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Genotype Hits Alpha Milestone, Targets Late 2023 Release On Quest 2

Genotype, an upcoming sci-fi adventure VR game, reached its alpha milestone last week, targeting a late 2023 release on Quest 2.

Created by Danish studio Bolverk Games (Kittypocalypse, Dick Wilde duology), Genotype promises an atmospheric mystery completely different from the developer’s previous games. Described as a chilling “escape-the-dungeon” adventure set in Antarctica, it involves exploring an abandoned scientific facility.

Genotype screenshot

You can print organisms and use their abilities with high-tech gloves, taking down strange creatures while investigating what happened to the former research team. Joined by a lone human survivor, Bolverk claims Genotype presents “a series of moral choices” alongside puzzle solving and various minigames.

“The Alpha release marks the first time the game is playable from end to end. We now have a shared goal for the rest of the development,” says CEO Bo Bennekov in a prepared statement, explaining that key gameplay functionality is complete. Here’s the official gameplay description:

Print living organisms and use them to survive by wielding a pair of high-tech gloves. Hold life in your hands as you journey into the icy depths of an abandoned Antarctic gene research facility overrun by strange creatures. Trapped deep under the ice, you must explore the large facility and solve the mystery of what happened to the people who worked here. The place crawls with hostile and strange creatures. Finally, the only human survivor seems to slowly lose his mind while speaking about a mysterious giant organism deep in the ice.

Genotype arrives in late 2023 on Meta Quest 2. You can sign up for the beta test now through the official website, which begins “hopefully sometime in the spring.”

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Razer Enters VR With Quest 2 Accessories – Head Strap And Facial Interface Review

Tech company Razer breaks into the VR market this week with its adjustable head strap and facial interface accessories for Meta Quest 2. Find out what they’re like in our hands-on Razer Quest 2 accessories review.

Razer is recognized as one of the largest providers of gamer-focused products and services in the world, with an extensive product range spanning from gaming mice and keyboards to high-performance laptops. The company’s plan to launch a product line of VR accessories was announced earlier this year at Razer’s 2023 CES presentation.

Razer designed these accessories in collaboration with medical equipment company ResMed. Made especially for Quest 2, Razer says its head strap and facial interface are made to boost comfort and enable longer play sessions. Here’s how they stack up.

Razer Adjustable Head Strap For Quest 2 Review

My immediate impressions of the head strap were good – the nylon material feels high quality and the stitching looks made to last. I had it fitted to my Quest 2 in next to no time and began testing. 

One of my favorite aspects of the head strap was how easy it was to slip on and adjust. It goes over your head in the same way as a baseball cap, with the strap cupping the back of the head first before the headset is lowered over the face. There are three velcro tabs (two at the sides and one at the top) that are used to get the fit just right.

With the strap resting snugly over my crown, the headset felt comfortable and secure – for the most part. There wasn’t too much shifting when moving my head vigorously from side-to-side, but the headset was less stable with up and down motion. It offers good support overall, but rigid plastic head straps, such as those in the official Elite Strap, give better stability. 

However, unlike its plastic counterparts, Razer’s adjustable head strap system adds very little bulk to the headset, making it a much lighter and more portable alternative. It is also very comfortable despite the slimline design and apparent lack of thick padding. 

Razer Facial Interface For Quest 2 Review

Razer’s facial interface is made with thin, textured and contoured membranes, designed to deliver comfort while reducing facial pressure. I found the silicone materials to be incredibly soft and the interface molded nicely to the contours of my face. Much like the head strap, there’s a lack of thick foam padding, yet it still manages to feel comfortable – a testament to the engineering behind the design. 

The lack of dense padding also allowed my eyes to get noticeably closer to the lenses compared to the stock Quest 2 interface, which seemed to give a small boost to my field of view. The interface is also made with medical-grade hypoallergenic materials to reduce skin irritation.  While that’s never been an issue for me, it will be a positive for some, especially the small percentage of users who might suffer from irritation with the stock Quest 2 interface. 

Much like other silicone interfaces, Razer’s interface does get tacky during hot and sweaty play sessions, which can cause it to stick to the skin. Dust and fibers also get stuck fairly easily but fortunately, its smooth and crevice-free surface is easy to clean and maintain.

There are vents positioned around the interface to increase airflow, reduce lens fogging, and prevent sweating. A nose piece is also included to block out external light. The beneficial effects of the ventilation were hard to judge and I can’t say I noticed much of a difference. However, the interface did do an excellent job of blocking out external light – one of the best I’ve tried, in that regard.  

The only exception was when trying to fit the interface to the glasses spacer that comes with the Quest 2. I don’t wear glasses, but the Razer facial interface didn’t fit perfectly when I attempted to use it with the stock Quest 2 spacer and it left gaps for light to peek in. 

Razer’s adjustable head strap system and facial interface are now on sale, currently only available in the US for $69.99 each. Razer says there are plans to sell these accessories in other select regions, with future announcements set to provide more details.

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Omni One VR Treadmill Begins Shipping To Early Investors

Virtuix revealed the final version of its Omni One VR treadmill, which is now shipping to early investors.

Following a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2020, the consumer-focused Omni One has been a long time coming. Originally targeting the second half of 2021, Jan Goetgeluk, Virtuix CEO and founder, claims they faced a “challenging development process,” citing issues relating to COVID-19 and supply chain shortages.

