One of the biggest grievances that PS Vita fans have about the slow demise of the system is the (perhaps justified) perception that Sony didn't give the system enough support, allowing it to wallow in a strange limbo state where new games arrived in a slow trickle.
The situation for the PS VR is different. Sony continues releasing games at steady clip, and some weeks it feels like they simply open a firehose and shoot games at PS VR fans at an almost painful rate. One year ago, I would look at the list of available games and select which ones I would like to play. Now, I look at the list of game that I want to play, find it unmanageable, and try to choose the cream of a very robust crop. The games are increasing in quality and length, and the PS VR is starting to feel like it won't be a flash in the pan, and they system might just have some staying power. Thank God. I've dumped a lot of money into this thing.
This week continues that trend, with six new games coming for the system. This list is extremely varied, and speaks to the quality and diversity of the PS VR's current library.
Coming this week:
Blind
Developed by Surprise Attack, and Australian development team, blind is the story of a young woman who awakens in a strange place without her sight, and must use echo-location to maneuver through her new surroundings, solving the mystery of where she is and why. This looks similar in concept to last year's Stifled, but with a much different visual style and sensibility. Gaming Nexus is currently reviewing Blind, so expect to see a review go live one day this week.
The Door
Thanks to Grumpy Aging Gamer for the trailer post, as this was the only version of the trailer I could locate online. I couldn't find much info on the The Door online, but the PlayStation Blog says "Holed up in a secret lab in the dark forest, Dr. Jacob devoted himself to research in the lab he created to treat his terminally ill daughter. One day, he is trapped in the lab and everything begins to change…" Judging by the above trailer, it looks as though The Door is a VR room puzzle game with some pretty serious horror overtones.
Downward Spiral: Horus Station
Downward Spiral: Horus Station is one of those "here you are on a space station, and stuff has gone wrong, and you have to figure it out and fix it and not die" games. Horus Station is stuck in a zero-gravity situation, which adds an extra wrinkle to things. Our own Dave Gamble reviewed the PC version. Giving the game an "8", he enjoyed the exploration aspects of the game, but didn't like the shooting/combat as much. Luckily, it seems as though players can choose which parts of the game they would like to engage in, with combat able to be toggled off. Neat!
Neonwall
Neonwall is a very snazzy looking puzzle title, which has players manipulating the various elements in the super-colorful environments to keep a little ball rolling along a prescribed path. Looking at the trailer, my first thought was that Neonwall looks very appealing on a visual level, but my second thought was "those controls better be on point". For a game that requires precision and timing, the Move Controllers will have to be implemented well, with all of the tracking issues and flicker ironed out. Other titles have pulled it off, but that aspect will make or break Neonwall.
Transference
Perhaps the biggest gun this week is Transference, developed by Ubisoft and Elijah Wood's studio Spectervision (yes, that Elijah Wood). Transference is a mystery/puzzle room game that has players exploring the memories of someone with PTSD. The game uses a mixture of VR graphics and live action video. Ubisoft has really staked a claim in the PS VR space, and with the release of this game, the company seems to be renewing their commitment to the medium. There is a free demo available right now on the PlayStation store. I thought I might check it out this afternoon. Sunday funday!
Trickster VR: Dungeon Crawler
I posted about Trickster last week. Long story short, I couldn't find much info online about the game, but it looks cool. A co-op procedurally-generated dungeon crawler, Trickster has pretty good reviews on Steam. The game was originally scheduled to release on the 14th, but must have been slightly delayed. This could be due to anything, from networking issues to paperwork snafus. Regardless of the lack of press, any game that allows multiplayer in VR automatically gets my attention, so I'm looking forward to Trickster.
Obviously, all of these games are subject to delay. But just the fact that there are six games coming out for PS VR this week, and this has become the norm rather than the exception, indicates that my early devotion to the system will continue to pay off. Prices have dropped significantly, and the games library has exploded in size and quality, so if you have any interest in VR, now is a great time to jump onboard.
