Generally, when it comes to virtual reality (VR) titles featuring on normal videogame charts, the occurrences are few and far between. When it does happen it tends to be thanks to PlayStation VR, with Farpoint doing extremely well back in 2017 with a number two spot in the UK listings. Today, that has now been beaten, with Sony Interactive Entertainment’s (SIE) London Studio taking the number one spot on the UK charts with Blood & Truth.
The charts showcase the best selling videogames up to 1st June at UK retail locations, so only physical copies are counted. Only two new titles made it into the top ten, the other being Cricket 19: Offical Game of the Ashes achieving the No.6.
Blood & Truth managed to outperform multiplatform videogames like FIFA 19 (only by 400 copies reports GameIndustry.biz), Team Sonic Racing and Days Gone. Overall it was a tight race for chart supremacy this week, with No.40 and No.1 only separated by a little over 6,000 copies.
While it is surprising the title has done so well given the niche nature of VR in comparison to the other videogame platforms, Blood & Truth has proven itself to be a highly commendable experience, mixing high action gameplay with a tightly interwoven storyline and cinematic cutscenes. VRFocus gave it a full five-star review, saying: “From start to finish Blood & Truth is one hell of a ride, a finely choreographed John Woo movie that’s all about sheer entertainment.”
Hopefully, with achievements such as this, it’ll not only show that VR is financially viable when done correctly but also attract more gamers to the technology as well as developers interested in exploring new markets and creative potential.
Blood & Truth isn’t the only PlayStation VR title to arrive recently, with Squanch Games’ Trover Saves the Universe, Steel Wool Games’ rather scary Five Night’s at Freddy’s VR: Help Wantedand Everybody’s Golf VR all now available.
There are going to be plenty more on the way in 2019, with the likes of fairy tale puzzler Luna scheduled for this month, No Man’s Sky: Beyond arriving this summer and of course, Iron Man VR. VRFocus will continue its coverage of PlayStation VR, reporting back with the latest updates.
With every PlayStation VR sale, no matter what else is included you’ll always get a copy of PlayStation VR Worlds; a collection of mini-games of sorts, one of which is The London Heist. Created by Sony Interactive Entertainment’s (SIE) own London Studio, this was a gritty, story-based shooter with plenty of action. If you’ve been wanting more of the same – and got your headset at launch – then the long wait is finally over, as PlayStation VR returns to London’s dangerous criminal underworld in Blood & Truth.
Blood & Truth isn’t a sequel to The London Heist merely taking inspiration from the title, offering players a chance to dive into a Hollywood action movie that sits somewhere between Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Bad Boys 2. Right from the word go London Studio skirts the line between videogame and the growing virtual reality (VR) genre of interactive experience, endeavouring to immerse you into the role of hero, as you become more and more invested in the plot (no matter how outrageous) to protect and save the lives of those around you.
The storyline is just as important as the gameplay in Blood & Truth as there are significant moments spent inside of cut scenes – whether you like them or not. You’re cast as Ryan Marks, an ex-soldier who has come back home, and like any good gangster related script, family is revered and most sacred above all else. So when a ruthless criminal overlord decides to take what Marks’ family has built, it’s up to him to put things right.
Once the story foundations have been set it’s time to have some fun. Blood & Truth is all about intense set pieces, with lots of guns and nifty little nods to the action movies we all know and love. Get the calibration set right for the PlayStation Move controllers and you should have very little issue dual wielding weapons or holding some of the larger guns two-handed. At either hip are your trusty pistols which can be customised and upgraded with attachments such as iron sights and a suppressor. There’s a gun range to test out mods should you need it. These can also be swapped on the fly mid-level, with revolvers and other pistols becoming available. The same goes for the bigger guns (assault rifles/shotguns) which appear across certain areas and attach to your back.
There never really seemed to be an issue when grabbing for any weapon, and accuracy even at long range was always spot on. The same goes for reloading. All ammo is kept on your chest, so all you need to do is grab it and bring the clip/shells near the gun the rest is automatic; allowing for quick reloads when under fire.
