The Persistence

June 13, 2017

See Every PlayStation VR Game from E3 2017

PlayStation VR has sold over 1 million units and had more success in sales compared to the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. VRFocus has put together a list of games that we know are coming to the PlayStation VR. If you prefer watching all the games coming to PlayStation VR, scroll down to the bottom to view it.

**1. FARPOINT – Impulse Gear**

Farpoint is a first-person shooter on the PlayStation VR. When it launched, it debuted at number two in the UK Sales chart and is sold alongside the new Aim controller. Starting with a bloke putting on a PlayStation VR in his basement he then finds himself transported to an uncharted alien world filled with all manner of enemies.

Survive in an unknown alien world after a crash, search for fellow human survivors whilst shooting hoards of alien creatures. The new DLC Cryo Pack coming on the 27^th of June, a 2 player co-op with challenge levels in an ice world.

**2. TINY TRAX – FuturLab**

This VR game is a multiplayer racing title based on slot car racing. You can play with up to four friends or race AI opponents. Taking inspiration from toys by Scalextric and Carrera, FuturLab has created a title that evolves slot-car racing in a way only videogames can do.

Featuring both a singleplayer – against AI – or an online multiplayer for up to four people, Tiny Trax includes six vehicles to select before heading out onto the track. Friends can select either single races or go for a tournament to test their skills.

**3. ROM: Extraction – First Contact Entertainment**

Is a first-person shooter set in the year 2076, where you must throw, slow and shoot your way through extraterrestrial-bots inspired by classic arcade shooters, the studio only released one image, showing a vicious looking robot. First Contact Entertainment describes ROM: Extraction’s gameplay mechanic as “Throw, Slow & Shoot.” Whereby players will have the ability to slow down time – called “Reflex” power – to help defend themselves against these dangerous looking, extraterrestrial robots. The videogame will be a first-person shooter (FPS) using motion-based controls, three difficulty settings and global and local leaderboards.

It also supports the Aim controller.

**4. GRAN TURISMO SPORT – Polyphony Digital**

Gran Turismo Sport was original slated for release at the end of 2016, but the developers were forced to push back the release date to 2017. Polyphony Digital are known among fans as being perfectionists, so it was not a huge surprised that an ambitious project such as Gran Turismo Sport ended up taking extra time.

The game now has a new Racing wheel designed exclusively for Gran Turismo Sport on the PlayStation 4. Specifically designed specially to enhance the experience of playing Gran Turismo Sport, the upcoming driving and racing simulator from Polyphony Digital on the PlayStation 4. Gran Turismo Sport is also offering virtual reality (VR) compatibility, which in combination with Thrustmaster’s racing wheel, could offer even more immersion to players.

5. THESEUS – Forge Reply

THESEUS is a third person action-adventure where you play the titular character on a quest to slay the Minotaur from the ancient Greek mythology.

Taking inspiration from titles such as ICO, Shadow of the Colossus and the Last Guardian, Forge Reply has gone for a third-person viewpoint for its VR adventure, with Theseus employing a mix of static and dynamic cameras to aid immersion and gameplay.

**6. THE PERSISTENCE – Firesprite**

Play this survival horror game where you wake up from a cryrosleep in the year 2521. Survive an experiment gone horribly wrong to save the ship.

Sneak around and hide behind cover, being stealthy will feel natural in VR and give you the upper hand.

**7. Bloody Zombies – nDreams**

Bloody Zombies is a side-scrolling brawler set in London. It supports one to four players online or locally. Follow the story of four lone survivors and fight zombies who appear as 2D cardboard cut-outs in a virtual environment.

**8. V! No Heroes Allowed R! – SIE Japan studio and Acquire**

A real-time strategy game announced at the 2016 PlayStation Press Conference and will be released in Japan in 2017. You’ll play as the demon load with the aim to conquer the world.

Play the the God of Destruction and fight against those heroes of justice by using the food cycle, breeding monsters and repelling incoming heroes while conquering strongholds.

**9. Legion Commander – ChangYou**

Is a Chinese developed game set in a medieval-themed world and strategic gameplay where you assume the role of a commander. You have to build up your team to enjoy PVE and pvp, each battle lasts about 5 minutes and you will win the game after you destroy the enemy’s forts.

