Stormland, Insomniac Games’ final Oculus Rift exclusive game published by Oculus Studios, has gone missing from the headset’s digital storefront as has The Unspoken.
That is if you haven’t purchased the games already. We’ve been able to search, find and download Stormland as we already own it but, if we log out of our accounts, we can’t find the game in the store, and the same is the case for The Unspoken. You can still find the games via a Google search but it seems you’re unable to actually buy them. Insomniac’s other Rift titles, The Edge of Nowhere and Feral Rites, remain available for sale.
We’ve reached out to Meta for comment.
Stormland was the last VR game Insomniac released after Sony Interactive Entertainment purchased the developer in 2019. The game was a first-person shooter in which players took on the role of robots that traveled across islands separated by a sea of clouds, fending, taking down enemies and upgrading their inventories. The game featured a co-op element with a friend, though this element wasn’t mandatory. Insomniac did, however, refresh the layout of the Stormland once a week.
The Unspoken, meanwhile, was a competitive spell-casting game. It’s main focus was on online play, though it did add a single-player campaign after launch.
It’s not clear why the games are missing from the store but they wouldn’t be the first Rift exclusives to be taken off of the storefront. In late 2020 the Sanzaru Games-developed Marvel Powers United VR shut down, with its four player co-op going offline and owners being unable to open up the experience from March of last year.
We were quite fond of Stormland, awarding the game a 4/5 star rating back when we did those. “There’s plenty more work to be done, then, but when looking back at the shape of VR shooters over the past three years, Stormland shines as a real achievement,” we said. “Many of its dizzying strands of design are dreamlike in delivery, from the seamless UI and scaling cliff faces with Olympic proficiency to effortlessly surfing its bed of clouds or unloading a rattling barrage of bullets on enemies.”
The Wizards: Dark Times drops today for PC VR and we’ve already blasted our way through spellbinding RPG action adventure epic. What’s the verdict? Read the full The Wizards: Dark Times review below to find out!
Note: This review was original published on June 4th, 2020. It’s been updated today to include impressions of the just-launched Oculus Quest version.
The Wizards: Dark Times Review – The Facts
What is it?: A sequel to spell-casting action game, The Wizards, now complete with a full, linear campaign Platforms: Quest, PC VR (flatscreen version coming soon) Release Date: Out Now Price: $24.99
Back in 2017 The Wizards released on PC VR and delivered a capable single-player action-adventure romp through a handful of fantasy-themed levels. Basically you’d mow down the enemies, advance to the end, and repeat. There wasn’t a whole lot of meat on the bones there, but it was fun and the gesture-based magic was inventive and highly interactive.
Fast forward a few years and Carbon is back with a bigger, better, and more robust follow-up that feels like a more fully-realized version of what the original wanted to be.
In The Wizards: Dark Times, a mysterious plague befalls the realm of Meliora and it’s up to you to journey through the Forsaken Wood and take on twisted apocalyptic evil mages. It’s a pretty straight forward plot, but it fits the game’s more linear design well.
Admittedly, things start off very slowly in The Wizards: Dark Times. In fact, it’s a solid 15 minutes or so before you even battle your first enemy. Instead, you spend those minutes learning your beginning spells like the fireball, shield, ice bow, and a force push (sorry, erm, Arcane Pulse!) spells that are all activated by different hand gestures.
For example, you create a fireball by holding the trigger in one hand and twisting it over — it’s simple and effective. Summon a shield by holding the trigger and sliding a hand from outside your shoulder to in front of your chest. Use the pulse spell by holding the grip button, pulling your hand in towards your elbow, and then pushing forward quickly. It can sound complicated when listed out like that, but all 11 spells are unique and feel extremely natural. A lot of thought clearly went into gestures that feel appropriate for the specific spell, it’s not just randomly mapped movements.
