Category: Survios

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The Best VR Racing Games For PSVR, PC VR And More

Few things come more naturally to VR than racing. The best VR racing games let us get behind the wheel of impossible machines and put our foot down. The results are fast, thrilling and visceral.

But racing is a broad term; it doesn’t just have to mean driving. In fact, VR’s physicality has brought about an entirely new wave of racing games unlike any we’ve seen before. So when rounding up our list of the best VR racing games, we only thought it fair that we threw those in too. As such, we’ve split our list into both driving and non-driving racing games so those of us without a license can join in.

So what are the best VR racing games? Speed down our list to find out.

Best VR Racing Games: Driving

Best VR Racing Games Driving

Assetto Corsa (PC VR)

If you’re looking for strict simulation, you can’t go wrong with Assetto Corsa. Kunos Simulazioni’s long-running racer is packed tight with different makes of cars and tracks spanning the world over. Its pinpoint precision racing remains practically unbeaten in the field and, if you want more of it, there’s an army of extra content to dive into. Assetto Corsa might be the oldest game on this list but it’s also one of the best.

Project Cars 2 (PC VR) – Read Our Coverage

Sticking with simulation, Slightly Mad Studios’ most recent racer is typically exhaustive too. Project Cars 2 overtakes both Gran Turismo and Forza with its army of 180+ car models and extensive number of tracks. But its going the extra mile that really makes Project Cars 2 shine, with dynamic weather conditions and a huge career mode to tackle. This one will keep you busy for a good while.

Wipeout Omega Collection (PSVR) – Read Our Review

Once PlayStation VR was announced, Wipeout VR seemed inevitable. Fortunately, unlike Gran Turismo Sport, Sony didn’t mess it up. Wipeout Omega collection is already an impressive tribute to the sci-fi racing series, bundling three games worth of content into one. Throw in VR support and it quickly becomes one of the most essential games yet seen on headsets. This is visceral, vibrant racing as its very best, though you may want to keep a sickbag at the ready.

DiRT Rally (Oculus Rift, PSVR) – Read Our Review

There’s been a disappointing lack of Codemasters racing games for VR platforms thus far. More are on the way but, for now, DiRT Rally remains a prime example of how to do VR racing right. This is a different kind of sim, taking you to rocky roads and twisty forests and daring you to put your foot down. Again, it can be tough on the stomach but the adrenaline that comes from nailing a drift is unparalleled.

Best VR Racing Games: Non-Driving

Rush (PC VR, Oculus Quest, Oculus Go, PSVR)

If getting behind the wheel isn’t your thing, how about a wingsuit? Rush is a popular high flying racer in which you can glide down mountains, narrowly dodging tress and rocks in pursuit of checkpoints. Challenge your friends in over 90 tracks across four environments, physically tilting your body to master each course. Rush is tough to m

Sprint Vector (PC VR, PSVR) – Read Our Review

When we thinking about racing games we think about driving. But the truth is it would be a crime to do a VR racing list without mentioning Survios’ sublime sprinting game. Sprint Vector is about as close as you’ll get to Mario Kart in VR. The game uses a finely-tuned arm swing mechanic to help you skate down tracks as a supernatural athlete. Throw in power-ups, climbing and flying and you have one of the most dynamic racing games yet made for VR.

To The Top (PC VR, PSVR) – Read Our Review

To The Top is similar to Sprint Vector, only a little more vertical. The game uses your hands as the main way of getting around, hoisting yourself up over obstacle courses and flinging yourself forwards. It’s an unconventional racing game for sure, but it’s undoubtedly one of VR’s best.

The post The Best VR Racing Games For PSVR, PC VR And More appeared first on UploadVR.

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Battlewake Closed Beta Brings Pirate Ship Action To Rift/Vive This Weekend

It’s nearly time to grab your headset, take to the seas and possibly keep a sick bag nearby. Yes, the Battlewake closed beta is nearly here.

