Valve announced winners of the fan-voted Steam Awards for 2020 today, including VR Game of the Year.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Steam users voted for Half-Life: Alyx, one of the year’s biggest releases and Valve’s own title, as VR Game of the Year. Alyx came out back in March for SteamVR headsets and is regarded almost universally as one of the best VR games of 2020.
The Steam Awards take place annually and both the nominees and the winners are decided solely by the Steam community and its users. Users can cast votes for any game towards any of the pre-determined categories, except this year users could only nominate a game for one category each, not multiple. Half-Life: Alyx was one of five games that were nominated for best VR game. The other nominees that fell short were Phasmophobia, The Room VR: A Dark Mater, Thief Simulator VR and Star Wars: Squadrons.
The list also included several other non-VR categories, including a general Game of the Year category which was taken home by Red Dead Redemption 2 (which was technically eligible as it released on Steam for PC in December 2019, despite releasing on consoles in 2018).
Many of the VR games featured in this year’s Steam Awards were also featured in UploadVR’s VR Game of the Year category, which was also taken home by Half-Life: Alyx. Somewhat notably, the Steam Awards didn’t feature The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, which was one of our favorite VR games from last year. We had it nominated on our Game of the Year list, alongside Alyx, Squadrons, The Room VR, Population: One and Until You Fall.
Today marks the beginning of the 2020 Winter Festival in OrbusVR and the launch of the brand new group raid dungeon, Citadel. You can find more details in the latest official OrbusVR blog post.
OrbusVR Winter Festival
While we have multiple VR MMOs on the horizon, such as Ilysia, Zenith, and Archgate to look forward to, there is already one out in the wild named OrbusVR. It’s been out for about three years now on PC and features full crossplay and cross-progression on Oculus Quest.
As is customary with MMOs, OrbusVR is no stranger to timed thematic content updates that are connected to real world seasons, such as the Winter Festival. This year will include the Heart of Strangers questline, snowman critter capture, and floating light quests. There’s also the Snowman Transmog set, just like last year.
In terms of new content this year there is a snowman pet reward for completing the Critter Capture quest and a fireplace to put in your house and a snow-themed mount.
OrbusVR Citadel Raid
Technically the raid has been sort of “out” in beta since December 3rd, but this week was the full launch. You can access it from a secret tunnel in the dragon shop inside Highsteppe. It’s a length dungeon with four major boss fights requiring strategy to get through safely.
Naturally, there will be lots of new loot to gain from the raid including new +4 armor and weapon sets, as well as an extremely rare +5 legendary weapon. They’ve got fancy magical auras that pulse through them, which is pretty neat.
OrbusVR is prepping for a big three-year anniversary celebration next month and will soon put out Quest 2-specific enhancements so players can see the mounts and tool belt items of those around them, as well as more fully-rendered characters instead of placeholder ghost avatars like on Quest 1.
Let us know what you think of this news down in the comments below! Do you regularly play OrbusVR?
The Steam Autumn Sale is here, and includes some decent discounts on big VR titles including Half-Life: Alyx and The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners.
It seems like only yesterday that we were talking about the Halloween Steam Sale, but now Autumn is upon us and we have another Steam sale with similar discounts for VR titles.
The sale began yesterday and lasts until 10am PT on December 1st. If you missed out on some of the great discounts in the Halloween sale, then don’t worry — a lot of the discounts here are identical or even better, especially for games like Squadrons and Saints & Sinners.
Here’s some of the biggest deals in the Autumn sale:
– Half-Life: Alyx: 25% off, $44.99 (from $59.99)
– Star Wars: Squadrons: 40% off, $23.99 (from $39.99)
These games are all launched via SteamVR, which means you’ll need a PC VR headset (like an Oculus Rift/Rift S or a Valve Index, or even a Quest 2 with Oculus Link or Virtual Desktop) to play. Not all games are optimized to be compatible with every headset though, so make sure to check the compatibility section of each game individually before buying.
The Steam Autumn Sale runs until 10am Pacific on December 1st.
The meditative board game comes to Oculus Quest mostly intact, but some issues may make you lose your cool. Here is our full Tsuro VR review.
