First you saved serious cash on buying an Oculus Go headset instead of those pricey Rift thingies, and now you’re getting free content for one of the kit’s biggest games. Lucky you!
Coatsink’s frantic minigame compliation, They Suspect Nothing, will recieve a free update named Overclocked on Friday, Agust 3rd, which adds in eight new experiences for players to test their skills against. These games will be split across two new hub worlds added to the game’s robotic city in which humans are strictly banned. These include Arcadia University and the morbidly named Terminal Park. There’s also some extra items to customize your fake-robo character with.
“The Arcadia City University opens in the campus’ main foyer, a lavish hall filled with robot artifacts and the remnants of a student party,” Coatsink explained to UploadVR. “Unlike previous mini-games (in which the player struggled to prove they’re a robot), here the player must cheat their way through a series of exams to gain their ACU diploma, aided by their new best friend Terrence… a human disguised as a fridge.
“Meanwhile, Terminal Park is a vibrant funfair run by the extravagant fortune teller Voltar and her jaded crystal ball. Despite the wealth of workers (including a littering robot designed to make the place feel ‘authentic’) the player is officially the park’s first visitor. As Voltar says, “There are no tests here. No traps or tricks. Just pure unfettered amusement – built solely, it seems, for you.”
On top of the DLC, the game’s soundtrack will also go live on Spofity, iTunes and Amazon music.
They Suspect Nothing now boasts 20 minigames. It’s an experience that fits in with the core value of the Oculus Go itself; to get people into VR with accessible, engaging hardware and software. That is to say, it might not be the game for hardcore VR gamers, but it’s great for showing off your shiny new VR gear to friends and family. It’s available on both Go and Gear VR for $7.99/£5.99.
Eager to see more of upcoming PlayStation VR (PSVR) shooter, Blood And Truth? This new video has some tantalizing gameplay snippets.
Shot at last month’s E3, this footage from PlayStation sees developer Sony London discussing the making of its latest VR game with another studio, Flavourworks, which is currently making a title for PS4’s PlayLink platform. London’s Stuart Whyte talks about the challenges of making a VR shooter and delivering a story in a world in which the player has complete agency, and there’s some interesting comparisons between that and making Flavourworks’ smartphone-based adventure, Erica.
Perhaps most interesting is that Whyte reveals London Heist, the story-driven shooter minigame found on London Studio’s PlayStation VR Worlds, was “by far the most popular experience” found in that compilation. Blood And Truth is considered to be a spiritual successor to that experience, retaining the same look and feel though not necessarily starring the same characters. The aim, essentially, is to turn the London Heist demo into a full game.
Gameplay-wise, this clip shows us some new areas of the game that were being shown at E3. You take to the streets of London for gritty shootouts using the PlayStation Move controllers, and we also see players using construction sites to climb and take cover. We still don’t know when the game’s expected to hit, nor if it’s going to support PSVR’s shiny Aim controller, which seems perfectly suited to the experience.
Indie sensation Beat Saber is now officially supporting VR arcades with a commercial license. This means VR arcades can officially start carrying the rhythm slicing game through an agreement with its creators.
Distribution platform SpringboardVR is one of the first partners to get official access to Beat Saber for arcades. While the arcade roll-out is much larger than one single distribution partner, SpringboardVR operates at hundreds of locations around the world and co-founder Will Stackable said they “tracked” four million minutes of usage across their network in June. Those are interesting numbers to take note of as one of the VR’s most exciting games comes to neighborhood arcade locations around the world.
“I think it has the potential to transform the VR Arcade space,” Stackable wrote. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it jumped to a top 10 slot and accounted for 5-10% of our total minutes the first month, which would be between 200k-400k minutes. (A number that would put it in good company with other top titles).”
Stackable offered up several reasons he’s excited to see what Beat Saber’s release in arcades does to shape the VR industry.
1.) It’s A Fun Game
The VOID draws in people with Star Wars while Dave & Buster’s just launched an alluring Jurassic World VR attraction. For VR arcades, Beat Saber might be just the thing to draw people into repeat visits. If the game turns out to be a compelling enough title to transform the scale of SpringboardVR’s business then it will likely also remake the larger VR arcade industry as well.
