InXile Entertainment, the studio behind The Mage’s Tale (2018) and The Bard’s Tale series, are getting ready to move to closed beta for their upcoming team shooter, Frostpoint VR: Proving Grounds.
Take one part Soviet retrofuture, add in the swinging locomotion scheme from Marvel’s Spider-Man, and dust it liberally with the cel-shaded visual style from Borderlands and you might just have Yupitergrad, an upcoming VR game that promises to let you swing through adventure, puzzles, and plenty of opportunity for self-deprecating slavic humor.
As Oculus becomes increasingly merged with parent company Facebook, new users will soon be required to sign into their headset with a Facebook account. Existing users will be able to use their separate Oculus accounts until the end of 2022, after which “full functionality will require a Facebook account.” Facebook says the changes are being made to make it easier for users to find and play with friends in VR and to enhance moderation.
If you were alive and sentient in the early ’90s, you might have had you first VR experience with a Virtuality SU 2000, an early pod-like VR system for arcades. If you’re looking to relive those low-poly glory days, the current IP holder of all SU 2000 and SU 3000 games, VirtuosityTech, is actually looking to port them to modern headsets.
Facebook has signed a multiyear deal with the National Basketball Association (NBA) which makes Oculus an official marketing and VR headset partner of the NBA, Women’s NBA (WNBA) and NBA G League.
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 2020.
Getting into modular synthesizers can require a real investment in time, patience, and not to mention money. Although if you’re interested in messing around with synths and teaching yourself the basics, SynthVR is a tool currently in open alpha that’s so far an awesome way to dip your toe into an otherwise expensive but ultimately really cool way of making music.
Ever since Beat Saber developers Beat Games was acquired by Facebook, it seems the popular block-slashing rhythm game has been able to nab a bunch of lucrative music deals, with bands such as Green Day, Timbaland, and Imagine Dragons signing on to put their music into the game. Now the studio reveals that it’s adding more high-profile music today with a new pack from Linkin Park.
First Contact Entertainment, the studio behind the PSVR exclusive multiplayer shooter Firewall: Zero Hour (2018), has delayed the release of its upcoming VR arena shooter, Solaris Offworld Combat.
Half-Life: Alyx’s Workshop Tools for modding have been out for a while now. This is a set of software utilities that allow anyone to create and install custom add-ons for the game and there’s already plenty to choose from. We tried out a bunch of mods to find out which are worth playing.
Cas and Chary VR is a YouTube channel hosted by Netherland-based duo Casandra Vuong and Chary Keijzer who have been documenting their VR journeys since 2016. They share a curated selection of their content with extra insights for the Road to VR audience.
These past couple of months I’ve tried about 20 different mods. Some mods are more like add-ons to the base game and can give the original campaign a whole new experience, while some feel like entire standalone campaign levels. Playing the game again and checking out these mods is an awesome way to extend your playtime in Half-Life: Alyx.
There are so many mods now, though, so if you’re wondering which to try first, here’s a list of my 10 favorites. I tried to make this list as varied as possible because I wanted to show a variety of mods.
If you don’t know how to install a mod, check out the video at around the 9:12 minute mark. Don’t worry, it’s straightforward!
So, you’ve defeated the Combine. Now it’s time to relax, and the perfect place for that is in the Northern Star Bar, where you can dive into leisurely activities like pool. This bar also has a 4-lane bowling alley with working scoreboards and realistic feeling bowling balls. This is probably a mod you’d really only install and play once, but since it’s so different from other mods I wanted to include it as it shows what kinds of things are possible with the tools.
The name says it already, play Mini-golf in an atmospherically designed environment built from the ground up using assets from the base game. It’s a short seven hole course that you walk through yourself. Don’t forget to take in the views every so often!
Victory Mine is a mine level inspired by Half-Life 2: Episode 2 where you have to fight your way to the surface. You’ll go up against various types of Antlions and some Combine soldiers here and there. It’s a short campaign with intense battles that will surely test your skills, but if you have some time to look around this map is also atmospheric with beautiful lighting.
