The Walking Dead Onslaught, the upcoming zombie VR game based on AMC’s TV show adaptation of the universe, has announced a release date of September 29th. Developer Survios published a new gameplay trailer highlighting the game’s zombie slaying action.
Not to be confused with The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners—a VR game released in early 2020 by Skydance Interactive and based on the comic book universe—the upcoming Walking Dead Onslaught was originally due to launch in late 2019 but was delayed into 2020.
Today Survios announced the release date for The Walking Dead Onslaught on September 29th and made a Standard Edition and Deluxe Edition of the game available for pre-order with a discount and in-game bonuses. A new gameplay trailer was released alongside the announcement:
Survios is promising a full campaign where players will “embark on an original story following the events of the war with the Saviors. Players will fight as Rick, Daryl, Michonne, and Carol to gather needed resources to rebuild the settlement, restore society, and prepare for an onslaught of walker-slaying mayhem.”
The game boasts 24 weapons along with an infinitely replayable ‘Scavenger Mode’ which lets players fight their way through zombie hordes as they gather supplies.
Set to release on PSVR, Oculus PC, and SteamVR on September 29th, The Walking Dead Onslaught will be priced at $30 for the Standard Edition and $40 for the Deluxe Edition before a 10% pre-order discount.
Digital Pre-Order Bonuses: Offers exclusive Sheriff Rick and Hunter Daryl character skins, Gold Katana and Gold Knuckle Knife weapon skins, and a pre-purchase discount on participating platforms.
Digital Deluxe Edition: Includes Iconic Show Weapons Pack: Lucille, Rick’s Mace, The Red Machete and Tyreese’s Hammer, Alexandria Crafting Starter Kit, The Walking Dead Onslaught Mini-Soundtrack and Art Book. Additionally, purchases via the PlayStation Store will also receive a special PS4 Theme and Avatar pack.
There will also be a physical release of The Walking Dead Onslaught for PSVR available on OCtober 2nd in EUrope and October 13th in North America via Perp Games.
The release of The Walking Dead Onslaught will bring Survios full-circle, in a way. The studio was one of the earliest dedicated to VR game development and in its earliest days had been working on a motion controller-based room-scale VR prototype called Zombies on the Holodeck, well before commercial VR headsets had even been announced with motion controllers or room-scale tracking.
After a year’s delay, we finally know when The Walking Dead Onslaught is arriving on VR headsets and we won’t have too wait long.
Survios’ zombie-slaying game touches down on September 29. That much was confirmed by IGN with a new trailer for the game that gives us our first look at gameplay in over a year.
Unlike The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, which is set in the world of the comics, Onslaught is based upon the TV show, starring a familiar cast of characters. Players will take up arms as Darryl Dixon and more in an all-new story that sees you slicing and shooting your way through hordes of the undead.
The gameplay here looks far improved from what Survios showed a year ago. We spoke to the team earlier this year, at the time confirming that the game’s co-op support was being stripped out in favor of doubling down on story. Based on what we’ve seen here, we’re hoping that decision has paid off. The chance to sling a sword as Michonne is certainly an exciting one.
Saints & Sinners — developed instead by Skydance Interactive — ranked highly on our recently refreshed best VR games lists, so Onslaught will have some tough competition at launch. Pre-order bonuses for the game include new skins for Darryl and Rick, plus golden katana and knuckle knife weapons.
The Walking Dead Onslaught lands on PC VR and PSVR headsets this September. No word on an Oculus Quest version yet, though Saints & Sinners is due on the device later this year.
Survios’ upcoming virtual reality (VR) title The Walking Dead Onslaught is one of the main videogamesVRFocus is looking forward to launching later this year. In recent interviews, the developer has revealed that a planned co-op mode has been dropped leading to a lot of disappointed gamers. So much so that Survios has released a more in-depth statement regarding its decision.
Originally, The Walking Dead Onslaught had been slated for a late 2019 launch but this was pushed back so the team could build ‘an exceptional experience.’ Like most studios, those efforts haven’t been helped by the pandemic and so the decision was made to concentrate efforts on the single-player portion of the title.