“Beat Saber is, put plainly, a truly high quality game,” Stackable wrote. “And just as importantly it’s the first quality game that is specifically made for arcade play. VR Arcades are used to taking consumer games and trying to fit them into an arcade play style. This game changes that.”
2.) Beat Saber Looks Incredible On Camera
Springboard is planning to partner with LIV and Virtual Athletics League to host a VR Arcade Tournament at more than 50 arcades with mixed reality broadcasting to show spectators what the game looks like.
“It’s the first VR game that looks as fun to play as it actually is to put on a headset and play,” Stackable wrote. “Mixed reality videos of Beat Saber are blowing up the internet… and we haven’t really seen that yet in VR. VR Arcades (and VR as a whole) desperately needs that. We need a game that people watch a video of on Facebook and say, ‘I NEED TO PLAY THAT!’ Beat Saber is a marketing teams dream game.”
3.) Per Minute Pricing
According to Stackable, SpringboardVR recommended the team behind Beat Saber price their commercial license around 6 cents per minute — a rate Stackable says is emerging as an industry norm.
“This is based partially on what operators are realizing makes sense for them financially,” Stackable wrote. “With their margins, spending approximately 15% of their revenue on commercial licensing makes sense. Above that and it gets tricky. So at $25 an hour, that comes out to $.06. ($25 * .15 = $3.75 an hour / 60 minutes = $.0625) While we are seeing a trend of operators seeking to license content at closer to that .06 mark, we do have a variety of pricing right now on the developer side. And honestly mostly the pricing has been arbitrary. We’ve got top 20 titles everywhere from $.06 to $.11. Early on we had a number of top 20 titles that were even at $.12… but pretty quickly those dropped off the charts as operators realized they couldn’t make the math work.”
Taken altogether, the pricing, mixed reality broadcasting and quality of the game itself might be enough to transform the landscape for VR arcades. We’ll plan to check back in with SpringboardVR in a month or so to see how things are going.
The verdict is in: Hellblade VR is a triumph. Ninja Theory’s BAFTA-winning adventure was already worth your time on a flat screen, but it soars in VR and is simply unmissable if you own an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. Good news, then: you can currently pick it up for almost half the price.
The original version of Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is on sale on the Humble Store for the next week priced at $17.99/£14.99. That’s 40% off of the original price of $29.99/£24.99. Crucially, you can claim the game on Steam, meaning you’ll still get the free VR update when it goes live later today.
We loved what Ninja Theory did with Hellblade VR, calling it 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,” Games Editor David Jagneaux wrote. “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.”
Elsewhere, Ninja Theory also confirmed that anyone that picked the game up on GOG instead of Steam will also be getting the VR version free. Yay!
I remember the moment that I realized playing a game like Hellblade in VR would be unlike everything else I’ve played before. During a tense fight with an enemy early on in the game I was very low on health. One of the voices in my head that’s constantly taunting, nagging, and whispering to Senua throughout her journey yelped “Behind you!” and I physically spun my head around to see another enemy lunging with a sword, so I pressed the block button and parried the blow perfectly. Had it not been for that ability to turn and look — and my instinct to follow directions from the voice in my head — I likely would have died.
Small moments like that are great examples of how VR can be used to enhance an otherwise non-VR game. Not every game needs VR support, but most games would be more immersive and engrossing if it was done well. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice outside of VR was already one of the best games this entire generation with ominous psychological overtones and a highly atmospheric setting, so adapting that world to VR only enhances what already made it so great to begin with.
In Hellblade you take on the role of Senua as she descends into the depths of Nordic Hell, otherwise known as Helheim, on a quest to save the soul of her lost lover. Throughout the adventure you’re besieged by twisted, demonic creatures that engage you in ferocious melee combat. The journey consists of battling back these deranged creatures, exploring dark, twisted worlds, and uncovering the meaning behind cryptic symbols and puzzles.