The board game of Tsuro: The Game of the Path has a simple premise. You must lay tiles down to keep your stone traveling a path, choosing from a hand of three tiles, without running into the walls of the board or into an opponent. And while it is a simple premise at first, putting down tiles on a six by six grid, as the board fills up and you have to see how your tiles connect with those already placed down, it becomes harder and harder to find a way to connect to an existing path that keeps you alive and not looping through several tiles until you hit the end and burst.
Thunderbox Entertainment brought this solid board game, originally designed by Tom McMurchie, to iOS and Android in 2016. Last year, they released it for Steam VR. But now last month month, they have brought the game to all Oculus platforms, from Rift to Go, but here I am reviewing the Oculus Quest version using a Quest 2.
Whenever a board game makes the jump from actual tabletops to a virtual one, there are three questions one must ask: (1) How well does this port reflect the original game? (2) What did they add to improve the game beyond the original? and (3) And how well does this port support the social aspects of board games?
To begin, Thunderbox has done a fair job in translating the game to VR. The gameplay is intact, letting you play versus up to 7 AI opponents or 3 real opponents online. You can even play in a solo mode without opponents, where you have to get through all 35 titles without dying.
While the iOS version of the game used just a straight digital replica of the real-world pieces on a blank canvas of a table, the VR version transports the game into a simple representation of a Japanese garden placed inside some castle walls: there are pagodas standing tall, sakura trees blowing cherry blossoms, a bridge over a stream, bamboo and plants, a fox and some birds. In the center is the board sitting on a stone platform on a patch of sand.
Using the Touch analog sticks, the player can teleport around on the sand, the bridge, or even high on a pagoda balcony, to see the game at different angles and viewpoints. Relaxing music with an old-Japan feel fills the air. It is a bit cliche, but also comfortable and reflects the zen-nature of the original board game.
Interestingly, moving around the area to obscure corners of our setting provides some easter eggs, creating something of a quick little scavenger hunt to enjoy. Though the company made the strange choice of having some of the hidden things give you a dialog box with a link that will jump you out of the immersive game into the Oculus browser to see ads for their other games.
Beyond this new graphical representation, how does this improve on the board game? Beyond the obvious convenience of not having to move and clean up real game pieces, there are some new things that fans of the original will find. The first obvious one is that you can play the game by yourself, against up to 7 AI opponents. In the beginning, you may choose from a “Silly” AI, but then with a few wins, you can unlock a “Clever” AI and a “Tricky” AI to ramp up difficulty.
Beyond the original win condition of th last player standing, there are two other win conditions you can unlock: most loops in your path and longest path. Providing some variant rules in a board game is always a great way to get more mileage out of it.
The other thing Thunderbox added to this virtual version of Tsuro is online play. This is where the company tries to reproduce the social aspects of playing a board game with friends.
The online play is cross platform, allowing you to play against both mobile, Steam, and other Oculus versions of the game. You can be matched randomly, or play with friends, either from your friend list or those you can find via email address. There is both a two-player duel mode and a four-player mode. There doesn’t seem to be any voice support in-game, so players will have to be in a separate party outside the game to get that social interaction.
This is where this digital version of Tsuro becomes problematic. Despite the Quest version being a new game, and playing on a weekend, for me, there were few players to be found. Despite trying all weekend, I was unable to get a live game going.
I found myself in 10 different games being played in slow motion–I would make a move, then come back a few hours later to find my opponent had made a move and I could finally continue the game. This exchange replicated the old “play-by-mail” systems people used to use before the Internet existed. Which seems helpful, but it also stretches a 10- to 15-minute game to days, if not weeks.
The lack of players meant that at one point, when I had 10 such turn-based games going, three of them were against the same player, two were against others, and five were just waiting for challengers. By the end of the weekend, after trying to get a live game going several times, I had 20 different matches happening at a crawl.
This is all to say, that online play of the game against strangers is unreliable right now and it is unclear if it will ever improve. People looking for an exchange of moves that emulates the original board game may want to stick with playing with friends.