“Our mission for The Walking Dead Onslaught has always been to deliver an authentic, immersive experience for fans,” Survios explains in the statement. “This includes those who have followed AMC’s groundbreaking show from the beginning, those of you who have played and loved Survios games since Raw Data, and those who just want to have a good time killing walkers in unspeakably gruesome ways. We’ve focused our attention on making key changes that make the game better from our perspective and bring us closer to realizing our goal.”
The studio goes on to outline some of the key changes that have been made to The Walking Dead Onslaught:
“Enhancing how players experience elements of AMC’s The Walking Dead by including more authentic and immersive elements from the world of the show.
“Refining our combat systems to deliver even more brutal, satisfying walker encounters.
“Expanding Alexandria to play a much larger role in the game where players can construct buildings, upgrade and customize their arsenal, interact with characters from the show, and more.”
“Let us be clear: this was not a decision made lightly. In the end, we all agreed that simply adding the mode without the proper resources to bring it to our level of polish and quality was not something we could bring ourselves to do,” Survios continues. “It was clear to us after several rounds of internal playtesting that co-op wasn’t reaching our own standards of fun, which we have since built up with significant improvements to the campaign, combat, and a meaningful progression system that connects you to the universe of AMC’s The Walking Dead.”
Even without the co-op mode The Walking Dead Onslaught is still an enticing prospect but it will inevitably be compared to The Walking Dead: Saint & Sinners.VRFocuswas impressed by the demo last year, hopefully, that’s been further improved upon. As further details are released, VRFocus will let you know.
One of the biggest videogame announcements in June came from EA’s Motive Studios, revealing Star Wars: Squadrons. What made the news extra special was the fact that VR is natively supported rather than a later add-on.
Set to offer a single-player story mode alongside a competitive, team-based multiplayer, in Star Wars: Squadrons you can pilot some of your favourite ships from the franchise, from the X-Wing to the Tie Fighter. Details released to date indicate a rich experience which should entice most fans.
Supported headsets: PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive & Valve Index
Release date: 2nd October 2020
The Walking Dead Onslaught
The next big title from VR specialist Survios, The Walking Dead Onslaught is being made in partnership with AMC so it’ll feature characters from the TV show – unlike The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners which had original characters.
Being the second The Walking Dead title there are a lot of expectations as to whether the experience can offer something new and improved over its rival, especially as The Walking Dead Onslaught was originally due last year. It’ll feature an exclusive single-player storyline alongside visceral combat where you can stab, slice and shoot your way through hordes of walkers.
Supported headsets: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive & Valve Index
Release date: 2020
After the Fall
Vertigo Games has had a busy year releasing new content for Arizona Sunshine for Oculus Quest and VR arcade title Ghost Patrol VR, but the one videogame it’s still keeping quiet on is After the Fall.
Unveiled at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2019, the title is another action-packed shooter. This time taking place in a desolate future consumed by climate change and where most of the population have turned into monsters because of a designer drug. You’ll be able to scavenge for parts to build deadly weapons to survive, and it looked promising when VRFocus previously demoed it.
Supported headsets: PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive & Valve Index
Release date: 2020
Lone Echo II
An Oculus Rift exclusive, Lone Echo II is another title whose launch has been delayed from 2019. A single-player sci-fi adventure the videogame continues the story from the 2017 original – worth playing if you haven’t – where you play a robot called Jack who needs to help Captain Olivia Rhodes survive the perils of space.
Thankfully, developer Ready at Dawn did release an update on its progress in May, indicating that even with the current pandemic development was still on course for a 2020 launch. At this rate, it’s going to be a bumper festive season.
Supported headsets: Oculus Rift/Rift S
Release date: 2020
Project CARS 3
For those after some genuine four-wheel action the Slightly Mad Studios’ Project CARS 3 will be leaving the paddock next month. The series has continually supported VR and that’s not going to stop with this latest iteration.