Survios’ multiplayer pirate ship battling game will be undergoing closed beta testing July 19 – 21. Beta sign-ups are still open via an official website, closing at 12pm PST tomorrow, July 18. To take part you’ll need an HTC Vive or Oculus Rift headset; it doesn’t sound like the game has native Valve Index support just yet. No word on possible beta dates for the PSVR or Quest versions, either.

The Battlewake closed beta will offer access to Warfare. In this cooperative gametype, you and up to three other players work together to take down enemy ships and warn gold. The full game will have more gameplay types, including player vs player modes.

If you do miss out on the beta don’t worry too much; Battlewake is expected to launch in full this summer. The game gives you full control over an upgradable pirate ship with a variety of weapons. We featured the game in our E3 VR Showcase last month and we really like what we’ve played of the game thus far.

Elsewhere Survios is also working on a Walking Dead VR game expected to release this fall. It’s a busy time at the studio, then.

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Survios to Hold Battlewake Closed Beta Starting This Friday

One of VRFocus’ favourite virtual reality (VR) title from the recent Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2019 had to be Survios’ upcoming pirate combat title Battlewake. The videogame was revealed back in May, and at the same time, sign-ups for a closed beta were opened. Now the team has announced when that beta will take place, it starts this Friday 19th July.

Battlewake

Battlewake has been designed primarily as a multiplayer fight on water, whether that’s at home or in location-based entertainment (LBE) venues. Players are able to choose from four Pirate Lords, each with their own style of ship and unique abilities.

For the closed beta only one gameplay mode will be available ‘Warfare Mode’, which allows from one to four players to engage in a co-operative, progressive gauntlet. The beta will be available through Steam only, and won’t be available for PlayStation VR or Oculus Quest. Survios explained in a statement: “We made the decision to host the closed beta through Steam for several reasons, including Battlewake’s current development cycle and platform distribution among player signups.”

If you want to take part then you need to sign-up at Battlewake.com before 12pm PST on 18th July. Participants will then receive installation instructions via email Friday morning. The closed beta will commence at noon PST (8pm GMT) 19th July and run through 11:59 p.m. PST Sunday, 21st July. 

The Multiplayer Happy Hours are as follows:

  • NA

    • 20/21 July 4pm-7pm PST

  • EU

    • 20/21 July 4pm-7pm GMT

Battlewake

The final version of Battlewake will be released this summer in VR arcades and across multiple to be confirmed headsets – it definitely sounds like Oculus Rift/Rift S, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR and Oculus Quest. It’ll feature fully upgradable ships with 13 different weapons to choose from, some real and some not so real. There will be multiple gameplay modes, from single-player PvE to massive PvP deathmatches.

Take a look a VRFocus’ preview of Battlewake which demoed the single-player portion of the title, saying: “Battlewake featured all the gloss you’d expect from a Survios title, with easy to use controls and exciting gameplay.” For further updates on the title ahead of launch, keep reading VRFocus.

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Preview: The Walking Dead Onslaught – Possibly the Best Tie-in to Date

There aren’t many virtual reality (VR) developers that sit in the industry’s upper echelons, providing continual high-quality videogame content. If a list was made then Survios would certainly be in there somewhere, having created notable experiences like Raw Data, Sprint Vector, Electronauts and Creed: Rise to Glory. The studio has another two on the way, Battlewake and The Walking Dead Onslaught and by the looks of things both are turning out nicely.

The Walking Dead Onslaught

With that pedigree, it’s easy to see why AMC entrusted such a high-profile franchise like The Walking Dead to the studio. The TV show is in its ninth season with the tenth season confirmed and has either appeared in or had videogame adaptions made in some form or another. However, with a virtual reality (VR) title in the works, the prospect for fans to step into their favourite zombie-filled universe is even more tantalising.

The demo Survios provided at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2019 wasn’t some rushed five-minute job as some of them tend to be. VRFocus actually had time to play with the controls and most importantly the much talked about ‘Progressive Dismemberment System’. This is going to be a core part of the gameplay, encouraging melee-based combat over ranged, and should instantly appeal to any zombie fans wishing to delimb an undead foe or two.

