The Best of PlayStation VR Launch: Puzzle Games

Its PlayStation VR launch week with the headset arriving in just a couple of days time. Most gamers who’ve pre-ordered Sony Interactive Entertainment’s (SIE) head-mounted display (HMD) will likely have been doing their research on which titles they want to play on day one, as there’s quite a selection to choose from. VRFocus continues its round up of the best PlayStation VR videogames to consider, having already gone through genres such as Racing, Adventure, Sports and Shooting. For those that enjoy puzzle titles, we’ve got three worth a look.

These experiences aren’t just solely puzzle in nature, combining adventure, quick thinking, dexterity and other attributes to create an engaging virtual reality (VR) experience. There maybe more that players might think should make the list so take a look below at the three VRFocus recommends.

Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin – DoubleFine Productions

For our first puzzle experience we’ve got Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin created by DoubleFine Productions. This is the VR sister title to the developers original classic PC and console title, Psychonauts. Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin is a continuation of the first instalment, in which players take the role of Raz, tasked with solving puzzles using telepathic and telekinetic abilities. Raz can’t solve these alone and during the course for the videogame different characters have to be controlled each with their own skill set. With its unique art style and mixture of gameplay mechanics Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin offers an interesting alternative to some of the more standard videogames available at launch.

Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin screenshot

Tumble VR – Supermassive Games

 

Tumble VR is a pure puzzle title at heart, from the same studio that’s created Until Dawn: Rush of Blood. The videogame is a first-person test of mental and physical dexterity as players complete a series of tasks to solve increasingly challenging puzzles. These challenges can range from building towers to creating bridges, working out mind melting puzzles, and blowing up enormous towers of blocks. Puzzle titles tend to be single-player affairs but Supermassive Games has incorporated PlayStation VR’s Social Screen feature, allowing a second player to use the connected TV, creating a much more social experience.

tumble_content

SuperHyperCube – Kokoromi

 

Our final title on the list is Kokoromi’s SuperHyperCube. This is probably the most intense out of the three whilst mixing the simplest gameplay mechanics. Players control a cube which needs to fit through an incoming wall, with each successive wall passed the cube can change size and shape, needing to be continually reoriented to succeed. There will be 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.

superhypercube

‘Tumble VR’ Review: Fun With Blocks and Physics

‘Tumble VR’ Review: Fun With Blocks and Physics

I have three shapes in front of me: a small blue pyramid, a slightly larger S-shaped brown piece, and an even larger yellow cheese-wedge-like item. A floating metallic sphere called the “Test Supervisor Drone” snarkily states, “This puzzle is extremely simple. It is only intended to make sure that you understand what puzzles are.” I have to stack these odd shapes in a way that reaches a height of 51 cm. And so the permutations of configurations of these objects start running through my head.

The game is called Tumble VR, from Supermassive Games, the developers best known for their horror title Until Dawn and its VR cousin, Until Dawn: Rush of Blood. It is focused on the physics of objects, stacking them ever higher. But the game does not make things that simple. Every object, besides having a shape and size, which influences how you grab and place them on the platform, is also made of a specific material that has a corresponding weight and friction to its surface. Stone is heavy and rough. Rubber is light and rough. Wood has a medium weight, but a smooth surface. And then there is glass, foam, plastic, etc.

The goal of stacking is to go as high as possible. But then you get other levels that change the goal, such as the aforementioned puzzle level where you have to get to a certain height with only 3 objects. Then there are destruction levels where you blow a stack, by placing mines and then setting them off, trying to send the blocks flying as far as possible. There are limbo levels with moving bars of different orientations and shapes where the goal is getting a certain of number of objects on the platform without them being knocked off from the limbo rod.

There are even puzzles in Tumble VR where you move objects that affect a laser, seeking a way to get the laser to go to a certain place. Then more esoteric goals come: build a bridge between two platforms, build a stack on a platform with a slanted bottom, destroy a stack in a way where the top piece flies over a wall. You get the point.

And these levels aren’t just about reaching the goal. There is usually goals. Plural. You get a bronze medal for getting a stack to say 40cm and then silver for 70cm and then gold for 100cm. And the objectives don’t stop after that. After you finish the level once, it will unlock additional objectives for more medals: get a Time medal for completing the puzzle quickly, or a Target medal for somehow putting a shape in a specific space above the platform. There are even hidden blocks with hidden medals.

