puzzle – Page 7 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

January 31, 2017

SuperHyperCube Coming To Vive But Polytron Still Stands By Rift Boycott

Vibrant puzzler SuperHyperCube [Review: 7.5/10] was one of the better launch games for PlayStation VR. Vive fans pay attention, then; it looks like you can play it soon.

The developer took to Twitter to tease a Vive version of the game with a GIF of the kit’s controllers displayed in its retro-future art style. Polytron didn’t offer any other details about the launch of the Vive version, but be sure to be on the lookout for it.

NOW LOADING… pic.twitter.com/oPl3D1BonS

— Polytron (@Polytron) January 30, 2017

SuperHyperCube has you fitting 3D objects through approaching holes, and is often likened to a sort of VR reimagining of Tetris. In our review we noted it was a game that many would find “fun and addictive”, though its simplicity was both “its greatest asset” and “its largest weakness”.

On PS VR the game uses DualShock 4 controls. Hopefully Polytron has plans to implement motion controls into the Vive version, though the GIF seems to suggest the controllers’ touchpads will instead mimic directional and face buttons on the left and right respectively, just like you’d see on a traditional gamepad.

Usually, the launch of a Vive game is accompanied with a release on Oculus Rift and its Touch controllers too, but SuperHyperCube looks to be one of the rare games where that won’t be the case. You may recall that Polytron, famous for 2012 videogame Fez, cancelled plans for the Rift version of the game last September when it transpired that headset creator Palmer Luckey had funded a political propaganda campaign.

“In a political climate as fragile and horrifying as this one, we cannot tacitly endorse these actions by supporting Luckey or his platform,” the developer wrote. “In light of this, we will not be pursuing Oculus support for our upcoming VR release, SUPERHYPERCUBE.”

We reached out to Polytron to ask if this was still the case and they confirmed that nothing had changed. If you want to play this one, you’ll need to get yourself either a Vive or PSVR. However, it is worth noting that even if the developer’s do not officially endorse and support the Rift platform, the game may still run just fine via SteamVR. At least, that’s the case with many other “Vive only” games currently available.

Tagged with: polytron, puzzle, SuperHyperCube

January 26, 2017

Physics-Based VR Puzzle Game Awaken Hits Steam Early Access With Level Editor Contest

Puzzle games are about as common in VR these days as wave shooters, which is to say you see them everywhere. Unlike most genres, which rely on intense action or engaging storytelling, puzzle games are enhanced by VR due to the simple prospect of 360-degree presence. Instead of inspecting a flat 2D screen you’re required to physically move around the world to figure out solutions which opens up whole new game design possibilities.

When we revealed the game via our first hands-on preview of Awaken last month, the debut VR puzzle game from recently founded game studio Blueprint Reality, we came away impressed. While similar in concept to other “get the ball to the goal” games like Bounce and Grav|Lab, its use of ingenious dynamic music building, mesmerizing art style, level editor, and sheer sense of polish easily set it apart from the competition. The game’s creators are trying to position it as the “Mario Maker or LittleBigPlanet of VR puzzle games.”

“We are very excited to launch Awaken, a visually stunning puzzle game and dynamic music experience,” stated Tarrnie Williams, industry veteran and Blueprint Reality CEO, in a prepared statement. “We set out to make a VR title with approachable, engaging gameplay and a universe that sets a powerful yet meditative tone.”

In my previous demo, it was only a small sampling of a handful of levels, but that’s been expanded to 30 for the Early Access release with a grand total of over 100 planned for full release. With the inclusion of the level editor in this build, Blueprint Reality is also running a level creation contest. It will begin today and run through 2/16/17. All entries will be judged on fun, creativity, and beauty, with the potential to win items such as GTX 1080, 1070, and 1060 graphics cards, as well as featured placement for the in-game community.

You can download Awaken now on Steam with official support for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift at the price of $29.99; a PlayStation VR version is currently in development. The first week of release on Steam will feature a 15% discount, dropping the price to $25.49 until 2/2/17.