Featuring a new career mode where players can “rise from weekend warrior to racing legend,” there will be 200+ elite-brand race and road cars both classic and cutting edge to race across the 140+ tracks at locations around the world. Great to see another big name videogame continue its support for VR players.
Supported headsets: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive & Valve Index
Release date: 28th August 2020
Medal of Honor: Above & Beyond
Bringing the classic first-person shooter (FPS) back to life and firmly aimed at the VR audience, Medal of Honor: Above and Beyondappeared at Oculus Connect 6 (OC6) last year.
Set during the early 1940s as World War 2 rages on, players take on the role of an Allied agent of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Tasked with completing a range of missions such as infiltrating a hotel filled with Gestapo agents already looked promising during that initial unveiling.
While a 2020 date was initially slated, currently there’s been little in the way of updates.
Supported headsets: Oculus Rift/Rift S
Release date: 2020
Low-Fi
A Kickstarter crowd-funding success in 2019, if ever there was a title which evoked the sci-fi feel of Blade Runner then Low-Fi is it. From Iris VR Inc. – the team behind Technolust – Low-Fi is gearing up to be an epic adventure where you play a cop patrolling the dark crime-ridden streets of city-block 303, able to choose between keeping law and order or exploiting its seedy underbelly.
While backers can already play an early beta version as development continues, the PC VR launch is expected this year followed by a PlayStation 5 version in 2021.
Supported headsets: PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive & Valve Index
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners isn’t the only zombie-slaying VR adventure based on the iconic IP for 2020. The Walking Dead Onslaught (official website) from Survios is still in development and it’s changed a lot since the last time we saw it.
Last week I had the chance to chat with the Lead Designer on The Walking Dead Onslaught, Andrew Abedian. We talked about the game’s new direction, revised structure, and the decision to remove cooperative multiplayer.
Original gameplay reveal trailer from E3 2019:
The Game That Never Was
When I played a demo build of Onslaught back at E3 2019 I was struck by the gory combat and attention to detail with regard to things like dismemberment and zombie corpse mutilation. Technically, it was a marvel and really seemed to set itself apart with the inclusion of replayable co-op and a fun, arcade-style mission structure. But that’s mostly been changed now (more on that in a second).
All that being said, Onslaught still has a lot of the same ideas it once did a year ago. At its core, this is aiming to be the definitive Walking Dead experience for fans of the show, not the comic as with Saints & Sinners. You’ll still be able to play as Daryl, Rick, Carol, and Michonne as you fight your way across the apocalypse to gather resources and rebuild society. Survios is also leveraging their experience developing reactive melee combat systems (best seen in Creed: Rise to Glory) to give The Walking Dead Onslaught some of the best and most immediately satisfying zombie killing you can find in VR. That’s all still here, but the structure has changed.
“For this game to really make sense and for us to do this brand justice, we wanted to do a little bit more with it and make it feel like you are literally dropped into an episode of The Walking Dead,” says Abedian. “Almost every decision we have made over the past year has been made trying to move toward that goal.”
The Game That It Became
According to Abedian, the focus is now placed squarely on narrative. The campaign is an original story from the point-of-view of, primarily, Daryl who is fully voiced by Norman Reedus himself. It centers on tension between him and Rick Grimes just before the events of Season 9 in the TV show.
You’ll come back to Alexandria as a safe zone to build up the settlement and spend resources you’ve gathered. There will even be moments where you get to gather around a campfire and chat with Daryl, as Rick, to gain additional context into the story and what’s going on.
Another new element is the inclusion of ‘Scavenger Runs’ which will let you go out on heart-pounding supply runs to get resources, collect weapons, and more to bring back to Alexandria. These are randomized encounters that are replayable — adding some nuance and longevity to the gameplay.
Notably though, all of this is without co-op now. Previously the co-op was a cornerstone feature, but it was continually pushed to the side in favor of other things until it eventually just wasn’t in the game’s scope anymore.
Challenger Approaches
Then The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners came out earlier this year and totally blew us away.
Not only did it pack incredibly realistic physics into a large, sprawling world set in a unique location, but it wrapped all that up into a nice, bloody package with visceral combat. It was, for all intents and purposes, a complete experience and honestly one of the best Walking Dead games, and indeed VR games, made to date.