So you are using your Dualshock 4 or Move controllers to carefully arrange items of all kinds. And you are earning all these medals. These medals unlock new zones with even more levels (with even more objectives and medals and more zones to unlock). There are 50+ levels with hundreds of objectives. It is a great variety of gameplay from such a simple concept. And if you get sick of one kind of level, skip it and just do another kind. After all, you may have accumulated enough medals in Zone 3 to unlock Zone 4 without playing Level 19.

Since you can play with either the Dual Shock controller or the Move, both methods are valid and both methods use the camera to track motion. With the Move, you have a virtual Move that you point at an item, highlighting it. You simply pull the trigger to grab an item. You twist the object in your hand to get it just right, moving around the platform to place it where you want.

With the Dualshock, you see a virtual controller and a beam of light coming out of it. You point that light and grab objects. You can then use the Right Analog to rotate and flip the item, and the Left Analog to rotate or change the height of the platform. Both methods show the material and the weight of the object on the virtual controller. I personally enjoyed playing with the Dual Shock more, because rotating the object in 90-degree increments felt like I had more precise control over it.

Beyond moving objects around in all of these levels of the single player campaign, there is a Versus mode in Tumble VR too. The player in the VR headset has to stack items, getting to a certain height by a certain time limit, say two minutes. The opponent looks at the television and controls a drone with a Dualshock. They can grab different machines and use them to influence the stack that is being built. Position a fan to blow off lighter items like foam, aim a catapult to pummel a wood block, or a blaster to shoot objects and destroy them.

As you beat certain levels in the single player campaign, you unlock additional levels in the versus mode. This game type provides even more value to an already sizeable puzzle game that will have you twisting and reaching. It’s almost like having two separate but similar games in one package.

Final Score: 8/10 – Great

Some players may not find the physics-based gameplay to be their cup of tea, but if you give it a chance you may be surprised to find that one kind of objective scratches an itch you didn’t know you had. That is the virtue of a game with so much variety in implementing a simple concept. There is an unexpected kind of play waiting with each level. Which one will be the level that stumps you? And which will be a joy to finish and to replay for more medals? Only one way to find out: jump in, smirk at another rye comment from the drone, and start stacking.

Tumble VR releases on October 13th exclusively for the PlayStation VR at a price point of $9.99.

Read our Game Review Guidelines for more information on how we arrived at this score.

The Best of PlayStation VR Launch: Horror Games

Given the aggressive push for horror experiences in virtual reality (VR) at the dawn of the new medium, it’s surprising to see the genre so under represented at the launch of PlayStation VR. While the likes of Resident Evil 7 biohazard and DYING: Reborn will launch early in 2017, just three horror experiences will be available from day one.

Here They Lie is the most high profile horror title coming to PlayStation VR at launch. Developed by Tangentlemen, has been developed exclusively for the PlayStation VR head-mounted display (HMD). So is true of UK studio Supermassive Games’ Until Dawn: Rush of Blood – a horror experience merged with an on-rails shooter. Aside from that, Oasis Games will be bringing Weeping Doll to PlayStation VR at launch: three is enough for now, right?

Here They Lie – The Tangentlemen

Here They Lie transports the player to a terrifying world from which they cannot escape. Players will be tasked with exploring a nightmarish city inhabited by strange, malevolent creatures in this first-person horror videogame, designed from the ground-up to be compatible with PlayStation VR. Players must survive against overwhelming odds as they face life or death moral choices and try to uncover the mystery of the woman in yellow.

HereTheyLie_Screenshot 2_PS4
Until Dawn: Rush of Blood – Supermassive Games

A spin-off from Supermassive Games’ hugely popular PlayStation 4 exclusive release, Until Dawn, this new title is designed specifically for VR. Instead of offering moral dilemmas as the player explores their environment and attempts to survive, Until Dawn: Rush of Blood puts the player on a roller coaster and, using the PlayStation Move motion-controllers, tasks them with taking out a wide variety of creeps using a varied arsenal. Technically it could be argued that Until Dawn: Rush of Blood is more of an on-rails shooter than a horror experience, but once immersed the setting of the videogame would openly state differently.

Until Dawn Rush of Blood_1

Weeping Doll – Oasis Games

TianShe Media’s Weeping Doll has a title that epitomises the definition of ‘creepy’. Acting as a maid, the player is left alone to wander the corridors and explore the rooms of a Victorian-esque house. However, ‘alone’ is used in the loosest possible sense, as while no physical presence accompanies you there’s certainly something very supernatural close behind. Weeping Doll has the player involved in pathfinding and puzzle solving, and is perhaps the most ‘traditional’ videogame horror experience currently heading to PlayStation VR.