Because of the linear nature of the gameplay, London Studio has managed to employ a super comfortable system of movement which should suit most players. Actual level exploration is fairly limited, with Blood & Truth employing a sort of point-to-point teleportation system. Locations are highlighted by a white arrow and there can on occasion be two or three points to choose from, giving the illusion of multiple routes. Locomotion between these points is very smooth and steady – no blink teleportation – plus there’s also the option to strafe left or right if a point is available nearby (imagine being behind a desk and moving to either corner). Actual movement options beyond the standard configuration is fairly limited, with a ‘Comfort Mode’ available which adds a vignette should you need to.
Rather than fall into the trap of making a pure first-person shooter (FPS), London Studio has done a decent job of mixing up the gameplay as often as possible, adding in little puzzle elements like picking locks and breaking through security devices, to more high-octane moments like car chases or escaping crumbling buildings. Thankfully, gunplay was always quick and fluid, with explosive barrels always setting off a nice little slow-mo moment if an enemy is caught in the blast.
There are a decent number of chapters to play through offering several hours of gameplay on the easier modes. As Blood & Truth is a single-player experience to keep you coming back once the story has been completed, a hard mode will really test those skills, while challenge modes will unlock with online leaderboards to compete against friends. Also included is a Game+ mode so you can go through the story again with everything you’ve unlocked, plus there are plenty of little hidden extras to find if you love gaining 100% on a title.
Blood & Truth has some great voice acting and the motion capture is some of the best seen in a VR experience. If VRFocus is to be really picky then some of the scenes do feel like they drag on a bit too long, when you just want to get stuck back in, and there were a couple of glitch moments that were both funny – a gun was still in hand during a cut scene which meant a handshake couldn’t be interacted with – and game stuttering – an overhead rail section just didn’t want to work. Nothing too OTT.
While you don’t have the freedom of Borderlands 2 VR for example, with Blood & Truth you have a far more focused videogame that knows what it wants to achieve, and that’s put a smile on your face. From start to finish Blood & Truth is one hell of a ride, a finely choreographed John Woo movie that’s all about sheer entertainment.
I could tell Blood & Truth was special when I realized I had been playing for a solid half hour and hadn’t shot a gun or killed a thug that entire time but remained entirely invested. This is the kind of game that you’ll pick up out of interest for its big set piece actions scenes, satisfying gunplay, and knack for making you feel like the star of your own action movie, but you’ll end up staying for the charming characters.
Blood & Truth is the latest big-budget PSVR exclusive and this time it’s coming directly from Sony’s own London Studio. They’re pouring a serious amount of work and money into this title, adding up to what might be the most sizable investment into a single new IP we’ve seen in VR yet. Luckily, it pays off.
In Blood & Truth you play as Ryan Marks, the ex-military son of a massive international family business full of shady deals, backroom politics, and dangerous messes. You’re called back home after the death of your father and have to fend off a rival businessman from trying to overtake what your family has built.
The drama between the Marks family and the rival business venture didn’t do a whole lot for me truth be told, but the characters themselves were fantastic. Everything from the facial animations and voice acting felt incredibly genuine and earnest. One of my biggest pet peeves with cinematic VR games such as this is when the characters go out of their way to look you in the eyes constantly to try and make you feel present — which incidentally does the opposite — but in Blood & Truth everyone responds just as much to one another as they do you.
Every now and then I’d catch my sister stealing a quick sly look at me to make a face in response to your vulgar brother, or I’d notice my mother’s worried gaze as we discussed the dangerous details of our upcoming heist. It felt more genuine than most relationships I’ve had with digital characters and I was hungry for more.
Most of the first half of the narrative is told through a series of flashbacks in an interrogation room, but eventually events start to catch up to the present day. London Studio have done a remarkable job of packing this with every type of set piece you’d expect to see in a Hollywood-caliber summer blockbuster, but this time you get to act it out in VR.
Gunplay feels really, really good — at least as long as the PS Move controllers are cooperating. You spend a large chunk of Blood & Truth holding your arms up in the air to point at digital enemies in VR, so after a while the classic PSVR drifting issues eventually arise. Aiming requires lots of precision, so it’s frustrating to say the least when you miss headshots because of inferior light-based motion controllers.