It’s cross-platform and is supported by HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PSVR, Google Daydream and Samsung Gear .

**10. Archangel – Skydance Interactive**

Archangel is coming exclusively two PSVR for two weeks before coming to any other platform. In this story-driven shooter where you become a six-story-high war-machine and fight against the tyrannical HUMNX.

AI-controlled teammates in different vehicles will need your protection and will support you when your shields have failed.

11. SUPERHOTVR – Superhot

SUPERHOTVR is finally coming to PlayStation VR, after debuting on Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

SUPERHOT had heaps of critical acclaim at launch, and its VR version received equal praise. We can only assume the PlayStation VR version will be equally beloved.

12. DOOM VFR – Bethesda Softworks

The acclaimed shooter is finally coming to PlayStation VR, but this isn’t simply a port of a game you’ve already played, but an all-new installment built for VR.

Developed by id Software, the studio that created the DOOM franchise, DOOM VFR casts the player as the last known human survivor of the demonic invasion of the UAC’s Martian research facility.

**13. The Elders Scrolls V: SKYRIM – Bethesda Softworks**

Bethesda’s beloved The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is making its way to VR on PlayStation 4.

Publisher Bethesda Softworks has announced that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is set for a November 2017 release on PlayStation VR, and all of the original console downloadable content (DLC) will be included with both the digital and physical editions of the videogame.

**14. Star Child – Playful**

Star Child was announced with a short trailer during Sony’s E3 press conference.

Star Child takes place on an alien world, filled with mysterious creatures and futuristic space ships. The man-made interiors of the planet hide many incredible fluorescent and neon creatures, all of which are sure to look incredibly imposing in VR.

**15. The Inpatient – Supermassive Games**

The Inpatient is an adventure videogame with the player, in first-person, interacting with non-player characters in a hospital environment.

It acts as a prequel to Until Dawn, before the Sanatorium fell into disarray. The Inpatient takes place some time in the 1950s.

**16. Final Fantasy XV: Monster of the Deep – Square Enix**

Final Fantasy XV: Monster of the Deep will offer PlayStation VR players the opportunity to explore the world’s oceans, lakes, ponds and rivers and participate in a wide variety of fishing challenges. Many returning characters from the original Final Fantasy XV will appear in the videogame, including familiar faces such as Noctis, Prompto, Ignis, Gladiolus, and more.

**17. Bravo Team – Supermassive Games**

Bravo Team, appears to be a military first-person shooter (FPS). Releasing at the end of the year for PlayStation VR, Bravo Team will be one of the first competitive multiplayer VR shooters for the platform.

**18. Moss – Polyarc**

In Moss you will be focusing on puzzle solving and exploration, slowly finding your path forward through these huge stages. Butterflies and insects appear huge next to your mousey character as they are entirely dwarfed by trees and other creatures – something that becomes very obvious when coming face-to-face with a hungry snake.

19. Sparc – CCP

Sparc is a skill-based, physical sport, where two players use PlayStation Move motion controllers to aim and throw projectiles at each other inside a virtual arena, all the while defending themselves by dodging, blocking, or deflecting incoming attacks from their opponent.

Sparc includes multiple two-player game modes where players can compete against their friends or find challengers via online matchmaking. Additionally, a selection of single-player challenges and training modes are included, plus a wide range of customization and personalization options for competitors.

June 5, 2017

5 PlayStation VR Games to Watch at E3 2017

The PlayStation VR benefited from a huge swathe of videogame titles at launch, but in the months that followed this barrage slowed to a trickle. The recent releases of the well received Farpoint and Star Trek: Bridge Crew see the first wave of titles announced coming to a close; so what’s next? VRFocus looks at five new titles on the horizon, and why you should be excited for them.

After the success of Playroom VR, UK-based Firesprite are coming back for more virtual reality (VR), this time with a much darker experience. The Persistence is a horror title featuring procedurally generated environments. In a similar fashion to Ubisoft’s Zombi, every time the player dies they become a new character, but in The Persistence the space ship upon which they are based will have changed: a new layout, enemy placement and items.

To connect each attempt, the player can harvest cells which can be used to improve attributes such as speed, health and stealth. If a player dies these are transferred for the next play through, hence that title.