What underscores everything though is the bold and brilliant presentation. Visually it’s one of the most stunning games (VR or otherwise) that I’ve ever played and I’m honestly hard-pressed to think of a better looking experience inside of a VR headset. The sound design is second-to-none as voices race through Senua’s head and across each of your ears. One voice may whisper words of encouragement while another sneers insults and discredits your actions. Flickers of images and brief hallucinations appear on-screen and you’re constantly questioning everything that you do and see for the entire 6-8 hour journey.
Combat in Hellblade is thrilling and intense. It’s nowhere near as deep as other third-person action games you may have played recently, but it doesn’t need to be. Senua can issue light and heavy attacks, dodge, block, and parry. Eventually you unlock some otherworldly abilities and time manipulation, which looks amazing in VR, but that’s the gist of it. You time your blocks to parry attacks, string together combos, and juggle multiple enemies that quickly try to surround and overwhelm you.
Being able to crane your neck around and marvel at the amazing environment is a huge reason why playing Hellblade in VR is so magical, but the change of perspective actually helps out combat as well. As explained at the start of this review, you can look around while fighting to avoid getting flanked by unseen enemies.
And while you can certainly play Hellblade outside of VR with headphones to experience the chilling audio and whispering voices, it’s not the same. When those voices giggle and prod my psyche mid-gameplay it really causes me to keep my head on a swivel, looking all around. It affects you on a much deeper level than just some creepy voices in your earbuds. They feel like they’re part of your mind.
In terms of VR-exclusive features, Hellblade actually has a few surprising bits. For starters, there are two experimental camera angles in the settings menu. The standard camera view follows Senua from behind just like in the non-VR game, but then there’s also a Tabletop-style camera that’s aimed down from the sky that makes Senua look like a miniature figure and a Giant-style camera that puts you at her ankles, looking up. It made me feel like I was a dog by her side.
Even when using the standard camera view the sense of scale is incredible. Instead of flicking an analog stick to look around I can actually crane my neck to gasp at enormous mountains, decrepit landscapes, or rotting piles of flesh in the depths of Hell. It’s just a shame more hadn’t been done to make it feel fresh or at least offer motion controller support in some way.
I never felt sick at all while playing Hellblade in VR, but I’ve also never felt sick when in VR at all. There are lots of options to pick from and tweak to make things as comfortable as possible, such as snap turning, camera snapping during combat, and even a nifty feature that lets you turn Senua while moving using just your head while exploring. It plays great with full smooth rotation on as well, which is how I preferred to play.
However, no matter which comfort options you pick all cutscenes that move the camera around a scene will zoom into a letterbox-style presentation. I couldn’t find an option to disable this. It was clearly done to maintain a sense of comfort, but it would have been nice to be able to remove that. It got annoying after a while.
Final Score:9/10 – Amazing
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.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is currently available on Steam for $29.99. The VR edition, which this review is based on, releases on July 31st. All owners of the non-VR edition receive the VR version for free. Check out these official review guidelines to find out more about our process.
One of the most anticipated games of the year – and of all time – No Man’s Sky has an incredible burden of expectation to support. Is its universe really one you can get lost in for hundreds of hours? Or is this another game that’s wide and shallow?
According to a report from VentureBeat, Richard Marks, a former senior researcher and head of PlayStation’s Magic Lab who helped create the PlayStation VR (PSVR) headset and PS Move controllers, has left Sony to join Google.
As of now we’ve got no real idea what his role at Google will be or what this means for the future of Sony’s PSVR. In fact, Google recently hired Phil Harrison, the former head of Sony’s game research and development for worldwide studios, Jack Buser, the former PlayStation Home chief, and even the creator of Xbox Live Arcade, Greg Canessa.
Clearly it seems that Google is amidst a big push for game-focused talent and is likely building up to something huge. There have been rumors of a “Google Yeti” which could be a cloud-based gaming platform to rival PlayStation and Xbox. If the Yeti were going to have VR features, hiring Marks would be a great way to prototype and engineer that sort of support.
While running Sony’s Magic Lab, Marks was in charge of R&D of future-focused concepts and ideas. In that role he helped create the PS Move controllers and PSVR headset as we mentioned, as well as the EyeToy (the predecessor of the PS Camera).
We’ve reached out to both Sony and Google for comment.