As a result, the bar was raised.
“Saints & Sinners released and we all talked about the impact,” says Abedian. “We were making the co-op decision around that time, but we had been working with AMC for this entire process and it was very important to us that we make something that is quality, that utilizes the brand and that the people who hold that brand feel like they got quality out of us.”
Onslaught has a few major things it can hang its hat on though. Namely, the all-star cast. Four of the most iconic characters from AMC’s hit show are here and in the flesh. Survios worked directly with producers and writers to make this game as authentic as possible. That’s a big deal.
“After a certain point it became obvious that the expanded feature set to accomplish that feel of being inside The Walking Dead was ultimately the largest thing we could provide as a differentiator,” says Abedian. “If players are coming into our game and they are literally feeling like it’s the show and they have these awesome memories of watching the show, there is no other game to be able to provide that at this current juncture.”
Considering the success Survios has had with licensed VR games, such as Creed and Westworld Awakening, they’re certainly capable of making Onslaught work.
Undying Potential
Just like there is room for more than one Walking Dead TV show, for the most part, there is certainly room for more than one Walking Dead VR game, even if they’re releasing a little too close for comfort. There’s a proven market and fan base now with one success story to look at as either encouragement or perhaps a high bar.
I have faith that The Walking Dead Onslaught has the potential to be an awesome zombie-killing experience and I look forward to wielding Michonne’s sword and Daryl’s crossbow, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’m wistful for what could have been. In a world where Saints & Sinners has already seemingly nailed the gritty reality of zombie survival and the choices that requires, I think the door was open for Onslaught to deliver a definitive co-op experience with replayable mission and a heavy focus on visceral, intense combat. Pivoting to focus more on the story could serve them well well, but I’ll always wonder what the original incarnation for the game would have been like had it been carried through to the end.
The Walking Dead Onslaught is slated for a 2020 release date on SteamVR, Oculus Home for Rift, and PSVR. We’ll keep you posted with more details as they’re available.
We’re past the halfway mark in 2020 and we’ve already seen some great VR games release this year. But what else is coming between now and the end of the year? Let’s take a look at upcoming VR games for the rest of 2020.
Some recent announcements have elevated what was looking like a rather quiet H2 2020 to an exciting few months. We’ll be taking off in X-Wings and making Dreams come true.
At long last, Media Molecule’s fantastic creation tool is ready to add VR support. Dreams is essentially a development engine unto itself, letting players make their own games and share them online. The brief tease we’ve seen of VR support so far is hugely exciting. This will arrive as a free update to owners of the base game.
The much-anticipated Oculus Quest port of Onward is very nearly here. The ever-popular military simulation shooter makes its way to the standalone headset with all the same features including, multiplayer, single-player and cooperative modes as well as, crucially, cross-play with PC VR players. If this port is up to snuff, expect Onward on Quest to be one of the biggest upcoming VR games for 2020.
Solaris: Offworld Combat (Rift, Quest) – August (PSVR in 2020)
The makers of Firewall: Zero Hour return with a new multiplayer VR shooter that trades Rainbow Six for Unreal Tournament. Solaris offers 4 v 4 battles in which players sprint and slide across maps, picking up new weapons and finding the high ground. Given the developer’s past experience, we’re hoping for a top-quality VR shooter here.
Star Wars: Squadrons (PSVR, PC VR) – October 2nd
We’ve been lucky enough to have lived out several Star Wars dreams in VR already, but Star Wars: Squadrons seems to have struck a particular chord with the fanbase. The chance to jump into the cockpit of an X-Wing or TIE Fighter in VR makes us a little weak at the knees. Fortunately, we’ll be seated for its online multiplayer battles and single-player campaign, though. This is probably the most anticipated of the upcoming VR games in 2020.
Medal of Honor: Above And Beyond (Rift) – 2020
Respawn Entertainment is one of the game’s industry’s best developers, which gives you more than enough reason to be excited for Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond. Add in that this Oculus exclusive sees the developer return to a series it helped established as Infinity Ward, plus the promise of an expansive campaign and multiplayer support, and you have one of the most promising games of 2020.
Lone Echo 2 (Rift) – 2020
Lone Echo’s sequel has been a long time coming, but we’re hoping it finally enters orbit in the second half of this year. It’s high time we checked in on Liv and Jack after the first space odyssey’s dramatic cliffhanger and, now that Ready at Dawn is owned by Facebook itself, we wouldn’t expect this Oculus exclusive to hold back.
The Walking Dead: Onslaught (PSVR, PC VR) – 2020
The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners may have stolen hearts and minds on PC VR and PSVR platforms already, but we’re just as excited for VR veteran Survios’ take on the zombie franchise. Aimed at the TV show instead of the comics, Onslaught delivers a full campaign with iconic characters including none other than Darryl Dixon, voiced by Norman Reedus himself. Definitely keep this on your radar for upcoming VR games 2020.
After surviving a year in the shadows, The Walking Dead: Onslaught is gearing up for its big return this summer, with a little help from Norman Reedus.
New gameplay from Survios’ take on the popular zombie franchise in VR is coming this summer. Reedus has been recording new voice work for the game in his basement, as he’s only too proud to show in the video above. The end of the clip confirms that the game is still on track for PC VR and PSVR, though there’s no release date to talk about just yet.
The Walking Dead: Onslaught is not to be confused with the other VR game set in the franchise, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners. The latter title, developed by Skydance Interactive, released earlier this year and is set in the world of the comic book. Onslaught, meanwhile, is instead based on the TV show. You’ll play as characters from the show, some of which are voiced by their real actors like, obviously, Reedus’ Daryl Dixon.
Onslaught will come with a full campaign with an all-new story. We first revealed gameplay for Onslaught at our first showcase last year, but the game was then delayed out of its 2019 release window and we’re expecting to see a lot of changes. Last we saw it, Survios has walker-stabbing down pretty good, so we’re excited to see how far it’s come since then.
It has been quite an incredible year for virtual reality (VR) fans. Headsets like Oculus Quest, Valve Index and Vive Cosmos have arrived while developers have continually surpassed the quality of content available. So now it’s time to look ahead and into 2020. With plenty of exciting content coming in the next 12 months VRFocus looks at some of the most exciting prospects.
Half-Life: Alyx
The one videogame pretty much all VR gamers are looking forward to, Valve’s addition to the Half-Life franchise is going to be a dedicated VR experience. Supporting PC VR headsets – free for those who own Valve Index – Half-Life: Alyxwill be set between the events of 1998’s Half-Life and Half-Life 2 (2004).
You take the role of Alyx Vance as she and her father secretly form a resistance against the mysterious alien race known as The Combine currently occupying planet Earth. Set for an official launch in March, Half-Life: Alyx looks stunning from the screenshots released so far and could become the VR game of the year.
The Walking Dead: Saint & Sinners
Currently being developed by Skydance Interactive as an official tie-in to AMC’s TV Show, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is going to be a gory, zombie-filled, shooter. With its own unique storyline set within New Orleans, the videogame will task players with having to deal with constant threats of violence, disease, and famine, with threats coming from both the zombie and human population alike.
Being able to wield an assortment of ranged and close-combat weaponry, players will be able to inflict some brutal damage in their bid to survive, whilst also making life and death decisions which affect the narrative. There won’t be too long to wait either, as the launch date of 23rd January has already been confirmed.
The Walking Dead Onslaught
Can’t get enough of the undead and using shotguns to decapitate them? Well, you’re in luck as VR specialist Survios (Battlewake, Creed: Rise to Glory, Electronauts) is also working with AMC on a Walking Dead videogame. The Walking Dead Onslaught was originally due for release in 2019 but the studio pushed it back to improve the experience.
Offering a single-player campaign which also has its own unique storyline, VRFocuspreviewed the title at the Electonic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2019, finding that: “The Walking Dead Onslaught looks like it’ll provide a fairly brutal zombie gameplay experience for fans of titles like Arizona Sunshine.” There’s no launch date at the moment but Survios has always produced high-quality VR titles so its one to keep an eye on.
