It’s always great to see a varied selection of virtual reality (VR) titles arrive each week and the following seven days is a perfect testament to that. Strategy, rhythm action, puzzling and platformers are all there, with five new videogames showcasing the power of VR.
Carrier Command 2 VR – Geometa
’80s classic Carrier Command is set to make a return in both VR and non-VR form thanks to Geometa and Microprose. Take command of a high tech aircraft carrier filled to the brim with deployable craft to conduct missions with. From the command deck, you can operate its systems, gathering intelligence before launching an offensive to conquer the Archipelago.
This rhythm action videogame has built up a loyal following since its initial PC VR release in 2019 and now it’s the turn of PlayStation VR. The PlayStation VR version will feature all 55 licensed songs as well as 13 retro-future-inspired worlds to play them in; plus the four DLC music packs will also be available. Synth Riders features a selection of gameplay modes and modifiers including “Force” which adds a boxing mechanic and “Spin” for some 360-degree tunes.
Supported platforms: PlayStation VR
Launch date: 10th August
Blobkin Blaster – Brave Lunch
A family-friendly wave shooter with tower defence elements, Blobkin Blaster takes you under the sea to fight polluted, mutated monsters lurking in the deep. By your side are the cute Blobkin, little critters who’ll help you clean up the oceans.
After an Oculus Rift launch in late 2020 followed by Steam earlier this year, it’s soon time for Monologic Games’ platformer Ven VR Adventureto arrive on Oculus Quest. Comprising a total of 12 levels split across three regions, the world of Ven is a mixture of magic and mechanics where you control titular hero Ven through diabolical locations designed to kill him at every turn.
Time for some chilled out puzzle-solving in a similar vein to Puzzle Bobble, all you need to do is pop all the coloured marbles using a hand crossbow. Get stuck on a tricky bit, no problem, use one of the special but limited abilities to clear a load of the marbles out. Best of all, it’s going to be free.
Third-person VR platformer Ven VR Adventure, which launched on PC VR last holiday season, is now set for an August 12th release date on Oculus Quest. The game has been confirmed for PSVR as well, but there’s no word on a launch date.
Much like Astro Bot or Moss, in Ven VR Adventure you’re tasked with guiding little Ven on his journey from a third-person standpoint, but you’re also present in the world too. Ven sets off to save his fellow pals, all of whom have been scattered across the planet by space invaders. As an intergalactic police officer, you track the game’s chief villain, Bruce Nelson, and save them from machines and deadly enemies as you maneuver around traps and other various dangers.
Image courtesy Monologic
Ven VR Adventure launched initially on Oculus PC in December 2020 and on Steam in January. With a promise of four to six hours of gameplay, it’s seen generally favorable reviews, currently sitting at 4.2 out of 5 stars on Oculus PC among 51 reviews, and 88% ‘Positive’ on Steam among 45 reviews.
Now developer Monologic has announced an August 12th release date for Ven VR Adventure on Oculus Quest, priced at the same $30 as the other platforms.
Thanks to a comparison video posted by the studio on Twitter, it looks like they’ve done a good job of maintaining the game’s graphical style in moving from PC to Quest:
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT Ven VR Adventure for Oculus Quest 1/2 will be released on 12th August 2021 AT 19:00 CEST / 10:00 PT
While the game seems generally liked, a common complaint has been about how the camera system works. In May the studio revealed the results of a survey it conducted to understand how players felt about the camera system; they’re purportedly still working on a fix, but it doesn’t appear that it will be ready in time for the launch of the Quest version.
The game is now listed on the Oculus Store for Quest with a release date for next week, August 12.
Ven VR Adventure released late last year for PC VR via the Oculus Store for Rift, with the promise of a Steam PC VR release in 2021 as well as Quest and PSVR ports as well. We’ve had no word on the PSVR version, but the game did land on Steam earlier in the year. Now it’s finally set to arrive on Quest.
The Quest version of the game should be quite similar in content to the original PC VR version from last year, which we found to be enjoyable overall:
Ven doesn’t have the intimate connection of Moss nor the constant innovation of Astro Bot, but it stands its ground as a rock-solid platformer that serves up a rewarding, if occasionally unbalanced challenge … While I can’t help wishing Monologic had done more to justify why its familiar foundations had to be in a headset, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I found its taxing campaign a moreish treat. This is a tightly contested genre, but there’s a place on the podium for Ven… once you kick off Lucky’s Tale.
For more info, you can read our full review of the PC VR release here.