Survios hasn’t gone for a purely hack and slash approach either, taking your time with a machete will actually produce greater results. The system only worked from the waist up for the demo, allowing for arms to be separated at the joints – a team member did state knees and legs would be removable in the final version – depending on the weapon being held. Which kind of makes the machete the weapon of choice. Even more so when factoring in the ‘Melee Restraint System’, allowing a zombie to be grabbed by the neck before parting their head from the body.

The Walking Dead Onslaught

And because of some sort of mesh system being used for each walker you’re able to run a sword straight through their body. A weapon can even get stuck in a walker if you’re not careful. All this means The Walking Dead Onslaught lives up to the ‘onslaught’ moniker, highly visceral and gory to the extreme.

However, melee attacks only worked in certain situations, when maybe one or two zombies are in the vicinity. That’s definitely not always the case in The Walking Dead Onslaught as there were moments when a horde would suddenly break through a wall, or burst out of a shipping container. So there is the option for guns, and dual wielding a pistol and a solid implement certainly worked well. Popping heads at range is always fun and you can dismember zombies with well-placed shots. The urban level on offer also had some rather useful sticks of dynamite just tied to a post. When shot these provided a great way of clearing some of the more tightly confined areas, but the blast was considerable, so they couldn’t always be used when stood too close.

The Walking Dead Onslaught is being geared towards a realistic within the franchise universe. As such locomotion was all about smoothly walking around, picking up ammo, health and other items to help survive the zombie apocalypse. While VRFocus does prefer smooth locomotion it’s understandable why not everyone can. There wasn’t an opportunity to check the menu system at this stage to see what comfort options were available.

In its present form, The Walking Dead Onslaught looks like it’ll provide a fairly brutal zombie gameplay experience for fans of titles like Arizona Sunshine. The level design was completely linear as it’ll be following an exclusive story arc, hopefully, Survios will be implementing various solutions to encourage players to return. With a fall 2019 release window, VRFocus is looking forward to seeing how this one turns out.

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Gamescom 2019 to Host The VR Games Showcase Featuring Six Titles

Next month the biggest videogame event in Europe takes place in Cologne, Germany, Gamescom 2019. And for the first time, several studios from the virtual reality (VR) industry will be hosting a tie-in event called The VR Games Showcase.

The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets

The brainchild of Fast Travel Games’ Andreas Juliusson, The VR Games Showcase will feature Carbon Studio, Survios, Neat Corporation, Resolution Games and Cortopia Studios. Only open to media and content creators (most of Gamescom is open to the public), they’ll be able to get hands-on time with some of the latest VR offers.

Presented by Perp Games, visitors will get exclusive hands-on time with Survios’ The Walking Dead Onslaught, Fast Travel Games’ The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets, Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency by Neat Corporation and Fast Travel Games, Acron: Attack of the Squirrels! by Resolution Games, Cortopia Studios’ An Adventure in Wonderland and The Wizards: Dark Times by Carbon Studios.

“The VR Games Showcase’ is a concept I came up with 6 months ago. The VR industry is still young and most active VR game studios are relatively small, like us, with the same kind of marketing challenges and lack of resources. However, if multiple studios would join forces to share costs and efforts, I believed we would be able to deliver a real heavyweight event concept with clear value for both media and content creators to attend!” says Juliusson in a statement.

“As I started to reach out about this initiative, I was met with a massive interest not only from the studios but also from Perp Games, whose investment helped bring it to life. Now, the biggest studio event collaboration in the VR games industry is finally happening, with the premiere taking place at Gamescom this summer! I am hoping we can keep building on this concept and allow ‘The VR Games Showcase’ to grow going forward. This unique collaboration really raises the bar for VR games marketing and event presence.”

