Something For The Weekend: PlayStation VR Discounts Across The Board

Once again its time for another entry of Something for the Weekend, the weekly series where VRFocus bring you a number of deals on virtual reality (VR) titles. September moving along nicely and though the weather in the UK doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be, that doesn’t stop the deals on VR titles from coming. This week we have a look at the PlayStation Store to list some of the best deals currently available. This includes mind-bending puzzle adventures, charming tales about friendship and even going for a dive, there is sure to be something for everyone. As always, be sure to check back every weekend for even more deals right here on VRFocus.

18 Floors

Experience a suspenseful and thrilling VR puzzle adventure in this title that will have you traveling to a time-bending black hole to discover the true identity of Andrea, Queen of Noah Star. Along the way you will also come face-to-face with a galactic conspiracy and need to try and keep yourself focuses on this fantastic journey that will require puzzle solving skills and focus.

18 Floors is available now for £7.99 (GBP) down from the usual £11.99.

Unearthing Mars 2 - image3

Unearthing Mars

“As Co-Pilot of the retrieval team, the player will have the full experience of a space explorer on Mars. Unearthing Mars provides hours of unique gameplay experiences, ranging from navigating a landing craft through a sandstorm to driving a Mars rover. From puzzle-solving to first-person shooting, the game will allow players to resolve challenges from a variety of game genres.”

Unearthing Mars is available now for only £4.99 (GBP) down from £11.99.

Along Together

Become a kid’s imaginary friend in this charming title that will see you guiding them through extraordinary worlds in a journey to find their missing dog. Players will need to harness the power of imagination to lift trees, move boulders, power incredible machines, and create new paths where there are none to follow. Along Together is a charming experience that will be sure to bring a smile to anyone’s face.

Along Together is available now for £7.99 (GBP) down from £15.99.

SUPERHYPERCUBE

“SUPERHYPERCUBE seems like the love child between Rez Infinite and Tetris, psychedelic, neon rich visuals with a puzzle mechanic that’s difficult to put down. If you’re after something that little bit different for your HTC Vive this holiday season, take a look at SUPERHYPERCUBE.” – Read VRFocus’ Senior Staff Writer Peter Graham’s review of SUPERHYPERCUBE.

SUPERHYPERCUBE is available now for £4.99 (GBP) down from £11.99.

The Walker

“The Walker was selected for the China Hero Project by Sony, representing the highest level of Chinese game development. It also received the 2017 Golden Plume award for Best VR Game. A VR action-shooter, The Walker offers a unique 360° all-directional monster-slaying experience for FPS and zombie fans. The story takes place in old Shanghai, where undead exorcists have traditional weapons at their disposal, as well as magical Chinese talismans.”

The Walker is available now for £9.99 (GBP) down from £15.99.

Sneaky Bears

The world is under attack and it falls to you to save the day. When a horde of evil teddy bears lead by an evil mastermind bear named Frank come for you, it will take all sorts of weapons to be able to stop them and put an end to the evil plan that they have started. On your mission you’ll also need to rescue the innocent Panda teddy bears that Frank and his minions have taken hostage as well so get ready for a fight.

Sneaky Bears is available now for £3.69 (GBP) down from £11.99.

Skyrim VR: VRFocus' Adventuring Life screenshot

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR

“The achievement made by The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR is one by way of both hardware and design to capitalise upon this. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR’s level of immersion is simply fantastic, and while Bethesda Softworks could well have gone the route of DOOM VFR and created a shorter spin-off experience, developing a brand new The Elder Scrolls instalment specifically for VR would have taken many years and far too much in the way of resources for what is still a nascent audience. As it stands some may find the price point of the videogame a bitter pill to swallow, but for those who dreamed of a truly immersive role-playing experience, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR is simply the best opportunity available today.” – Read VRFocus’ Editor Kevin Joyce’s review of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR is on sale now for £24.99 (GBP) down from £49.99.

Floor Plan: Hands-on Edition Screenshot 2

Floor Plan

Looking for a puzzle adventure videogame that place place entirely inside an elevator? Then this is the one for you. Go floor to floor, find items, and meet a bizarre cast of characters and discover the relationships between the different things in the building to uncover the secrets within.

Floor Plan is available now for £2.99 (GBP) down from £4.99.

