Meta started a new first party studio to build Horizon Worlds games with early access to the platform's upcoming creator tools.
At the Connect 2022 conference in October Meta announced that its "metaverse" platform would eventually let creators import textured 3D assets and use TypeScript, a popular language based on JavaScript.
Currently, Horizon creators have to build worlds entirely inside VR, placing and manipulate primitive colored shapes using the tracked controllers and then using a spatial visual scripting system to add dynamic functionality. But this results in a crude simplistic graphics style that has faced widespread ridicule when seen in screenshots outside VR.
The ability to import models & textures built with professional PC software should enable worlds with significantly improved graphics quality.
Meta isn't yet making the new tools available to general creators though. Instead, the company created a new first party studio called Ouro Interactive and gave it early access to the tools to build what Meta hopes will be content compelling enough to draw new users in to Horizon.
Ouro Interactive 's first title is Super Rumble, a free-for-all first person shooter for up to six players out now in Horizon Worlds. Meta actually launched a stealth beta test for Super Rumble back in May, which we noticed, where it was called Titanborne Rumble.
Journalist Janko Roettgers interviewed Meta’s metaverse VP Vishal Shah, who revealed that Super Rumble is just one of many "marquee titles" that will launch on Horizon over the next six months, from both Ouro Interactive and select third party game studios.
“We've really raised the ceiling on what can be built in Horizon in terms of visual complexity, interactivity and fun gameplay.”
“As consumers come to Horizon, we want to make sure there's a bunch of compelling content that they can find on day one.”
- Vishal Shah, Meta’s metaverse VP
A leaked internal Meta memo last year revealed that Shah believed it simply "has not found product market fit". Its competitors Rec Room and VRChat are almost always in the top 5 most popular Quest apps, while Horizon Worlds only makes the top 25.
Meta will be hoping its first and second party content powered by the new creator tools significantly boosts Horizon's popularity in VR. But Meta is also planning to bring Horizon to smartphones, which Rec Room is already on and VRChat is in active development.
The smartphone version of Horizon was originally supposed to launch last year. But Shah told Roettgers Meta ended up not shipping that version because “It was a little bit too much of a VR game on mobile as opposed to a mobile-native experience.” Meta has now rebuilt the mobile app, he said, and Super Rumble will be one of the first titles on mobile and include cross-play with VR.
Shah maintains that the VR version will still be the primary focus though, even as he expects mobile users to outnumber VR. “We're going from a world where we are VR only to a place where we're going to be VR first,” he told Roettgers.
Baldur's Gate 3 features co-op campaign online or split screen, but can you play between platforms? Here's what you need to know about cross-platform support.
Pico Neo 3 Link has been approved by the US FCC, despite its successor already launching elsewhere last year.
The FCC is a US regulatory agency with responsibility over wireless frequency use and approval is necessary to sell a device with wireless capabilities in the US market.
What's strange about this approval though is that Pico 3 Link was launched to European and Asian consumers in early 2022 as a consumer “beta program” ahead of the launch of Pico 4 later in the year. Pico had even tipped off Pico 4's imminent launch by offering a discount on it to Neo 3 Link buyers, and strongly hinting it would arrive within 12 months.
Pico Neo 3 Link
Pico 4 itself received FCC approval last year, and was reportedly supposed to launch in the US in March this year. But this was reportedly halted at the last minute due to the congressional hearings about possible Chinese government access to TikTok user data and influence over the content recommendation algorithm.
So why would ByteDance get US regulatory approval now for the predecessor?
Pico 4 is actually slightly cheaper than Neo 3 Link, and uses the same chipset, so this almost certainly isn't a case of offering a predecessor as an entry model like Meta plans to do with Quest 2 when Quest 3 launches. Pico could aim to sell to US businesses, as it already sells some headsets to businesses in North America. But Neo 3 Link is actually the consumer model of Pico Neo 3 Pro, which already launched to US businesses back in 2021 with a different FCC model.
Could Pico be planning to use Neo 3 Link as a US consumer beta program, as it did in Europe? And if so, could that mean it still plans to eventually launch Pico 4 in the US too?
That could finally bring direct competition to Meta's home market. But it would be facing off against Meta's twice as powerful Quest 3, so even at a lower price could struggle to attract consumers. And is ByteDance really willing to draw attention to itself while some US politicians explore banning TikTok?
In this week's episode of the Between Realities VR Podcast, Alex and Skeeva host XR Community Manager Max Noir.
Max reveals how she got involved in building the XR ecosystem in Uganda. Other topics include how artists are leveraging VR technology and the impact VR experiences can have on first-time users.
Looking for the Meta Quest+ monthly games in August 2023? Here's what you can download next month.
Introduced last month, Meta Quest+ is a recent subscription service for VR games that's similar to PlayStation Plus. It offers two monthly games for Quest 2, Quest Pro and future Quest 3 owners, and Quest+ kicked off with Pistol Whip and Pixel Ripped 1995 across late June and July. Both games remain redeemable until tomorrow.
But what's replacing these VR games next month? As seen in the original announcement, the Meta Quest+ August line-up includes Mighty Coconut's multiplayer hit, Walkabout Mini Golf, alongside action roguelite Mothergunship: Forge from Terrible Posture Games.
