Mint Virtual Reality

We review dozens of new gaming desktops each year. Here are the best gaming PCs to spend your money on in 2024.

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Survivorman VR: The Descent brings Les Stroud's survival sim to Steam and PSVR 2 next month.

Based on Canadian filmmaker Les Stroud's Survivorman series, Survivorman VR: The Descent is a first-person survival adventure sim that initially launched last year on Quest. Following a helicopter crash in the Arctic mountains, you're guided by Stroud as you attempt to survive these harsh environments. Here's the new trailer:

Facing extreme cold, hunger, hazardous terrains and exhaustion, your health is monitored through a HUD-like display on your wrist. Survival involves gathering resources, solving puzzles and clever use of tools to stay alive. For more details, here's an official gameplay description:

In the immersive environment of Survivorman VR: The Descent, you will navigate dangerous terrain, gather precious resources, and solve difficult puzzles. You have a device attached to your wrist, presenting two crucial health metrics: your body temperature and calorie level. Keep these levels up, and you’ll continue to fight through the frost, making progress towards escape. But if they drop below a certain threshold, it could spell disaster, first causing detrimental health effects before you freeze to death.

Survivorman VR: The Descent is out now on the Meta Quest platform, while the Steam and PSVR 2 versions arrive on February 15. A content update for the Quest version will launch simultaneously.

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ArcSine, a physics-based precision puzzle platformer, reaches PC VR next month.

Developed by Prop Logic over nearly seven years, ArcSine takes inspiration from Celeste, Sairento and Portal. Using a "jump & dash" locomotion system, movement involves shooting yourself through a "gun" to travel between platforms, avoid hazards and reach a portal at the map's end. ArcSine uses an auto-centering system to push you into the middle of your playspace, combined with an air-control system for navigating through environments.

Featuring approximately 340 stages, Prop Logic calls ArcSine "difficult, linear, storyless" with an increasing difficulty curve that progresses as you learn how to use the controls. Described as "a very physical game," ArcSine doesn't use smooth or snap camera turning and requires a small room-scale setup.

"It's the sort of game where you try and fail numerous times until you succeed. The target audience is players who enjoy the flow of focusing on a movement-centric problem with patience and determination and seeing the challenge through to its end, sanity notwithstanding," states Prop Logic founder Charlie Cushing in a press release.

In a further email to UploadVR, Cushing also provided a music sample from the soundtrack by Adam Coleman, which you can listen to below:

ArcSine arrives on February 19 on PC VR, and a free demo's out now on Steam.

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If Mortal Kombat 1's dense story mode left you confused, don't worry: Tekken 8's superb campaign is much easier to grasp.

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Lawn Mowing Simulator VR reaches Quest this year to teach you the meaning of a quality job.

Developed by Skyhook Games three decades after the film The Lawnmower Man did its part to help popularize virtual reality, Lawn Mowing Simulator first appeared for flatscreen platforms in 2021. Announced by publisher Curve Games, it's now receiving an official VR adaptation, marking the latest sim to reach Quest following nDreams' PowerWash Simulator VR launch. You can watch Quest 3 gameplay footage below:

As you'd expect from the name, Lawn Mowing Simulator VR tasks you with garden management across different locations to keep them pretty. Alongside cutting grass and completing ground checks, you must also keep your equipment maintained from your own HQ, ensuring blades stay sharp and batteries get recharged.

Jobs are carried out through contracts and, as you advance, more mowers gradually unlock. That includes mowers from real-life manufacturers, Stiga and Ego, alongside the exclusive 'Knight' mower designed specifically for Lawn Mowing Simulator.

Lawn Mowing Simulator VR reaches the Meta Quest platform on March 21.

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Orbeats delivers a new VR arcade rhythm game on Quest, but how does it fare? Here are our hands-on impressions:

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VR rhythm games have a tough job standing out from the competition. In an oversaturated market led by Beat Saber, Synth Riders and Pistol Whip, Orbeats from Radical Forge caught my attention by mixing in VR racket sports. The end result feels closer to C-Smash VRS than Racket Club and while there's an interesting idea, the execution needs work.

Beyond the useful tutorial, Orbeats features two main modes. Journey Mode is the main attraction, featuring five different locations with good environmental designs, broken up into individual stages. I appreciate the practice option available for each stage and every level has three difficulty settings.

Armed with a futuristic tennis racket, you're tasked with destroying waves of blocks that form an alien defense system. Hitting blocks gradually increases your score multiplier, going up to x100, adding a competitive edge through online leaderboards. Missing blocks gradually depletes your health and reduces your multiplier, eventually killing you if you aren't careful.

Orbeats tries varying each stage with different blocks. Some grant a multiplier boost, others need multiple hits. There's also a few explosive blocks and some power-ups that make the ball massive. Hitting them gradually charges a meter to unleash a laser attack, a useful backup in a pinch. Your other hand acts as a tether to call balls back at a moment's notice, keeping gameplay under control.

So far, Orbeats' most interesting aspect is the Temple Guardians, bosses who appear in each area's last stage to protect the ruins. Alongside blocks, you're now fighting these guardians that actively attack you, and I found myself frequently dodging laser fire. This kept me moving, providing some enjoyable and necessary variety to an otherwise functional wave shooter.

With Survival Mode, that gradually cycles through multiple songs. A nice addition and, though the break between songs is appreciated, the repeated black transition screens are an immersion killer. The more chilled-out soundtrack isn't always to my taste either, though that'll be subjective depending on the person.

So far, Orbeats has been entertaining in short bursts and while I appreciate mixing rhythm gameplay with racket sports, the wave shooter mechanics just aren't that exciting. Presently, I'd be hard-pressed to recommend it over other VR rhythm games, but if you're someone who left C-Smash VRS wanting more boss fights, this could be worth a look.

Orbeats is available now on Quest App Lab for £10.49/$13.99.

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Hunt Together, a new PvP psychological horror game, arrives on Quest.

Developed by Iron VR, Hunt Together is a multiplayer-only game for up to four players. Featuring two playable classes, Hunters and lifeforce-draining Ghosts, each comes packed with different skills and items. You can play between two gameplay modes, offering a 1v1 'Elimination Mode' and a 1v3 'Hide and Seek' mode with multiple maps available.

Here's the official description from Steam:

Your task will be to defeat your opponent with the help of numerous skills, items and usable environmental elements. The arenas of your battles are spooky, chilling locations, such as an abandoned mine, a haunted mansion or a forgotten orphanage. In addition to being able to face your friends in the Elimination Mode (1v1) or the Hide and Seek Mode (1v3), you also can acquire new skins for your favorite characters and develop their skills through a progression system.

Hunt Together arrives on the Meta Quest platform on January 25. A PC VR version is also coming in February with cross-platform multiplayer support.

via Mint VR