RollerCoaster Legends

“Speed off on an eight-minute rollercoaster journey only possible in virtual reality. Visit the Temple of Poseidon, the River Styx, Tartarus, and the Palace of Hades, by zipping up and down daring drops and twists while sitting on your couch. RollerCoaster Legends is a mythology based rollercoaster featuring icons from Greek mythology, including the Minotaur, Kronos, Charon, and Hades. Enjoy the thrills of a gigantic rollercoaster in a location only possible to visit through your VR headset.”

RollerCoaster Legends is on sale now for £2.49 (GBP) down from the usual £3.99.

gran turismo sport screenshot 2

Gran Turismo Sport

Get ready to feel the thrill of driving and the dizzying rush of acceleration as you get behind the wheel of the worlds fastest cars in intense races. Do you have what it takes to become the master of the sport and raise through the ranks to become the greatest racer there ever was? Gran Turismo Sport offers a truly immersive way to experience Motorsport’s and is a must have for fans.

Gran Turismo Sport is available now for £15.99 (GBP) down from £49.99.

That is all for this week but remember that VRFocus gathers all the best sales and deals every week, so check back next weekend at the same time to discover more.

November 7, 2017

Review: SUPERHYPERCUBE

There are certain titles that are considered videogame royalty. Pinnacles of design that have been copied, or inspired countless variations over the years. One of which is Tetris. This is a videogame most gamers should know about, an iconic puzzler that you could spend hours on without getting bored. For virtual reality (VR) fans looking for some of that classic gameplay action but with a modern twist there’s SUPERHYPERCUBE from Kokoromi, and it certainly doesn’t disappoint.

SUPERHYPERCUBE is a head-on puzzler in all regards, not only in difficulty but also in gameplay. As the name insinuates, you have a cube which continuously travels straight forward towards a wall which has a shape notched out in it. To begin with this is just a singular cube with a square hole to pass through. As each wall passes additional cubes are then added to the first, changing its size and shape. Correspondingly the hole in the wall will change shape and it’s up to you to alter the cube so it can pass unhindered.

SUPERHYPERCUBE_04

To do this you have various controls located on each of the HTC Vive’s touchpads and triggers. One of the controllers – depending on your preferred hand – has the main functions for rotating and twisting the mass of cubes while the other touchpad activates special abilities. Of which there are three on offer; Boost, Time Warp and Smash. Boost speeds up the cube’s momentum when you know you’ve got it lined up perfectly but it also has a couple of other strategic functions. It gains you more points for each completed wall, and more importantly helps charge up the other two abilities. Time Warp is a bullet-time effect, slowing things down to give you more time to figure out the proper alignment. Smash does exactly what it says, smashing through a wall that you can’t figure out. As mentioned, these two latter abilities need time to charge so you can’t use them indiscriminately, also the Time-warp charges first before moving onto Smash, so using it means you’ll have to wait for it to recharge before Smash becomes available.

While it can be played sat down, due to the way SUPERHYPERCUBE works you’ll still need to move around somewhat. As the cube grows ever larger it begins to obscure your vision of the incoming wall and the shape you need to match. So you’ll need to look under, over and round it to make sure the mass of cubes are lined up. It’s a good use of VR roomscale and certainly adds further tension as the wall nears.

The entire dynamic of SUPERHYPERCUBE requires patience and thought. You can’t just go rushing into each level – especially the later stages – or you’ll find yourself crashing into walls continuously. And here’s the hook, just like arcade videogames of old there’s no hand holding, get a couple of walls wrong and it is game over – a rare sight nowadays. Then you’ll be back at square one. There are no check points that VRFocus noticed, just 10 levels and 100 walls to complete in one perfect run.

Naturally at some point SUPERHYPERCUBE will test those frustration levels as you near your previous best only to come undone at the last moment. But this is where this type of experience gets you, just like Tetris SUPERHYPERCUBE has an addictive quality all of its own, it’s simple to play and you always want one more go.

If there’s a downside then it’s to do with the controls. The trigger spins work fine but on occasion the touchpad rotations don’t always feel as quick and instantaneous as they should or need to be. Playing SUPERHYPERCUBE using a gamepad with actual buttons would probably feel smoother and more accurate, however Kokoromi only lists the motion controllers and keyboard/mouse as supported inputs devices.