Lone Echo II
Before Half-Life: Alyx was announced, developer Ready at Dawn had the most anticipated sci-fi experience arriving in 2020, Lone Echo II. An Oculus Rift exclusive, the original from 2017 set a new benchmark in both visual and gameplay design for VR experiences. However, the sequel has a lot more competition now and expectations are high.
Lone Echo II was supposed to be a 2019 release, the studio announced in the summer that a Q1 2020 launch window was now taking place. Thus putting it in direct competition with Valve’s epic. The sequel continues the story of Captain Olivia Rhodes and your robot character Jack who’s there to protect her. Having previewed Lone Echo II it looks like fans won’t be disappointed.
Medal of Honor: Above & Beyond
One of the surprise announcements from Oculus Connect 6 (OC6) in September 2019, Respawn Entertainment finally revealed its first VR title originally hinted at during OC4. Bringing one of its most popular franchises to VR, Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond takes players back to World War II, as an Allied agent of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).
Tasked with completing a tour of duty across Europe to disable the Nazi war machine, the title will feature both single-player and multiplayer modes offering historically accurate settings, weapons and other items. Mixing up both first-person shooter (FPS) action with puzzles, Medal of Honor: Above and Beyondproved to be an enjoyable experience when VRFocus previewed the title. There’s no release window during 2020 just yet.
Low-Fi
Coming from the indie team behind Technolust, Low-Fi first emerged on Kickstarter looking to raise $60,000 CAD to fund this cyberpunk adventure. The crowd-funding campaign easily hit the target within four days, raise over $100,000 CAD in the process.
Designed to be a massive open-world sandbox inspired by films such as Blade Runner and Robocop, Low-Fi puts players in the shoes of a police officer recently transferred to a crime-ridden section of city-block 303. Here they can keep law and order, solving crimes and advancing narratives or delve into the seedy underbelly of the city, taking bribes, framing innocent people and hanging out in casinos. A fully finished version is expected to arrive towards the end of 2020.
After the Fall
The next big title from Vertigo Games (Arizona Sunshine, Skyworld), After the Fall is another FPS filled with monsters to shoot and guns to upgrade. Taking place in Los Angeles 20 years after an apocalypse began a new ice age, you need to survive this harsh winter environment scavaging what you can whilst killing as many Snowbreed as possible. These horrible creatures were once human but thanks to designer drugs mutated into foul beasts.
Set to offering both single-player and co-op multiplayer modes, After the Fall will be an action-packed experience where you can build weapons, armour and other gear from found items. Vertigo Games has yet to announce when in 2020 After the Fall will arrive, so in the meantime check out VRFocus‘ preview.
Iron Man VR
One of the first VR videogames announced during Sony Interactive Entertainment’s (SIE) State of Play broadcast in March, Iron Man VR is possibly PlayStation VR’s biggest exclusive coming in 2020. Putting players in Tony Stark’s iconic suit whilst playing the character himself, players will be able to fly, shoot and punch just like the Marvel superhero, in what could be the best Iron Man videogame to date.
Marvel’s Iron Man VRis scheduled for worldwide release on 28th February 2020 with pre-orders available.
Paper Beast
Another PlayStation VR exclusive, Paper Beast looks set to offer one of the most intriguing and original experiences to come to the headset next year. Created by French studio Pixel Reef, Paper Beast is the work of legendary designer behind Another World and From Dust, Eric Chahi.
Designed to be a playful exploration videogame, Paper Beast is set in the world of big data, born within the vast memory of data servers. Here players will find strange creatures and an everchanging landscape, with a non-verbal narrative to follow. Players can not only interact with the creatures they find but also the terrain, solving puzzles in the process. Paper Beastis due out soon, with a Q1 2020 window now in place.
The Room VR: A Dark Matter
A multiplatform title which was revealed during OC6, The Room VR: A Dark Matter continues Fireproof Games’ award winning series The Room. Designed specifically for VR, this version is set in the British Museum, London, circa 1908. The storyline revolves around the disappearance of an esteemed Egyptologist prompting a police investigation.
