3. Sprint Vector
Sprint Vector is a competitive racing game hailing from Survios, the studio behind the award winning action shooter, Raw Data. Thanks to the inclusion of Survios’ innovative ‘Fluid Locomotion System’, you miraculously experience the game free of nausea as you sprint, leap, climb, and fly through intergalactic racetracks at high speeds. Power-ups like the Slow Mine, Glove Blast, and Nitro can be picked up along the way, enabling you to hinder your seven online or AI controlled competitors. At PAX West 2017 I had the opportunity to compete against another player on a new course with a frozen aesthetic. The track included the addition of the new Slip Mine power-up, which generates a slip inducing bubble of influence when deployed. It assisted me in achieving a swift victory for COGconnected as it sent my opponent careening off of the track when passing through it. Granted, I’d previously had an hour’s worth of hands-on experience with the game earlier this year at E3. Regardless, a win is a win. Sprint Vector is undoubtedly one of the most exhilarating and polished VR games I’ve ever experienced. You can race your way to intergalactic stardom when the game launches later this year. For more on Sprint Vector, you can check out my in-depth impressions of the game here.
2 – Gunheart
If you’re a fan of VR shooters like Raw Data, Farpoint, or Super Hot, there’s a strong chance you’ll fall in love with developer Drifter Entertainment’s ‘Gunheart‘. Built from the ground up for VR, Gunheart is a co-op shooter where you and your friends play as robotic bounty hunters in space. Currently, you can blast alien creatures on twelve hand designed maps and a plethora of procedurally generated ones. Completing missions earns you loads of cash to spend on aesthetic items like hats, capes, and faces, new rig abilities, and a variety of weapons. In the demo I experienced, I massacred the extra-terrestrials with a submachine gun in one hand and a crossbow in the other. Each weapon can be upgraded multiple times with powerful perks. For example, one crossbow ability enabled me to manually control the trajectory of the bolt once I’d fired it. In addition to your primary weapons, you choose a power weapon that’s set to a cool down.
By holding your guns together in what the developers described as ‘gangster style’, you spawn your power weapon. Whether it was the super bow, chain gun, or sniper rifle, each of the power weapons I utilized felt incredibly powerful and surprisingly fresh, as they can only be fired by combining both of your hands. In addition to all the firepower, you can use social tools like a balloon inflater, a giant foam hand, and a pixel gun. Drifter has also introduced a PvP deathmatch mode to the game. If you’re into setting high scores by vanquishing aliens with gnarly weapons and competing against your friends, you can pick up Gunheart now on Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. It’s also on its way to PS VR and will incorporate the PS VR Aim Controller.
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1 – Gorn VR (Visceral Reality)
Gorn VR is an absurdly violent arena brawler from developer Free Lives, where you battle gladiators to the death with an assortment of medieval weaponry. The game is entirely physics based, so the movement of the hulking gladiators is absolutely hilarious as they wobble toward you flailing swords and battle axes. Hacking and slashing never felt so good as you inflict realistic wounds into your enemies with over a dozen weapons. Dismemberment is rather gruesome for a game with cartoony graphics. You can disarm enemies by cutting off their arms, down them with the destruction of their legs, or get straight to the point by smashing them in the face with a mace. You can pick up two handed weapons like heavy swords and spears, or quicker weapons like a fencing sword or dagger. I found myself laughing out loud as I decapitated hefty gladiators and soaked the arena in their blood. Am I insane? Perhaps. But Gorn is the most entertaining VR game I’ve ever played. The booth on the show floor of PAX West was even set up to resemble an arena. Crowds would gather to witness and cheer on the carnage inflicted by those playing the game. Gorn is equally as fun to watch as it is to play. Even two of your friends can pick up controllers to play against you in the arena. As of right now, the game features one primary survival mode and a few single player challenges. Speaking with the developers, I learned that the game will eventually feature well over thirty weapons as they continue updating it. I’m also keeping my fingers crossed for a full PvP mode down the road. Gorn VR is available now on steam for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.
I had a blast with every one of these titles. Have you had a chance to experience any or all of them yourself? If so, share your thoughts with us in the comments below!