Virtual reality (VR) videogames don’t have to be first-person to be awesome, just look at the likes of third-person experiences such as Astro Bot Rescue Missionor Trover Saves the Universe. For Oculus Quest owners the latest in this genre to arrive is Ven VR Adventure by Monologic Games, with a launch date now set for early next week.
Originally released exclusively for Oculus Rift in 2020 before coming to SteamVR in January, Ven VR Adventure offers a giant platforming adventure where you’ll have to practice those precision jump skills to make it through alive. Comprising a total of 12 levels split across three regions, the world of Ven is a mixture of magic and mechanics where you control titular hero Ven through diabolical locations designed to kill him at every turn.
Locations are filled with traps and enemies to defeat as well as all your little buddies to find. While the camera is fixed as you progress through each level you’ll still be able to look in and around the environment for your mates, 10 of which are hidden throughout every area.
The standard levels can be difficult enough normally but for those after a greater challenge there are various modes like time trial. Encouraging players to speed run each course, they’ll be able to compare their performance against a global leaderboard.
Monologic Games is launching Ven VR Adventure for Oculus Quest 1 & 2 with Quest 2 having several specific improvements: “Dynamic Shadows, a bit of dynamic lighting, high-quality textures and high-quality lightmaps,” the studio notes.
When VRFocus reviewed the Oculus Rift version of Ven VR Adventure, we said: “There’s a lot to love about Ven VR Adventure, from its gorgeous environments to its unrelenting desire to challenge your gameplay skills and patience.”
Ven VR Adventure will hit the Oculus Quest Store on 12th August 2021 at 6pm BST (10am PST), priced at $29.99 USD. A PlayStation VR and non-VR versions of Ven VR Adventure are still planned for later this year. For further updates from Monologic Games, keep reading VRFocus.
Ven VR Adventure has been available for PC VR headsets for just over seven months and soon it’ll be the turn of Oculus Quest. Developer Monologic Games has confirmed the title is almost ready for release but before that happens the studio will be running a closed beta test which you can be part of.
If you’ve got an Oculus Quest or Oculus Quest 2 then all you need to do is head on over to the Ven VR adventure Discord and fill in your details. The closed beta will begin on 30th July at 6 pm BST/10 am PT, and spaces will be limited, so get in quick. So that should mean the launch isn’t too far away.
A classic single-player platform but designed specifically for virtual reality (VR) headsets, Ven VR Adventure sees you put in charge of Ven who needs to save his world from an enemy intent of destroying it for its magical resources. Carefully navigating Ven through this dangerous world you’ll need to be on the lookout for all of his buddies which are hidden throughout the levels.
And the levels are deadly, instantly killing Ven at the slightest mistake. Runes litter the environments to increase Ven’s life quota if you need them or simply speed run the levels. You’re not just an observer either, as Ven knows you’re there waving occasionally and even requiring your cooperation at points.
Hence why VRFocus enjoyed playing the challenging platformer. Reviewing the PC version of Ven VR Adventure, we said: “There’s a lot to love about Ven VR Adventure, from its gorgeous environments to its unrelenting desire to challenge your gameplay skills and patience.”
Monologic Games isn’t just working on the Oculus Quest port. The team also plans on bringing Ven VR Adventure to PlayStation VR as well as a non-VR edition later in the year. As further details for the Oculus Quest version are released, VRFocus will keep you updated.
The developers behind VR platformer Ven VR Adventure showed off some new footage of the game running on Quest 2 this week and gave an update on release timing — it’s not too far off.
The footage shared on Reddit was only short at 11 seconds long, but displayed use of dynamic shadows. Shadows are a common performance hog across any gaming system, and so to see a game running dynamic shadows on Quest 2 is impressive.
“Direct gameplay from Oculus Quest 2 where we are able to use dynamic shadows!” said the developers in their post title on Reddit. “Full game is ready for QA so we are waiting for final approval from Oculus. Stay tuned, because it’s gonna be great!”
On the Ven VR Adventure Discord server, the developers gave a bit more information, stating that with the game in QA and now pending approval from Oculus, the estimate release is in Q3 of this year — so sometime between July and September.
Ven VR Adventure released for Oculus Rift on the Oculus Store back in December last year. In our review, we found it to be a solid platformer, if maybe one that didn’t necessarily have to be in a VR format. Here’s an excerpt of what Jamie had to say:
Ven doesn’t have the intimate connection of Moss nor the constant innovation of Astro Bot, but it stands its ground as a rock-solid platformer that serves up a rewarding, if occasionally unbalanced challenge. It is, admittedly, nice to have something to play inside VR that can lean back on the tried and true mechanics of a third person platformer and, while I can’t help wishing Monologic had done more to justify why its familiar foundations had to be in a headset, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I found its taxing campaign a moreish treat.