All in all though, is this a worthy port from PlayStation VR? It certainly is. SUPERHYPERCUBE seems like the love child between Rez Infinite and Tetris, psychedelic, neon rich visuals with a puzzle mechanic that’s difficult to put down. If you’re after something that little bit different for your HTC Vive this holiday season, take a look at SUPERHYPERCUBE.

80%

Awesome

Verdict

November 6, 2017

Former PSVR-exclusive ‘SUPERHYPERCUBE’ Finally Coming to Vive and Rift(ish)

The undeniably stylish SUPERHYPERCUBE (2016)—which feels a bit like Tetris reimagined for virtual reality—initially launched as a PlayStation VR exclusive. Now, just over a year later, the game is coming to Steam for the HTC Vive this week. As with most SteamVR games, the title should technically support the Oculus Rift too, but, apparently related to developer KOKOROMI’s 2016 boycott of Oculus, the studio isn’t guaranteeing the game will work with headsets other than the Vive.

SuperHyperCube will launch on Steam this Tuesday, November 7th. It’s also getting a permanent price cut to $15, down from the $30 launch price (the price cut will also come to the PlayStation Store.

The game challenges players’ spatial reasoning by offering up an object made of cubes arranged into arbitrary shapes and a wall with a cut-out that the object must pass through. The object can fit through the cut-out but only in the correct orientation, which players can change by rotating among two axes using a controller. Each time you succeed in fitting the object through the wall, more cubes are added, creating an ever increasing level of difficulty as the shape becomes mo complex.

The PSVR version, which is played with a gamepad, holds a respectable 4 out of 5 star rating on the PlayStation store. It isn’t clear if the Steam version will work with the Vive’s controllers or if players will need to use a traditional gamepad (we’ve reached out for clarification). Even if it does work with the Vive controllers, the game’s gameplay doesn’t appear to be adapted for motion input.

SuperHyperCube isn’t built designed for motion input or room-scale play, and is in fact probably best played as a seated game. Since the Vive is a room-scale system out of the box, it isn’t clear how the title will fare on Steam where VR players are usually seeking experiences that make effective use of the Vive’s controllers and the available tracking space.

And what of Rift support? SteamVR and OpenVR effectively support the Rift by default, but KOKORMI says that “support is not guaranteed or provided for [non-Vive] PC headsets.” It isn’t clear if the studio has done anything to specifically block the Rift from working with the title but it seems unlikely that they’ve spent any time making sure controls work properly on the Rift (though if it’s playable with a gamepad there’s really not much that would need to be done).

KOKOROMI’s disinterest in supporting the Rift (or launching the game on the Oculus platform) likely stems from the studio’s public boycott of Oculus founder emeritus Palmer Luckey whose polarizing political choices sparked backlash from some VR developers back in 2016. The studio stated at the time:

In a political climate as fragile and horrifying as this one, we cannot tacitly endorse these actions by supporting Luckey or his platform.

In light of this, we will not be pursuing Oculus support for our upcoming VR release, SUPERHYPERCUBE.

And though Luckey was eventually ousted from Oculus, it would seem that KOKOROMI is sticking by their decision to boycott the company over his actions. We’ve reached out to the studio to confirm whether or not the boycott is the reason for the stated lack of support for headsets other than the Vive. We’ll have to wait for the game’s launch to see whether or not the Rift will work properly with SuperHyperCube.

The post Former PSVR-exclusive ‘SUPERHYPERCUBE’ Finally Coming to Vive and Rift(ish) appeared first on Road to VR.

November 4, 2017

SUPERHYPERCUBE erscheint in Kürze für die HTC Vive

Mit SUPERHYPERCUBE wurde vor über einem Jahr ein Spiel für PlayStation VR (PSVR) veröffentlicht, welches euch abstrakte Formen durch Wände schieben lässt. Im Endeffekt bringen die Entwickler also ein klassisches Steckwürfel-Spiel in komplexer Form in die virtuelle Realität. Bereits in der nächsten Woche am Dienstag, den 7. November sollen auch HTC-Vive-Besitzer ihre grauen Zellen trainieren können.

