Airspace Defender, a modern mixed reality take on the Missile Command arcade game, is coming to early access soon and we're excited to go hands-on today with an exclusive preview build.
Developed by Not Suspicious, this modern twist on the classic arcade game uses Quest 3’s color passthrough and hand tracking to deliver an immersive experience, and for some gamers from the Atari generation like myself who played a lot of Missile Command back in the day, a heavy dose of nostalgia.
Testing the Early Access Build
We tested the early access build ahead of its release and the neon vector graphics look stunning against the Quest 3’s color passthrough, creating a tiny holographic battlefield that pops nicely. Hand tracking works exceptionally well, offering precise and responsive placement of your defensive strikes. Unleashing your arsenal of missiles, bombs and laser blasts with a pinch of your fingers feels intuitive and natural and really gives the sensation of controlling the ordnance in this tiny holographic representation of a war zone.
Not Suspicious opted for a hands-only approach with Airspace Defender in the pre-release build we tried, controllers did not work during our testing.
"From inception, we designed it to serve as an internal benchmark for hand-tracking quality, akin to how Beat Saber became the benchmark at Oculus for controller tracking," explained developer Rafael Brochado over email. "Our gameplay requires quick hand motions but also precise and (often) subtle pinches, so it's been useful for testing how good the hand tracking is today and where it still needs to improve, which of course, then informs our strategy internally at Not Suspicious."
The training levels ease players into the hand-tracking-only method of control and timing mechanics needed to stop the oncoming onslaught, while the more intense arcade levels provide a challenging experience with escalating difficulty that keeps players engaged. I played enough to experience the frustration of loss that motivates you to push harder to save your city. When you fail, the losses are weighed by spectacular explosions as your cities are obliterated. The visual effects on these had me mesmerized more than once. Successes, meanwhile, are met with the ability to upgrade your arsenal or repair destroyed sections of your city.
Early Access Availability & Beyond
Airspace Defender started as a prototype for the April 2024 Meta Hackathon held in New York City and has grown during the early beta testing phase, capturing the attention of gamers eager for a fresh take on classic arcade-style gameplay in mixed reality space. Not Suspicious has a top scores list going on its website as it grows from its Discord group player base into Early Access next month.
You can wishlist Airspace Defender now ahead of its release for Quest 2, Quest 3 and Quest Pro.
Be sure to join Ian Hamilton and Don Hopper as they discuss Airspace Defender's early access launch on VR Gamescast:
