety of blasters, a suite of customization options to personalize the gameplay experience, and a campaign taking you through the game’s 30+ song soundtrack.

Image courtesy Harmonix

We had the opportunity to go deep in our first preview of the game before it hit Steam and the Oculus Store ($20) a few months ago. The studio has since pushed several quality of life updates and included more and more songs to its playable soundtrack.

As the PlayStation platform doesn’t have any official Early Access program, we imagine Audica will likely launch out of Early Access on Steam/Oculus Store shortly afterwards.

Check out the trailer below:

The post Rhythm Shooter ‘Audica’ Launches on PSVR with 4 Exclusive Songs appeared first on Road to VR.

‘Arizona Sunshine’ DLC ‘The Damned’ Headed to PC VR & PSVR in October

Arizona Sunshine (2016) was supposed to get its biggest paid DLC mission to date last month, ‘The Damned DLC’. Vertigo Games and Jaywalkers Interactive now say that fans won’t have to wait much longer, as it’s scheduled to come out October 3rd on PSVR and PC VR headsets.

Update (September 24th, 2019):  Vertigo Games and developer Jaywalkers Interactive today announced that Arizona Sunshine’s ‘The Damned’ DLC will release on October 3rd for €5 / $5.

The original article announcing its previous delay follows below:

Original Article (August 28th, 2019): It’s unclear exactly when The Damned DLC will be released, as the studio has only said it’s “coming a little later this year.” It was scheduled to release on August 27th, a date that was announced at E3 2019 back in June.

The Damned DLC, which will be the largest DLC mission to date, is said to feature a large and completely new environment including a massive dam, cramped hallways and dodgy stair shafts.

The Damned is said to precede the events of the main story as well as the latest paid DLC which came out in May 2018, ‘Dead Man DLC’. This chapter of the game sends you and a team of US Special Forces to reactivate the generators of a massive hydroelectric dam to restore power to the military’s nuclear missile systems.

“It’s important for us to deliver a game that is polished to our quality level. Unfortunately, that means getting ready for release is taking longer than anticipated,” the studio says in a press update.

Vertigo Games has still yet to release Arizona Sunshine on Quest as previously promised, which will also receive the Damned DLC expansion. It’s possible the studio is waiting to release both the new DLC and the news of Quest support concurrently, as the cross-play co-op game would likely benefit from fuller servers as a result.

Arizona Sunshine supports PSVR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index, and Windows VR headsets.

The post ‘Arizona Sunshine’ DLC ‘The Damned’ Headed to PC VR & PSVR in October appeared first on Road to VR.

‘Firewall Zero Hour’ to Celebrate 1-year Anniversary with 6-day Free Trial Starting Tomorrow

Firewall Zero Hour (2018), the PSVR exclusive & team shooter from First Contact Entertainment, is celebrating its one-year anniversary with a six-day free trial for PS Plus members.

Starting tomorrow, August 28th, and going until September 2nd, the six-day free trial will give you access to the entire game including the latest maps, weapons, characters, and equipment.

First Contact is also doing a Double XP event during the six-day trial, giving everyone a reason to play if you’re still intent on leveling up.

If you haven’t had a chance to play, Firewall Zero Hour was released last year to much fanfare; it not only drummed up strong support with PSVR owners by offering one of the first classic team-based shooters on the platform, but also took a prime spot in a PS Aim hardware bundle at the time too.

It boasts a continuously growing number of maps that 4v4 teams can duke it out in—one team defends while the other infiltrates. The game typically costs $20, so it’s definitely worth jumping in for free while you can.

Looking for tactics? First Contact game director Damoun Shabestari has rounded up the top-10 strategies used in Firewall Zero Hourwhich could give you a head start as you battle against novice and veteran players alike.

The post ‘Firewall Zero Hour’ to Celebrate 1-year Anniversary with 6-day Free Trial Starting Tomorrow appeared first on Road to VR.

VRMMO ‘Zenith’ Kickstarter Pushes Past $200,000 in Funding with 2 Weeks Left

Ramen VR, a new indie studio, launched a Kickstarter recently to help fund an ambitious new MMO called Zenith, a game currently being built for both VR and desktop users.