September's Quest+ line-up currently remains unknown – hopefully we hear more on which titles will be available soon.
You can subscribe to Meta Quest+ now and browse these games through the official Quest store. Available from $7.99 monthly, the $1 introductory offer remains available until July 31.
This hulking monstrosity and its puppet can be a challenging fight if you're not sure how its mechanics work, but we've got you covered on how to finish them off.
If you've got a disgusting hand just hanging out in your inventory, we'll tell you what you need to do with it. No one wants that lingering around, after all.
It’s Saturday morning, early 1988, and the atmosphere in my local arcade is electric.
My older brother along with at least a dozen other denim-clad pre-teens are crowded around the Operation Wolf machine that I’m playing. Except today, I’m not just playing; today, I am absolutely crushing it.
A supportive hand ruffles my messy blonde mullet as the pixelated bodies fall to the floor. I quickly wipe my palms across my tie-dyed tank top. Gripping the hard plastic Uzi attached to the arcade cabinet, I am transformed. No longer a dorky 8 year old wearing improbably short shorts, I am now Rambo incarnate and it’s time to bring the pain.
In 1987, this was what it was like to play Operation Wolf. Minding-bending, state-of-the-art, 8-bit brilliance. With the franchise returning for its VR debut 36 years later, it’s time to find out how much times have really changed.
Operation Wolf Returns: First Mission VR – The Facts
Platforms: Quest, SteamVR, Pico, PSVR 2 (Review conducted on Quest 2) Release Date: Out now Developer: Microids Price: $29.99
Having Flashbacks
Operation Wolf Returns: First Mission is a reboot of the classic 80s arcade shooter, brought into VR and available on Quest, Pico, PSVR 2 and PC VR headsets. Where the original was a side-scrolling light gun game, the VR incarnation is a first-person, on-rails shooter that effectively achieves the same general feeling as the arcade original.
Hostages will meander through the battle with the urgency of a distracted toddler. Extra points are awarded for letting them amble to safety, but the stakes are so low that avoiding the bystanders quickly becomes more a suggestion than a requirement.
There are six levels which take 10-15 minutes each to complete, all of which culminate in an entirely forgettable boss fight. There are three difficulty settings to choose from, as well as leaderboards to compete on and an uninspired endless wave mode. Once you complete the 90-minute nostalgia-laden campaign, there’s little reason to load the game up again.
Going Retro
Operation Wolf Returns plays very closely to its source material. In fact, the similarities to the original are both its biggest strength and its greatest weakness. Amid the trend of bringing classic ‘boomer shooters’ into VR, there is an understanding that nostalgia alone is not enough to drive a compelling experience. Gameplay has evolved and gamers expect more – simply recreating a classic exactly as it was risks the game feeling dangerously dated.
Thus it is with Operation Wolf.
The settings and voice acting are all perfectly aligned with their 80s counterpart. If you experienced the original, there will doubtless be a thrill in finding yourself inside a childhood memory. However, this fond reminiscence swiftly fades as the lack of modern VR features becomes apparent. There is no manual reloading or holstering of weapons, nor are there any meaningful environmental interactions. You don’t even have the ability to open or close your off hand – it just floats there like an inanimate afterthought. The end result feels like playing something with 8-bit depth inside your cutting edge virtual reality headset.
Apocalypse No
The action in Operation Wolf Returns is rudimentary at best. The gunplay is basic and despite having four weapons at your disposal, one of them is clearly superior to others – not that it makes much difference which one you use anyway. Switching weapons merely involves pushing your left thumbstick in one of four directions. Grenades can be thrown by pressing the grip button and directing a limp, arcing projectile indicator to exactly where you want it to land – barely any physical movement required.
As the levels drift by, the same assortment of enemies continue to pop out in unsurprising locations and with the reaction time of snails. They go down in a near-instant, dropping the same few perks each time they die, including uninspired gun icons representing ammo that you can shoot to pick up. It all begins to feel repetitive – and boring – before the first stage is even complete.
The minimal level of challenge comes from ducking around enemy bullets in an attempt to insert an element of physicality. While this is a modern staple of VR shooters, it feels severely undercooked in Operation Wolf. Where games like Pistol Whip ask the player to weave an almost dance-like route between bullets, Operation Wolf seems more intent on pulling your attention in one direction only to then hit you in the back from another.
This is less annoying than it could be thanks to the unlimited continues, which ultimately then make it absolutely impossible to die. Not only can you continue at will, but in doing so you suffer no discernible consequence. Progress, ammo, items; nothing resets upon dying. You simply choose to continue and jump back into the exact moment you left, as if nothing happened. The entire concept of having ‘lives’ is rendered moot and it utterly destroys any potential for tension throughout the campaign.
Sound and Vision
Graphically, Operation Wolf attempts to present a modernized version of the gritty pixel art of the classic version. Unfortunately, the art direction misses the mark and lacks polish. Though the visuals avoid the trope of leaning into pixel art to sell a retro vibe, they instead tread an awkward middle ground that looks unrefined and indistinct. The backgrounds may be vibrant and colorful, but consist of blocky and indistinct models with jagged edges everywhere you look. The enemy characters are 3D upgrades of the pixelated 80s designs, but with little stylization nor sense of identity.