Tagged with: awaken, blueprint reality, physics, puzzle, rift, steam, Vive

January 20, 2017

‘Henry The Hamster Handler’ Review: A Hectic Handful Of Fun

Of all the games I’ve longed to see brought into the virtual realm, I have to admit Lemmings isn’t one of them. The series may be a classic staple in gaming history, but it always seemed best suited to the Orwellian monitoring of critters through a computer screen rather than the god-like empowerment that VR bestows.

Games like Fly to KUMA last year and now Henry The Hamster Handler more recently, however, showed me how wrong I was to think that.

To be fair to developer Pocket Money Games, this isn’t a straight up clone. Rather than assigning jobs to green-haired minions, you’re frantically clearing the path for oversized hamsters as they move from the start zone to the finish. You have to make sure they’re not burned, electrocuted, impaled, or squashed along the way. It’s kind of like a mouse maze, if it was designed by Jigsaw from the Saw films.

Henry targets a very hectic sort of fun that has your mind racing back and forth as you multi-task between pulling levers, pushing buttons and winding wheels. Forget about one task for even a split second and you’ll hear the high-pitched squeals of your furry friends perishing. If your as forgetful as me, then these fast-firing levels quickly turn from a well oiled machine into a war zone. You’re always one step behind the devices of death.

Fortunately, Henry scales its difficulty based on player preference. There’s only one mode, but each level works on a three star system. You’ll only need a small amount of hamsters to progress to the next challenge, but reaching to get more stars will require careful study of each levels’ layout and likely multiple attempts to find the right flow. And with 150 levels in total, there’s plenty of content on offer here for completionists.

For the most part, levels are intricately designed, though I did notice a few instances of hamsters narrowly missing death pits that they were meant to fall into and landing safely to one side, a bug that I’m weary to highlight considering it provides a crutch. When the layout does click, however, there’s a satisfying blend of elements to micromanage. You have to time when you turn off the fire, or open a gate, as they’ll reset after a few seconds and stragglers will meet their end. They’ll even squish each other in falls if you don’t time it right.

The result is a game that can quite frankly become overwhelming at times, though the constant progression staves off frustration. Pocket Money has made the somewhat strange decision to only allow you to use one hand, though, which feels limiting. Perhaps using two hands would break the game’s difficulty but the sheer panic it can easily work you into has me doubting that.

It’s the polish that makes Henry really shine, though. This feels like the rare VR game that isn’t simply a tech demo for its base concept. On top of the meaty puzzle campaign, Pocket Money inserts mini-games every five levels in that have you playing Whack-A-Hamster, memorizing button inputs, and shooting giant critters that pop out of pipes (because no Vive game can come and go without letting you hold a gun). It’s not the absolute epitome for what VR can do for the human race, but it’s a textbook example of making a rock solid game with the kind of features and presentation you’d expect of a fully-fledged release. Unless you’ve got the backing of a big publisher, that’s something we rarely see right now.

Final Score: 8/10 – Great

Henry the Hamster Handler isn’t the absolute best Vive game I’ve played, but it does achieve what it sets out to do better than anything I’ve seen on the system in a while. It’s clearly made by people that understand the importance of giving value to premium products, with plenty of content, extra modes and polish in its presentation, and that alone makes it stand out. More importantly, though, its core mechanics easily generate a frantic flurry of panic and micromanaging that’s a genuine joy to try and contain. If you don’t think this is the sort of game for you I implore you to still give it a try; you might end up having more fun than you’d think.

Read our Game Review Guidelines for more information on how we arrived at this score. Henry the Hamster Handler is available now on Steam with official HTC Vive support for $5.99.

Tagged with: Henry the Hamster Handler, htc vive, lemmings, pocket money, puzzle, steam

January 18, 2017

Gear VR’s ‘Darknet’ Will Hit PlayStation VR Very Soon

One-man VR development force E McNeill released his third game onto Gear VR last week, but his original project is finally coming to PlayStation VR, too.

As announced over on the PlayStation Blog, Darknet, the developer’s futuristic hacking-based puzzle game, is making its way from Gear VR and Oculus Rift over to Sony’s system at some point in early 2017. The experience has you accessing nodes to strategically take them over. Like all of McNeill’s games, its a neon-enthused nod to some of the science fiction that dreamt of VR before it was really here, and it pulls it off with style.