The Walking Dead Onslaught

‘The VR Games Showcase’ is presented by global games publisher Perp Games. Perp Games is a market leader in VR publishing and proud to support such innovative concepts,” adds Perp Games MD, Rob Edwards. “We truly believe VR offers players a unique gameplay experience and ‘The VR Games Showcase’ is a great way to allow gamers to experience hands-on, some of the most exceptional VR games being developed.”

VRFocus will be attending Gamescom 2019 so keep an eye out for the latest VR videogames coverage from the event.

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Hands-on: ‘Battlewake’ Delivers Frenetic High-seas Mayhem with a Splash of Smart VR Design

Survios, the studio behind Raw Data (2017) and Creed: Rise to Glory (2018), is getting ready to release their next big VR soon, a pirate-themed nautical combat game called Battlewake. The game is set to launch on Rift, Vive, and PSVR sometime this summer.

I got a chance to pop in not once, but twice into the Battlewake demo, playing at GDC 2019 in March behind closed doors, and again at E3 in June. My biggest take home from both of these demos: Battlewake is an arcade-style romp that—thanks to some smart VR design choices—will allow anyone to pick up almost immediately. It remains to be seen whether the game can keep up the frenetic pace for the full 20-chapter campaign while continuously delivering unique and interesting enemy ships and monsters, but from what I’ve seen it certainly has a good start.

Set aboard my pirate ship, I’m given control of different cannons, guns, ultimate abilities, and of course my trusty giant steering wheel. Standing in place at the helm, I’m alone on my ship (it’s also co-op, but the other player has their own boat), and have to blast my way through a number of objectives such as destroying defensive islands, shooting down enemy AI pirate boats of various strengths, and dealing with a gigantic Kraken—and all of it at once at certain points. You really have to keep your head on a swivel to properly prioritize targets, because as the large red dots begin to appear around you, indicating that an enemy volley is incoming, it easy to lose track of the little clipper ships nipping at your heels and knocking your health bar down.

Side note: Missions take place on bespoke maps, so if you’re hoping for a VR version of open world games like Sea of Thieves, you’ll need to look elsewhere. The game is also entirely set aboard boats.

Image courtesy Survios

Shooting and piloting the ship simultaneously is deceptively simple, however I have to admit that by providing a ‘convenient’ way of controlling two of the most important tasks, it does limit immersion somewhat in favor of more accessible combat. Those are arcade controls for you though.

On that note, you have what I call ‘automatic grabby hands’. They not only stick to your wheel whenever you hand is near it, but when you tear them away from the wheel they automatically engage targeting reticles of various types depending on where you’re aiming/what gun is automatically activated. In all practicality though, you’ll be keeping a single hand on the wheel as you fire left or right with your free hand. On the sides, you might have long-range cannons; on the front you could have machine guns. On the back, you might have mortars (all of them are configurable).

Image courtesy Survios

And while I’d prefer to have more object-based interactions, this all makes sense from the studio’s perspective. Battlewake isn’t just being built to serve at-home consumers, but it’s also being created to plug into the company’s growing VR arcade business, which has invariably informed their design decisions; it’s slated to serve up to 10 users in PvP mode at location-based facilities.

Survios (in typical Survios fashion) has admittedly created a pretty darn unique game with Battlewake though, and a comfortable one too. Many of their games tend to rely on basically new interaction methods, however Battlewake’s comfort relies mainly on the tried and true concept of providing the user with a cockpit to keep sim sickness at bay. And while your pirate ship, with its big mast and sails, is your rock solid point of reference, Survios has also found a way to make the sea toss and rock your boat without added discomfort. They call it their Immersive Vehicle System, and while I still need more time to figure out exactly which subsystems the studio has created to deliver its comfortable sea-faring experience, suffice it to say I walked out without needing a barf bag.

SEE ALSO
Survios CTO to Teach Full Semester VR Development Course in a Virtual Classroom

Tangent: the mast and sails do obscure your forward view to a great degree, forcing you to keep moving left and right so you know where you’re going and what’s in front of you. But that’s all a part of captaining a ship I suppose.