The Wizards: Dark Times Review – The Quest Effect
Nearly an entire year on from PC release and Dark Times is finally available on Quest. The entire campaign mode is included, though Carbon is still working on the arena mode on standalone. This version of the game holds up well – there are some heavy and expected hits to the visual fidelity, but the performance is incredibly smooth and the lack of a wire allows for more active gameplay. For a more detailed comparison, make sure to check out this week’s graphics side-by-side.
One great example is a massive burst spell called Storm Nova (shown in the GIF above) that’s triggered by casting Lightning in both hands, holding the grip buttons, rotating your hands to create an orb of electricity, and then dramatically spreading your hands out wide so the ball of energy erupts. The magic system is like this throughout the game so that it’s less about memorizing gestures and more about intuitively moving your body and interacting with the environment.
Compared to the first game there is a lot more going on here. Throughout levels there’s constant (and solid) voice acting that fleshes out the world a bit and makes it feel more established. You’ll not only blast away enemies with your powerful magic, but also solve some light environmental puzzles and climb plenty of walls.
Speaking of climbing walls, they take quite a while to scale. Reaching between ledges (or in some cases, mushrooms) is a bit tedious — especially after flinging myself across entire islands in Stormland. Luckily you can leverage the teleportation system to quickly reach areas instead of climbing if you want.
Pretty much everything else in terms of gameplay, combat, and the like all felt and flowed well. Audio is another story though. The voice acting itself is better than I expected, but the audio quality is hit or miss. Sometimes the volume spikes and leads to a garbled static sound for voices. I also noticed your character’s footsteps are incredibly loud (and far too rapid) when using smooth continuous movement. I had the speed as high as it would go and it sounded like my character was taking two or three steps for every slight movement forward. There is no footstep volume slider, only sound effects, which means lowering that also lowers all spell sounds, which are supremely satisfying to hear.
I’d also recommend turning off subtitles unless you need them to enjoy the game. The font and color are obnoxious and extremely distracting.
The Wizards: Dark Times Review –Comfort
The Wizards: Dark Times has all the comfort options you’d expect. You can play using snap turning or smooth turning; continuous movement, teleport movement, or both; sitting or standing; right or left handed for primary movement; adjustable height from the options menu; as well as an FOV vignette adjustment. Personally, I cranked everything up to full speed without a vignette and felt fine. I also tested the game wirelessly on Oculus Quest using Virtual Desktop and didn’t notice any issues. This was actually my preferred way of playing for wireless roomscale.
The Wizards: Dark Times Review – Final Verdict
At its core, The Wizards: Dark Times is a power fantasy come to life. There aren’t any mana bars to worry about, potions to refill your magic points, or any complex skill trees. You play through the game, learn new spells, and use those spells as you need them, when you need them. By the end, you’ll feel like an earth-shattering powerhouse of arcane fury.
All of this stuff adds up to this feeling like a fullyrealized adventure rather than just a series of arena-style battles strung together. Carbon has a real franchise on its hands here. Minor gripes aside, The Wizards is one of the few action-adventure games in VR that isn’t all about melee combat or shooting guns. It’s still a bit rough around the edges, but it delivers on its promises all the same.
The Wizards never lets you forget you’re playing a VR game. Rarely do more than 10 seconds pass without the need for grand hand gestures to summon magic or for you to reach out and interact with things around you. They’ve got a great magic system that’s intuitive and fun to master in a fantastical world that provides a unique type of adventure you won’t quite find anywhere else.
SpellPunk is a newly announced magic-dueling VR game with a bright, neon-tinted art style featuring vibrant magical effects and immersive hand-gesture gameplay that tasks players with drawing runes in the air to cast spells.
Incineration Productions is a new indie game studio established in 2018 and SpellPunk is set to be their first release and it’s coming exclusively to PC VR headsets via Steam and Viveport in Early Access on April 24th.
SpellPunk is a magical dueling game. In many ways, it looks and seems similar to both The Unspoken and Wands, except with a very heavy and specific focus on drawing particular runes in the air to cast spells at your enemy. There is no spellbook and no menu, you’ve just got to master your magic and use it to win in battle.
