Facebook today announced that its XR conference, Facebook Connect (previously called Oculus Connect) will be held on October 28th. This is the second year running that the event has been in an online format due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Carrier Command 2 launched earlier this month alongside a separate version including full VR support. While the non-VR version of the game sits at a ‘Mostly Positive’ 75% user rating, the VR version quickly tanked to a 27% ‘Mostly Negative’ rating. A desire to cram VR into the game with limited testing and a lack of feedback from experienced VR players is the root cause. While developer Geometa is working hard to deliver fixes, this avoidable stumble right out of the gate hampers the odds of success for the VR version.
Myst (2020) developer Cyan Worlds announced today that its VR remake of the game is finally due to launch on PC later this month.
Space Pirate Arena is an upcoming pseudo-sequel to VR classic Space Pirate Trainer (2017). All your training, it seems, was leading up to going head to head against other players in a huge virtual arena… and you’ll need an equally huge playspace in real life to play.
While Oculus doesn’t offer much publicly in the way of understanding how well individual apps are performing across its VR storefronts, it’s possible to glean some insight by looking at apps relative to each other. Here’s a snapshot of the top 20 Oculus Quest games and apps as of August 2021.
It’s been a long time coming, but Oculus has finally provided a way for players to invite friends to their VR games through a simple web link that can be shared by text, email, DM, or… well, anywhere. This streamlines the action of meeting up with your friends for some virtual fun. For now only some apps support the feature until more developers decide to get on board.
Fracked is the latest VR title from veteran VR studio nDreams, and a PSVR exclusive at that. The game has a lot going for it—good looks, a unique cover system, and strong fundamentals—but its combat and doesn’t evolve enough to really stick the landing.
Today Pistol Whip gets a major free update called ‘Smoke & Thunder’, bringing five new levels to the game tied together into a mini-campaign (similar to the prior ‘2089’), as well as a complete refresh of the game’s modifier system, offering more customization than ever before. Like ‘2089’ before it, ‘Smoke & Thunder’ successfully delivers a fresh dose of fun, this time built entirely around dual-wielding.
Arashi: Castles of Sin launches today on PSVR, promising to give players a stealth-action sandbox set in feudal Japan.
DigiLens today announced a new capability for their waveguides which it’s calling a transparent resolution expander. Purportedly able to double the inherent resolution of any projector used in XR glasses, the system relies on quickly switching between two slightly offset images to increase effective resolution.
Vertigo Games, a VR development studio and publisher, announced it has acquired Amsterdam-based VR development studio Force Field, which has worked on VR experiences like Anne Frank House VR, Coaster Combat, and Landfall. The studio will continue on as Vertigo Studios Amsterdam and is purportedly in development of a new AAA VR game.
During a Steam Deck hands-on event, Valve was asked about the possibility of seeing Steam Deck’s custom AMD processor in a standalone VR headset. While the company didn’t confirm anything outright, they said the Steam Deck hardware could certainly be a good match for a standalone VR headset.
Popular VR rhythm game Pistol Whip is getting another major expansion called ‘Smoke & Thunder’ which will introduce the game’s second mini-campaign. Set for a release date on all platforms on August 12th, ‘Smoke & Thunder’ is a package of five new levels and songs tied together by an underlying narrative theme. A new modifier system will also come with the update, letting players remix the gameplay of any level.
STRIDE has been in early access for SteamVR headsets for nearly a year, but now Oculus Quest owners can take a crack at the free running action, which effectively replicates a few ideas from the parkour-style platformer Mirror’s Edge (2009) and translates them pretty well into VR. Stride’s single player modes are fun arcade affairs which offer just enough reason to come back for more, although it will be interesting to see how the studio does with its upcoming campaign and multiplayer modes.
Third-person VR platformer Ven VR Adventure, which launched on PC VR last holiday season, is now set for an August 12th release date on Oculus Quest. The game has been confirmed for PSVR as well, but there’s no word on a launch date.