Players will be able to explore cryptic locations, examine gadgets and discover an otherworldly element blurring the line between reality and illusion, fantastic for any puzzle fan. A launch will be taking place early 2020 for headsets including Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, Valve Index and Windows Mixed Reality.
Pixel Ripped 1995
Having begun with Pixel Ripped 1989, creator Ana Ribeiro and Brazilian studio ARVORE plan to make several sequels with Pixel Ripped 1995 being the next. Each one is a sort of homage to gaming of that era, mixing VR environments with some retro gameplay.
The first title was a delightful experience with Pixel Ripped 1995 promising more of the same, now stepping into the 16-bit gaming era. The narrative continueswhere players have to fight an evil goblin called the Cyblin Lord. This time players are David, a 9-year-old kid from New Jersey who must defeat the evil villain. Currently, Pixel Ripped 1995 doesn’t have a date or window for launch in 2020, so take a look at VRFocus’ preview from OC6 for a little more info.
Phantom: Covert Ops
As is quite often the case videogame launches get pushed back and nDreams’ Phatom: Covert Ops is no different. Another title expected in 2019, the British VR developer announced the decision to delay the release until the new year to polish the experience.
From what VRFocus has seen already Phantom: Covert Ops looks very promising, with the core mechanic being that you’re a stealth operative working solely from a kayak. One of the reasons for this idea was gamer comfort, in a seated position you need to paddle to move anywhere, whilst a range of weaponry including a silenced pistol, rifle and C4 are all close to hand for carrying out missions. Once again there’s no solid date for Phantom: Covert Ops’ launch in 2020 so you’ll have to make do with this preview for a little more detail.
We loved 2019 for its bounty of VR games and emphasis on new hardware, but 2020 is looking to bring a host of big budget titles and polished indies alike that should not only keep us all happily strapped into the headset, but attract a steady flow of new users to VR in the process too.
Here, we take a look at our top anticipated VR titles coming to the full gamut of platforms out there, which includes SteamVR headsets (Rift, Vive, Windows MR, Valve Index, etc), Oculus Quest, and PSVR.
Note: PlayStation 5 is set to arrive for holiday season 2020, which ought to arrive with a bevy of new games for the backwards compatible PSVR. Sony hasn’t announced the second iteration of PSVR yet, so we’re hoping to learn more about awesome PSVR platform games soon.
Studio description: Half-Life: Alyx is Valve’s VR return to the Half-Life series. It’s the story of an impossible fight against a vicious alien race known as the Combine, set between the events of Half-Life and Half-Life 2. Playing as Alyx Vance, you are humanity’s only chance for survival.
Studio description:Don the PlayStation VR headset to suit up as the Armored Avenger in an original Iron Man adventure! Using two PlayStation Move motion controllers fire up Iron Man’s Repulsor Jets and blast into the skies with an arsenal of iconic Iron Man weapons at your fingertips. Face off against Iron Man’s greatest foes in high stakes, action-packed battles. Upgrade tech in Tony Stark’s garage to customize Iron Man’s sleek suit and awesome abilities.
Studio description: Explore the remains of a civilization ground to a halt in an alternate 1980s, craft a range of ranged and melee weapons, and wield devastating powers with real-life movements. Go solo or join up with players worldwide as you face relentless hordes and colossal bosses in a bid to take back the city.
Studio description: Dispatched into hostile wetlands in your tactical kayak, utilise military weapons and equipment to evade and neutralise the enemy threat. Engage your targets lethally or infiltrate unnoticed from the shadows: it’s your mission to execute your way. Phantom: Covert Ops is stealth action redefined.
Studio description: Jack and Liv are back in Lone Echo II. Return to the rings of Saturn in this highly-anticipated sequel, to unravel the mysteries of Lone Echo and journey deeper into space – past the very boundaries of time itself.