The Persistence was originally expected to launch last month, however there’s no signs of a release date at present. It’s likely we’ll learn more at next week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Los Angeles.

Bloody Zombies

Another UK studio, nDreams pledged their commitment to the new medium very early in the wave or modern VR. After launching The Assembly last year, the developer/publisher is returning to PlayStation VR with Bloody Zombies: a side-scrolling brawler.

While the genre may not scream ‘VR’, it is actually a perfect combination of technology and action. The 2D characters appear like cardboard cutouts in the virtual environment and the added benefit of a widened viewpoint allows developer Paw Print Games to hide secrets beyond the edge of the traditional 2D screen.

Bloody Zombies has been designed to allow for up to four players to use any combination of VR and non-VR when playing together online, keeping the experience open to all. VRFocus has already been hands-on with Bloody Zombies and will get to experience the title once again at next week’s E3.

Theseus

Recently confirmed for PlayStation VR, Forge Reply’s Theseus proposes an interesting combination of platform challenges and brawling, combined with static and dynamic camera angles, screams ‘God of War’.

According to Samuele Perseo, Producer at Forge Reply: “Theseus is not an ordinary hero; in our game he is the prey, not the hunter. He is “only human” while his enemy, besides being 33 feet tall, has otherworldly strength… and he is invulnerable.

“Theseus cannot just fight the Minotaur head-on: each encounter between the two poses a new challenge. It may be necessary to resort to stealth, or an ancient mechanism could be the key to escape death. The monster is blind, but his hearing and his smell are sharp.”

Theseus is expected to launch on PlayStation VR this summer, and as such will likely make its playable debut at E3 next week.

Tiny Trax

The third UK studio delivering their wares to this list, FuturLab has built a strong audience thanks to the success of the Velocity series. Now however, the developer is turning its attention to VR, with the upcoming Tiny Trax.

Having been compared to Micro Machines with a hint of Off-Road 4×4 thanks to its unique viewpoint, Tiny Trax will follow Codemasters’ Toybox Turbos in delivering an unconventional racing videogame to VR players. Featuring both single player gameplay and an online multiplayer for up to four people, Tiny Trax will include six vehicles to select before heading out onto the track.

No release date has yet been announced for Tiny Trax, however FuturLab has suggested that it will be ‘coming soon’. Of course, VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest details.

Sony Santa Monica

So, we don’t actually know what this one is. So why’s it on this list? Because Sony Santa Monica is one of the most highly respected developers on PlayStation hardware. That’s why.

As you will most likely have seen, last month VRFocus reported on an unofficial statement regarding Sony Santa Monica’s continued work in VR, and that after assisting a number of studios with external projects its first title for the PlayStation VR will likely be announced soon. That ‘soon’ may well be at E3 next week.

Whether it will be a part of an existing franchise – Sony Santa Monica has of course championed the God of War series – or a brand new title is yet to be seen, but you can be sure that whatever comes will shoot straight to the top of PlayStation VR owners’ most wanted lists.

March 10, 2017

More scares await PlayStation VR as The Persistence Confirmed

It’s just been announced that Firesprite, the Liverpool, UK-based developer behind The Playroom VR on PlayStation VR, is working on another title for the head-mounted display (HMD). Taking a somewhat different direction to the family oriented videogame, the studio is working on horror experience The Persistence.

Horror has become one of the most popular genre’s for virtual reality (VR) developers to explore, and Firesprite will be going down the sci-fi survival route for The Persistance. Every good horror title needs a decent backstory, and this sees players on board a research vessel studying a collapsed star. Disaster strikes and the ship’s on-board computer tries to save the crew by reviving their deceased bodies. As you may suspect this doesn’t go according to plan and the process transforms them into ravenous mutants.

Awaking from cryosleep, it’s up the players to kill the undead and take back control of the ship before it plunges into a nearby black hole.

The Persistence - screenshot 2

The Persistance is a procedurally generated videogame so that every time a player dies another character in cryosleep is awoken, but the ship will have changed, with a new layout, enemy placement and pickups. These come in the form of stem cells which can be extracted from enemies using a weapon called the Harvester. These cells can then be used to improve attributes such as speed, health, and stealth. If a player dies these are transferred for the next play through.

Other weapons include a six-shooter pistol, a Gravity Bomb which drops miniature black holes, and for some melee action there’s the Rage Serum granting players temporary super-strength.