Virtuix claims high interest in the Omni One, with a “waitlist” of more than 35,000 expressing interest ahead of a wider consumer launch later this year. 900 of Virtuix’s crowdfunding investors have applied for an Omni One beta unit, with the wider release to follow once the beta program ends in late 2023, claims Virtuix. You can view the finalised design below:

Taking inspiration from Virtuix’s commercial Omni Pro VR treadmill, the Omni One is designed as a more compact option designed to fit inside your living room, where it functions as a complete entertainment unit. Previously shown with a Pico Neo 2, Virtuix is pairing the final version with a Pico Neo 3 Pro standalone headset, which includes a unique operating system, social features and “a proprietary game store targeting 30 titles at launch.”

Virtuix claims Omni One will receive a wider consumer launch later this year, releasing at an introductory cost of $2,595 plus shipping (which includes the Pico Neo 3 Pro). Virtuix claims unit quantities will “start small and gradually increase as the program proceeds.”

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Into The Darkness Goes Swimming In New PC VR Teaser

Into The Darkness, an upcoming physics-based VR action-adventure game, dropped a new teaser trailer for PC VR.

Developed by Vietnam-based Cosmos Games, Into The Darkness was first revealed two years ago with similar gameplay to Boneworks. Initially targeting a late 2021 release, its faced significant delays ever since, and now, publisher Gameboom VR offers a refreshed look at gameplay. The new teaser showcases combat, traversal, object interaction and underwater swimming, which you can watch in full below:

A dystopian sci-fi adventure set in the near future, Into The Darkness puts you in the shoes of Frank, an agent investigating a research facility that’s gone radio silent. Here’s the full gameplay description:

Humanity is trying to achieve immortality by transferring consciousness to machines. Transhumanism, however, is a dangerous path, and a poorly conducted experiment can end in a tragedy. As agent Frank, you are sent to one of the research facilities with which contact has been interrupted, and the previous agents never returned. Navigate through environments, solve the puzzle, engage the enemy… to find out the dark secret behind the experiments.

Into The Darkness VR arrives in late 2023 on PC VR via Steam. In the meantime, you can check out our Into The Darkness preview from 2021.

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Another Fisherman’s Tale Reels In A New Gameplay Trailer

Another Fisherman’s Tale received a new trailer today, showcasing its core gameplay mechanics on Quest, PC VR and PSVR 2.

Announced by Innerspace and Vertigo Games last month, Another Fisherman’s Tale is a direct sequel to 2019’s A Fisherman’s Tale.  Following a previous glimpse at its new VR mechanics, this latest gameplay trailer showcases how the detachable limb system works. Between swapping your hand for a crab’s claw, stealing someone else’s hand for a biometric scanner and using an old fashioned pirate hook for grappling, your own body will become part of the puzzle. You can watch the trailer in full below:

We love the original game in our A Fisherman’s Tale review, calling it a “perfect storm of gameplay, immersion and narrative.” We believed it ended too quickly after just 2 hours, though this upcoming sequel thankfully promises a longer 5-6 hour campaign. Continuing the story of Bob the Fisherman, Another Fisherman’s Tale sees you playing as Nina, daughter of the original game’s protagonist that begins investigating her father’s past. Here’s the official description:

Another Fisherman’s Tale continues the story of Bob the Fisherman, crafting a magical and moving narrative about the meaning we create in life by building and rebuilding our authentic selves. Developed from the ground-up to maximize the capabilities of modern VR tech, Another Fisherman’s Tale introduces a set of all-new core mechanics: this time, the player’s own body is the primary puzzle to be solved, creating unconventional gameplay based on dismantling and rebuilding their in-game form.

Another Fisherman’s Tale arrives on PSVR 2, Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest Pro and PC VR platforms this year.

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‘Another Fisherman’s Tale’ Shows Off More Mind-bending Puzzles in New Gameplay Trailer

InnerspaceVR is bringing its sequel to the VR puzzle adventure A Fisherman’s Tale soon, aptly named Another Fisherman’s Tale. And now both InnerspaceVR and publisher Vertigo Games have released a new gameplay video showing off just what awaits. Detachable body parts, galore.

Revealed today at the Future Games Show (FGS) Spring Showcase, the new trailer shows off some of the upcoming VR puzzle game’s mind-bending universe, which this time is said to use the player’s own body as core puzzle mechanic, tasking you with detaching and replacing key body parts to solve puzzles.

Check out the trailer below:

InnerspaceVR says the sequel brings a new chapter to the story of Bob the Fisherman, “weaving a magical and moving narrative about the meaning we create through building and rebuilding our authentic selves.”

In it, the studio says players will do things like throw Bob’s hand across a ravine and then make it crawl to retrieve an object, or send your head elsewhere for a different point of view.

Limbs are also modular, as you replace them with a variety of objects to unlock new skills, such as a pirate hook hand to let you scale walls, a crab’s claw to cut through a rope, and a fish’s tail to improve your swimming ability. Puppeteering hands will also let you pick up distant objects, items and tools.

InnerspaceVR says Another Fisherman’s Tale will be a five to six hour adventure, putting you in the shoes of Nina, the daughter of the series protagonist. Here’s how InnerspaceVR describes it:

“Recollecting Bob’s grandiose stories of pirates, sunken ships, treasures and mystical locations, Nina begins re-enacting his adventures and dives head-first into an imaginative world of memory and fantasy. Will she be able to separate fact from fiction and uncover the hidden truth behind the fisherman’s tale?”

And yes, it appears French comedian Augustin Jacob is reprising his role as the game’s smokey, baritone narrator.

Another Fisherman’s Tale is slated to launch in Q2 of this year, coming to PSVR 2, Meta Quest 2, and PC VR.