Notably, Penka Kouneva is in charge of the music, she is best known for her work as the composer on AAA games like Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands, World of Warcraft: Legion, Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm, and Diablo III: Reaper of Souls. Her talents should help make SpellPunk feel even more distinct and magical than its already abstract and vibrant art style.
Rather than your typical fantasy sounds though, Kouneva is employing a more modern musical style with hip-hop and EDM tracks instead to mirror the Jet Set Radio-style cel-shaded aesthetic.
Check out these amazing screenshots to get a feel for the impressive art style:
You can get a glimpse of what the game is like in the reveal trailer up above and keep an eye out for our impressions of the game closer to its Early Access launch on April 24th on Steam and Viveport.
Insomniac Games is one of the gaming industry’s longest-running, most respected and all-round best developers.
From early hits like Spyro the Dragon and Ratchet and Clank leading all the way up to 2018’s blockbuster Spider-Man game, the studio’s bound to have made something you played and loved.
But did you know Insomniac made a bunch of great VR games too?
In fact, Insomniac was one of the first developers Oculus partnered with under its Studios banner. Since then the developer released a total of four Oculus Rift exclusives in the past three and a half years. That’s no small feat. Take a trip back in time now as we revisit every Insomniac VR game we’ve reviewed so far. The team’s now owned by Sony, but we hope to see more VR from them going forward.
Insomniac’s VR debut was a thrilling third-person action game that mixed elements of the Uncharted series, Dead Space and Lovecraftian horror. Played with a gamepad, you set out on an arctic expedition in search of lost friends. It’s not long before you descend into madness and fight for survival against horrifying monsters.
What we said: ‘Edge of Nowhere is an uncomfortably personal and unnerving horror experience unlike anything else I’ve seen inside of a VR headset. This is an Oculus Rift exclusive that is not to be missed.’
While Edge of Nowhere marked a great start for Insomniac and VR, Feral Rites was a less than successful follow-up. It’s a third-person brawler in which you can transform into monsters and lay a massive beatdown. Sluggish pacing and boring gameplay made for a forgettable experience, though, and the game’s price infamously plummeted upon release.
What we said: ‘Feral Rites isn’t necessarily a bad game, but it’s also well below the usual standard of excellence one expects from Insomniac. Fans of brawlers may want to pick this one up to experience their favorite genre in VR, but everyone else should feel safe giving it a pass.’
Getting back into fighting shape, The Unspoken is Insomniac’s first VR game to utilize the Oculus Touch controllers. It delivers on the spell-binding promise of multiplayer wizard battles, using gesture-based inputs to deliver spectacular showdowns. We loved its multiplayer features but, since then, Insomniac has gone back and added a deeper single-player component too.
What we said: ‘This is a title that could only ever work in a VR headset and it succeeds because of, rather than in spite of, the unique capabilities of its platform. The Unspoken represents everything that is fun about playing games in VR and has all the makings of an iconic title we will still be talking about for years to come.’
Insomniac’s first new VR game in years is easily its biggest and most ambitious to date (and the first to be reviewed on our new 5 Star scoring system). This is an evolving first-person shooter in which you surf the clouds between interconnected islands, gunning down enemies in either single-player or two-player co-op. It’s often breathtaking to play, but not without issue.
What we said: ‘Many of its dizzying strands of design are dreamlike in delivery, from the seamless UI and scaling cliff faces with Olympic proficiency to effortlessly surfing its bed of clouds or unloading a rattling barrage of bullets on enemies. Its stumbles are as obvious as they are numerous, but it picks itself back up again time after time. The seas of VR shooter development are still stormy, but Stormland sails them with aplomb.’
Life is hard. Sometimes things are completely out of your control and you just need a release. For these times it’s important to find a game that puts you in control, one that turns you into a superhero, or an action movie star. Something that takes who you are and just ramps it up, lets you live out your wildest dreams and just take some fools apart. Well, this is exactly what these VR games do.
In one way or another they turn you into something completely inhuman, the star of your very own film. So, suit up, put on your VR headset, and get ready to let loose as a true badass.
Superhot is as much a puzzle game as it is a shooter. Time only moves when you do. This means that if a bullet is flying at you then you have time to figure out what to do. Want to know the coolest possible answer to a bullet flying at your face? Cut it in half with a knife then throw the knife at the guy who shot at you. But wait, what if you caught his gun and shot the guy aiming a shotgun at you? Superhot has a great story, a wonderful art style, and is quite simply one of the best games to play if you just need to mess something up.
Pretty much the only thing cooler than cutting a bullet in half is catching it and throwing it back at the person who shot you. Robo Recall has its own version of time slowing down, mostly when you’re moving though. This allows you to teleport next to an enemy in order to deal with them and then take your time deciding how. The guns themselves feel fantastic to use; each one re-materializes in its holster instead of reloading, so you just throw the empty one at an enemy. The best bit though, you can actually just grab enemies. You can pull apart the robots piece by piece, or you can use them as a shield against a hail of gunfire.
Imagine, if you will, a world where you are an all-powerful wizard warrior. Not only can you shoot lightning out of your hands, frying anyone in your path on the spot, but you are an accomplished swordsman too. But wait, there’s more, you can use your mind to wield these weapons at a distance. Blade and Sorcery turns you into a spell-casting weapon-wielding badass. You can throw a dagger at an enemy, call it back to you using your mind, then hack away at someone else as it passes them. You can holster four weapons at once as well as picking up others as you go, you just become a medieval war machine and it’s great.
I’m pretty sure everyone has heard of Beat Saber at this point. It would not be an exaggeration to say that it’s the killer app for VR. The must-play, the system seller. In it you wield two lightsabers and have to slash at the incoming blocks in order to keep the song going. This isn’t a power fantasy like the others, I don’t think anyone has ever dreamed of doing this. Nevertheless, managing to 100% a song hits some weird primal score-achieving urge that so many of us have. The fact that you can play so many different songs just makes the experience all the more exhilarating. Put simply, the rush that Beat Saber gives you is hard to beat.
Sometimes you just want to hit things really hard and have a comically large impact when you do. Gorn is a game all about cavemen smashing the heads, arms, and pretty much anything else off of each other. Gorn is the most violent game on this list, but it is also the most comically over-the-top. Each battle starts off with you trying to be tactical and quickly descends into you flailing your arms around like Elmo. There are a huge variety of weapons and you can even just use your fists if you want to. It satisfies the Neanderthal in all of us.
As kids many of us argued over whether it was cooler to be pirates or ninjas. People who argued that pirates were cooler got Sea of Thieves. Those of us who were right – and this isn’t an argument – got Sairento VR. Sairento VR puts you in the shoes of a ninja in a cyberpunk future, it gives you wall-running, acrobatics, and a huge array of weapons. You can deflect bullets with a katana in one hand while shooting a pistol in the other. It turns you into a tornado of destruction in a balletic display of power that would make Neo jealous. Just go play it. PS: Ninjas rule, pirates drool.
Harry Potter is great and all but what if it was full of a bit more grit? The Unspoken gives you all the power of a wizard, with none of the worry of a wand. With a simple flick of your wrist you can unleash magical destruction upon any that stand in your way. The controls are so simple that it all becomes second nature as you slip into this gothic world and either fight off demons or duel with a fellow mage. It looks great, feels great, and even has multiple classes to try out. You’ll find the one that suits you and then you can get to the thing we are all here for: feeling like an absolute boss.
So, hear me out, Skyrim, but in VR. That means you can swing a sword around, fire out shards of ice, shout really loud at things, and just generally become a god-like being. The thing that changes Skyrim in VR is the sense of scale. Not a dragon pun. At least not on purpose. A simple spider is suddenly the same size as you, you don’t get that feeling playing the game normally. Only in VR do you truly become the Dragonborn, only here can you really play the part and become the strongest in this world. Plus, who doesn’t love shouting so loud it knocks other stuff back?