Studio description: Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond is an action-packed and incredibly immersive VR experience set in World War II, where you step into the boots of an agent of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in war torn Europe. A deep single-player campaign takes you through historic events on land, air, and sea, sabotaging Nazi bases, subverting enemy plans, aiding the French Resistance, and much, much more.
Studio description: You’re the sheriff of cityblock 303, a retro-futuristic cyberpunk slum where the only inhabitants of note are other “low-fi”. Humans too poor to jack into the platform, and rusting old robots that didn’t achieve the intelligence singularity. What you do with your time is up to you. Are you a good cop, hotshot?
Studio description: Vertigo 2 is a single-player VR adventure. Explore the depths of the vast Quantum Reactor as you descend to finish your journey home.
Studio description: A dedicated VR stealth-action experience from the makers of Battlezone and the BAFTA-nominated Sniper Elite 4, in partnership with Just Add Water. Fight for the Italian Resistance in a daring mission to rid World War 2 Sicily of the Nazi U-boat menace.
Description: Solaris: Offworld Combat is a multiplayer team shooter developed by First Contact Entertainment, the studio behind Firewall Zero Hour (2018). The studio is still extremely tight-lipped, having only revealed the trailer above.
Studio description: Firmament is a resplendent fantastic steampunk journey — a monumental voyage through diverse and curious realms with the ever-present assistance of a helpful clockwork adjunct, and the deep and moving instruction and emotional chronicles of an ethereal mentor.
Studio description: Saints & Sinners is a game unlike any other in The Walking Dead universe. Every challenge you face and decision you make is driven by YOU. Fight the undead, scavenge through the flooded ruins of New Orleans, and face gut-wrenching choices for you and the other survivors. Live The Walking Dead.
Studio description: Fight your fears head-on in The Walking Dead Onslaught, the official VR game of AMC’s The Walking Dead. Experience an all-new exclusive TWD story, defend yourself with real-motion melee and ranged combat, and confront both the horrors and humanity of the apocalypse.
Description: Population: One is an upcoming battle royale shooter from the studio behind VR indie hit Smashbox Arena (2016). Although it may be late to the table, as its been delayed from its original early 2019 launch window to a vague ‘2020’ release date, we’re still looking forward to what promises to be a capable, clever, and solid battle royale shooter in VR.
Studio description:Paper Beast is a playful exploration game set in a colorful ecosystem born out of big data. Undertake a virtual journey of discovery through an immersive and poetic gameplay experience.
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Virtual reality (VR) specialist Survios has produced some top-notch videogames over the past few years so when the studio announced it was working with AMC on a The Walking Dead title earlier this year, expectations are naturally high. At the time a ‘Fall 2019’ release window had been slated but now that’s now slipped to next year.
Regarding the delay Survios issued the following statement:
“To our dedicated survivors:
“We have always strived to deliver high-quality, fun games that push the boundaries of VR. To that end, The Walking Dead Onslaught will now release in 2020 as we continue to build nothing short of an exceptional experience for our players.
“Thank you all for your support and patience—we’ll have more news to come soon.”
So if you were looking forward to killing a few zombies in VR this festive season you’ll now have to wait. How long is another matter?
As an officially licensed product, The Walking Dead Onslaughtwill allow you to play as some of the most popular characters from the show, whilst having its own unique storyline. Offering a single-player campaign, you’ll have the use of both melee and ranged weaponry, with a particular emphasis put on hand-to-hand combat. Survios has built what it calls a ‘Progressive Dismemberment System’ enabling the removal of walkers limbs at their joints. You’ll also be able to grab them to inflict damage with greater accuracy, such as stabbing them in the head.
Having previewed The Walking Dead Onslaughtback in June, VRFocus commented: “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.”
Now that The Walking Dead Onslaught is moving into 2020 it’ll be competing with another videogame from the same franchise, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners. Being developed by Skydance Interactive, the similarities between the two are obvious, offering lots of gory gameplay dicing up zombies. The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners already has a confirmed launch date, 23rd January 2020, so as long as that doesn’t slip it’ll likely be the first to arrive. As further details are released regarding The Walking Dead Onslaught, VRFocus will let you know.
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