In the end, Battlewake is one of those games that I want to love. It has a cohesive art style, seemingly plenty of weapons and upgrade possibilities, and a clear understanding of why VR comfort is important—top wishlist items for sure. I was only given a taste of the solo campaign in the demos though, which each lasted about 15 minutes, so I still have to wait and see if it can consistently deliver a steady flow of new enemy types and objectives to keep things from getting stale. When it comes to the multiplayer mode, we also still need to see how the game balances between the four available captains/boats too.

We’re sure to have more time playing the game soon though, as Battlewake is heading into closed beta this summer. Check out the trailer below:

The post Hands-on: ‘Battlewake’ Delivers Frenetic High-seas Mayhem with a Splash of Smart VR Design appeared first on Road to VR.

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Axon Park and Survios’ CTO to Teach Unreal Engine VR Masterclass

A couple of days ago VRFocus reported on John Moores University in Liverpool, UK, announcing plans to launch an MA in Immersive Arts later this year. Which is fine if you happen to live or plan to move to the UK. Not everyone does or can, which is why remote, online courses are popular avenues for learning. This week virtual campus Axon Park has revealed it’ll be running a full semester course taught in virtual reality (VR).

Axon Park image

Axon Park has begun a strategic partnership with VR First with the Unreal Engine VR Masterclass being the first endeavour. They’ve brought on board Survios CTO and Co-Founder Alex Silkin to teach the course who will also be supported by the Unreal Engine Team. Survios is well known for a number of VR titles including Raw Data, Sprint Vector, Creed: Rise to Glory and Electronauts, as well as upcoming projects Battlewake and The Walking Dead Onslaught.

Starting on 4th September and running for 14 weeks until 11th December 2019, the course is designed for expert-level developers used to Unity (or other engines) who want to learn Unreal Engine 4 of VR. Classes take place two times per week with the curriculum being project-based. Prerequisites include 3D linear algebra, C++ and access to a VR ready PC and Oculus Rift/Rift S.

“This is not just a simple online class,” commented Silkin in a statement. “This is the first class of its kind. We’ll meet twice a week in virtual classrooms and build amazing virtual reality content together. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with VR since 2012 and contribute to the development of many innovative VR systems over these years. I want to share my experience with the community to make it easier for newcomers to break into the VR industry. I am beyond excited to help students invent their solutions for the still relatively untamed landscape of VR development.”

Raw Data Saija BotGardens

Thanks to the partnership Axon Park and VR First are also announcing a needs-based scholarship program providing students with low cost or free access to VR hardware and resources through their partner network of 850 universities.

“We are inviting organizations and public institutions internationally to build custom in-VR training with VR First and welcoming our VR/AR experts to become the first generation of certified Axon Park trainers,” adds Rahel Demant, COO & Academic Relations Lead at VR First. “We have already started to prepare a diverse range of in-VR courses to be available in Axon Park starting in 2020.”

Head to the Axon Park website for further information on the course. As more VR courses are created VRFocus will let you know.

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Survios CTO to Teach Full Semester VR Development Course in a Virtual Classroom

Survios, the studio behind a host of VR games such as Raw Data (2017), Sprint Vector (2018) and Creed: Rise to Glory (2018), has been a stalwart pioneer of the medium since the birth of consumer VR. Now, Survios CTO and co-founder Alex Silkin is set to share his experience by teaching a full semester course on expert-level Unreal Engine VR development. Plenty of high-profile industry pros will also be available too as mentors.

What’s more, the course will be taught in VR, so you can connect remotely and learn from Silkin—virtual face to virtual face.

“We’ll meet twice a week in virtual classrooms and build amazing virtual reality content together,” Silkin explains. “I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with VR since 2012 and contribute to the development of many innovative VR systems over these years. I want to share my experience with the community to make it easier for newcomers to break into the VR industry. I am beyond excited to help students invent their solutions for the still relatively untamed landscape of VR development.”