Sometimes you just need to move, to feel like you could really escape anything that is bothering you. Walking is fine, running is hard, flying would be nice, but there is something about swinging around like Spider-Man that just feels better. Windlands 2 lets you live out this fantasy, in a beautiful world filled with strange fauna you can swing through the giant alien trees. You can almost feel the wind rushing past you as you swing around. You can always just let yourself fall only to catch yourself at the last moment. The attacks are awesome too, you bring your hands together and a bow materializes out of nothing. The whole thing just has a brilliant sense of wonder, a lovely bit of escapism.
Being so overpowered that you can accidentally take down a city block is a weird fantasy, one tinged with worry. Nevertheless, Megaton Rainfall turns you into exactly this, one so powerful that a single distraction can level buildings in an instant. You can fly fast enough to break the sound barrier, rise up into the atmosphere, crash through your enemies and even shout bolts of energy at them. It’s the closest you can come to being Superman in VR, and even if you think he is a boring hero, becoming him is an entirely different experience.
What are some of your favorite picks for VR games that make you feel a total badass? Let us know down in the comments below!
Every weekendVRFocusbrings you a number of sports and eSports related virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) stories as part of This Week In VR Sport. This week, the Mount Royal University Cougars women’s soccer team is using VR to help with recruitment and training, Racket Fury: Table Tennis VR is coming to PlayStation VR, and Oculus talk about the blood, sweat, and tears of eSports at Oculus Connect 5.
Mount Royal University Using VR Try-Outs For Their Women’s Soccer Team
Those looking to earn a spot on the Mount Royal University Cougars women’s soccer team may soon find that their try-out goes beyond the pitch and into VR.
As reported by globalnews, the University is looking to explore how they are use VR technology to help them recruit players and train athletes already on the team. This came around following Cougars head coach Tino Fusco notices the importance of review match footage. After reaching out to Mount Royal University associate professor Anthony Chaston, a way to incorporate VR into his coaching was developed.
By taking 360-degree video of Cougars players during practice matches the plan is to use the footage to immerse players and recruits into a real soccer scenario and see how they perform. The system could also be used by the coaches to provide them with a unique perspective to review plays and improve their teams performance.
“If I can get a recruit in my office and sit her down and put the headset on her and actually be on the field and be able to see 360 degrees, now I’m able to challenge the athlete and say, ‘Do you understand the game?’” Fusco said.
The solution could see the recruitment process for the team become more in-depth while all allow Fusco a means to challenge the teams knowledge and performances in an immersive way. As the technology continues to get rolled out to the team, VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest.
Racket Fury: Table Table VR Coming To PlayStation VR Next Month
Earlier this week it was revealed that developer 10Ants are bringing their VR table tennis title to PlayStation VR next month. Racket Fury: Table Tennis VR was originally released for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive back in 2017 and then the Oculus Go and Samsung Gear VR earlier this year. Now, the title will be coming to the PlayStation VR headset giving even more players a chance to enjoy some sci-fi inspired table tennis.
“We can assure that the game is exceptionally challenging, engaging and fun! Thanks to the advanced physics, developed in cooperation with professional TT players, every match you’re about to play is going to be a really immersive experience” said Sebastian Boczek, CEO of 10Ants Hill in a statement.
Racket Fury: Table Tennis VR gives players the chance to experience a realistic and immersive table tennis experience that will see them traveling to a range of sci-fi locations. With advanced physics and challenging AI opponents to face, the title is able to recreate the real-world feeling while also putting a few twists on things. There is even a workshop where players can develop their unique robot-character to create the ultimate table tennis player.