Waddle Home developer Archiact is publishing the game on PlayStation 4. In addition to porting it, the team is adding audio integration with the console’s DualShock 4 (though we typically play PS VR with headphones on) and new art. Based on the trailer above, the PS VR version will also bring the DualShock 4 itself into the game world.

VR veterans will remember that Darknet was the first full game to release on Gear VR back when the headset released as an Innovator’s Edition in late 2014, having originally been conceived in an Oculus VR Jam. McNeill even released the entire experience for free, as Gear didn’t actually allow customers to pay for products in its first few months. Since then the developer also released sci-fi strategy Tactera [Review: 7/10] on follow-up Skylight [Review: 7.5/10] onto the mobile headset. We’ve asked the team if those games might make it over too.

News of new PS VR games will be welcomed by early adopters, as it’s been a fair few weeks since a new game has released on the kit. Hopefully ports such as this can help keep the headset fuelled with new content; there’s plenty of Rift, Vive, and Gear games we’d want to see on the platform.

A full release date Darknet‘s PS VR port hasn’t been shared, but expect to be playing this one within the next few months.

Tagged with: darknet, E McNeill, puzzle

January 16, 2017

‘Rangi’ is a VR Puzzle Game from Ex-Ubisoft Devs That Lets You Explore Mythical Africa

In the fervor of the holiday season surrounding the release of PlayStation VR and Google Daydream, followed by the Oculus Touch controllers and the never-ending onslaught of new games and experiences on the Steam marketplace, it’s easy to forget about Samsung’s Gear VR. At CES 2017 it was quietly announced that they’d sold over 5 million headsets to date, purportedly putting them at the top of the food chain in terms of sheer market penetration, along with a surprisingly deep and diverse library of content.

Early adopters of PC-based VR and industry enthusiasts might be focused on more powerful alternatives, but the Samsung Gear VR appears to be the little headset that could and it keeps on pushing. That’s why stylish, new releases on the device, such as Rangi, should not fly under your radar.

Rangi is a visually beautiful upcoming puzzle/adventure title in development by Funsoft, published by Digigo. At first glance, it looks a bit reminiscent of other mobile VR titles such as Land’s End or Esper, with a unique mythical African twist.

From a gameplay perspective, you spend your time solving puzzles by interacting with objects such as ruins and exploring a detailed ancient environment. You can tell from the trailer above that solutions often involve lining up runes and lines to connect currents of energy, which all feeds back into the central narrative of the game’s world.

The development team is located in Casablanca, Morocco and is actually made up of several ex-members of Ubisoft Casablanca. “We sought to create in Rangi a strong relationship between the puzzle-based gameplay and African tribal art,” said Fabien Delpech, Creative Director at Funsoft in a prepared statement. “The level design entices players to interact with a multitude of elements within the environment, which makes the VR experience even more meaningful. Rangi is a truly unique mobile game due to it drawing inspiration from African music, folklore, and art, and we know that gamers will love playing it as much as we’re enjoying creating it.”

From what I’ve seen so far, the narrative is rather esoteric and cryptic in its delivery, insisting on a decidedly obscure presentation, which all lends itself well to the established setting. The music utilizes the 3D audio of the Gear VR very well to create an encompassing all-around you feeling.

The lack of position tracking continues to make the Gear VR feel inferior to the PS VR, Vive, and Rift, but that’s not Rangi‘s fault. It just so happens that the game delivers a rich world with such great visual individuality that you’ll often find yourself wanting to lean in and get a closer look even though you can’t.

Despite it all, Rangi isn’t going to be a game for everyone. It leans heavily on its stylized visuals, entrancing music, and thought-provoking gameplay to provide a deep and rewarding puzzle experience, but it’s far from the next great narrative masterpiece from what I’ve seen. Fans of the excellent Land’s End and challenging Esper series will feel right at home and should certainly keep their eyes on Rangi as it continues development.

Funsoft is planning to release Rangi for Gear VR early this year in 2017. You can find more information on the official website.

Tagged with: adventure, digigo, exploration, funsoft, puzzle, rangi, ubisoft