Weeping Doll4

The Best PlayStation VR Launch Titles
The Best Horror Games for PlayStation VR The Best Platform Games for PlayStation VR
The Best Racing Games for PlayStation VR
The Best Party Games for PlayStation VR The Best Shooting Games for PlayStation VR

Until Dawn: Rush of Blood: Achievements, Cheats, Tips & Tricks

The PlayStation VR has even arrived yet and already gamers can find out what trophies are in store for the various videogames that’ll be available on or around launch day. Supermassive Games’ Until Dawn: Rush of Blood is one such title with an impressive 40 trophies available, all of which VRFocus has listed below.

Until Dawn: Rush of Blood is an on-rails shooter designed specifically for virtual reality (VR). It’ll be available on PlayStation VR’s launch day and it’s listed on PlayStation Store to pre-order for £15.99 GBP.

Until Dawn Rush of Blood_1

Full Trophy List:

 

Haunted Lodge Survivor – Finish “Haunted Lodge” (Bronze)

Nightmare Descent Survivor – Finish “Nightmare Descent” (Bronze)

Hotel Hell Survivor – Finish “Hotel Hell” (Bronze)

Psycho Cellblock Survivor – Finish “Psycho Cellblock” (Bronze)

Ghost Town Survivor – Finish “Ghost Town” (Bronze)

Mines of Death Survivor – Finish “Mines of Death” (Bronze)

Final Inferno Survivor – Finish “Final Inferno” (Bronze)

I bestow this fire-power – Pick up a new weapon (Bronze)

Master Arsenal – Pick up all weapons (Bronze)

Four Barrel Spray of Death – Dual wield shotguns (Bronze)

A Storm of Bullets – Dual wield machine pistols (Bronze)

Do you feel lucky? – Dual wield revolvers (Bronze)

On a roll – Reach multiplier x4 (Bronze)

I shoot, therefore I am – Beat a previous set score on a level (Bronze)

Barrel of Laughs – Kill 20 enemies with barrels (Bronze)

Mostly Armless – Blast off 100 limbs (Bronze)

Arachnophobia – Die from spider venom (Bronze)

Head Trauma – Die from hitting head on a barrier (Bronze)

For My Next Trick – Get killed by a sawblade (Bronze)

Nowhere to Hide – Hit three targets with one shot from the revolver (Bronze)

Spitting Lead – Hit three or more targets with a blast from the shotgun (Bronze)

Haunted Lodge Killer – Finish “Haunted Lodge” on Insane (Silver)

Nightmare Descent Killer – Finish “Nightmare Descent” on Insane (Silver)

Hotel Hell Killer – Finish “Hotel Hell” on Insane (Silver)

Psycho Cellblock Killer – Finish “Psycho Cellblock” on Insane (Silver)

Ghost Town Killer – Finish “Ghost Town” on Insane (Silver)

Mines of Death Killer – Finish “Mines of Death” on Insane (Silver)

Final Inferno Killer – Finish “Final Inferno” on Insane (Silver)

Diagnosis Complete – Finish the story on any difficulty (Silver)

Secret Spotter – Collect all the skittles in one level (Silver)

Unstoppable – Reach multiplier x8 (Silver)

Duck Hunter – Shoot all the moving ducks in “Haunted Lodge” (Silver)

Old School – Complete a level using only pistols (Silver)

Won Armed – Complete a level using only one hand (Silver)

Blow Your Mind – Get 100 headshots (Silver)

Dead Eye – Get >80% accuracy on a level (Silver)

Moment of Sanity – See all the “Moment of Sanity” sequences (Silver)

The Nightmare Ends – Finish the story on Psychotic (Gold)

Obsessive Collector – Collect all the skittles (Gold)

Final Treatment – Collect all trophies (Platinum)

Until Dawn: Rush of Blood Behind the Scenes Video Released

With the PlayStation VR head-mounted display (HMD) scheduled for its worldwide launch next month, it’ll complete the three tethered headset arrivals for 2016. There are a raft of videogames coming to the HMD on day one, one of them being Supermassive Games’ Until Dawn: Rush of Blood. The on-rails shooter was announced back in October 2015 and in these last few weeks before launch the studio has released a new behind-the-scenes video detailing what’s in store.