You’ve got two hip holster slots and two back shoulder slots so you never feel restricted with your arsenal at all. Every weapon is reloaded the same way too — just grab a clip from your chest and stick it in the gun. Once you get into a rhythm with the later missions you’ll be swapping guns and reloading quickly with ease; it’s really got a fast-paced John Wick vibe when you’re in the groove.
There are car chases across freeways, foot chases through winding passageways, you’ll jump out of several windows in slow motion, dual wield weapons as bodies fly through the air, and even smooth talk your way past security a time or two. Rather than plop you into the middle of a large open space and ask you to find your way with clunky PS Move controllers, the game does most of the heavy lifting for you.
Simply put, there is no traditional free movement in Blood & Truth at all. Instead, there are hovering arrows sprinkled throughout every level that you can look at and press a button to move towards. Once behind cover you can strafe from one point to the next, but once you’ve picked where to go there’s no way to control your movement again until you’ve reached that destination. It feels a bit like you’re on rails, because you technically are, but you at least have some control over where you go and when.
To be honest the movement system feels restrictive at first. For example, the opening level of the game takes place in a pretty large base that’s found in a desert environment. Rather than explore the base like I wanted to do initially I was forced to head down underground through a bunker entrance.
And while playing if you realize you missed a weapon cache or collectible of some kind then tough luck — this movement system literally does not allow backtracking. Even if you turn your body and head all the way around to look at the spot you were just in there is no way to move backwards.
For the vast majority of the game the movement system is honestly not a problem at all. It’s designed around this system specifically and there is a lot of variety between fighting off enemies, taking cover, picking lots, searching the environment for items, sneaking around, etc. You don’t have a chance to get bored. But during a few firefights only being able to strafe from side-to-side instead of actually flanking enemies or finding better cover was extremely annoying. During one scene in a large elevator shaft a few hours into the game you get surrounded and overwhelmed quickly. I hadn’t died once all game and I died six times in a row at this part because of the movement system.
But that being said, since the game is always happening in front of you, the upside to this is that Blood & Truth is expertly paced almost always. There is never a dull moment and it’s basically impossible to get stuck. Rather than giving you a world to explore or setting you off on an adventure to define yourself as the next action hero, instead you’re here to specifically play Ryan Marks’ story. The plot points are written and the set pieces are ready to be triggered no matter what you do so it feels more like you’re roleplaying an existing character than it does you have been invited into the world wholesale.
Blood & Truth took me about five hours to complete on Normal difficulty, but I missed a lot of stuff. Every mission has collectible items scattered around that you can find as well as targets that reward you with stars when shot. Back at base before each mission you can browse and tinker with collectibles on a trophy shelf and spend stars to unlock new weapon mods.
There’s also a shooting range there with a few targets and a ton of glass bottles and challenge missions to offer a bit of replayability through time attack focused missions. A lesser Cinematic difficulty exists as well if you’re not interested in much of a challenge and don’t mind missing some trophies.
If you’re playing on a PS4 Pro it does look better by way of some specific enhancements. Nothing too dramatic, but the resolution looked crisper and lighting specifically seemed improved across the board. It still looks fine on a standard PS4, but obviously a Pro will have the best experience.
And while not available in time for review Sony has said that
Final Score:8.5/10 – Great
Despite the sometimes frustrating movement system and occasional pacing issues, Blood & Truth is a tour de force for PSVR. Sony’s London Studio should be proud of what they’ve accomplished here by turning the brief London Heist demo from PlayStation VR Worlds into a fully-fledged narrative that features some of the best performances we’ve seen in VR yet. The action is pulse-pounding and so bombastic it rivals even the biggest summer blockbusters. This one is easily recommended to any PSVR owner that likes to shoot bad guys and watch stuff blow up.
Remember when The Prestige and The Illusionist, two movies about magicians, both released the same year? Or when EverQuest 2 foolishly released the same year as World of Warcraft? Or that other time Gearbox decided it made perfect logical sense to release Battleborn in literally the exact same month as Blizzard’s Overwatch?