Although the full semester course is priced at just under $2,500, there are also scholarship opportunities for exceptional students. Axon Park has partnered with VR First, an organization which maintains a network of international VR lab-enabled universities and science parks; the partnership will provide needs-based scholarships to get students either low-cost or free access to VR hardware and resources through their partner network of 850 universities.

Prior to Silkin’s course, Axon Park ran the first remote in-VR class at the MIT Media Lab to explore teaching and learning in social VR classrooms. The class focused on VR Development with Unity and was taught remotely by an instructor in LA with students split between two buildings on the MIT campus.

Here’s some of the basic course info, although check out the course website for the full details and application process.

Course Specifics

  • Course Name: Unreal Engine VR Master Class
  • Duration: 14 weeks (September 4 – December 11, 2019 – current dates with MIT fall semester).
  • Frequency: 2 times per week in VR.
  • Target Student Demographic: Expert-level Unity (or other game engine) developers who want to master Unreal Engine 4 for VR.
  • Prerequisites: Game engine development experience (Unity preferred), 3D linear algebra, C++, visual studio (or similar), and Github (or similar). Must have access to VR ready PC and Oculus Rift or Rift S (hardware access scholarships available at selected destinations through partnership with VR First).
  • Curriculum: The course is project-based and designed to help you build a stellar portfolio piece from scratch. Classes are designed to help you learn the core concepts, while providing ample time for project work and support from your instructor and mentors. More details can be found on the syllabus.
  • Select mentors: Nick Whiting (Technical Director at Epic Games, Unreal Engine), Ray Davis (creator of Robo Recall, previously ran Unreal Engine), Jacki Morie (Previously at NASA, Disney, DARPA, Board of Advisors Axon Park), Ron Millar (Chief Creative Officer at VRChat, founding team of Blizzard), Oculus founders, and numerous other industry professionals
  • Tuition: $2,495
  • Scholarship opportunities: Needs-based scholarships will be provided to exceptional students to foster inclusion and diversity in the class.
  • Inclusivity & Equality: Neutral avatars will be used in the admissions process and virtual classrooms to reduce unconscious and conscious student and teacher bias and equalize opportunity.
  • Additional Features: Dedicated networking with VR industry’s top professionals, career coaching, Virtual Field Trips “VFTs” to explore other social VR enabled tools, like MasterpieceVR, and a virtual job fair where top companies will setup virtual booths to meet the students. Axon Park Alumni are invited to meet IRL after graduation with XR Nomads.

The post Survios CTO to Teach Full Semester VR Development Course in a Virtual Classroom appeared first on Road to VR.

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E3 2019 Interview: Survios Serves a Tasty Treat for Walking Dead Fans

AMC’s The Walking Dead isn’t just a successful TV show, it’s a highly successful franchise which has spawned a number of videogames such as augmented reality (AR) title The Walking Dead: Ourworld. A virtual reality (VR) version was on the cards via OVERKILL’s The Walking Dead and we all know how that turned out. Thankfully, AMC decided to collaborate with VR specialists Survios on another title called The Walking Dead Onslaught which the studio took to the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2019. VRFocus caught up with Survios’ co-founder James Iliff to learn more. 

The Walking Dead Onslaught

Survios and AMC revealed The Walking Dead Onslaught in May, explaining that because this was an officially licensed project fans will be able to play as some of the most popular characters from the show. That’s as far as the tie-in goes by the looks of it, with the videogame having its own exclusive storyline rather than a spin-off from the series.

This means The Walking Dead Onslaught will feature a full single-player campaign designed for location-based entertainment (LBE) centres as well as home VR headsets. How the two will differ – VR arcades won’t want you occupying the headset for hours – is being kept under wraps for now.

Just like the TV series you’ll be able to use a range of ranged and melee weapons, with particular attention being focused on the melee portion of the experience. Survios has already spoken about its ‘Progressive Dismemberment System’ which will let players slice and dice the undead in proper gory ways. Every joint on a walkers body is fair game, allowing the removal of limbs almost however you want. There are several other features which will make the experience as realistic as possible, like being able to stab a zombie or restrain them with one hand to inflict a killer blow with the other.