Another small issue is that Tsuro is a simple, quick game and Thunderbox could have given this virtual version more value by adding material from the two sequels of the original board game: Tsuro of the Seas and Tsuro: Phoenix Rising, but they did not. Perhaps there will be downloadable content in the future?
Tsuro VR Review Final Verdict
All this being said, if you want an immersive version of an entertaining and simple game, Tsuro is a good choice. The graphics are solid, the gameplay is there with some nice variants, and you will enjoy playing against AIs, at least for a little while.
If you are fine with being limited to playing against friends who have also bought the game, or don’t mind that content from the sequels aren’t present, then feel free to add another star to this review. But for myself, the zen nature of it all got old quickly when I couldn’t really play with others.
Despite the increasing popularity of standalone VR, there are several good PC VR headsets on the market. Whether you’re looking to dive into the world of PC VR headsets or already own a Valve Index, HP Reverb G2 or something else, we’ve got you covered. Our Ultimate PC VR Gift Guide takes you through all the headset options and the best accessories for each.
[When you purchase items through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission from those sales.]
PC VR Headsets: Which To Buy?
Unlike our Quest 2 and PSVR gift guides, if you’re looking at buying a PC VR headset, there’s a couple of options. For starters, no matter which headset you choose, you’ll need a VR-ready PC to run the content.
From there, there’s basically three big players, each at different price points and with different pros and cons — Valve Index, HP Reverb G2, and Oculus Quest 2. This isn’t all of the PC VR options available, but we feel these three are the best choices.
Valve Index
The Valve Index is the most expensive headset on the list and, for a long time, has remained the premier PC VR option. The headset offers great optics, fantastic controllers, and excellent tracking thanks to the latter of which is all handled by an outside-in tracking system via lighthouses sensors. While this system provides the best accuracy by far, it’s also the most cumbersome to set up. Plus, once it is set up, there’s no moving it easily.
In the middle in terms of pricing, the HP Reverb G2 is a collaboration with Valve that offers a similar PC VR experience to the Index, but with some notable caveats that might be deal-breakers for certain people. But first, the good — the Reverb G2 offers a screen that is one of, if not the, best on the market right now. It also boasts wonderful over-ear speakers and is one of the most comfortable headsets around.
However, the controllers are not the best. And even though the inside-out tracking is improved from the original Reverb, it still lacks in edge cases where controllers are at the periphery of the camera lens range and start to go out of view. Depending on what kind of VR games you’re looking to play, this might affect you more or less than others. For PC VR-only simulator enthusiasts, the controller woes may be negligible since you may spend more time with a wheel or HOTAS anyway, which makes the Reverb G2 more than worth it otherwise. For the twitchy-Expert+ Beat Saber VR player, you might be more impacted.
Now, I know what you’re thinking — you’re right, the Quest 2 isn’t technically a PC VR headset. It is Facebook’s standalone headset, a successor to the original Quest from last year. However, it is also can harness the power of Oculus Link to provide an extremely serviceable (if verging on identical) PC VR experience. This does require purchasing a long, reliable USB cable to use with Link, but even so, Quest 2 remains one of the cheapest options for PC VR, with few drawbacks.
If you’re happy with using a Facebook account and are ready to buy a USB cable to set up Oculus Link (or even play PC VR wirelessly using Virtual Desktop) then the Quest 2 is one of the best options. You get a fantastic VR experience, both in and out of PC VR content, for an insanely low price.
VR Cover has been around for a while now, and is known for making accessories designed to improve hygiene and make headsets more comfortable while they sit on your face. It offers a variety of different face covers for most major headsets, which allow you to pick a material that’s more comfortable for you.
Depending on which headset you go with, you may or may not need headphones. For some PC VR headsets, such as the Valve Index and HP Reverb G2, they come built-in with fantastic over ear headphone solutions. Headsets like Quest 2, Oculus Rift S, and other older headsets don’t always have great audio quality built-in.
To remedy this, we recommend a pair of detachable over ear VR headphones, such as the Bionik Mantis. Despite being advertised as specifically for PSVR, we’ve tried them out on PC VR straps and found that they still attach just fine.
Storing headsets can be a bit of a hassle. If you’re looking for a way to store your headset on your desk, then check out a headset stand.