SUPERHYPERCUBE erscheint für die HTC Vive

Auch wenn das Spiel bereits ein Jahr auf den Buckel hat und mit dem Gamepad gespielt wird, handelt es sich immer noch um ein starkes Spiel mit einem einzigartigen Konzept und einer brillanten Umsetzung. Die Abwechslung ist aber leider etwas begrenzt, denn es gibt nur einen Modi und dieser wird gespielt, bis man stirbt und seine Punkte in die Highscore-Liste eintragen kann. Doch die Konzentration auf ein Kernelement hat zumindest dazu geführt, dass dieses überzeugen kann. Unseren kompletten Test zur PSVR-Version findet ihr hier.

Wer das Spiel bereits für die PSVR-Brille besitzt, den erwarten bei der Steam-Version vermutlich keine neuen Inhalte. Da das Spiel auf Steam und somit mit SteamVR-Support erscheint, gehen wir davon aus, dass das Spiel auch mit der Oculus Rift spielbar sein wird. Eventuell konnte dieses Support aber noch nicht ausreichend getestet werden.

Für die PSVR steht das Spiel im PlayStation Store für knapp 30 Euro bereit.

(Quelle: VR Focus)

Der Beitrag SUPERHYPERCUBE erscheint in Kürze für die HTC Vive zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

November 3, 2017November 7, 2017

SUPERHYPERCUBE Hits HTC Vive, New Discounted Price on Steam & PlayStation VR

Kokoromi’s SUPERHYPERCUBE was a launch title for PlayStation VR last year and today the studio has announced that the VR first person puzzler is available now through Steam for HTC Vive.

SUPERHYPERCUBE’s puzzles revolve around players guiding clusters of cubes through various changing walls. With each successive wall passed the cube can change size and shape, needing to be continually reoriented to succeed. There are 10 levels with 100 walls to complete alongside power-ups to make the most difficult walls that little bit easier. Head tracking is critical in the videogame – as the cluster of cubes gets bigger, players will need to lean around it to see the hole and quickly determine what rotations to make.

SUPERHYPERCUBE_09

The aim is to survive for as long as possible, accruing the largest score possible. There are various ways to do this. Boosting (accelerating your cluster towards the wall) charges your power-ups but it will increase the number of cubes added to your cluster once you’re clear of the wall. Well timed use of the power-ups are critical to success. Hyperfocus will slow down time for a short while, giving players a chance to relax and think, while a bomb will clear a wall.

Describing how the videogame’s design came about, Kokoromi said in a statement: “Aesthetically, SUPERHYPERCUBE VR is influenced by our love for all things glowing, epitomized by neon light, 80s motion graphics, early computer art and the minimalist art movement known as “light and space.” The visuals of the game also reference illustrations and films from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. We each have our favorite examples, especially from iconic films — from 2001: A Space Odyssey to Blade Runner to Xanadu.”

SUPERHYPERCUBE used to retail on PlayStation Store for $29.99 USD. With the launch today for HTC Vive both versions will be permanently priced at $14.99/£11.39 GBP.

As for Oculus support. Well that’s still a grey area as the title should work because of SteamVR but due to what happened back in 2016 with Palmer Luckey and Oculus, Kokoromi cancelled support and has made no mention of reversing its stance.

Check out the new HTC Vive launch trailer below, and for any further updates on Kokoromi’s VR projects and SUPERHYPERCUBE, keep reading VRFocus.

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 31, 2017

‘SUPERHYPERCUBE’ Teases Vive Support, But Developer Protest Could Keep it From Rift

SUPERHYPERCUBE, a spatial reasoning puzzle game for PSVR looks to be soon headed to the Vive through SteamVR. And while SteamVR normally supports the Rift, a developer protest could exclude the headset.

SuperHyperCube is most succinctly described as a ‘Tetris (1984) for VR’. But that alone would betray the game’s unique take on depth-based geometric gameplay—that works uniquely well in virtual reality—and its distinct and superbly directed art and sonic stylings.

In the game, players are tasked with reorienting a 3D shape to fit through a 2D hole. It sounds pretty easy—and it is, until the shapes become increasingly complex, ramping up the engagement of your spatial reasoning centers as your brain attempts to reconcile the rules of two dimensions simultaneously.

Developed by Kokoromi and published by Polytron, SuperHyperCube made its debut as a launch title alongside PlayStation VR back in October. And there it has remained, garnering a 4 out of 5 star rating with its $30 price.