Firesprite isn’t just making The Persistance a solitary, solo affair as many survival horrors tend to be. Its working on a social app for smartphones and tablets that allows other players to help or hinder the VR user. With the app they can view the ship’s compartments, identify threats or mark items.

There’s no confirmation on when The Persistance will launch, but VRFocus will keep you updated on when it does.

March 10, 2017

Hands-On With The Persistence, A New Procedurally Generated Survival Horror PSVR Game

Every now and then a game comes along that marries genres together in such a way that it just makes perfect sense. When the premise for The Persistence was described to me, I found myself wondering why it hadn’t been made sooner. Essentially, you take control of a passenger on a starship that’s awoken from sleep after all of the previous crew was either murdered or transformed into a hideous monster. If you die as this new passenger, the ship’s A.I. awakens a different sleeping passenger that you take control of to pick up where the last one left off.

The twist is that, as a procedurally generated title, every time you restart, the ship’s layout changes. That’s where things get interesting.

Yesterday, Sony invited UploadVR and other members of the media to a private showcase of upcoming PlayStation VR (PSVR) titles. There were five games in total: Farpoint, Starblood Arena, Fantastic Contraption, Statik, and this brand new game right here, The Persistence by FireSprite.

In addition to being a clever combination of procedural generation and roguelike mechanics, it’s also a first-person survival horror game, otherwise known as one of the best genre fits for VR we’ve seen to date. During my demo there was a heavy focus on stealth and many of the items I came across were melee-focused. My standard weapon allowed me to drain the stem cells from my enemies and I even found a device that could turn them against one another, transforming one of them into a “pet” of my own, to fight by my side. I did find an old-style revolver eventually, but the randomization algorithm only blessed me two precious bullets.

On top of all of that though, there is even optional, second screen, multiplayer functionality that fits the theme perfectly. While you’re playing, a second person can download an app on their tablet or mobile device that displays the current map of the ship, as well as icons describing where items and enemies are located.

The second player gets XP for doing things like helping you out, but every now and then they might receive an objective to put you in harm’s way, but on the flipside, the VR player can upload viruses to the second player, stealing XP at certain moments if they wish.. This creates an interesting trust and betrayal dynamic that extends the experience beyond the headset, which the PSVR is already great at doing. It certainly adds an interesting new layer to the game as a whole, but thankfully The Persistence is still fully playable on your own if you’d prefer.

One of the things in The Persistence that stood out the most to me is just how clean and polished everything looks. The lighting is sharp and detailed with wonderful shadows in all of the darkest corners of the derelict vessel and character models are far more articulated than we’ve seen in most VR titles.

Some of the weapon animations could use some work — I noticed when I found the revolver my character became obsessed with flipping and spinning it around in his hand for a few seconds, but it was way too close to my face and was jarring since it seemed to pass through where my head should have been in some cases. Some of the traps and hazards (such as poisonous smoke) were a bit hard to notice visually given the darkness of environments and I had difficulty maneuvering around them at first, but part of that could be chalked up to my impatience and desire to see as much of the demo as possible in the restricted setting.

Movement was a full locomotion system using the DualShock 4 controller. The developers found that instead of implementing partial degree snap turning on the right stick, if they actually just sped up the rotation to be super fast, your eyes and inner ear didn’t perceive it as natural motion and it sidestepped the sickness issues. You can also teleport forward to sprint longer distances or get around objects with the press of the button. It’s hard to say if the comfort solutions actually work — motion sickness doesn’t plague me — but it seems like a creative workaround.

It’s also hard to gauge length for a title like The Persistence, since you’ll often find yourself playing newly generated maps over and over with different experiences each and every time. Your mission is to reach the far end of the ship, get past all of the enemies, and figure out a way to send the craft back to Earth in an attempt to save everyone that’s left on board. During my demo, I didn’t get very far before dying, but that’s sort of expected with games like this. You should be prepared to die several times in many different ways.

The Persistence is currently slated for a May 2017 release window on PSVR according to Sony, but there’s no definitive word on the price point or plans for other platforms in the future right now. Does The Persistence sound like the type of game you see yourself playing in VR? Let us know what you think down in the comments below!

Tagged with: FireSprite, PSVR, The Persistence