These stands are an elegant way to store your headset when not in use, while also keeping it on display and out of a box. In most cases, the stands also include hooks to hold controllers as well, making them a good all-in-one solution.
We’ve tried the AMVR headset stands and found they work really well and can look quite elegant on display.
One of the downsides of PC VR headsets is the often thick, restrictive wires that go between your PC and your headset. These can make it difficult to move freely and require you to manage the cable as you play, which can get frustrating.
A solution for this problem is to install a ceiling pulley system in your play area, so that the cable loops up from your headset, through the ceiling mount, and then goes back down to your PC. We haven’t used one of these systems personally, but they look like a great way to manage your messy PC VR cables.
Any VR headset’s lenses will get foggy and dirty between uses, so you’ll want some microfiber clothes to quickly clean the lenses between games and sessions.
The major benefit of PC VR is that you’re not limited by console or mobile hardware when it comes to VR content — because your PC is doing the hard work, you can run a lot of higher fidelity games. There are some absolutely stunning games and experiences to be found on the PC VR platform. Some of the most popular and intensive VR titles, such as Boneworks or Half-Life: Alyx, are only available for PC VR headsets.
A bunch of VR titles are discounted on the Steam store this weekend as part of the Steam Halloween Sale, including Half-Life: Alyx, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, Star Wars: Squadrons, Phasmophobia and more.
The sale runs from October 29 until November 2nd at 10am Pacific across all of Steam, not just VR content. That being said, the VR discounts on offer suggest that this is maybe one of the most comprehensive and impressive VR sales we’ve seen in recent history. Almost every big VR release from this year is discounted, even including recent releases like Squadrons and Phasmophobia.
Here’s a list of some of the most prominent and best discounts:
– Half-Life: Alyx: 25% off, $44.99 (from $59.99)
– Star Wars: Squadrons: 25% off, $29.99 (from $39.99)
And that’s not even all of them! There’s a bunch of other VR titles not listed above that are also discounted, which you can find in the VR section of the Steam Store.
These games are all compatible only with SteamVR, which means you’ll need a PC VR headset (like an Oculus Rift S or a Valve Index) to play. Not all games are compatible with every headset though, so make sure to check the compatibility section of each game individually before buying.
Alternatively, if you don’t have a PC VR headset but you do have an Oculus Quest and a VR-ready PC, you can use Oculus Link or Virtual Desktop to play these games on your Quest. For more details, check out our guide.
A bunch of VR titles are discounted on the Steam store this weekend as part of the Steam Halloween Sale, including Half-Life: Alyx, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, Star Wars: Squadrons, Phasmophobia and more.
The sale runs from October 29 until November 2nd at 10am Pacific across all of Steam, not just VR content. That being said, the VR discounts on offer suggest that this is maybe one of the most comprehensive and impressive VR sales we’ve seen in recent history. Almost every big VR release from this year is discounted, even including recent releases like Squadrons and Phasmophobia.
Here’s a list of some of the most prominent and best discounts:
– Half-Life: Alyx: 25% off, $44.99 (from $59.99)
– Star Wars: Squadrons: 25% off, $29.99 (from $39.99)
And that’s not even all of them! There’s a bunch of other VR titles not listed above that are also discounted, which you can find in the VR section of the Steam Store.
These games are all compatible only with SteamVR, which means you’ll need a PC VR headset (like an Oculus Rift S or a Valve Index) to play. Not all games are compatible with every headset though, so make sure to check the compatibility section of each game individually before buying.
Alternatively, if you don’t have a PC VR headset but you do have an Oculus Quest and a VR-ready PC, you can use Oculus Link or Virtual Desktop to play these games on your Quest. For more details, check out our guide.
Read on for our full Rinlo review, a recently released third-person platforming puzzle game for PC VR. It launched into Early Access earlier this year and has now since reached full release this month.
Rinlo is a third-person puzzle game that also occasionally asks you to do some platforming and make your way through stealth sections. You take control of Agatha, a girl abandoned to an orphanage early on in her life for reasons that she doesn’t know.