Monologic Games launched Ven VR Adventure for Oculus Rift in December 2020, expanding support to SteamVR headsets in January. Previously confirming Oculus Quest and PlayStation VR development was underway, the studio has just revealed that a non-VR edition is in the works.
A new listing has appeared on Steam for Ven Adventure with a release date slated for Q4 2021, so if you don’t fancy popping on a headset – or don’t own one – then at least there will be another way to enjoy the experience. Having its own listing does seem to suggest this will be entirely separate from the VR edition so it’s unclear if current owners will have access to the flat version.
As for VR updates on the other versions, there’s been nothing concrete for a little while now. Both the Oculus Quest and PlayStation VR editions are still coming with the standalone headset looking to be the earlier recipient. Monologic Games previously offered a Q1/Q2 window, teasing over on its Discord channel this month that a launch in April is looking good.
In Ven VR Adventure you have to help the titular character save his planet by jumping and hacking your way through enemies all under the banner of the evil Bruce Nelson, who wants to destroy Ven’s magical world and access its energy to make him immortal. The videogame consists of three main regions split into four separate levels. On your travels, you’ll have to collect magical runes which increase Ven’s health, rescue his companions who are all in hiding, and expertly navigate deadly traps which will instantly kill the plucky hero.
VRFocus reviewed the PC version of Ven VR Adventure, saying: “There’s a lot to love about Ven VR Adventure, from its gorgeous environments to its unrelenting desire to challenge your gameplay skills and patience.”
As further details are released regarding Ven VR Adventure and its platform support, VRFocus will let you know.
VR platformer Ven revealed a new update just ahead of its SteamVR launch tomorrow.
Patch 1.2 for Monologic’s likable third-person platformer tweaks some of the game’s most difficult areas. In our review of the game we noted that long gaps between checkpoints made some of the game’s most troubling challenges more frustrating than they needed to be. In the patch notes Monologic said these balances bring “a lot of improvement to the gameplay but the base experience stays the same”.
Plus there are now difficult levels that will add new checkpoints and modify how many lives Ven racks up as you play. Monologic is also adding snap turning as on by default as well as a new indicator for the number of runes collected and hints about when to use Ven’s special attack ability. You can check out the full patch notes right here.
All these features will be implemented into the SteamVR version of the game tomorrow. Ven first hit Oculus Rift in December, where we said it was a fun and polished if not especially spectacular VR platformer. “Ven doesn’t have the intimate connection of Moss nor the constant innovation of Astro Bot, but it stands its ground as a rock-solid platformer that serves up a rewarding, if occasionally unbalanced challenge,” we said, awarding the game 3/5.
Following its SteamVR launch, the game is also due to arrive on Quest and PSVR in the coming weeks and months. Will you be checking out Ven on SteamVR tomorrow? Let us know in the comments below!
Monologic Games launched platformer Ven VR Adventure for Oculus Rift in December 2020 offering classic gameplay wrapped up in an immersive world. The studio announced this month that a Steam and Viveport launch is due this week and has just revealed it’ll include a major update as well.
Ven VR Adventure‘s v1.2 patch will see some major changes added to the overall gameplay experience. For instance, difficulty levels will be available affecting the number of checkpoints each level has and the amount of lives Ven begins with.
Due to the structure of some levels, there were moments where Ven ends up in the far distance making him trickier to manoeuvre. This has been addressed with Monologic Games redesigning these locations to refine the whole experience.
Full Ven VR Adventure changelog for v1.2 patch:
Places where players had difficulty during gameplay because Ven was too far from them were redesigned in every location in the game. It brings a lot of improvement to the gameplay but the base experience stays the same.
Added difficulty levels to the game – player can change them during profile creation as well as during gameplay.
Difficulty levels do not affect level design but determine:
Number of checkpoints.
Number of lives for Ven at the start.
Number of runes and crates demanded to gain additional life.
Snap Turn Option – default on.
Added hints in a form of new pictures in tablet – a lot of players were not using special attack or they had problems with some game mechanics.
Added an indicator of collected runes on the right-hand watch.
Fixed problem with frogs – now they will always kill player with one strike.
Huge number of fixes and tweaks for the tutorial, menu and lobby.
Various bug fixes, optimization and stability improvements.
Ven VR Adventure will launch on Steam and Viveport supporting Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Valve Index this Thursday, 28th January. The patch will arrive the same day for Oculus Rift users on the Oculus Store.
When reviewing Ven VR AdventureVRFocus found: “There’s a lot to love about Ven VR Adventure, from its gorgeous environments to its unrelenting desire to challenge your gameplay skills and patience.”