Oculus Talk eSports At Oculus Connect 5
At the recent Oculus Connect 5 event, Christopher K. McKelvy, Head of eSports at Oculus to the stage to deliver a short keynote on the companies current and future VR eSports plans. Titled “Blood, Sweat, and Tears: A Tale of VR Esports” the talk explores what makes VR so appealing within this rapidly growing and expanding market sector. Oculus have a vision to grow the VR eSports ecosystem and feel that it will play a key part in the future of gaming as a whole.
As mentioned in the talk, the market is on track to have an audience size of over 500 million with $1.5 billion (USD) expected in revenue. Titles such as Onward, Sprint Vector and The Unspoken are some of the titles that are mentioned during the talk as being some of the most played and most successful on the Oculus store.
Oculus are of course heavy invested in the VR eSports scene being involved in the VR League, which held it’s season 2 finals at the Oculus Connect 5 Event. One part of the keynote that is a nice touch as well is that McKelvy spends a moment talking about the players and some of their stories, even sharing his own. The full talk, which last around 17 minutes, can be watched below and goes over Oculus’ strategy to revolutionize eSports and keep creating more excitement.
That is all for This Week In VR Sport. For more on immersive sport news keep reading VRFocus and remember to check back next week for another This Week In VR Sport.
Every weekendVRFocusbrings you a number of sports and eSports related virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) stories as part of This Week In VR Sport. This week, a reminder that the VR league Season 2 finals are being held at the upcoming Oculus Connect 5 event, Vuzix has announced a partnership with OnCore to produce AR experiences for golf players and fans can now watch PGA TOUR coverage in both VR and AR.
VR League Season 2 Final To Be Held At Oculus Connect 5
The ever growing VR eSports scene will be making another big step soon as it has been announced that the VR League Season 2 finals will be features at the upcoming Oculus Connect 5 event.
The Oculus Connect 5 event is taking place on September 26 – 27 at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose and it is here that teams will face off against each other in the world finals of the VR League season 2. This will see teams for popular VR titles such as Onward, The Unspoken, Sprint Vector and even Echo Arena battle it out to take home the victory and the prize. The VR League is sponsored by Oculus and ESL so it isn’t much of a surprise that the final will be held at the Oculus Connect 5 event and might even become a trend in the future.
VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest from both the Oculus Connect 5 event and the finals of the VR League Season 2 as they develop, so stay tuned for more.
Vuzix Announces Partnership With OnCore Golf To Bring AR Experiences To Golf Players
Vuzix Corporation, known for their Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses, have announced that they are partnering with OnCore Golf to deliver new AR enhanced experiences for golfers on the Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses.
The two companies will team up to create AR instructional, entertainment, and educational programs that golfers of all skill levels can enjoy at any venue – including driving rangers, golf entertainment centers, on the golf course, and at home – all center around the Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses. The two companies are planning to introduce their first AR golf experience in early 2019 and will leverage third-part ball launch system at driving ranges and practice facilities.
By mid-2019, OnCore expects to launch its smart GENiUS ball and offer it with the Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses to allow for real-time AR tracking and analysis for golfers to use in actual course play. The system will include a range of features such as instructional and caddying advice using a network of both professional golf instructors and artificial intelligence (AI), along with GPS location and sensor technology. More features are expected to be announced in the coming months closer to the release of the product.
“We are excited to enter into this partnership with OnCore Golf and believe it can create an entirely new form of entertainment and training experiences for golfers of all skill levels,” said Paul Travers, President and Chief Executive Officer at Vuzix talking about the new partnership: “Bringing Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses to the golf courses, golf entertainment centers and driving ranges gives us an opportunity to connect with more than 25 million active golf participants that play on more than 15,000 golf courses across the USA.”
“Coupled with an appropriate golf ball launch system, wearers can see their flight statistics in real time. Connecting the digital world to the real world through the Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses allows wearers to keep their phone in their pocket and eye on the ball while offering an opportunity to improve their golf handicap or just simply have a lot fun while trying.”
VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest on this partnership in the future as it develops.