It’s a pretty heart-breaking opening, especially if you happen to have a little one yourself. The idea that anybody would give up their kids is hard to wrap your head around, and it hits pretty hard. Of course, if you don’t have kids, it might not have quite the same impact, but I think we can all agree it’s sad.
Well, it’d be even sadder if you could move the camera around a little bit. The opening demands a little bit of platforming, and for some reasons, I just couldn’t get the jump right the first couple of times. As a result, I had to watch dear Agatha stand up slowly multiple times. This is an experience you’ll likely have to deal with a lot because you’re probably going to die a lot.
The game’s not hard at all, it’s just finicky.
You’ll regularly find yourself doing a jump you know you can make, only to find that Agatha has bounced off of a rail or something and ended up falling into the void. You then have to wait for it to load again, potentially watch whatever bit of dialogue the area started with, and then do it all over again. It’s frustrating.
The platforming sections and general exploration makes up the majority of your time with Rinlo, so having them be anything less than fine is a big problem if you’re hoping to enjoy the game. Not every platforming section is bad, and not every area I explored felt like the camera was in the wrong place, but it was common enough that I’d wager more are bad than are good.
Outside of the dodgy platforming are the puzzles. These are first person affairs, and involve you doing things like memory puzzles, or dexterity-based ones like guiding a hoop along a rail.
The puzzles that don’t demand perfect control from you are probably the more fun ones. Following along with cryptic clues gives the old grey matter a bit of a stretch, and you get a nice feeling of satisfaction for solving them.
The dexterity ones are horrific though. Due to a mix of reasons they ended in failure far more often than was comfortable. That’s not me being bad at puzzler, it was usually because something decided to be awkward with my setup and would jolt a controller slightly and end the puzzle. You then have to start from the beginning and hope that nothing would go awry this time. The fact that this was never because the puzzles were tricky was all the more annoying. I never failed a puzzle because I didn’t know what to do, I failed them because something in the game or my headset jerked and everything went awry, or there was some hidden nonsense I the dark corner of the puzzle itself that would insta-fail you.
The other issue with the puzzles is that they never fit with what’s going on in the world. You’ll go to open a door and suddenly have to get a ball through a maze. It doesn’t really mesh with what Agatha is doing, and it feels disjointed and distracting because of that.
All of these little issues add up to one constant headache when it comes to the gameplay. It’s the kind of thing that doesn’t bother you until you think about it, and then you do, and then everything around it is far too much to ignore. It makes no sense that you’d have to complete a weird weight puzzle just to open a door. Where would it even be kept? Who would like their door like that?
It’s a real shame because I really like the visual style and some of the places you visit. There are some beautiful areas in Rinlo, places with great skyboxes and some lovely detailing, but they’re mixed in with other areas that feel ripped out of the early noughties’ beige era of gaming.
The one thing that was consistently great was the soundtrack. No matter how infuriating other parts of the game were, I always enjoyed the music accompanying it. The same can be said of the voice acting too. While there were a couple of performances that felt a little wooden, it was generally quite nice to see the character chatting to each other and find out more about the world they inhabit.
It’s just a shame that everything else wasn’t up to the same standard as the sound design.
Rinlo Review Final Impressions
Rinlo frustrated me more often than it brought a smile to my face. Despite the occasional clever puzzle, far too much of the game felt ill-conceived. I really wanted to like Rinlo because it makes a good first impression and the story it tells does have some good notes, but the mixture of dodgy camera angles and occasionally inaccurate controls makes it an irksome and slightly painful experience, rather than the enjoyable puzzle game it aspires to be at first.
You can find Rinlo on Steam now for $14.99 with support for Rift, Vive, Index, and Windows Mixed Reality headsets. This review was conducted using a Steam copy of the game on an Oculus Rift.
Isekai Entertainment’s Sword Reverie has gained significant traction these last few weeks. Bringing us a single player JRPG-inspired action RPG to VR, it’s been in the news thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign.
First revealed last year with some gameplay footage, it reached their $10,000 funding goal in 72 hours and Isekai are now seeking to hit further stretch goals, including further content and support for both PSVR and Oculus Quest. As of the time of this publishing it’s got about 4 days to go.