When it comes to sound design, a conscious decision has been made to revel in the sound quality of 80s games. Sadly, the attempt at transposing sonic components of a bygone era feels less kitsch or charming and instead sounds tinny and lacking gravitas. The one exception is the main voice over, which is campy, rich and familiar, briefly selling that feeling of stepping inside an after school special.
Operation Wolf Returns – Comfort
Operation Wolf Returns: First Mission VR is an on-rails affair, so players will need to be able to tolerate some level of artificial movement in VR. The movement is slow and predominantly in a single direction, but there are absolutely no comfort options available, so players who are susceptible to smooth locomotion may wish to be careful.
Operation Wolf Returns: First Mission VR Review – Final Verdict
Operation Wolf Returns: First Mission VR succeeds in administering a small dose of arcade nostalgia. However, it not only fails to reach the benchmark of modern VR shooters, but falls short of offering a compelling experience from the very first stage. The short, shallow campaign replicates the simple gameplay loop of an 80s arcade game, but forgets to add enough – or anything – to make it relevant to a modern VR audience.
UploadVR focuses on a label system for reviews, rather than a numeric score. Our reviews fall into one of four categories: Essential, Recommended, Avoid and reviews that we leave unlabeled. You can read more about ourreview guidelines here.
Flarlic is the only way you can increase the number of Pikmin you can bring with you at any time. If you want to find them all in Pikmin 4, we'll show you how.
Half-Life: Alyx is on sale this weekend, available for a record low price.
Valve's flagship VR game is one sale this weekend, available for $20.39 – 66% off its regular price of $59.99. The offer is available until August 4.
The game's previous lowest sale price was just a bit higher at $23.99 (60% off). Usually these kind of big discounts only come into play during Steam's seasonal or holiday sales, but this record discount on Alyx has come out of nowhere and isn't accompanied by an event or larger sale across the store.
If you own a VR-ready PC setup and haven't already picked up Alyx then it's definitely worth picking up at this price – but also, why on earth haven't you got it already?
For that (likely very small) subset of PC VR players who haven't tried out Alyx yet, it is arguably the best PC VR experience available and rivaled by very few others. Here's a snippet from our 2020 review:
[Alyx is] a stunningly produced, meticulously refined capping off of the past four years of VR learnings. Its 10+ hours of best-in-class combat, evolving level design and, every so often, moments of truly inventive ideas swiftly establishes it as a new benchmark for the platform.
You can read the full review below and pick up Alyx on the Steam Store for $20.39 until August 4.
Video games are now one of the largest forms of media. In this guide, we break down the bestselling video games from the NES to the current console generation.
Roblox is now available on Meta Quest VR headsets via App LAb.
The popular game creation platform - arguably a metaverse - arrived on Quest App Lab, to be followed by a full Quest Store release at a later date. App Lab apps are meant to be shared via URL, and aren't surfaced in the store interface unless you search by exact name.
Roblox has 66 million daily and over 200 million monthly active users - around as much as Minecraft and Fortnite combined. This user base reportedly includes over half of American children under 16.
Around 45% of Roblox users are under 13. The official minimum age to use Meta Quest headsets is 13, but later this year Meta is reducing that age to 10 years old with the introduction of preteen accounts. As any Rec Room or Population One player will tell you though, plenty of preteens already use Quest 2 regardless.
The new VR checkbox in Experience settings.
Roblox lets creators import custom models and run custom Lua scripts, so performance can vary greatly between Experiences (Roblox worlds). Good performance is much more important in VR than non-VR platforms though, as in VR judder and stutter from dropping frames makes many people feel physically sick.
To help with this issue, Roblox is adding a new 'VR' device type checkbox to experience setting. This will be on by default for Experiences that use default player scripts, but off by default for all other Experiences. Roblox hopes the Open Beta will give creators time to ensure their Experiences run well on VR headsets.
Roblox already supports PC-based VR and has done for some time, and this VR checkbox will also apply to PC VR. Last month, Roblox replaced its separate SteamVR and Oculus PC API integration with OpenXR. This includes support for Quest Link, Rift and Rift S, Valve Index, and HTC Vive.
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Roblox in VR on PC
Roblox may be one of the most significant titles to arrive on the Quest platform, and could end up helping Meta sell the upcoming Quest 3 to a wider and younger market than any of its previous VR headsets this holiday season. It could however also divert attention and usage from Meta's own Horizon Worlds user created experiences platform, putting the company's significant investment to the test.
This article was originally published on July 12, 2023 with announcement of Roblox coming to Quest headsets and updated on July 27, 2023 with release on App Lab.
All of your purchased games are hidden away just a bit off the main menu on the PS5. We'll tell you where you can find and download them whenever you'd like.
Rec Room players across all platforms can now check out the cowboy hat, vest, and belt accessories as part of the partnership with Mattel. Rec Room told UploadVR that prices for the Barbie items will range from 1,000-6,000 in-game tokens.
The timing for the roll-out of costumes comes just after Barbie starring Margot Robbie made $356 million globally in its first weekend.
Rec Room is free to download on an wide range of devices, including Android, iOS, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, Steam, Oculus Quest, PC via Steam, Pico and it is even self-published as well. The multiplayer gaming platform is also coming to the Apple Vision Pro headset as well.