Pop culture is full of weird situations like this where movies and games that seem too similar to be coincidences are developed and released alongside one another. I’ve got a feeling we might have another scenario just like that in the VR market right now with Blood and Truth versus Defector. Both games want to tap into that visceral excitement that’s all-too-often associated with spy action movies by making you feel like a James Bond-esque hero and both games are exclusives for their respective platforms.
The below video was captured at a demo event last October.
In the case of Defector on Oculus Rift, we’ve got something that features full locomotion via the Oculus Touch controllers, branching decisions and dialogue trees, as well as roomscale support with lots of set piece action scenes. PSVR’s Blood and Truth, by comparison, is starting to feel a bit anemic.
I got the chance to go hands-on with both last week almost back-to-back and it really drove the point home for me. In Defector I jumped out of an airplane, climbed on the side of a disintegrating jet, got in a fist fight, shot up a ton of thugs, and sweet-talked my way into a crime boss’ private vault. In Blood and Truth, I progressed from cover point to cover point shooting enemies and watched a few slo-mo explosions. That’s it.
Admittedly, my first demo with Blood and Truth several months ago was much more promising, but it’s a bit baffling that the new demo just a month away from E3 feels so bare bones and empty. Last time there was an exciting chase scene, a bunch of stealth, and a whole slew of environments as I scoured the floors of a casino. This time I just ducked behind boxes and air vents while waves of enemies attacked me.
After trying Firewall: Zero Hour at the same preview event on the other side of the room, Blood and Truth’s lack of locomotion really stood out. Given that this is basically an expanded version of The London Heist, you do have a bit more control here. During a level you can look around the environment and see pre-determined nodes pop up on the ground. With a press of a button your character will slowly slide over to those spots, as if he were walking, and you still get full control of your head and hands during this process.
This is a stark contrast to Bravo Team, a game in which you lose all control of your character when moving to a new node. During gameplay in Blood and Truth you’ll also have moments where you can strafe from side-to-side between cover points with the press of a button as well.
The game is played using two PS Move controllers so you don’t have an analog stick or d-pad of any kind. I’d love to see what a developer like Sony London Studio could have done with proper VR controllers like the Oculus Touch or Vive wands. I imagine we’d have gotten something similar to Defector as an end result.
It’s not fair to compare two unfinished games to one another that are on completely different platforms, but they feel like they were both based off of the same brainstorming session in which a wide-eyed game designer dreamed up what it would be like to play a Mission: Impossible VR game.
If I’m basing expectations off of my original Blood and Truth demo, I’m imagining a game full of varied missions that mix fast-paced action, stealth, hacking, and a litany of other game mechanics together to create something consistently interesting. But if I’m basing my expectations off of the most recent demo, I’m anticipating a wave shooter that’s wearing a very thin coat of spy-action paint on top.
Let’s hope the most recent demo I tried isn’t representative of the final game’s content focus because multiple hours of that would get very boring very fast.
During my demo a developer told me that at E3 they’ll have an even newer demo for Blood and Truth that lasts upwards of 25 minutes, which sounds quite extensive to show at an industry event. Hopefully that demo will leave me with a more promising impression.
Let us know what you think of Blood and Truth so far down in the comments below!
SIE London Studio’s upcoming PSVR title Blood and Truth was playable on the showfloor at PSX 2017. The footage captured during an interview with PlayStation Blog’s Sid Shuman at the show is the clearest look at the gameplay sequence we enjoyed during our hands-on in October.
Expanding on the tone and concepts introduced in the acclaimed ‘London Heist’ experience from their first PSVR title PlayStation VR Worlds (2016), London Studio is aiming to deliver a triple-A, first person action game in Blood and Truth. The team haven’t committed to a release window, but the game is likely to appear in 2018.
In the footage, you see their new node-based locomotion mechanic in full flow, along with situational moments of manual movement using motion controls, such as climbing a ladder, or shuffling along an air duct. With no teleportation system in place, players are able to stay engaged in the firefight as they slide to the next node.
“We’re doing a lot of movement. A lot of VR games are doing teleportation and that is not right for us,” said developer Mike Hampden. “We wanted a grounded experience; you move like a soldier, tactically from point to point. You can strafe between points as well – it gives you a lot of control.”