Glorious Gloves is an add-on that works with any part of the game. By turning it on, Alyx’s Gravity Gloves gain the original Gravity Gun from Half-Life 2. Now you can levitate, pull, or push objects away. You can also cause melee damage by punching with a closed fist. According to the mod’s developers, you can even complete 90% of the original game using only the Glorious Gloves without any guns.
This mod adds a spawn menu, which allows you to spawn different characters and items. This can be NPCs, props, ragdolls, weapons, and entities. This mod is a great way to get a closer look at all the interesting models that Valve built for the game. Maybe you’d like a closer look at Jeff?
Overrun is an adventure map with less exploring and more high-paced Combine action. I enjoyed my time with this one as it has gameplay elements of a dungeon game. You complete one ‘room’ by defeating all enemies, get some time to heal up before you move on to the next. These ‘rooms’ are small, but well-thought out with props and items that you can use to your advantage.
Mine Break is a mod series that feels like a standalone campaign. The mission story is about exploring an abandoned warehouse that’s full of valuable resources that could aid in fighting the Combine oppression. The first chapter has you exploring a dark, underground mineshaft, where you’ll find puzzles, scripted scenes, and encounter various enemies. It’s a well-paced campaign with a mix of exploration and combat. This one may not be for the faint-hearted, though.
Crash Course is from the same creator as Mine Break. It’s another excellent map that feels like a full campaign. It’s one that feels big as you’ll explore large open areas. Like the previous mod, this one also has scripted scenes and puzzles. I especially like how creator SadlyItsBradley also made creative use of the base game assets, some of which can surprise you. Overall, a fun one to go through. It’s less dark than Mine Break too, so probably more suitable for everyone.
Alyx Plays Minecraft is different as it’s a map that has all the Minecraft assets imported which makes it look like a completely different game.
You’ll be spawned in a Minecraft world where the Combine have stolen your diamonds and you must fight them to get them back. You’ll start outside in the forest, but soon you’ll enter the dark dungeons, which can get a bit scary, just like in Minecraft. If you’ve played Minecraft, you’ll especially love to explore this one, but even if you haven’t, the contrast between Alyx and Minecraft graphics is entertaining on its own.
Say Bye to Alyx Vance, you are now Alyx Bond. This is a four-part mod series with maps that are all based on the classic Nintendo 64 GoldenEye 007 maps. What’s interesting is that the devs of these mods decided to use the assets from the base game instead of importing their own.
The gameplay is fun, too; it feels like a complete, standalone campaign with combat that will force you to act strategically. Overall it’s impressive work and I would recommend this one to everyone.
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That’s it! We hope you enjoy these mods. We’ll for sure dive back into Half-Life: Alyx every so often to check out new mods. Let us know what your favorites are in the comments!
The Walking Dead Onslaught, the upcoming zombie VR game based on AMC’s TV show adaptation of the universe, has announced a release date of September 29th. Developer Survios published a new gameplay trailer highlighting the game’s zombie slaying action.
Phantom: Covert Ops (2020), the stealth action game for Oculus Rift & Quest, got its first ‘Challenge’ pack today, bringing a host of new content to get you back into the seat of the game’s tactical kayak.
STRIDE is an upcoming Mirror’s Edge-inspired VR parkour action game with an impressive locomotion system that we really hope plays as good as it looks. Developer Joy Way announced today that signups for closed beta access are now live in preparation for its launch into Early Access later this month.
IO Interactive is bringing PSVR support to Hitman III, the upcoming addition to the stealth action franchise. While there’s still precious little information about the game’s VR implementation, a short clip of VR gameplay has revealed a few choice nuggets to go on.
The 2018 early access launch of VR mech game Vox Machinae may feel like a distant memory by now, but it still stands as perhaps the most immersive VR mech game to date. Updates over the last two years have added co-op modes, a helpful cross-platform friends list, gameplay-changing ‘modules’, new mechs, weapons, and more. Developer Space Bullet tells us it isn’t done yet; the studio teases “ambitious plans” for the game’s eventual 1.0 launch and beyond.