Watch The PGA TOUR FedExCup Playoffs In VR And AR
PGA TOUR announced earlier this week that it was going to give fans an immersive way for fans to experience coverage of the FedExCup Playoffs event for the 2017-18 season. On offer are three holes of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club which are being broadcast in VR with fans also able to enjoy some of the top 30 in the FedExCup standings warm up on the driving range.
Fans will be able to enjoy coverage of East Lake’s par-3 9th, par-3 15th, and par-5 18th closing hole in VR with an AR option available as well. In order to enjoy this content fans can watch it on Twitter, Periscope, the PGA TOUR mobile app and on the Samsung Gear VR via the PGA TOUR VR Live Oculus application. The remaining live coverage will run today from 1pm – 6pm (ET) and tomorrow at the same times.
To experience the AR cover, fans will need to download the PGA TOUR AR app to their device and then find a flat, horizontal surface on which to display the content. Once the model has loaded viewers will be able to select a player to watch and then enjoy their shot trails in AR. There are a number of different players and holes available to pick so make sure to try them all out in AR. For more information on the application and setup process, here over to the official website.
That is all for This Week In VR Sport. For more on immersive sport news keep reading VRFocus and remember to check back next week for another This Week In VR Sport.
Oculus verkündete die Termine der vier anstehenden eSports-Finals auf der Oculus Connect 5. So finden innerhalb eines Zeitraums von zwei Tagen, die finalen Begegnungen der Profispieler in den VR-Titeln Onward, The Unspoken, Echo Arena und Sprint Vector statt. Für sämtliche Spiele sind zum aktuellen Zeitpunkt noch Plätze offen, die in Turnieren vergeben werden.
Oculus Connect 5 – Termine für die eSports-Finals der vier VR-Titel veröffentlicht
Vom 26. bis 27. September treten die VR-Profis in vier verschiedenen Spielen, um einen Gesamtpreispool in Höhe von 120.000 US-Dollar gegeneinander an. Die Spieler/innen erkämpften sich den Platz über zwei Monate hinweg in der zweiten offiziellen Saison der VR League.
So finden am 26. September um 20.30 Uhr nach deutscher Zeit die ersten beiden Finals der VR-Spiele Onward und The Unspoken statt. Im taktischen Shooter konnte sich Team Globochem nach einer beeindruckenden Leistung auf den Onward Invitiational einen Platz im Finale sichern. Zwei weitere Plätze sind derzeit noch offen und werden ab dem 11. August in einem Open Qualifier vergeben. Die Anmeldungen für Fünferteams sind bis zum 10. August möglich.
Am darauf folgenden 27. September treten die Kontrahenten in Echo Arena und Sprint Vector gegeneinander an. Im gravitationslosen Multiplayer-Titel Echo Arena kämpfen die beiden Teams ec.LiP.se und das europäische Team BLAST um den Titel. Im Last Chance Qualifier erhalten weitere Spieler/innen vom 14. bis 15. August die Chance auf den Eintritt ins Finale. In Sprint Vector kämpfen die besten acht Runner um den ersten Platz. Eine Qualifikation ist hier ebenso noch möglich.
Die Matches werden per Livestream auf den entsprechenden Facebook-, Twitch– und YouTube-Kanälen der Oculus Connect 5 übertragen.
If I’ve learned anything over the past couple of years, it’s that VR is very likely the future of esports. Competitive gaming has taken the world by storm and it’s exciting to watch masters of their craft expertly play the hottest video games, but when you can see someone physically competing in virtual reality, it’s even better.
Earlier this year Oculus, Intel, and the ESL teamed up again for Season 2 of the VR League with $220k in total prizes on the line and $120k total just for OC5 Finals. Now, the VR League Finals are coming up soon with live competitions at Oculus Connect 5 from September 26th – 27th at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center. Live coverage of the VR League Finals will begin at 11:30AM PT on September 26th on Facebook, Twitch, and YouTube. The first day will feature Onward and The Unspoken with day two dedicated to Echo Arena and Sprint Vector.