Rec Room recently confirmed it would bring Junior Accounts back to Meta Quest after the platform company changed policies to start inviting those age 10-13 into VR.
Meta rolled out a new "anti-abuse solution" to developers that may impact piracy on the Quest platform.
The Platform Integrity Attestation API "detects whether your app’s server is interacting with an untampered VR device and ensures your app is authentic." The application programming interface could be used for "hardware-based app bans" or as an "anti-piracy" measure, among other use cases.
"As the Meta Quest ecosystem continues to grow, both in terms of the number of apps being distributed and the size of the Meta Quest community, it's increasingly important to instill a consistent method for validating the integrity of apps in order to provide a secure and safe user experience for everyone," explains a Meta post written for developers.
The API is pitched as also being useful for securing device authentication and protecting financial and enterprise app data. Meta pitches the tool as "leveling up the security" of apps on Quest 2, Quest Pro, and the forthcoming Quest 3 headset.
We'll be curious to hear from Quest developers to see how this API affects their work as some have been deeply impacted by piracy in the past. We will update this post with relevant comments.
The Nintendo Switch is home to a superb library of games, and more are on the way. In this list, we go through the most anticipated Nintendo Switch games.
Are you eager to create your character and move to the valley with all your favorite Disney characters? Disney Dreamlight Valley is going to be free, but when?
Oatchi is your new adorable companion in Pikmin 4 — and this dog (sort of) can learn plenty of new tricks. Here are the skills you should update first.
Gear will make your exploration much easier in Pikmin 4. Once you get access to The Lab, there are a lot of options to pick from. Here's the best gear to buy.
Netflix will reportedly "take a pass" on developing a native app for Apple Vision Pro, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
In this week's edition of his Power On newsletter, Gurman discusses the options available for developers to support Apple Vision Pro and create custom, native apps for the platform.
As announced by Apple during the Vision Pro reveal recently, the headset will support iPhone and iPad apps that can run unaltered on visionOS as well as those optimized or built from the ground up for visionOS. Gurman reports that Netflix will "take a pass" at developing the latter type of native app for visionOS. Gurman has been told "that the company has no current plans to develop a native app for Vision Pro" but "will still let its iPad app run on the headset unmodified."
Netflix did previously release a custom built-for-VR app for Quest, which places users on a sofa in a cabin environment with a large TV-like screen displaying Netflix content (pictured above). However, the app offers little customization and hasn't been updated or changed in quite some time.
Given the approach on Quest, it's not overly surprising that Netflix isn't planning on making an immediate splash on Vision Pro. When it comes to other streaming services, Disney+ is already confirmed to launch with a custom, native app for visionOS on day one, while Gurman speculates in this week's newsletter that a similar Prime Video app from Amazon might make an appearance on Apple's headset as well.
The HP Omen 45L gaming desktop, which can run the best PC games with its Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti graphics card and 16GB of RAM, is on sale from HP at $1,700.
Looking for some games to play by yourself (or offline) on Nintendo Switch? Here's our definitive list of the very best single-player Nintendo Switch games.
In this week's episode of the Between Realities VR Podcast, Alex & Skeeva host VR streamer and F.Reality Podcast host Zimtok5.
Zimtok5 explains how he became one of the first streamers of virtual reality content on Twitch back in 2014. Other topics include the current state of VR, the importance of representation in the VR community, and takeaways from this year's VRTO Spatial Media World Conference.
Owlchemy Labs announced this week that both Job Simulator and Vacation Simulator are now available on Pico headsets.
Job Simulator and Vacation Simulator remain two of the most popular titles available on VR headsets. The former was first released for the HTC Vive in 2016, but has since made its way over to almost every other major VR platform, including Quest and both PSVR headsets.
With the launch of Job Simulator and Vacation Simulator on Pico headsets, Owlchemy ticks another major VR platform off its list.
Exciting news today! 🎉
We're thrilled to announce that we're bringing two of our most popular titles to @PicoXR!
Get ready to [JOB] and [RELAX] as Job Simulator and Vacation Simulator are available now in China! pic.twitter.com/xGU5Cxl6JT
Pico headsetsm such as Pico 4, are produced by ByteDance, the Chinese tech giant behind TikTok. The headsets are sold in China as well as a selection of other regions, including Japan, South Korea, Europe and more, with two separate store fronts for software – one specifically for China and one for other regions.
While the announcement tweet from Owlchemy specifically mentions launching on Pico headsets in China, Owlchemy CEO Andrew Eiche confirmed in a tweet that both titles are also available on the non-China Pico store front as well.
Owlchemy Labs is a veteran VR studio that remains committed to accessibility and pushing forward virtual and augmented reality design standards. Most recently, the studio has been demonstrating its work on designing for hand tracking as a primary input method. Besides being the cornerstone of its upcoming multiplayer VR game, Owlchemy also sees the burgeoning input method as part of the path in getting VR to mass market.
Espire 2 drops Quest exclusivity with a Pico 4 port available now, joining a new content update with Weekly Challenges and leaderboards.
Previously seen in Espire 1: VR Operative, Weekly Challenges are "back by popular demand" in Espire 2 with Update 1.5. "Each week, players can expect new curated challenges from the developers, designed to test players skills and mettle as they compete with other players for the top score across the new leaderboard system," states Digital Lode in a press release.
Detailing Update 1.5 further, matchmaking improvements are also promised and on Quest 2 or Quest Pro – Espire 2 will no longer try matching you with accounts you previously blocked. It also introduces "significant under-the-hood improvements" to Espire 2's technical systems by upgrading from Unreal Engine version 4.26 to 4.27.
Digital Lode states this upgrade allows higher visual fidelity on all platforms, claiming Update 1.5 will also "pave the way" for the Mixed Reality update. Revealed last month during our UploadVR Summer Showcase 2023, these upcoming missions transform your living space into a stealth playground, and it's been "primarily designed for Quest 3."
If you're noticing issues with your DualSense joysticks, there are a few methods you can try to repair it yourself. Here's how to fix joystick drift on PS5.
Every game on the list is a spectacular entry in the library of one of gaming's most beloved developers, but that doesn't mean they're all created equal.
Qualcomm says it's working with Meta to optimize its LLaMA AI models to run on-device.
In the tweet announcing the effort, Qualcomm lists 'XR' as one of the device categories.
We’re working with @Meta to optimize LLaMA #AI#LLMs to run completely on-device — smartphones, PCs, XR, auto, and IoT. Learn how this allows developers to reduce cloud costs and provide users with more private, reliable, and personalized experiences.https://t.co/YryaYr1waB
LLaMA is Meta's family of open source large language models (LLMs), using a similar transformer architecture as OpenAI's closed source GPT series.
This week Meta released LLaMA 2, which benchmarks show outperforms all other open source large language models and even comes close to OpenAI's GPT-3.5, the model powering the free version of ChatGPT.
Getting large language models to run at reasonable speeds on mobile chipsets though would be an enormous challenge, and may not happen any time soon - especially in VR where the system also needs enough overhead to run tracking and rendering at 72 frames per second minimum.
Running even the smallest variant of LLaMA 2, the 7 billion parameter model, for example requires 28GB of RAM at full precision. Lately, tinkerers have been experimenting with running LLMs at lower precision, requiring as little as 3.5GB of RAM, but this affects the output quality significantly, and it still requires considerable CPU and/or GPU resources.
If Qualcomm and Meta can eventually manage to get a LLaMA model running on a Quest headset it would open up a range of breakthrough use cases.
It could enable truly next generation NPCs, virtual characters you can actually have a conversation with, and you'd be able to interact with them to discover information in a game or experience. That could spark entirely new genres of experiences in headsets, more like Star Trek's holodeck and less like current video games.
But still, there's no indication that will be possible on-device any time soon. We've reached out to Meta and Qualcomm to ask for more specifics about their new partnership, and will update this article if we get a response.
Looking to grow a Minecraft village or even turn it into your own city? Then you'll need the villagers to start making babies. Here's how to ensure they breed.
Meta Quest Pro is getting a simultaneous hands and controllers mode in the v56 software development kit update.
This mode was announced alongside Quest Pro's Touch Pro controllers at Connect 2022 in October. It's a feature developers will be enable to enable in their apps, called Multimodal.
It's currently possible to build Quest apps that support both hand tracking and controllers, so you pick up or set down your controllers to switch between the two modes at any time. But there's a delay between setting down the controllers and hand tracking kicking in while the controllers disappear and stop tracking.
With Multimodal, the controller tracking continues, enabling an instantaneous transition and mixing of hands and controllers. This should allow one-controller games like GOLF+ and Walkabout Minigolf to track your other hand, for example.
Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth shared a short clip of Multimodal in action:
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Multimodal will launch as an "experimental" option, which usually means it can't yet be shipped on the Quest Store or App Lab. As an experimental option it will only support Quest Pro, but when publicly released it will support unspecified "additional devices and controllers" too.
That will likely include the upcoming Quest 3. According to Meta's CTO, Quest 3 always continuously runs its controller-free hand tracking, and this is fused with the tracking of the infrared LEDs on the controllers when they're in use.
Meta is also reducing the latency of hand tracking on Quest 2 and Quest Pro in the v56 Quest software update. Version 56 also adds a new Fast Motion Mode (FMM) developers can enable, which Meta says improves tracking of "fast movements common in fitness and rhythm apps".
Remnant 2 is heavily focused on being a co-op experience. If you're planning on playing with some friends on different platforms, here's what you need to know.
Meta released an open source Quest demo app including a minigame that's basically mixed reality Space Pirate Trainer.
Drone Rage replaces your ceiling with a night sky featuring an alien mothership which sends waves of flying robot enemies you fight off with your dual wielded laser blaster pistols.
Discover demos support colocated or remote multiplayer.
The minigame is included as one of two demos in Discover, Meta's new showcase of the potential of mixed reality on Quest. The other demo is called Bike, which guides you through attaching parts to a bicycle in front of you by grabbing parts on a surface beside you.
Anyone can download and try Discover, and the demos within it, but it's mainly intended to be a showcase to developers of what's possible with mixed reality on Quest.
The Discover demos show how to use Meta's various SDKs to build immersive mixed reality apps with colocated multiplayer support.
It uses the Quest Passthrough API to show the real world, the Quest Scene APIs to leverage your walls, ceilings, and furniture as geometry, and the Meta Interaction SDK for the user interface and for grabbing, holding and placing objects.
For colocated multiplayer - where multiple headsets see the same virtual objects in the same part of the room and play together - it leverages the Quest Shared Spatial Anchors API. For remote multiplayer over the internet, it leverages Meta Avatars SDK.
Of course, running room-aware mixed reality apps like this on Quest 2 and Quest Pro requires arduously manually marking out your room geometry, and on Quest 2 the passthrough is very low resolution black & white. The upcoming Quest 3 may scan your room automatically though, and it's said to have superior color passthrough quality to even Quest Pro.
Now with an easier difficulty, some balancing tweaks and more, motorcycle VR action game Runner feels a little different than it did at launch. Here are our impressions of Runner on PSVR 2.
First released for Quest in 2022, Runner made its way over to PSVR 2 earlier this year, so we decided to jump in and see how the game fares on a new platform almost one year on from launch.
Locked and Loaded
With motorcycle-themed gameplay and a dystopian cyberpunk world, Runner takes clear inspiration from older anime like Akira and Ghost in the Shell. Set on Presidium, you play as mod-courier Nina, who finds the authorities clamping down on her group's activities. Assisted by a handler, Vice, your only escape route is across the main highway through 7 sectors. If you're interested in the story, Runner comes with a free prologue visual novel, Preamble, but it's not essential reading.
Designed as a seated experience, Runner automatically moves you across the highway, though you can choose to accelerate or brake your bike manually by pushing up and down on either of your controller's analog sticks. Facing police motorcycles, airborne drones, armored units and more, enemies appear from every direction and all you need to do is destroy them. Continuous attacks and driving alongside civilian traffic without crashing into them maintains a combo meter for boosted scores.
Armed with a front-mounted cannon, grenades, missiles and two sidearms that swap between a gun and a saber that can deflect projectiles, Nina's motorcycle is pretty powerful. Using weapons offers satisfying resistance with haptic controller feedback and adaptive trigger support on PSVR 2, while drawing both sidearms simultaneously activates Rush Mode to slow down time for a tactical advantage. The dashboard HUD also monitors the energy of your bike's shield.
Everything Everywhere...
Unfortunately, Runner feels like it's doing too much at once. Your options feel excessive, and remembering which buttons to press becomes slightly confusing. The mirrored control scheme across both controllers limits the available buttons, though it does innately mean that there's support for those who play left-handed.
When wielding sidearms, the active controller's analog stick can't direct Nina's bike – a slightly strange decision given the bike isn't being steered via motion controls. It makes riding feel slightly awkward.
The levels also feel too long and lengthy boss fights don't help that feeling. Every boss needs careful strategy by learning its attack patterns. One appears like an armored shell, forcing you to destroy that shield before attacking the core. Another spider-like foe requires you to target its legs.
The variety is appreciated, but bosses feel drastically overpowered even on the easier difficulty. I often found myself repeatedly shooting them for ages, feeling little more than bullet sponges. That just isn't fun, even if it makes you really earn those victories. Thankfully, invincibility mode is an option if you're struggling to get past a particular section.
It's a shame that Runner gets bogged down by those little frustrations, because there's potential in the premise. As an anime fan, Runner's visual aesthetic is pleasing and on PSVR 2, it's boosted by 90Hz performance in 4K. A strong soundtrack complements the action and full customization over your bike colors goes a long way. Control issues aside, comfort options for the strength of your bike lean and motion vignettes made riding through the world a comfortable experience.
Once a boss is defeated, Runner places your stage score onto online leaderboards and every level is replayable outside the campaign. You'll also then be given the option to cruise through the levels instead, taking in the scenery instead of destroying enemies and obstacles.
After your first playthrough, the journey is far from over – there's unlockable motorcylces with new features (such as permanent dual-wielding) and the leaderboards clearly emphasize replayability. Even with the frustrating boss fights and other flaws, I still found myself having fun with Runner.
Are you ready to set off on a time travel rescue mission aboard the RMS Titanic?
That's the premise of the newly-announced Titanic: A Space Between, set to release later this year. The announcement came alongside a reveal trailer, embedded below, which gives you a look at the game's ill-fated time travel mission.
According to the trailer, you'll be sent back in time onto the Titanic with the aim of traveling through the ship and investigating what happened to a woman named Diana, who may have gotten stuck on board.
However, it looks like things will soon go astray, with the narrator announcing that the player has arrived aboard the ship 24 hours later than intended – presumably the point at which the ship begins to sink, judging by all the water present.
A Space Between comes from developers Globiss Interactive. It will be their first foray into VR, after previously releasing flatscreen titles Under: Depths of Fear and Filthy Hands on Steam.
The studio is looking towards a Q4 2023 release, with eyes on a potential November launch mentioned in the comments of the reveal trailer.
The game will release on Quest, Pico and SteamVR headsets, but the trailer specifically notes that the in-game footage is captured on Quest. For standalone footage, it looks pretty impressive – especially given it's dealing with moving bodies of water, which can be a fairly resource-intensive inclusion.
We're looking forward to seeing more ahead of Titanic: A Space Between's time traveling journey later this year.
The eighth-generation Lenovo Legion Tower 5i gaming PC with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card is on sale from Lenovo for $1,280 after a 20% discount.
Firewall Ultra, Sony's anticipated tactical FPS sequel, arrives on PSVR 2 this August.
Developed by First Contact Entertainment, Firewall Ultra is a 4v4 tactical shooter and, currently, the only revealed upcoming PSVR 2 game published by Sony. Standard pre-orders cost $40 while a $60 'Digital Deluxe Edition' contains an Operator Pass, the Reaper X75 weapon and early unlocks for four contractors. A new gameplay trailer was also revealed:
Detailing what to expect in this Firewall Zero Hour sequel, First Contact also confirmed details about Ultra's post launch plans and weapon variants. That joins a previously revealed manual reloading update:
We will be looking to explore adding more content such as new weapons and contractors, maps, additional game modes, and possibly manual reloads post-launch... In the meantime, we are excited to reveal that we’ll be offering ways to acquire unique variants of our weapons when playing Firewall Ultra for the first time ever. These unique weapons will come pre-fitted with great attachments, an exclusive skin, and legendary versions will even have a different look all together.
Firewall Ultra arrives on August 24, 2023. For now, you can read our hands-on impressions and interview with First Contact Entertainment below to learn more:
Pimax is redesigning Portal View, the VR headset shell for its Portal handheld console.
Pimax is a China-based startup most known for its 2017 Kickstarter for an ultra-wide field of view PC VR headset. This evolved into a sprawling lineup that’s been marked by long shipping delays, inconsistent quality, software issues, and customer service concerns. Despite the appeal of the field of view, its three most popular models are used by less than 0.3% of VR owners on Steam.
Portal and Portal View were announced in November when Pimax launched a Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund their development. Portal has a 4K display and runs Android phone games, but with the advantage of active cooling for sustained performance and physical controls in titles that support them. It features the same Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 chipset used in Meta Quest 2 and Pico 4.
But as we pointed out when the Portal Kickstarter launched, Pimax has a history of repeatedly missing its shipping targets while pitching new products before delivering on what it already promised. For example, in May it started shipping Crystal, its new PC VR headset announced long before Portal, nine months late and without key selling points like standalone mode and eye tracking.
The Portal Kickstarter listed the shipping month as January, but when we went hands-on with Portal View that month we found the positional tracking was barely functional and the controller sleeves were unavailable, with Pimax using Crystal controllers for the demo instead.
In April, Pimax told backers it had "finalized the hardware", that "mass production is starting", and that both the handheld and the VR headset would start shipping later that month. But now three months later, while the handheld is now shipping the company is delaying the headset to redesign it.
Pimax claims the original design didn't distribute the weight well enough to be comfortable, and is "a bit weak if the user is rough with the device".
The new design takes inspiration from its other headsets. The company says two versions will be offered, one with a battery pack in the rear and one without.
Pimax claims the redesigned headset is "expected" to ship to its 600+ backers in Q3, between July and September, but as always with Pimax take that as a very loose goal rather than an estimate.
Creature unites VR industry veterans with a new development team that's focused on VR and MR gaming.
Established this January, Creature is led by Doug North Cook, former head of VR at Robot Teddy who previously worked on Among Us VR and The Last Clockwinder. Leading the studio's art direction is Ashley Pinnick (Tilt Brush), while Mark Schramm (Superhot VR, Gravity Lab) heads the engineering team and Chris Hanney (Space Pirate Trainer) is Director of Production. Abbey Cooper joins them as the COO and Rose Gerber is the Director of Marketing & Communications.
“We’ve built Creature to support artists, designers, and developers who we believe are creating experiences that unlock something new,” said Doug North Cook in a prepared statement. “I believe that operating with a focus on trust, transparency, honesty, and unrelenting quality is the way that we can push the industry in a more playful direction that creates room for developers to build sustainable studios that are able to focus on building their best work yet while we support them every step of the way.”
As for Creature's upcoming projects, the team is working with "several announced and unannounced" game studios across MR and VR gaming. That includes Funktronic Labs (The Light Brigade, Fujii), Thomas Van Bouwel (Cubism, Laser Dance) and Neat Corporation (Garden of the Sea, Budget Cuts Ultimate). Creature is also developing its own original MR game, which will be announced "at a later date."
Unity just launched a closed beta for visionOS support which developers can apply for.
Unity's support for visionOS was first announced alongside Vision Pro in early June. Acknowledging the existing Unity AR/VR development community, Apple said "we know there is a community of developers who have been building incredible 3D apps for years" and announced a "deep partnership" with Unity.
Porting Unity VR or AR experiences that run in a 'Full Space' on visionOS, meaning ones that don't support multitasking, is relatively straightforward. You use a similar build chain to iOS, where Unity interfaces with Apple's XCode IDE. Rec Room is confirmed as coming to Vision Pro for example, with minimal changes.
But building AR apps in Unity which can run in the visionOS 'Shared Space' alongside other apps is very different, and introduces several important restrictions developers need to be aware of.
Content in the Shared Space is rendered using Apple's RealityKit framework, not Unity's own rendering subsystem. To translate Unity mesh renderers, materials, shaders, and particles to RealityKit, Unity developed a new system it calls PolySpatial.
PolySpatial only supports certain materials and shaders though. Of the included materials, for the Universal Render Pipeline (URP) it supports the Lit, Simple Lit, and Complex Lit shaders, while for the Built-in Render Pipeline it only supports the Standard shaders. Custom shaders and material types are supported, but only through the Shader Graph visual tool, not handwritten shaders.
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a Unity app running in the visionOS Shared Space via PolySpatial
PolySpatial does have a unique advantage though: you can enter play mode directly to the headset, rather than needing to rebuild each time. Unity says this should significantly reduce iteration testing time.
Interested developers can apply to be included in the Unity visionOS support closed beta by filling in this form.
ANNEX brings a new action-RPG roguelike to PC VR next year, and it's just launched a Kickstarter campaign.
Developed by Dominik "Sora" Wenzel, ANNEX sees you play as Koko, a young AI trapped inside a forsaken computer. After awakening for the first time, you set out to explore this strange digital environment and survive encounters with the local residents, the Destroware. It's a fight for survival as you investigate this realm's mysteries and each region is procedurally generated. Here's the full trailer:
Detailed further on the Kickstarter page, ANNEX uses an upgradeable tactical combat system in which you "gain a positional advantage by using cover and take the high ground for increased range. Shoot down enemy projectiles to escape the bullet hell," says Sora.
It also uses a skill-tree system that's described as built around "an entire theme" instead of individual items or abilities. "The Spike-EVO for example might give you the ability to place spiky traps or surround yourself with a reflecting shield, while the Music-EVO could potentially turn your run into a rhythm game experience," states the developer.
Currently at $1,500 funding, Sora seeks $40,000 in funding with stretch goals including additional regions, more playable characters and multiplayer support. Like any Kickstarter campaign, we recommend caution before pledging your money. Kickstarter is not a preorder system, and there’s no guarantee you’ll get what you pledged.
ANNEX currently targets a December 2024 release, arriving on PC VR and flatscreen PCs.
The long-awaited patch for The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR will release later this week, addressing graphical issues and adding in new features such as foveated rendering.
When Switchback VR released earlier this year, many users reported experiencing "graphical issues" with the game, including blurry visuals in some areas. Developer Supermassive Games quickly acknowledged that some players were experiencing issues and promised investigations were underway, with "a potential cause" of the reported blurring identified.
Four months later, Supermassive announced that the fated patch promising to resolve these issues will release this Friday. The patch was initially meant to release in late June, but got pushed back a few weeks.
Supermassive previously announced that the patch will include fixes for blurred and low resolution visuals, as well as texture and asset popping. It also promises greatly reduced load times, as well as general "enhancements to visuals, VFX and lighting" and "improvement to textures and environment assets."
The patch will also introduce FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) and eye-tracked foveated rendering.
We enjoyed Switchback VR on release in March, deeming it a "mostly engaging horror shooter" that "blends together arcade gameplay elements with intense horror action" in our review. While we didn't think the visuals were particularly stunning or crisp overall, we also didn't experience any mass large-scale graphical issues as reported by others.
With the patch now on the horizon, hopefully Switchback will look better than ever and resolve those issues experienced by players at launch.
Devs United Games clarified the future of Real VR Fishing, stating the US East DLC might be its last.
Following the US East DLC announcement during last month's UploadVR Summer Showcase 2023, confusion has emerged about the future of Real VR Fishing, after a tweet stated the upcoming DLC would "complete your journey." Some interpreted this as meaning US East would be the last DLC and that's led to Devs United Games CEO, Mark Choi, clarifying the studio's plans.
"We are not closing down the service," Choi begins in a Twitter thread. Reaffirming a September release window, he calls this upcoming update the "RVRF Complete Edition," containing new features like the 'Journey Mode.' That adds quests and objectives across US East, which will eventually expand into other regions. Choi states more new features will be shared in the coming weeks.
With US East, Choi advises this "will be our last DLC for the US and maybe the last for [Real VR Fishing]." However, the team remains undecided and hopes to share something more definitive "before the end of this Summer." Finally, after apologizing for unclear communication, Choi reveals the studio is working on two new projects, "Project Aqua" and "Project Haven," though nothing further was revealed.
The US East DLC joins Real VR Fishing in September 2023 for the Meta Quest and Pico platforms.
Vankrupt Games announced that Pavlov Shack will run at a higher refresh rate on the upcoming Meta Quest 3.
First released two years ago, Pavlov Shack is a spin-off from the original Pavlov, offering a scaled-down version on Quest currently in beta. Asked if it would receive graphics updates on Quest 3, Vankrupt CEO Dave Villarreal denied this but stated Shack hits 90Hz on Meta's next headset. The game runs at 72Hz on Quest 2. He also reconfirmed that Quest 1 support would end soon.
Villarreal's comments follow the recent Update 29 patch, which arrived last month for the main game. This hefty update moved Pavlov onto Unreal Engine 5.1 with OpenXR support, which means Steam Workshop support has been retired. Crossplay between SteamVR and PSVR 2 is also available with an overhauled lobby, alongside new characters and weapons, map changes and plenty more.
Pavlov Shack is available now on the Meta Quest platform via App Lab or SideQuest as a free download while it remains in beta. As for Pavlov, that's out now on PC VR and PSVR 2 for $24.99.