Reminiscent of Sword Art Online, last year’s VR RPG Nostos, and VR MMO Ilysia it utilizes a hand-drawn anime visual design within a single player experience, designed to make you feel like a JRPG protagonist.
Playing a nameless Hero summoned to this realm, it takes place across an open world with explorable villages, boss fights, and dungeons. Placing you amidst a war between humans and Elementals, it promises a story-driven experience that follows this plot:
“After a thousand years of peace, the boiling tensions between the “kingdom of man” and the elemental lords continue to escalate. Seeing that the threat of a catastrophic war is imminent, the Guardian Magnus uses his powers to summon you the “Hero” to his realm, to become his new apprentice. The Guardian explains to you, that he believes the Elemental lords have grown too powerful and as legend goes, only a “true hero” from a faraway land, can bring balance, peace, and prosperity to all the realms.”
With the Kickstarter campaign finishing very soon we reached out to one of Isekai Entertainment’s founders, Frank Zhang, who was kind enough to tell us more about this exciting new project.
Henry Stockdale, UploadVR: Firstly, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Could you please introduce yourselves and your game?
Frank Zhang, Isekai Entertainment Co-Founder: Hi, my name is Frank. One of the co-founders of Isekai Entertainment. We are a game studio founded in 2018 to develop anime and manga inspired VR games.
Our game, Sword Reverie, is a single-player JRPG inspired VR action game. In Sword Reverie, you will be an anime protagonist who fights off hordes of Elementals using your sword and launches powerful abilities using body gestures. You will explore a large fantasy world alongside anime-style characters in a thrilling story-driven adventure.
UploadVR: Sword Reverie was announced last year but it’s only just gotten a Kickstarter campaign. Why choose to do this now, rather than when you first revealed it?
Zhang: Our original plan was to release the game directly to Early Access by the end of 2020. However, during our playtests this summer, we had an outpouring of support from players who wanted to see the game developed further before Early Access to realize its full potential and were asking for ways to support us financially to do so. We believe Kickstarter is the best way to continue the development of Sword Reverie with feedback and support from our community.
UploadVR: It’s planned for early access release in Spring 2021. What can we expect to be included at launch, compared to the full release?
Zhang: The Early Access release will include the first map and boss fight. The game will be roughly 2~3 hours at Early Access, with a smaller amount of enemy types and weapons. The full release will include 5 maps, 4+ boss fights, and additional enemies and weapons for 8~10 hours of gameplay. The full story of Sword Reverie will also be completed in the full release.
UploadVR: JRPGs aren’t really something we’ve previously seen in VR, though similar ideas were used in Nostos and OrbusVR. How does Sword Reverie distinguish itself from those experiences?
Zhang: Like Nostos and Orbus VR, Sword Reverie has a large fantasy world and epic stories. However, Sword Reverie is a single-player game with a greater focus on satisfying VR combat. Our game has a unique elemental combat system and players use different body gestures to launch abilities. We also do a great job recreating the anime experience with our art style and voice actors.
UploadVR: Perhaps inevitably due to the concept, we’ve seen plenty of Sword Art Online comparisons with your game and I noticed the Kickstarter FAQ discourages use of life-threatening hardware mods. All joking aside, is there any major similarities between SAO and Sword Reverie?
Zhang: We want Sword Reverie to be a game that immerses you in a VR fantasy world with thrilling action combat. Our team is a big fan of Kirito’s use of dual blades and the fights in SAO were exhilarating to watch. This is why we created a combat system that allows players to launch larger than life JRPG like abilities by doing cool battle poses using dual blades.
UploadVR: You’ve previously shown off open-world gameplay footage, showcasing combat and village exploration, so how much freedom will players have here? Can you go off adventuring to complete some side quests, or does it mainly focus on the campaign?
Zhang: Certain details are still being designed, but the player will be able to freely explore large sections of the map during the campaign and will be rewarded with experience and loot for venturing off the beaten trail. The focus is on the campaign, but side quests are a possible addition.
UploadVR: In true JRPG fashion, will there be a fishing minigame?
Zhang: Currently, the answer is no, but additional VR interactions may be added in the future.