For Onward, competition has been heating up lately as VR League has partnered with VR Master League. One team has already secured a spot for the OC5 Finals through their domination at the Onward Invitational and starting on August 11th, the VR Master League will run its open qualifier tournament to award two teams spots at the Finals. The fourth and final team slot will go to the winner of the September 2nd Onward Last Chance Qualifier, which will be hosted live at ESL Studios in Leicester, UK. More details on all thins Onward here.
Half of The Unspoken’s lineup for OC5 finals is already set, after an initially shaky period of uncertainty of whether or not it would even be included in VR League. The remaining four slots will go to competitors from the World Finals Qualifier on August 18th (following the preceding Last Chance Qualifier on August 14th). More details on The Unspoken here.
There are still lots of chances to qualify for Echo Arena, including the Stage 3 Finals, Last Chance Qualifier, and World Finals Qualifier across multiple regions. And for Sprint Vector, rankings haven’t even happened yet. On August 17th during the World Finals Qualifier, the top eight players (based on points) will be selected to compete on-stage in San Jose for the VR League Finals. More details for Echo Arena and Sprint Vector can be found at each link.
Seeing a VR platform manufacturer like Oculus continue to not only support — but invest in — the competitive VR esports landscape is extremely exciting. Hopefully this leads to more competitions down the line, including a VR League Season 3 for next year.
To stay up to date on the latest with the VR Leage, make sure and follow their official Facebook and Twitter profiles. Let us know what you think of how the competitions have been thus far down in the comments below!
Correction: We fixed a typo that originally stated the wrong prize pool amount.
Wir berichteten vor wenigen Tagen über die Entscheidung der ESL, den VR-Titel The Unspoken aus der laufenden zweiten Saison der VR League zu entfernen. Ein Schritt, der große Empörung bei der Spielerschaft auslöste und besonders für Enttäuschung bei den professionellen Teilnehmern sorgte. Nun gibt es Neuigkeiten vonseiten der E-Sports-Liga, denn die Verantwortlichen rudern von ihrem Entschluss zurück. Das große Finale des VR-Magier-Duells soll nun doch auf der Oculus Connect 5 stattfinden. Die besten vier Spieler treten in San José gegeneinander an und erhalten die Chance auf das Preisgeld in Höhe von 220.000 US-Dollar.
ESL rudert zurück – Finale von The Unspoken findet auf der Oculus Connect 5 statt
In einem kürzlich veröffentlichten Statement auf Reddit beschreibt itszerolove, Partnermanager der ESL, die zukünftigen Pläne für den VR-Titel The Unspoken. Demnach soll das große Finale des Magier-Duells nach einer Absprache mit Oculus nun doch wie geplant auf der Oculus Connect 5 stattfinden.
Als Begründung für diese Entscheidung gibt er das passionierte Feedback der Community an. Demnach dachten die Verantwortlichen, dass das Interesse an The Unspoken aufgrund der geringen Anmeldezahlen schlichtweg nicht mehr vorhanden sei. Durch die rege Kritik wurde den Entscheidungsträgern allerdings bewusst, welches Ausmaß die getroffenen Schritte für die Betroffenen haben. Bei einer derart starken Unterstützung für die Profis möchten weder ESL noch Oculus an der getroffenen Entscheidung festhalten. Demnach soll der ursprüngliche Plan wieder aufgenommen werden und den besten vier Spielern die Möglichkeit gewährt werden, im Finale gegeneinander anzutreten. Dafür werden sowohl Reisekosten und Spesen übernommen sowie die Chance auf das Preisgeld im kompetitiven Wettbewerb gewährleistet.
Zudem gestand er eine mangelnde Kommunikation rund um die gesamte Veranstaltung ein, was sich zukünftig verbessern soll. Bereits in den kommenden Wochen sollen neuen Informationen bezüglich der Oculus Connect 5 veröffentlicht werden.