NOW LOADING… pic.twitter.com/oPl3D1BonS

— Polytron (@Polytron) January 30, 2017

But now it seems the game will be soon coming to the HTC Vive and SteamVR. A tweet from Polytron today portrayed the Vive’s controllers in the unmistakable style of SuperHyperCube.

Rift Support in Question

With support for the HTC Vive, that means the game will almost surely be landing on SteamVR. And while SteamVR technically supports the Rift too, Polytron had proclaimed back in September that they would not pursue support for Oculus’ platform, following revelations that Oculus’ founder, Palmer Luckey, was involved in politically polarizing dealings. A situation that might have been eventually swept under the rug, had the election not turned out as it did.

Interestingly, you can see that the Vive trackpads in the Twitter tease show a d-pad and buttons that are laid out just like those of the PS4’s controllers, except the button mappings use the same XYAB layout as you’d find on an Xbox One controller. An oversight, or a clue? We’re not quite sure. It could be as innocuous as showing that the game (which relies on a gamepad on PSVR) would support Vive players using an Xbox One controller connected to their computer. But, the fact that every Oculus Rift comes with an Xbox One controller included adds an additional wrinkle to the situation.

Eagle Flight, Pinball FX2, Surgeon Simulator: ER and More Added to PlayStation VR Sale

While the Oculus and Steam winter sales have now ended, PlayStation VR owners are getting even more deals with 14 new titles added to the January sale.

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) launched its PlayStation sale just before Christmas, with 13 virtual reality (VR) videogames included. Those discounts end today, but the newly featured titles below are on offer until 20th January 2017. The deals aren’t available in every territory so check your PlayStation Store to see which ones have been included, all the discounts and prices listed below are for the UK.

Ace Banana – £7.39 (was £11.49 GBP)
Eagle Flight – £24.99 (was £34.99)
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes – £7.99 (was £11.99)
KISMET – £3.99 (was £5.79)
Loading Human: Chapter 1 – £19.99 (was £34.99)
Pinball FX2 VR – £9.49 (was £11.99)
Pixel Gear – £5.79 (was £8.99)
Robinson: The Journey – £34.99 (was £54.99)
SUPERHYPERCUBE – £15.99 (was £24.99)
Surgeon Simulator: Experience Reality – £12.99 (was £15.99)
The Brookhaven Experiment – £10.99 (was £14.99)
VEV: Viva Ex Vivo‎ VR Edition – £2.49 (was £3.99)
Weeping Doll – £5.79 (was £7.99)
Werewolves Within – £15.99 (was £24.99)

So if you’ve still got some cash left over from Christmas now’s a good time to build your PlayStation VR library. For the latest PlayStation VR news, keep reading VRFocus.

January 1, 2017

10 game mechanics we hope someone rips off in 2017

It's been said that good artists borrow, but great artists steal. That's true nowhere more than in game design. Here are 10 great mechanics that we hope someone steals and re-purposes in 2017.

The post 10 game mechanics we hope someone rips off in 2017 appeared first on Digital Trends.

October 22, 2016

It’s Not as Easy as it Looks in the SuperHyperCube Launch Trailer

We’re now into the second weekend where PlayStation 4 owners have been able to immerse themselves in the virtual worlds of PlayStation VR if they’ve picked one up. By now players will likely have some firm favourites from the launch line-up, whether that’s multiplayer titles such as RIGS: Mechanized Combat League or EVE: Valkyrie, first-person shooters like Until Dawn: Rush of Blood or World War Toons, and horror experiences Weeping Doll or Here They Lie. The headset also has several puzzle titles one of them being SuperHyperCube, and if you’ve not checked it out yet take a look at the launch trailer below.

SuperHyperCube’s puzzles revolve around players guiding clusters of cubes through various changing walls. With each successive wall passed the cube can change size and shape, needing to be continually reoriented to succeed. There are 10 levels with 100 walls to complete alongside power-ups to make the most difficult walls that little bit easier.

SuperHyperCube takes its cues from classic videogames and re-imagines them for 21st century VR gameplay, and will likely have players furiously replaying levels to achieve perfection.

The videogame can be downloaded from the PlayStation Store for £24.99 GBP, and for all the latest PlayStation VR updates, keep reading VRFocus.