Mosh Pit Simulator is bizarre, disturbing, funny and unapologetically crass—the sort of fever dream that could only leak from the brain of Sos Sosowski, the Polish indie developer behind the well-received (and patently ludicrous) bomb defusing game McPixel (2012). Now, Sosowski has announced that Mosh Pit Simulator is finally coming to Rift, Vive and Windows VR starting tomorrow.

Update (January 30th, 2019): Sos Sosowksi announced that ‘Mosh Pit Simulator’ is heading into early access tomorrow, January 31st, at the price of $20. Sosowski says the early access version will contain Story Mode, with more features and gameplay modes to be added throughout the game’s projected six-month stint in early access.

Original Article (October 22nd, 2018): Slated to release on Steam Early Access on January 15th, Mosh Pit Simulator isn’t really a simulator, at least no more than Goat Simulator (2014) is about living the life of your garden variety goat. It’s essentially a single-player VR physics sandbox based in a world that’s overrun by naked zombie-like creatures who grotesquely amble around after a terrible accident. These aren’t your run-of-the-mill zombies though; they don’t have brains or bones, and they still want to live normal lives, like driving cars and going out on the town for some light shopping. It’s your job to save the world somehow—probably by smashing the ever-living crap out of it.

I went hands-on with a prototype of Mosh Pit Simulator at Gamescom 2016, and it proved to be every bit as bright, insane, and off-putting as Sosowki said it would be. You can take my word for it, or just watch the trailer to see what sort of mayhem the fully-destructible physics-based game has in store.

The game promises rockets, explosives, engines, and plenty more objects to build with, and a story mode that’s admittedly something Sosowski calls “the most ridiculous plot in video games.”

While I can’t speak about the story elements of the game, or even how they’re supposed to work in a world that lets you smash up the entire one kilometer island, my sneaking suspicion is that it’s more about chaos, breaking expectations, and having the sort of madcap fun of making your own interactions, like popping rocket engines on a bus loaded with the undulating, naked humanoid creatures and sending it into the sky.

Sosowski says the game came out of his frustration with how VR games force you into specific interactions, which left his instinctive need to destroy everything around him completely unfulfilled. “[M]ost of the titles are rigged to prevent me from doing that, and to keep me focused on the actual point of the game,” he says. Born from this frustration, Sosowski decided to create a game that will let you destroy anything and everything.

“The idea behind Mosh Pit Simulator is, that you are inside a video game, with those weird humans, all governed by video game rules, but since you wear VR goggles, not all of the rules apply to you. In VR, nothing really exists, so you can lift everything up easily, punch with near-infinite strength and wreck total havoc to the extent where physics engine can’t cope up anymore.”

“But why are they naked?” I asked Sosowski back at Gamescom 2016. To him, it all makes perfect sense. “When people don’t have bones, how are their clothes going to stay on them? They’ll just fall off. So the people just fell out of their clothes. That’s why they’re all naked.”

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Sos Sosowski's 'Mosh Pit Simulator' is Disturbing, Funny, and Unapologetically Terrible

It’s a sort of ‘safe for work’ level of naked though;  Sosowski says from the onset he’s been making the game suitable for audiences 12 and up. There’s no blood or gore, and the humanoids are distinctively mannequin-like, meaning there’s no offensive anatomical bits that might otherwise send the game in a much weirder direction.

During the Early Access period, Sosowski aims to bring a number of small game modes that will let you experience it in different ways including:

  • Driving Mode – where you can drive around in the car and wreck havoc
  • Spider Mode – where you can sling yourself around (not for the faint of heart)
  • Animatronics Mode – where you can create, record and play back animations
  • More items that will help you build and craft more advanced contraptions, like joints and devices
  • Additional environments (forest, desert, train)
  • Add more tweaks and options and cheats
  • Tools to help people with motion sickness
  • Steam integration (achievements, workshop)

Check out Mosh Pit Simulator on Steam here.

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Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Michael Slesinski

    it saddens me that people play garbage like this, but not as much as it shames me as a human that they pretend its “brilliant”.

    • jj

      i hate all your troll comments, where you’re just trying to start a fight…

      BUT THIS is 100% accurate. This is such garbage.

    • Sorry people don’t confine themselves to your ideal experience, so sorry to hear that it burdens you as a human.

      • Michael Slesinski

        its not my burden.. the burden is on the retards like you who will PAY for this bullshit (and all the shit like it), which only serves to motivate no-talent game developers to aim low and make garbage games knowing theres a nice chunk of the market made up of retards who will buy them. “ideal experience”? yea, im such a dick for wanting games to have a point, require a modicum of thought, and have some level of quality in order to get exposed to the public.

    • Why the hell do you care so much?! Why is it so bad that others get joy out of this, this so called garbage of a game? Ay? It’s not your cup of tea, but don’t bash it’s appeal to some who might find it exactly what they wanted to play! Common dude! You say “It saddens me” as in a means to imply that you hate the idea that folks out there would actually find this to be entertaining to them.. Which makes you quite simply put “A Snob” Hate to say it! But your like those folks, those so called “High Class” Art critics that stick their nose down at those who’s tastes are not quite as “Sophisticated” into liking or admiring only the “Fine-Arts.” lol, let them be, let them enjoy whatever quote on quote “Garbage” they just so happen to enjoy! Crimeny! Does anybody else not see intrinsic problem in what you’ve just expressed in that little comment of yours?!! Or is just me?

      • Michael Slesinski

        perhaps because i like QUALITY games? perhaps im against rewarding stupidity? maybe, just maybe i dont like the retards who consider themselves “gamers” these days?

        you need to speak to a psychologist if THIS game is “exactly what you want to play”!

        “my like those folks”? you apparently ARE one of the retards, ill carry my burden, youll never even comprehend yours. (its “quote unquote” also.. genius)

  • Unimpressed

    Should’ve called it the “funny vr youtuber fail compilations you’re gonna laugh for sure !!!XDXDXDXD” simulator.

  • Kenji Fujimori

    Whats with the 90s era crappy CG?

  • The most WTF game ever!

  • Callsign Vega

    Biggest problem with VR is all the low quality trash that is put out with a VR name on it. Such as this nonsense.

    • namekuseijin

      it reminds me of Drunkn Bar Fight. trashy and pointless, but fun for awhile

  • Liam Mulligan

    Even though this looks weird af, ridiculous content like drunken bar fights has brought many a funny moment to mental breaks from developing serious vr content in our inno lab. Interaction design has to consider all possibilities so i will give it a go for a bit of dumb fun. Cant take life too seriously.

  • daveinpublic

    After 2.5 years in development, seems like a while. Were they also learning the development tools during that time?

  • Suge

    I like how the youtube video has subtitles

  • Kelt Rivera

    Just a normal day in vrchat

  • lnpilot

    Oh. The screenshot looked like a rendering bug and an IK or body-tracking bug. That’s supposed to be a “feature”?

  • Adrian Wrench

    Poo

  • When an Internet “Meme” and Viral Video turns to a Full Fledged “TRIPLE A”! ((speaks Sarcastically)) VR Video Game Title!! Hahah, 2.5 years behind the fading fad!! In case everyone already forgot that video of this exact type of animated digital “persons” flailing about the streets randomly like a crash test dummy! Of course now you can control said person with motion tracking!! Whooot!! The Future In NOW! This is where VR was inevitably heading!! HAHHAHA!!! I still cannot believe it!! I do give the Studio and the Developers Credit.. It’s a lot like “Flatout” Destructive Car Racing Games!! There’s value to be had in such things, when so many titles these days take themselves way too seriously! Keep in mind, it’s supposed to appeal to a “Niche’ ” market of VR Gamers, and not for everyone.. So while your entitled to your opinions, it’s totally viable and legit a product that does appeal to a select sum of folks! It’s stuff like this that keeps creativity alive and a tad “Rebellious” in spirit form things / studios as I mentioned that take themselves a bit too seriously! If it’s not your cup of tea, then don’t buy it!! Simple as that! Don’t get mad or upset just because someone else might like this so called “garbage” It’s not up to you to determine what folks should or shouldn’t like to like!! What are you the “Authenticity” police?! Let folks waste their $$ Cash on junk if they so chose! It’s not your money being wasted!! Lol, silly haters!! You just don’t get that this game is Intentionally “Bad” that’s the whole entire point!! Duh!

    • Michael Slesinski

      does the drool flying out of your mouth when you type get all over your helmet?

  • JustNiz

    Apparently targeted at people with single digit IQ’s.