When I first played Dead and Buried on Oculus Rift with Touch controllers, I knew that Old West shootouts were going to be one of the most entertaining and popular genres in VR. Then at PAX West earlier this month, I had the pleasure of playing another Wild West shootout title called Cowbots and Aliens, this time from Wizard Games, the same team behind the basketball game, Hoops VR. My demo was only a small slice of what Cowbots and Aliens has to offer, but it solidified my thoughts on the shootout genre in VR.
In this upcoming competitive multiplayer VR shooter, you take on the role of either a robot cowbot or alien and face off in a Western-themed environment in a duel to the death. The demo I played only had the two characters and the single map, but more content is planned to be coming upon release.
The premise is simple: shoot and kill your opponent. What makes Cowbots and Aliens so special though, is everything else that happens around you. Since you’re inside of an otherwise traditional saloon, everything you see can be interacted with. For example, by reaching out and knocking the table over, I created a makeshift barrier that I could duck down behind when I wasn’t shooting. Using my free hand, I could even pick up glasses, bottles, and chairs to chunk at my adversary.
The game mode I played was just a standard 1 vs. 1 duel, but we weren’t locked into predefined spawn locations such as in a game like Dead and Buried. Instead, we used a typical “point and click” teleportation movement system to move around. After you moved, there was a short cool down to prevent you from quickly darting around too much. The range on the movement was adequate, enabling us to jump behind cover or dash through a door if things started to get too intense.
In a game like this, the level design and objects for interaction are almost more important than the core mechanics themselves. Picking up a gun and shooting is great, but so many games do that already that it’s far from inventive at this point.
The setup at PAX was very stylistic and conducive to a fun experience, as they actually outlined the playspace with a lasso to prevent people from stepping too far outside of the boundaries, which you can see below:
Cowbots and Aliens is at the Westin at #PAXWest2016 #PAXWest #PAX !! pic.twitter.com/4QmC8QavQW
— Wizard Games (@Game_Wizards) September 2, 2016
My favorite moments of playing Cowbots and Aliens involved teleporting behind things, knocking them over, popping out from cover to shoot at my enemy, and appearing behind them as a surprise. Tossing objects to create a bit of chaos or finish them off while my gun recharged never stopped being satisfying.
The Steam page of the game lists multiple game modes such as: High Noon Shootout, Barfight Brawl, and Territory Capture, hinting at much more variety in the version that’s releasing in late October. You’ll also be able to spend time in the social lobby area outside of games — similar to Rec Room’s gym — and customize your avatar.
Cowbots and Aliens is currently targeting an October 31st release on Steam with support for the HTC Vive. You can visit the game’s website or the Wizard Games Twitter to stay up to date with more information as it releases.