A date for the native Oculus Quest version has yet to be released. When that happens VRFocus will let you know.
It’s been a while since a videogame – especially a virtual reality (VR) one – has evoked the sort of emotions where the desire to throw a controller across the room has suddenly changed to sheer elation but Ven VR Adventure has just that effect. Platformers are nothing new in VR, from Lucky’s Taleback in 2016 to more recent examples like Mossor Astro Bot Rescue Mission, yet they don’t quite have the same level of difficulty that classic flat videogames had. Ven VR Adventure brings that back to offer an equal portion of joy and frustration.
Now don’t start to think this is Dark Souls level tricky – Monologic Games hasn’t been that evil – but if you’ve played titles like Crash Bandicoot or Oddworld then you’ll start to get the idea. You meet titular character Ven on an unknown planet which was inhabited by his peaceful kin. That was until the evil Bruce Nelson – possibly the least scary villain name ever – came along to harness the world’s natural magical energy, rounding up all the inhabitant’s in the process. Luckily Ven evaded capture and decided to fight back, with your help of course.
So Ven VR Adventure is a single-player adventure where you have to run, jump and fight through three regions, each with four levels. To begin with the nicely built levels offer a light, yet varied enough introduction to the basic gameplay mechanics, running around collecting runes and smashing boxes to collect energy which then transforms into lives. After the first few levels you’ll likely have collected 50-60+ lives and think it’s a walk in the park, wondering why it’s been so easy to collect them all. That’s where Ven VR Adventure starts ramping the difficulty up (possibly a little too fast) because all those lives will start to drop fairly rapidly.
The lives mechanic might be a bit old-school but that feeds into the title’s other homage to the platforming genre, precision jumping. The levels undulate so that Ven can go from right in your face to being a tiny character that seems a world away, making each gap crossed an event in itself as death is constantly certain. Ven isn’t hardy in any way, shape or form. Most enemies can kill him with one-touch or puff of noxious gas which only adds to the challenge. So the levels are split up with shiny cubes acting as checkpoints. In the later regions, these can’t come soon enough, which is why it can be so frustrating dying just before reaching one or pure happiness after completing a segment after 20 attempts.
Some of this is down to how Ven handles, because even with a double jump he doesn’t feel as nimble as he should do at points. He doesn’t have any wall-running or wall-jumping skills to speak of, so it is all pure platform work. You can launch off the glowing boxes for more height yet the dexterity isn’t quite there. There’s also a blandness to the general fighting as most to the time it’s all about dropping your power attack. Ven dual-wields two awesome looking curved blades for chopping stuff up, which is mostly the life giving boxes, as getting too close to the dangerous inhabitants (as mentioned) isn’t particularly wise.
What’s great about the level design though is all the tucked-away areas which make you really have to carefully examine and consider the environment. Each level has 10 of your companions hidden away, some in plain sight whilst most are normally teetering on some narrow ledge looking down into the abyss. The camera only moves down the level so it’s always worth looking back to check for those sneaky folk. Further down the line Monologic Games then starts providing the little guys via alternate routes which, of course, are far more taxing, devilishly making you weigh up their lives over your own.
All of this so far could easily have been achieved without VR, so does Ven VR Adventure have that much needed immersive connection? To a point it does. Controlling characters from a third-person view in VR means that the title needs something extra to make you care. Out of battle Ven often looks up at you for eye to eye contact and when the odd occasion arises where he’s within arms-reach you can fist bump him as if you were buddies. But this aspect doesn’t go far enough in all honesty when comparing to similar titles, Ven just smiles at you a lot.
The studio has included components to get you more involved in the action, being able to throw grenades in boss fights or destroying missiles with swords for example. And the spaceship which acts as the main hub has adjustable button controls for selecting the levels which is a novel touch. Again though, it feels there could have been more which wasn’t explored.
When it comes to the comfort there’s little to worry about due to Ven VR Adventure’s third-person viewpoint and seated gameplay. Some may not like the camera moving through the levels yet that all depends on how quickly you run through each area. Oh, and there is left-handed support for those that prefer the movement control in the other hand.
There’s a lot to love about Ven VR Adventure, from its gorgeous environments to its unrelenting desire to challenge your gameplay skills and patience. It doesn’t quite capture the same imagination as some of its competitors, Ven could’ve done with more personality and the overall gameplay doesn’t achieve anything new. However, Ven VR Adventure takes you on an emotional rollercoaster which will keep you coming back for more, even attempting a time-trial or two, and really that’s what gaming is all about.
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT
