Video games don't always have to be so brutal, dog-eat-dog experiences! Here are some of our all-time favorite co-op games across a range of platforms, genres, and difficulties.
The post The best co-op games appeared first on Digital Trends.
There are a number of mobile titles in development that let users take virtual ownership of a bit of an augmented reality (AR) world. Developer RunningPixel is wanting to go a little further and create a smartphone AR title that lets users reshape the virtual world.
Italian independent developer RunningPixel have announced WRLDCRAFT, which is intended to be a massively multiplayer, persistent open world anchored to real world locations.
The developers have announced that players will be able to build and dig in the open world for the first time when selected testers are given codes for an upcoming open alpha.
The intention is to create a massive AR sandbox where players can build and explore, on both iOS and Android. The title is voxel-based in order to allow players to turn the entire world into a multiplayer environment where players can claim zones, start building and get friends and family involved to contribute to various building projects.
An in-game economy will allow players to trade chunks of terrain with other players and become a trade prince, or visit virtual caves and explore in search of treasures, gems and gold or help out other players in massive building projects and leave messages and artwork for other players to discover.
“WRLDCRAFT goal is turning the world in a democratic, community driven and open sandbox where everyone can express itself. In a few words: ‘reshape the world’. WRLDCRAFT wants make it persistent and anchored to the reality. Imagine going to Piazza di Spagna in Rome or Central Park in New York and see what people is building in that place. It is like another, alternative, reality.” says Alfio Lo Castro of RunningPixel.
WRLDCRAFT will be available on ARKIt and ARCore devices, and will soon be heading into the alpha testing stage. Those who are interested in taking part in open tests can visit the WRLDCRAFT website for more information.
For future coverage of WRLDCRAFT and other upcoming Ar titles, keep checking back with VRFocus.
With Halloween right around the corner, we felt like it was time to start rounding up some of the very best PC VR horror games and experiences out there on Rift, Vive, and Windows VR. Ever since the PC VR headsets launched back in early 2016, almost three years ago, it’s become a go-to destination for some of the best and most terrifying VR horror games out there, even securing some high-profile exclusives. But don’t let this be the only list you look at — Steam has close to 200 titles that fall under the VR horror umbrella.
For this list we’re focusing specifically on games you can play either on Rift, Vive, or Windows VR. You can see our lists for Oculus Go and PSVR below:
The following experiences are all listed in alphabetical order:
Price: $24.99 (Store) (Our Review)
Platforms: Rift, Vive
Review Synopsis:
The one-man studio of Wolf & Wood delivers one of Vive’s scariest games to date in A Chair in a Room: Greenwater. I spent about 3 hours tip-toeing my way through the story and still get goosebumps when I think about the things I saw on my adventure. You’ll experience your fair share of jump scares throughout the experience, that’s for sure, but it’s the stalking dread and terror permeating the world as a whole that will truly chill you to the bone. A Chair in a Room: Greenwater is a wonderful proof of concept for utilizing room scale VR technology to the fullest in a methodical horror setting.
Price: $10 (Store) (Our Impressions)
Platforms (Unofficially Supported): Rift, Vive
Alien: Isolation is a great game, but this is an unofficial VR mod. Like many survival horror titles it seems to have gotten better as time goes on as the subtle intricacies of its design are slowly uncovered and appreciated. Some people even regard it as the best-ever game based on the popular Alien series of films. I tend to agree with those people. I can honestly say that Alien: Isolation is still a top-tier VR survival horror title.
Price: $39.99 (Steam) (Our Review) (Dead Man DLC Review)
Platforms: Rift, Vive, Windows VR
Review Synopsis:
Vertigo Games proved that even in the most saturated genre we’ve seen for VR games this year — shooters with zombies — there was still room for something fresh. Arizona Sunshine combines the narrative power of a fully-featured 4+ hour campaign mode, with the intensity of a wave-based horde mode, and then adds multiplayer to both experiences. The protagonist’s witty humor make it worth recommending on his charming personality alone, with enough depth and variety to keep people coming back for several hours. By doing so many things so well, Arizona Sunshine quickly rose to the top of the pack as the best overall zombie shooter we’ve seen yet in VR.
Price: $19.99 (Store) (Our Review)
Platforms: Rift, Vive, Windows VR
Review Synopsis:
The Brookhaven Experiment builds on the foundation of its popular demo and establishes itself as one of the premiere VR zombie shooter experiences on the HTC Vive. It doesn’t have a deep or engaging narrative, but between the Campaign and Survival modes there is enough content to satisfy fans of all experience levels. The new maps, enemies, and weapons take what was an already scary game and cranks things up to a downright hair-raising degree of terror.
Price: $19.99 (Store) (Our Review)
Platforms: Rift, Vive
Review Synopsis:
Duck Season is more than a tribute to a beloved retro game; it’s a love letter to an entire era of pop culture and childhoods well-spent on a healthy dose of screen watching. As a showcase for VR it does a brilliant job of highlighting the tech’s current strengths with small, intimate environments that breathe authenticity and organic storytelling that never pulls you from the experience. I can’t wait to see how Stress Level Zero applies what it’s learned here to something that pushes the medium even further.
Price: $19.99 (Store) (Our Review)
Platforms: Rift
Review Synopsis:
Minor annoyances aside, this heart-racing journey is full of stop-and-stare moments of sheer scale and intensity. You’ll find yourself holding your breath in anticipation for whatever the next moment of terror holds as the sweat builds on your palms and the hair on your neck continues to rise. At the story’s climax, you’re left questioning not only the events that transpired, but also your own sanity as well. Edge of Nowhere is an uncomfortably personal and unnerving horror experience unlike anything else I’ve seen inside of a VR headset. This is an Oculus Rift exclusive that is not to be missed.
I’m ultimately left knowing that the best way to end things would be with the legendary words of H.P. Lovecraft himself, as written in At the Mountains of Madness, “I could not help feeling that they were evil things — mountains of madness whose farther slopes looked out over some accursed ultimate abyss.”
Price: $24.95, Complete Series (Store) (Our Review)
Platform: Rift, Vive
Review Synopsis:
The Exorcist: Legion VR is without a doubt one of the best VR horror experiences available. The slow-building tension is expertly paced, each and every scare feels visceral and dangerous, and the sheer sense of terror you feel while methodically exploring the richly detailed environments is staggering. It honestly felt like I could hear the voices inside my own head and I could feel the heat from my crucifix as I stared down the faces of demon and eradicated the evil within. The Exorcist: Legion VR will turn even the most hardened horror fans into whimpering piles of fear.
Price: $29.99 (Store) (Our Review)
Platforms: Rift, Vive
Review Synopsis:
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice VR Edition is a remarkable achievement in visual and sound design. It’s a great example of how to port a non-VR third-person action game to the immersive realm of HMDs that not only stays true to the source material, but enhances the experience in meaningful ways. If you haven’t played Hellblade before, there is no better time than now and if you have, then this is an engrossing way to re-experience Senua’s journey from a new perspective.
Price: $29.99 (Store) (Our Review)
Platforms: Rift, Vive, Windows VR
Review Synopsis:
Killing Floor: Incursion isn’t the best zombie game I’ve played in VR (that would still go to Arizona Sunshine) but it does a lot right. The unsettling atmosphere is pervasive through each level and the excellent gameplay mechanics between melee and gun combat feel visceral and satisfying. While it does clock in a bit shorter than I’d have liked with only four levels, they are each large and fun to explore. I absolutely recommend that you grab a buddy for some insane co-op fun and lop off a few zed heads for a good time.
Price: $29.99 (Store) (Our Review)
Platforms: Rift, Vive
Review Synopsis:
Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul is a relatively solid VR horror game. There is a strong foreboding sense of terror, a thickly developed atmosphere, and excellent use of sound and lighting to convey a real sense of fear. The adaptive scare system also works well, for the most part, and keeps you guessing. However the poor control system, occasional bugs (which will likely be addressed soon with patches,) short length, and inconsistent pacing keep it from being as successful as it could have been.
Price: $24.99 (Store)
Platforms: Rift, Vive, Windows VR
Synopsis:
Designed for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive along with non-VR options, the game is a first-person survival horror set in a bleak, deserted city, not too dissimilar to the iconic town of Silent Hill from Konami’s celebrated series. The player is cast as an isolated man that leaves his home for the first time in months to find his world completely transformed. You’ll be looking for a means of escape, and will solve puzzles and battle twisted enemies with limited ammo to do so. In the developer’s words, it’s “Resident Evil by way of David Cronenberg and David Lynch.”
Price: $24.99 (Store) (Our Review)
Platforms: Rift, Vive, and Non-VR
Review Synopsis:
There is a lot to unpack in Transference. It deals with several heavy themes that will likely make players uneasy, and from what I can tell, that’s sort of the point. Ubisoft and SpectreVision have mixed the stylings of Black Mirror and The Matrix with a twisted vision of the future that feels dangerously honest and realistic. While I’d have certainly loved for it to be a bit longer, I also appreciate how well-paced and polished it feels at the same time. It’s not without its flaws, but Transference is an unforgettable VR experience that I won’t soon forget.
Price: $29.99 (Store) (Our Review)
Platforms: Rift
Review Synopsis:
In the end, what makes Wilson’s Heart truly unforgettable is simply how amazing it is to experience. There’s a real story being told here and it’s being told with more technical skill and narrative charm than any other VR game to date. You’ll be thinking about this adventure long after the credits roll and the headset comes off.
Despite the occasionally repetitive moment of combat, Wilson’s Heart is a must-play game that elevates narrative, visuals, sound, and gameplay for VR experiences to an entirely new level. Your time as Robert may have been a nightmare, but it’s a nightmare you’ll be eager to revisit again, and again, and again.
Tagged with: rift, Vive, windows
The post 13 Best Rift, Vive, and Windows VR Horror Games To Play Right Now appeared first on UploadVR.
Update: This post was originally published on April 13th, 2018 (Friday the 13th) but has been republished today as an archived livestream for Halloween.
Original: Happy Friday the 13th! In celebration of one of the spookiest days of the year (still not as scary as Halloween, even though both have their own titular film franchises) we’ve decided to do something a little bit different for our Skyrim VR mod showcase livestream today. Last time we found the Master Sword and other Zelda items, but this time it’s all about horror mods!
We’re going to explore the creepy mansion from Resident Evil rebuilt entirely inside Skyrim, take on some cursed children’s toys, and fight an iconic enemy from another popular horror game series. You’ll have to tune-in to find out who!
We’re aiming to start the stream pretty much as soon as possible so if you’re reading this then we’re either streaming already or getting ready to stream — unless it’s over! That means we’re starting right around 3PM PT. And unlike in past VR game streams, this won’t just be on YouTube. We’re going to use Restream from now on to hit both YouTube and Twitch at the same time!
We’ll continue livestreaming VR games a lot more often now and you can see our archived streams all in this one handy Livestream playlist over on the official UploadVR YouTube channel (which you should totally subscribe to by the way). We’re also rebooting our Twitch channel now as well. You can watch our big showcase here or our gameplay of a voice control mod in action here.
Let us know which games you want us to livestream next and what you want to see us do, specifically, in Skyrim VR for PC. Comment with feedback down below!
Tagged with: Bethesda, livestream, resident evil, Skyrim VR
The post Skyrim VR Livestream Archive: Resident Evil And Other Horror Mods appeared first on UploadVR.
PAX, in its various incarnations, has become a big event for videogame fans, and now the PAX events are starting to see big reveals and announcements. At PAX Australia in Melbourne, developer Smilegate Entertainment have revealed a new virtual reality (VR) title called ROGAN: The Thief in the Castle.
The new title was being showcased at the HTC Vive Free Playzone booth. ROGAN: The Thief in the Castle is a stealth-based action adventure set in the medieval era.
Players take on the role of Rogan, who is a thief who is involved in various intrigues as Castle Blackstone. The development team say one of the main selling points is an involving storyline that was written by a professional novelist.
The medieval castle has been carefully detailed, allowing players to fully explore the environment, and 3D spatial sound has been applied to ensure a more immersive experience.
Players will be able to enjoy the title in various different ways, as players can choose to engage in open combat, or use various abilities such as pickpocketing, hiding or distracting guards with various tools. There are also various difficulty levels, and the development team says the full story can only be revealed by multiple playthroughs.
“When we revealed the title for the first time at PAX Australia this year, we received countless favorable comments from players at the site for the sense of immersion and thrilling stealth action gameplay that they have never experienced before in other VR games. We are planning to continue developing more new VR games that satisfy the needs of players and move forward in new markets and platforms,” said Dae Jin Kim, Director at Smilegate Entertainment.
ROGAN: The Thief in the Castle is being developed for multiple different VR platforms, including HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, it is expected to be released in the first half of 2019. The official trailer is available to view below.
For future coverage of new and upcoming VR content, keep checking back with VRFocus.
TechCrunch is reporting Facebook’s leadership chose not to pursue former CEO Brendan Iribe’s “complete redesign” of the Oculus Rift in favor of a “Rift S” that could arrive in 2019 and would likely feature a tracking system similar to the one on Oculus Quest.
The narrative TechCrunch writer Lucas Matney is reporting across two stories suggests the Oculus co-founder is leaving Facebook “partially” due to “decisions surrounding the cancellation of a next-generation” project with the code name of “Caspar.”
In its place will be a project “possibly” called the “Rift S”, according to Matney’s reporting, which includes a “minor” upgrade to resolution.
The post Report: Oculus Planning ‘Rift S’ Iterative Upgrade For 2019 appeared first on UploadVR.
With companies such as Samsung looking to corner the 360-degree camera market with affordable devices like the Gear 360, while Google is going for increased depth with VR180 cameras, HumanEyes Technologies aims to conquer both thanks to its new Vuze XR camera. Having made its US debut last week at the NYVR Expo in New York City, the camera is gearing up for a November launch.
Unveiled earlier this summer, the Vuze XR is an innovative device that enables the capture of 2D 360° or stereoscopic 3D VR180 video and pictures.
Able to switch between the two modes with a quick click, the camera features video resolution at 5.7K at 30fps or up to 4K at 60fps (H.264 MP4), with stills coming in at 18MP. There’s 4K/30fps in-camera stitching available, with desktop stitching at 4K/60fps or 5.7K/30fps when edited with Vuze VR Studio software.
And thanks to the Vuze XR Mobile App for iOS and Android devices, users have access to remote camera control via a Wi-Fi connection, photo and video preview, basic and advanced editing, stabilization control, photo and video filters, and the ability to upload to social media, as well as live streaming.
“In designing the Vuze XR, we set out to deliver a camera that offers the ultimate in versatility to both consumers and professionals, and to do so at a price point that is within reach of just about everyone,” said Jim Malcolm, GM, North America for HumanEyes in a statement. “Its innovative, compact design essentially does the job of three cameras, making it ideal for activities like hiking, concerts, outdoor adventures and travel where you need to travel light, yet want the freedom to capture your experience in a variety of formats.”
There’s currently a limited time Vuze XR pre-order bundle available which includes: the Vuze XR Camera, a 360° Underwater Housing, a 64GB MicroSD card, and free global shipping — all for $439 USD until 4th November 2018. For further updates from HumanEyes Technologies, keep reading VRFocus.
A patch released for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 has brought back the fan-favorite mode Gun Game. The patch also makes some changes to the battle royale mode, Blackout, including weakening armor.
The post ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’ patch brings back fan-favorite Gun Game mode appeared first on Digital Trends.
Developer Funktronic Labs have cultivated a reputation for creating titles that have their own unique sense of style and aesthetics, clearly seen in the 60s stylings of its first virtual reality (VR) title, Cosmic Trip, and again in the cute cartoon world of Starbear: Taxi. PlayStation VR users will soon get to experience that world for themselves with the announcement hat Starbear: Taxi will soon be heading to Sony’s VR headset.
The objective of Starbear: Taxi is to zoom around a colourful, cartoonish sci-fi world in a flying saucer, picking up people and taking them to their destination. Those familiar with Crazy Taxi or the Grand Theft Auto taxi missions should be familiar with the set-up.
The player takes the role of the adorable bear pilot/taxi driver, who needs to collect as many fares as possible in an allotted time. It isn’t always as simple as taking the customer from Point A to Point B, as there are opportunities to increase your score by following certain routes, helpfully laid out by floating honey pots.
While the cuddly-looking bears seem to mostly want you to succeed, there are other less-friendly animals lurking about, who will seek to slow you down with hazards such as giant magnets, or even firing enormous rockets as you in an attempt to blow you to bits.
As well as the main campaign there are other game modes to try out, such as the ‘Single Life’ challenge mode, or the Bullet Hell projectile dodging.
Earlier this year the VRFocus team reviewed the PC VR version of Starbear: Taxi, giving it good marks and saying: “Starbear: Taxi skirts a fine line quirky VR puzzler and short tech demo. Thankfully it leans more towards the former, offering an amusingly addictive experience that can actually draw you in for some time. It’s not on the same level as Cosmic Trip yet for those after a quick and simple time killer its ideal.”
Starbear: Taxi is due to launch on PlayStation VR in November 2018. The trailer is available to view below. For further coverage on new and upcoming VR titles, keep checking back with VRFocus.
When the PlayStation Store has a big sale – like the one over the summer – then there’s usually a decent selection of PlayStation VR titles to choose from. The same can’t always be said for the PlayStation Plus Double discount events that sporadically take place, thankfully the one this week does buck that trend.
There’s obviously a massive selection of standard PlayStation 4 titles available – there are even PlayStation 3 and PS Vita titles on the list – but its the discounted virtual reality (VR) videogames we’re most interested in. As with most PS Plus Double Discount events, if you’re a member then you’ll see savings up to 60 percent, while non-members get up to 30 percent off.
The VR videogames on offer are:
| Sale Price | PS Plus Price | Original (USD) | |
| Archangel | $17.99 | $5.99 | $29.99 |
| Code51: Mecha Arena | $15.99 | $11.99 | $19.99 |
| Eagle Flight | $13.19 | $6.59 | $19.99 |
| Electronauts | $16.99 | $13.99 | $19.99 |
| Loading Human: Chapter 1 | $23.99 | $7.99 | $39.99 |
| MLB Home Run Derby VR | $14.99 | $9.99 | $19.99 |
| Radial-G: Racing Revolved | $10.49 | $5.99 | $14.99 |
| Raw Data | $27.99 | $15.99 | $39.99 |
| Space Rift – Episode 1 | $12.99 | $5.99 | $19.99 |
| Sprint Vector | $20.99 | $11.99 | $29.99 |
| The American Dream | $14.99 | $9.99 | $19.99 |
| The Invisible Hours | $20.99 | $11.99 | $29.99 |
| Werewolves Within | $13.19 | $6.59 | $19.99 |
And that’s your lot. Don’t forget you may want to save some cash for next week when the likes of FromSoftware’s Déraciné and Enhance Games’ Tetris Effect both become available. While this week saw the launch of WEinking Entertainment’s horror title Paper Dolls.
For further updates on the latest deals and offers for PlayStation VR, keep reading VRFocus.
If you've tired of using a typical keyboard and mouse while PC gaming, we've put together a guide to teach you how to connect an Xbox 360 controller to a PC. Whether wired or wireless, DT's got you covered.
The post How to connect your Xbox 360 controller to a PC appeared first on Digital Trends.
Removing and reinstalling games on the Xbox One's hard drive isn't difficult, but it's a process that not everyone is familiar with. Thankfully, our guide will run you through each step so you'll know precisely what to do.
The post How to delete and reinstall games on your Xbox One appeared first on Digital Trends.
In Red Dead Redemption 2, you'll spend a lot of time on horseback. You name your horses, bond with them, and go on adventures together. Some horses are better than others, however. In our horses guide, we tell you how to acquire and maintain the best horses in RDR2.
The post ‘Red Dead Redemption 2’: How to find the best horses appeared first on Digital Trends.
Have ample time on your hands and an unquenchable thirst to beat, battle, and blast your way through worlds of fantasy and sci-fi splendor? Check out our picks for the best free MMORPGs.
The post The best free MMORPGs appeared first on Digital Trends.
If, like me, you’re one of the more cowardly VR enthusiasts out there, then you probably don’t want to jump straight into one of the many, many terrifying games available on VR headsets this Halloween. If you are feeling on the brave side this year, however, you could test the waters with a VR video instead.
Below are five VR videos that the best of us will be able to tackle on this spooky day. So jump under some blankets, get yourself a spinning chair and pull your headset on at your own peril; I salute anyone that has the stomach to click play.
What’s scarier than a nun, right? Well, actually, quite a lot of things, but this 360 video still makes a pretty good case for stepping away from the light this Halloween. Not really sure about the jukebox at the end, though.
Oh my god the nun is back. It’s the same nun! I think? I don’t know, I never watched The Conjuring. Anyway, in this one you need to run. Yes, that’s right, you must run from the nun.
Want to revisit last year’s excellent reboot of Stephen King’s It franchise? Wait, you do? What the heck is wrong with you? Well, save yourself an hour or two and experience the scares in this 360 video that really makes you float.
If its scares AND simulation sickness you’re after then, by all means, jump aboard this terrifying ride in which you’ll plunge into the depths of the ocean to face off with vicious sea monsters. Okay it’s not exactly Hereditary but do you want to be eaten by an enormous beast? Thought not.
Okay back to the movies. This one’s based on The Exorcist. You know what that means; scary little girls smiling about how much they love Satan, or something. I just watched this one with my eyes closed.
The post 5 Scary VR Videos To Spook Yourself Silly With This Halloween appeared first on UploadVR.
VRFocus has said it before and we’ll say it again, virtual reality (VR) headsets and horror content just seem to go hand-in-hand with each other, like fish and chips or having a lay-in on a Sunday. It may not be for everyone but VR horror has the unique ability to showcase how immersive the technology really can be, with the best content petrifying people more than any other entertainment medium. And with it being Halloween today VRFocus thought this would be the perfect time to highlight some of its favourites.
Coming from one of the greatest horror franchises of all time, The Exorcist: Legion VR has been developed by Wolf & Wood – Don’t Knock Twice, A Chair in a Room – and comes in five episodes. Each is bite-sized around 30 mins in length and features a detective trying to solve various gruesome cases only to find demonic goings-on.
Supports: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR
For those who like their roguelike shooters, Solfar Studios’ latest title is a bow-wielding adventure that pulls no punches. In Death features a permadeath, procedurally generated system, so that players only have one life and each run through is different from the last. And there’s the little fact that you need to deal with demons and angels alike.
Supports: Oculus Rift and HTC Vive
If there’s one thing a horror videogame needs its atmosphere, usually coupled with dimly lit surroundings, underground environments and a few monsters. Enter Bring to Light by Red Meat Games which has a nice helping of all these things to keep you on your toes. Oh, and then there’s the fact that if you have a compatible heart rate monitor you can make the whole experience even scarier!
Supports: Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
For those that like their horror a bit more action-oriented rather than suspenseful, one title that shouldn’t be overlooked is Killing Floor: Incursion. As an elite Horzine Security Forces soldier you to fend off the horrific Zed hordes using an array of weapons including pistols, shotguns, blades and more. Alongside the main campaign mode, there’s the Holdout Mode to battle against waves of monsters.
Supports: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR
One of the more unusual offerings on this list, Stress Level Zero’s Duck Season is a hearty mix of 80’s nostalgia with dark horror twist for good measure. A wave-based shooter featuring a shotgun and plenty of ducks, there’s much more going on here than simple poultry framing.
Supports: Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
It may have launched all the way back in January 2017 and it’s still exclusive to PlayStation VR, but Capcom’s Resident Evil 7 biohazard still deserves a place on this list. Resident Evil 7 biohazard goes back to its roots as a proper survival horror, rather than the more action-based experiences of the last couple of titles. Set in a seemingly abandoned farmhouse, in a creepy Louisiana plantation, it soon becomes clear that there’s a whole family living there, the Baker’s, and as you may expect they’re not exactly friendly to outsiders.
Supports: PlayStation VR
Another horror movie tie-in, Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul goes for the classic less is more approach putting you in a very scary house with little more than a flashlight. Before long, you’ll discover you’re not alone as you unravel the mystery of what’s gone on in this house; then it’s a struggle to survive the terror that begins to hunt you.
Supports: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR
So far we’ve seen virtual tourism take its place in VR largely as a series of idyllic 360 videos, but Legends of Catalonia has some other ideas about how to win the hearts and minds of holidaymakers.
Set to launch on PSVR this Friday, Legends of Catalonia is produced by Virtual Voyagers in partnership with the Catalan Tourism Agency, which encompasses the northeastern region of Spain including cities like Barcelona. Rather than simply getting the viewer to explore pretty places, though, the experience retells famous stories from the region within VR. The aim is to give viewers a sense of the region’s history and culture as a teaser of what to expect in a visit. Check out the trailer below.
One such story is the legend of Saint George who, as you may now, found himself in a deadly brawl with a dragon that earned him his own holiday, Saint Georges Day, which is widely celebrated in Catalonia. Virtual Voyagers brings that story to life in VR. Elsewhere there are interactive minigames and the chance to see Barcelona’s prized Sagrada Familia within VR. The experience even brings Catalan’s famed Michelin star chefs, the Roca brothers, into VR for the first time.
Virtual Voyagers used photogrammetry to capture six different locations across the region and also recorded actor’s performances with motion and facial capture. The impressive Making Of video below showcases the sheer amount of work that went into it.
Legends of Catalonia is launching on November 2nd on PSVR for free.
Tagged with: Legends of Catalonia
The post Legends of Catalonia Is An Intriguing New Take On Virtual Tourism For PSVR appeared first on UploadVR.
You don't have to spend the entirety of your paycheck to become a virtual ace, at least when it comes to flight simulation. Our list of the best free flight simulators will let you unleash your inner Maverick.
The post The best free flight simulators appeared first on Digital Trends.
Looking for the best PS4 games out there? Out of the massive crop of titles available, we selected the best you should buy. No matter what your genre of choice may be, there's something here for you.
The post The best PS4 games (October 2018) appeared first on Digital Trends.
It’s finally Halloween, time for kids to run around their neighbourhood trick-a-treating while all the adults not keeping an eye on the sugar intake sit down to a scary movie – or possibly a virtual reality (VR) experience. If you are out and about then you may want to get in on the spooky fun with Ghostbusters World which recently launched this month. The augmented reality (AR) title is holding a special event just for today, where ghostly bosses become more prevalent.
Called the Big Boss Breakout, the one-day event will have Big bosses spawning more frequently than ever before on Halloween. No matter where you are in the world you’ll be able to come across the odd spectre or two, with it being useful to team up with a few mates when those larger corporeal beings start appearing like the Stay Puft marshmallow man.
If you’ve not tried Ghostbusters World yet it’s very similar to The Walking Dead: Our World or Pokemon Go, where you need to get up and out the house to explore your neighbourhood for ghosts, capturing as many as possible. Once you’ve done so then you can start testing out the other game modes available.
There are single-player AR battles and multiplayer role-playing game (RPG) elements, players need to find hundreds of different ghosts, all with their own special attributes. These can then be used in the Story and PvP modes, which involve turn-based tactical combat. Ghosts can be levelled up in the single-player section before taking into multiplayer, helping ensure those wins.
The PvP mode is in the Ghost Dimension which also features Gozer’s Tower and the Daily Haunt for more gameplay options.
Ghostbusters World is free to download for iOS and Android devices which are AR compatible. For further updates on the videogame from Ghost Corps and 4:33 Inc, keep reading VRFocus.
Indie developer Brainseed Factory is well-known for its award-winning puzzler Typoman. Being the dark and morbid 2D platformer that it was the studio decided on a different direction for its next title, venturing into virtual reality (VR) to create Squishies. Alongside a new trailer Brainseed Factory has announced the launch of pre-orders, enabling gamers to save 20 percent off the regular price.
Squishies is a fun, colourful and carefree experience with the aim of the game being to help squishies get home by manoeuvering them around a series of ever more complex and hazardous levels. This is achieved by way of the PlayStation Move controllers which are represented in the videogame as transdimensional Alien Fish friends. These are then used to push and pull the squishies about.
There are 100 levels across five worlds to complete in the main campaign mode, and when things get tough you can always use power-ups, alien technology and helpful creatures to get by. Once those have been completed Squishies also includes a Creative Mode with a Level Editor for you to build your own levels and then share with friends – Brainseed Factory created all the campaign levels using the same editor.
“Squishies is a magical place, with colourful plant life, funny creatures and engaging puzzles,” says Art Director Arton Rexhëbogaj. “You can easily lose track of time.”
Squishies will launch on PlayStation Stores worldwide on 20th November. Via the US PlayStation Store, the videogame is $19.99 USD instead of $24.99 when you pre-order, while the EU PlayStation Store has the title listed for £19.99 GBP with PS Plus Members getting it for £15.99.
“It feels great to finally see the store page go live, though our Squishies journey is far from ended,” says Brainseed Factory Founder and Producer Bilal Chbib in a statement. “It’s the kind of game that starts as a small sprouting seed, then – with the help of a vibrant community and new content that we aim to release on a regular basis – will grow into a giant sequoia!”
For any further updates on Squishies, keep reading VRFocus.
It sounds like Facebook is planning to ramp up its R&D in VR and AR even more.
The Puget Sound Business Journal reports that the company has filed a plans for a 650,000 square foot site holding two new office buildings in Redmond, Washington. According to the report, these will house the Facebook Reality Labs team, which is the new name for the Oculus Research division headed up by Michael Abrash. The project has been given the elusive labeling of ‘Building X’ and could get underway in May. The report claims Facebook is looking at opening in late 2021.
If true, it looks like Facebook isn’t backing down in its R&D work for both VR and AR. Reality Labs has been hiring staff for years now and in 2018 showcased its work on a new Oculus Rift-style PC VR prototype named Half Dome. The experimental headset pushes beyond the limitations of its predecessors with a 140-degree field of view (FOV), varifocal displays and eye tracking.
Facebook Reality Labs currently has 67 jobs listed in Redmond, many of which concern both VR and AR. In his talk at Oculus Connect 5 last month, Abrash detailed the latest progress the company had made in several areas including new display innovations, reproducing humans virtually and creating even more realistic audio for VR.
Much of this work won’t be seen in a consumer product for years to come but, as these new plans suggest, Facebook looks to be in it for the long-term.
Tagged with: Facebook Reality Lab
The post Facebook Files For Massive New Reality Lab Buildings – Report appeared first on UploadVR.
The virtual art you make via Oculus’ Quill app should someday be viewable inside the company’s new Quest headset.
Quest was introduced last month as a standalone VR headset with six degrees of freedom (6DOF) inside-out tracking comparable to what’s seen on Oculus Rift. As such, Oculus is bringing Rift games like The Climb and Superhot to the platform when it launches next year, but we haven’t yet heard about any VR creation apps, which are some of the most impressive and versatile experiences on the platform. We had hoped that Oculus would be able to get all of Quill and its sister sculpting app, Medium, onto Quest, but that might not be the case.
As Road to VR reports, Facebook Android VR Engineer Pierre-Antoine LaFayette yesterday confirmed that Oculus is working to bring Quill artwork to Quest during a talk at the XRDC event. That said, it doesn’t sound like the full experience will be ported over.
In his talk LaFayette gave a detailed explanation of how the Quill team was able to optimize existing artwork and get it running on Quest, though it didn’t sound easy. File sizes needed to be reduced before being sent to a custom renderer built on top of Android. Compromises on visual fidelity, which more traditional VR games are embracing to fit onto Quest, aren’t as easy to make when you’re aiming to keep an artist’s vision intact, though.
LayFayette later told Road that it wasn’t yet decided how Quill artwork might end up on Quest, be it through a dedicated viewer app or another service. He did say, however, that its framing as a professional tool might keep the creation mode from ever arriving on the headset. Somehow we think the limited power of the all-in-one device might stop that from happening too.
That’s a real shame, given that apps like Quill and Tilt Brush are amazing tools that showcase the power of VR. Perhaps we could see a new, dedicated VR creation app taking the platform’s limitations into consideration?
Oculus Quest launches next spring for $399.
Tagged with: Oculus Quest, quill
The post Oculus Quest May Not Quill’s Art, But Not Its Creation Mode appeared first on UploadVR.
PlayStation VR owners have the benefit of being able to buy their videogames both digitally, off the PlayStation Store, and physically from retailers for select titles. Today, Snail Games has announced that ARK Park will be joining those select few with consumers in North America, Europe, and Australia able to purchase the title at retail locations now.
The dinosaur-themed multiplayer online adventure takes a somewhat different approach to gameplay than the videogame its based on, Studio Wildcard’s ARK: Survival Evolved. Instead, players find themselves inside a dinosaur theme park, able to freely explore this grand, virtual world where there’s no set plotline or schedule.
Players are able to explore ten large maps containing dinosaurs, ancient creatures, collectables, challenges and easter eggs. With both single-player and multiplayer options locations can be explored by yourself or with a group of other players. Users will be able to collect ‘Gene Fragments’ which can be found using various combinations of puzzle-solving, reflexes or resource management to get hold of the rarest fragments. These fragments can then be used to unlock new crafting blueprints, or even new maps to explore.
“ARK Park has sold incredibly well worldwide since its March release,” explains Snail Games in a statement. “The game was the third best-selling PSVR title in Japan, which prompted Snail Games to move forward with a physical release after repeated requests from the Japanese community. Also, ARK Park sold out in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia.”
If you buy the physical version of ARK Park will also get to enjoy the “Pterosaur Hill” DLC for free – which introduced the Crystal Sky, Mountain Lake, and Aviary maps a few months ago.
The retail version of ARK Park will be priced at $39.99 USD / $49.99 CAD / £44.99 GBP / €39.99 EUR/ $69.99 AUD for the Standard Edition. For further updates keep reading VRFocus.
Skybound Entertainment’s latest VR experiment is set to scare your socks just a little after Halloween.
On Friday, November 2, the company will launch its four-part 360-degree series, Delusion: Lies Within on Samsung’s VR video app. You’ll be able to watch it in a Gear VR headset, or on a browser of your choice. As we reported earlier in the year, the series is based on plays produced by a horror company also named Delusion over the past few years. The experience aimed to involve audiences in new ways to scare them like never before and now it wants to do the same in VR.
The VR version takes us to the American South during the 1940s. It follows two fans trying to find their favorite horror author, who was recently reported missing. It had originally been billed as a 10-part series lasting over an hour overall, though Variety reports that each of the four episodes will last just eight minutes.
Skydance is doing a lot of work in VR and AR right now, also lending out its popular The Walking Dead franchise to phone-based AR games and location-based VR experiences. Elsewhere, the team at Skydance Interactive have been busy building a full VR game in mech battler, Archangel.
The entire series will be available for $4.99. Variety notes that a second season is also possible.
Tagged with: Delusion: Lies Within
The post Skybound Launches New VR Horror Series Delusion Via Samsung VR appeared first on UploadVR.
Next week British indie developer Whitway Studios will be releasing its debut virtual reality (VR) title for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Windows Mixed Reality headsets, a comedic puzzler called People Cu3ed.
Players find themselves taking part in an event called the ‘Interdimensional Games’ where they have to complete 40 various stages inside a gigantic crystalline tower. The premise of each stage is relatively simple, players have to get from one side of a giant chasm to the other in as quick a time as possible. Of course, this becomes no easy task as all sorts of obstacles litter the expanse to slow matters down.
To get across you have a team, who just so happen to be a bunch of mates turned into cubes. Using your trusty cubed friends they need to be placed so you can teleport across each one, manoeuvring them singularly or as a group as needs must. There’s a further twist in the fact that all your cubed mates need to make it as well.
Alongside all the puzzles Whitway Studios has a fully voiced, animated (and hilarious!) cast of characters, such as the ever-sarcastic, unprofessional and ‘encouraging’ Gamesmaster doesn’t hesitate to take it out on you and your team.
People Cu3ed will be available from 2nd November via Steam, retailing for $9.99 USD. Check out the launch trailer below to see what the madness of People Cu3ed is all about. For further updates from Whitway Studios keep reading VRFocus.
We’ve had a glorious summer here in the UK, plenty of sunshine and clear blue skies. So it makes the onset of winter that little bit harder now the clocks have gone backwards, with the nights drawing in and the temperatures beginning to drop. So what better to start Wednesday morning with an immersive video of the beautiful shores of Thailand.
Thanks to the production skills of Amsterdam-based virtual reality (VR) production studio VR Gorilla, we follow Daan and his girlfriend Elske on a guided tour through the most popular islands of Thailand: Koh Tao, Koh Phangan and Koh Samui.
Showcasing sunkissed beaches, accommodation with sea views, majestic landscapes and more, it’s the sort of video that’ll make you look at your bank balance to see if you can afford the flight, instantly looking like the paradise Thailand is often sold as.
The 360-degree video was made as part of a series discovering Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, all recorded in glorious 6k resolution to look as good as possible – almost as if you were there.
Twitchcon 2018 featured esports tournaments including PUGB and Fornite, cosplay contests, and many upcoming features for Twitch. If you happened to miss the event, here's a roundup of everything that happened.
The post Everything that happened at TwitchCon 2018 appeared first on Digital Trends.
Red Dead Redemption 2's world is sprawling and since it's 1899, you can't get around it in a sportscar. Luckily there are a few ways to hasten travel, including a hidden fast travel option.
The post ‘Red Dead Redemption 2’: How to fast travel to get around quickly appeared first on Digital Trends.
We all know that the internet is full of cats. Now thanks to augmented reality (AR) and google’s ‘Playground’ app, even those with allergies or subject to ‘No pets’ rules will be able to see a cute cat scampering around the living room.
AR stickers have become fairly popular in social media, with Snapchat and Facebook both embracing the trend. AR stickers can be just for fun, or can be used for branding and advertising, or for engaging in the perennial debate about which is best – dogs or cats.
Google Playground initially launched with only dogs available under the ‘Pet’ category, but the new update for National Cat Day adds in some feline friends.
Playground is an enhanced and rebranded version of the AR Stickers that has previously been made available as part of the ARCore platform. With the launch of the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL smartphones, Google repackages and relaunched it as Google Playground complete with some new starting stickers, including characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the ‘Pet’ category, which until now was limited to canines.
Users can activate an AR Sticker to see cats wander around curiously, pounce on things, give themselves a thorough wash or just laze about, in the way that cats do. The Playground stickers can even interact with each other if they are placed in the same scene.
Thanks to the extended capabilities of ARCore, an AR dog and cat placed in the same scene will gaze curiously at each other before engaging in a friendly greeting, with both animals thankfully being nice to one another.
For now at least, Google Playground capabilities are limited to those who have the latest Google Pixel smartphone, as Google Playground and its cat AR stickers are only available on the Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL.
For future coverage of developments in AR, keep checking back with VRFocus.