Until Dawn: Rush of Blood takes players on a heart pounding rollercoaster ride where all manner of evil nasties attack. Rather than creating a stationary gallery shooter Supermassive Games got round the problem of locomotion in virtual reality (VR) by sitting players in a fairground ride cart, thus reducing or negating simulator sickness plaguing some VR experiences.

Until Dawn Rush of Blood_1

Simon Harris, Executive Producer, VR, opens the video describing how the team initially started the project: “The initial how we came up with Rush of Blood was when we started experimenting with VR we looked at what people were saying don’t do, and so one of the really early messages about VR was, just make the player static, just allow them to look around and don’t do anything, don’t accelerate, decelerate, do fast movements. So we started experimenting with how to do a rollercoaster really, really well in VR.”

Keith Linares, Designer, then comes on to talk about what the team thought would be scary in VR, before Harris comes back to talk about the three different reactions the studio noticed to horror in VR.

The full video can be found below, and for all the latest VR news, keep reading VRFocus.

The VR Job Hub: Supermassive Games, AMD & Resolution Games

Whether you’re an experienced designer, programmer, engineer, or maybe you’ve just been inspired after reading VRFocus articles – either way, you have stumbled across VRFocus’ VR Job Hub. The jobs listed here are located worldwide, from major game players to humble indie developers – the one thing they all have in common is that they are all jobs in VR.

Check out the listings below for all the information you need.

LOCATION COMPANY ROLE LINK
Guildford, UK Supermassive Games Junior Designer Click here to apply
Seattle, US Fishbowl VR Senior Developer Click here to apply
Cornwall, UK Triangular Pixels Unity 3D Programmer Click here to apply
Waterford, Ireland Immersive VR Education Sr Game Dev, Sr Web Dev Click here to apply
Munich, Germany AMD Software Engineering Click here to apply
Stockholm, Sweden Resolution Games Concept Artist, 3D Artist/Animator Click here to apply
California, US Kaleidoscope VR VR Freelancers Check out listing here
Boston, US ViacomNEXT VR + 3D + UI Designer Click here to apply

Look back at last week’s post for ongoing listings.

Check back with VRFocus 4pm BST every Sunday for the latest positions in one of the most progressive industries.

VRFocus Virtual Reality Challenge: Meet the Mentors!

VRFocus is set to host the Virtual Reality Challenge (VRC) this weekend, the UK’s largest ever virtual reality (VR) Game Jam! Attendees have just 24 hours to create something unique in VR, but they won’t be doing it alone as mentors from Climax Studios, Cherry Pop Games and Supermassive Games will be on-hand throughout the weekend.

So who are these talented individuals who are volunteering their time? Here are some brief overviews of the VRC mentors and their histories.

Russ Earwaker, Climax Studios – Saturday, Sunday

During his 15 years in the games industry Russ has designed for Crytek, Lionhead and Blitz Games, working on classic titles such as Crysis and Fable. Currently working at Climax Studios, Russ has specialised in VR for the last two years. He’s currently working on a Launch Windows title for DayDream and a rather unconventional title for the Vive, amongst others!

Russ Earwaker

 

Bradley Hester, Cherry Pop Games  – Saturday

Brad is a Games Programmer at Cherry Pop Games. Working on general game play, graphics and UI programming for PC, next generation consoles and virtual reality.

He studied BSc, Computer Games Development, achieving a First Class Degree

Bradley Hester

Gary Napper, Supermassive Games – Sunday

Gary Napper is a Game Designer with 16 years’ experience working on such franchises as Burnout, Harry Potter, Family Game Night, Spare Parts and Halo Wars 2 at studios including EA UK, Criterion, Sony, EA BrightLight and Creative Assembly. Gary is most recently known as the Lead Designer on the BAFTA Award winning, and industry acclaimed, Alien: Isolation. After working with Sony on PlayStation VR, he is currently working as a Game Director at Supermassive Games (Creators of Until Dawn, TumbleVR and Rush Of Blood) on some new and exciting things with the recently expanded VR team. Follow him on twitter @xopsx and Supermassive Games @SuperMGames.

Gary Napper

Our thanks once again to all of our supporting partners who have helped VRC come about. Unreal Engine, Nvidia, HTC, Valve and Climax Studios.

VRFocus will be reporting from the venue during the day so look out for bulletins and updates via our social media channel.