The Walking Dead Onslaught

Which is exactly why VRFocus want to learn more, with Iliff going into greater detail regarding the precision mechanics the studio has employed to make The Walking Dead Onslaught one videogame that both fans and general VR gamers will equally enjoy.

Take a look at the interview to learn more, and keep an eye out for further The Walking Dead Onslaught updates from VRFocus.

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Preview: Battlewake

While the reality of being a pirate wasn’t anywhere near as adventurous and fun as we’d like to think – scurvy anyone? – that hasn’t stopped all sorts of fanciful tales and stories emerging, creating a litany of books, films and other entertainment media. Pirate themed experiences have begun to find their way to virtual reality (VR) headsets, with Survios showcasing its latest effort Battlewake during the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2019.

Battlewake

Battlewake is very much an arcade style experience that doesn’t pretend to be anything else other fighting action involving boats, sea monsters and other pirates. It will have co-op and multiplayer modes, but for the demo during E3 this was a chance to see several single-player missions from the campaign in action.

VRFocus calls Battlewake an arcade-style experience mainly due to the control scheme and fast/frantic nature of the gameplay. Loot can be collected so that you can upgrade parts of your ship, improving the cannons or the ships ramming capabilities, yet from what was shown so far there’s not a lot more depth at present. This isn’t a role-playing game (RPG) so don’t expect to start naming your character and become a scourge of the Caribbean.

You are a sea lord, just one of four fixed characters, each with their own special abilities. Two were available so VRFocus tried Diego whose main ability was the creation of a giant water spout which could suck in enemies and cause major damage. Like all massive character abilities, this took time to charge, activated when a medallion appears on your glowing arm tattoo.

Battlewake

As this is VR Survios has ensured Battlewake’s control scheme for the boats is very hands-on and semi-realistic. As the captain, you’re at the wheel of your ship, which can be grabbed by either putting your hand near the wheel or pressing the grip button near it. The latter certainly seemed more intuitive, although there were points using either method where the virtual hand came unstuck from the wheel – slightly annoying when bringing the boat around.

Additionally, there was a boost button and the far more handy ‘hard turn’, activated by dropping the anchor (club hauling is the closest nautical term). Either side of the character are two handles depending on if you want to quickly turn left or right. These certainly proved invaluable for tricky manoeuvres such as encroaching rocks when your attention was elsewhere. The technique was handy in battle, yet due to the way the weapon systems work in Battlewake, it wasn’t always needed.

Your armaments on Battlewake are suitably over-the-top and full 360. Unlike traditional boats at the time which had to turn to aim the cannons, in Battlewake it’s as easy as pointing and shooting, no matter where the enemy was. Naturally, the best weapons were the side cannons having the longest range and most damage. A nice big aiming arc points out the side of the boat making hits easy – maybe too easy. Great for enemy boats, these are ideal for taking down land-based fortifications which started the demo.

Battlewake

Should an enemy pirate be directly in front then there were two options, use that boost mentioned to ram them, or if the distance was too great some small yet highly useful front cannons where available. Or, if a ship is at the rear then the mortar cannon with its massive range then came into play. What’s nice about the system was the fluidity. There are no menus or buttons to press to activate each particular weapons system, merely turning your body in the right direction initiates the correct weapon.

The missions were all about blowing stuff up as you might expect. Apart from the fortification to start things off, all the rest were boats. From general pirate ships and slightly tougher mid-bosses to cargo ships filled with gold, it was a non-stop barrage of fights so that there’s never a dull moment. The demo then finished with a boss which wasn’t a sea monster, unfortunately, but a reasonably tough yet rather generic looking pirate vessel.

At the moment the demo did everything right, providing a thrilling experience for roughly 15 minutes. Battlewake featured all the gloss you’d expect from a Survios title, with easy to use controls and exciting gameplay. With a 20-chapter story campaign hopefully the videogame isn’t too repetitive, and there’s still the multiplayer to look forward to.