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.
Update (August 13th, 2020): Stride is heading into closed beta very soon, Joy Way reveals. You can now sign up for closed beta access, but make sure to hurry because signups close at 4PM ET on August 14th (local time here).
Users will have to agree to a confidentiality agreement that includes a complete embargo on publishing content to the public until the game is properly released.
The developers note that the number of participants is “limited.”
“We will send test keys with instructions to the lucky ones a few hours after registration ends. After receiving the key, you will have 2 days to test the game. Then we will revoke the key,” Joy Way says.
Original Article (August 6th, 2020): Joy Way announced today that Stride will launch on Steam in Early Access later this month (no specific release date or price yet). While the studio was hoping to launch the full game this month, it now plans to push the game out in two phases. “We recognize that our plans were too ambitious and we do not have time to make a full-story before the end of the summer,” the studio said.
Stride Early Access Phase I
Plans for the first phase include the release of three game modes. The initial Early Access release will include the first of the three modes, with the others released as updates “in short succession:”
- Endless Mode: Infinite level generation provides unlimited challenging terrain.
- Arena Mode: A spacious varied-terrain arena with waves of enemies. Perfect for practicing tricks and refining your shooting skills.
- Time Chase Mode: Test your parkour-at-speed skills in a race against the clock.
Joy Way released new footage showing Endless Mode in action. It takes the form of an ‘infinite runner’ style of gameplay and highlights the game’s free-form sprinting, jumping, ledge climbing, and wall running movement.
The gameplay footage also shows Stride starting to lean away from the Mirror’s Edge (2008) inspired aesthetic and a bit into its own art-style. Even so, we’re glad to see that the gameplay still clearly echoes the brilliance of Mirror’s Edge parkour mechanics which did a great job of letting players move creatively and fluidly throughout the environment.
Stride Early Access Phase II
Fortunately, Joy Way wants to make Stride more than just an sandbox parkour action game. The studio still intends to deliver a “complete story version of the game,” to bring a directed experience to the action.
The studio says the game’s campaign is being worked on in parallel with the Phase I Arcade modes, and it will have more to share in the future.
Longer term, Joy Way is interested in bringing Stride to Quest and PSVR, but hasn’t officially announced a release for those platforms just yet.