Update (September 11th, 2019): Zenith has officially topped over $200k, now boasting over $211,000. With 15 days left in the campaign, the studio has announced the completion of their latest stretch goal, which will introduce a new race to the game called ‘The Minkeo’. You can check out the latest updates to the Kickstarter here.

The original article announcing Zenith follows below:

Original Article (August 27th, 2019): At the time of this writing, the Kickstarter project has secured over $170,500, a far cry from the original $25,000 funding goal proposed when the project launched two weeks ago. There’s still 30 days left until the project comes to a close, with the next stretch goal coming at the $200,000 mark—the promise of more than one playable race at launch.

Zenith is said to head into Early Access sometime in August 2020.

Although the fledgling studio hasn’t publicly shown much in the way of gameplay, the team, which is made up of developers who previously worked on VR multiplayer shooter Conjure Strikehas managed to attract a fair bit of attention in the venture capital space for their efforts, having now secured additional Y Combinator funding of a reported $134,400, according to Crunch Base.

This puts the team’s overall funds to over $300,000 currently, which admittedly pales in comparison to standard MMOs built for PC, which can span into the tens of millions in development dollars. Very few VR games have had the luxury of those sorts of funds, so it will be interesting to see what the team can do on the shoestring budget, or if they’ll be able to attract more VC cash along the way.

Billed as a cyberpunk-themed MMO put into VR, the team says they’ve been inspired by a number of works of fiction including games like Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, Nier: Automata, anime like Sword Art Online and Castle in the Sky, and books such as Snow Crash, Ready Player One, and Rainbow’s End.

“These worlds were integral parts of our lives but it always felt like we were seeing those worlds through a small window. We’re building Zenith because we want to you to experience living in these worlds,” Ramen VR says.

SEE ALSO
Valve Index Now Available for Immediate Shipping in 30 Countries

To bring the game to life, the studio is collaborating with Improbable, the makers behind the cloud platform SpatialOS. This, the studio says, will make it “much easier to build an MMORPG,” and that it will allow them to build a world with “real physics, complex AI, and a landscape that evolves and is shaped by players and NPCs alike.”

Since the studio was founded earlier this year, Ramen VR says they’ve already built seven prototypes of the game, and have been running user playtests with their Discord community for over a month.

Zenith is targeting release on Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, HTC Vive, Valve Index, PSVR and desktop PC. The studio maintains all versions of the game will include cross-play.

The post VRMMO ‘Zenith’ Kickstarter Pushes Past $200,000 in Funding with 2 Weeks Left appeared first on Road to VR.

VR Manga Mystery ‘Tokyo Chronos’ Launches on PSVR Today in the US

It’s been a year since Japanese studio MyDearest and LA-based studio Sekai Project successfully concluded their Kickstarter for Tokyo Chronos (2019), the VR mystery game told through the lens of a visual novel. Now, the studios are getting ready to launch the game on PSVR.

Tokyo Chronos is slated to land today, August 26th, on the PlayStation Store exclusively for PSVR. The game first launched on the PSVR platform in Japan on August 22nd. As far as we can tell, no official release date has been set for the international version. We’ve reached out to Sekai Project for clarification and will update this once we know more.

The game, which was led by Kazuma Miki, a producer behind VR-centric anime series Sword Art Online (2012), previously launched on Quest, Go, and PC VR headsets back in March. The game has since garnered a ‘Very Positive’ user rating on Steam, and a near five star-rating on the RiftQuest, and Go platforms respectively.

The game is centered around eight childhood friends trapped inside a strangely deserted Shibuya, where time has mysteriously come to stand still. The message, “I am dead. Who killed me?” appears along with the ominous statement: “To kill, or not to kill ─ YOU decide.”

Tokyo Chronos boasts 5,000 lines of voice-acted dialogue in Japanese to go along with English subtitles, making it ether an exercise in reading the visual novel or brushing up on your Japanese skills: something the ‘subs-over-dubs’ anime contingency should be just fine with. There are multiple pathways through the game, and multiple endings as well, the studios say.

At the time of this writing, there’s currently no pricing available for the US PlayStation Store version, although the Mexican store quotes a $50 US price tag. We should know more when Sony flips the switch later today.

The post VR Manga Mystery ‘Tokyo Chronos’ Launches on PSVR Today in the US appeared first on Road to VR.