UploadVR: Regarding combat, Sword Reverie promises a physics-based approach, using a rock-paper-scissors style system for elemental attacks and you’ve also got physical weaponry. How do these two aspects combine?
Zhang: The elemental system means that you need to change elements and use different abilities to deal with different enemies. The physics weaponry means you can’t just wiggle your sword around, that weapons have weight, and that you need to pay attention to how you are attacking enemies, such as where to attack, and when to dodge or block. You will need to choose the right element and strategy against enemies but also fight hard to dispatch enemies quickly.
UploadVR: We know that the Hero is joined by Magnus and Stella during this adventure. Stella and Magnus will join us during combat, but can players control/influence their actions during fights? Or do they operate independently?
Zhang: Magnus and Stella cannot be controlled by the player and will operate independently. However, they will both have major roles in the story.
UploadVR: Your Kickstarter video tells us we can combine elemental abilities to create our own playstyles within game. Could you tell us more about how this works?
Zhang: Each combination of elements and abilities have unique effects. When faced with different types of enemies, there are multiple strategies on what elements to use and which threats to tackle first depending on the playstyle of the player. For example, players may prefer to use fire elements to burn enemies or grass elements to root enemies. Each approach will have its pros and cons.
UploadVR: What VR headsets will be supported?
Zhang: We already support all PC VR headsets that run SteamVR (HTC Vive/Vive Pro/Cosmos, Valve Index, Pimax, Windows MR such as HP Reverb G2 and Samsung Odyssey+, Oculus Rift/Rift S/Quest with Link Cable, etc.) and Oculus PC VR (Oculus Rift/Rift S/Quest with Link Cable). PSVR and Quest are stretch goals for the Kickstarter.
UploadVR: To bring it to Oculus Quest and PSVR, you’re asking for $20,000 and $25,000 as stretch goals. Is it possible to achieve these goals with just a small financial boost?
Zhang: It will take far more money, and most importantly development time, to create proper Quest and PSVR versions of the game. For the Quest version, due to the performance limitations of mobile processors, we need to make major changes to the game. The Kickstarter is meant to be a gauge of interest in Quest and PSVR versions and not an indicator of the investment needed. If the stretch goals are met, we will seek alternative sources of funding to build these versions or put up more money ourselves.
UploadVR: Lastly, is there any message you’d like to share with the fans?
Zhang: Thank you to our Kickstarter backers for backing our project. The Kickstarter has been a huge success so far, and we will do our best to create a game that meets your expectations.
Again, thank you to all the weebs and gamers who have supported us along the way. Your support allowed us to keep moving forward during difficult times. We hope that all our fans will continue to provide us feedback to make the game better and continue to spread the word about Sword Reverie.
For more details on Sword Reverie, you can visit the official website, Kickstarter page, and Steam page. Sword Reverie is currently targeting a Spring 2021 release window for Early Access.
In Suicide Guy VR you solve puzzles by doing the unthinkable to escape a bizarre and wacky assortment of extraordinary dreams. It’s releasing on SteamVR for Rift, Vive, and Index on July 24th.
I had never heard of Suicide Guy until I saw the Store page for Suicide Guy VR, but as it turns out, it’s an existing non-VR game with the exact same premise that’s sold over 200,000 copies according to the developer. In these games from Chubby Pixel, you take on the role of the titular character as he is trapped in abnormal dream worlds with no escape. The only way out, as his name implies, is to commit suicide. But in order to accomplish that, you’ve got to solve the puzzles in whichever dream you’re trapped in at that moment.
For all intents and purposes, it’s the antithesis of Schell Games’ I Expect You To Die. In that puzzle game you’re a secret agent trying to escape clutches of death by the skin of your teeth, but in Suicide Guy VR you’re doing everything you possibly can do to end your captivity in dream land.
According to the Steam page it’s a little unclear just how much is completely original. The description says you’ll be able to, “find out the new custom levels that take full advantage of Virtual Reality,” but it reads as if that implies there are other non-original levels too.
Suicide Guy VR will have both smooth movement and teleportation movement, but other comfort options are currently unknown. You can look forward to learning more about the game very soon, as it’s due out very soon this July 24th for SteamVR.
