Augmented Empire revives the Oculus Go narrative strategy game next month with mixed reality support on Quest, and we went hands-on.
Developed by Coatsink, Augmented Empire is a 2017 turn-based strategy game initially developed for Oculus Go and Gear VR. Set in the cyberpunk city of New Savannah where people are divided by a citizen grading system, Augmented Empire sees you leading a team of misfits and criminals. The story splits between multiple characters and scenes are viewed from a top-down view from your hideout.
The remastered edition promises visual upgrades with dynamic lighting and PBR, using 4K textures on Quest 3 and 2K textures on Quest 2. New mixed reality support lets you resize the board within your playspace, hand tracking and controller support are both available, while other changes include "improved combat minigames" and achievements.
Before today's announcement, Coatsink sent me an Oculus Go headset with the original Augmented Empire installed since the original game has long been delisted. Technical issues prevented me from transferring any recorded gameplay footage off the headset, so Coatsink provided the following gameplay video for comparison.
Augmented Empire gameplay footage on Oculus Go. B-roll provided by Coatsink.
As someone who missed the era of smartphone-based VR and 3DoF headsets (my main introduction to VR was with the Oculus Rift S and PlayStation VR), playing the Go version has been an eye-opener. At the time, our review praised it as a "rare treat" for mobile VR that offers "a ton of content, a compelling narrative, and cleverly designed encounters."
After an hour with the Go version, I'm inclined to agree and Coatsink did well to work around these hardware limitations. Now that it's free from the shackles of 3DoF, Augmented Empire is much improved for it. That's most notable with the controls, you're no longer constrained to aiming by angling your headset in a certain direction or using a gamepad.
Much like Witchblood or Dragon Front Rising on Quest, introducing mixed reality feels like a great way to expand the existing concept. Augmented Empire presents its maps like a digital version of the mission field that you view from your office, so being able to "place" that display on your table is a particularly nice idea in mixed reality. Gripping both sides of the map lets you conveniently resize it at will and on Quest 3, the character models and environments look sharp even at larger sizes.
Our remastered demo only lasted 15 minutes, but it's long enough to highlight how much has changed. Our goal involves finding a strong recruit for our cause, ending up in a fight against several men from a group called Detritum. Some great voice acting sets the tone well, with the cast including Kate Mulgrew (Star Trek: Voyager), Doug Cockle (The Witcher), and Jennifer English (Baldur's Gate 3).
Combat remains turn-based and every map is tile-based in a manner reminiscent of Fire Emblem. Hand tracking already feels like a natural fit and pressing tiles to move your character or select actions works well. In this instance, I prefer the precision that controllers offer but I'm glad that multiple input options are available, such as a laser pointer or direct touch.
Each character has a standard attack used by pointing at the targeted foe if they're in range, while special abilities like more shots with reduced accuracy can be used if you've got AP. Maps provide plenty of locations for potential cover and the strategic combat is satisfying, albeit a touch too easy in places.
Notably, Remastered's biggest gameplay change so far involves removing the timed bar originally used in combat. Previously, you had to time shots just right when attacking with the potential to land a critical hit. That also applied to dodging or reducing damage when enemies attack you. The old approach was better; you feel more in control of your character's destiny, especially when you can guarantee critical hits on each turn with some practice. Thankfully, Coatsink confirmed that while this isn't in the demo, it's an optional feature that will be present in the full game.
As someone who missed the earliest days of consumer VR gaming, I'm pleased to see games I initially missed like Augmented Empire get a second chance. Coatsink's narrative strategy game feels like a great fit for mixed reality, and while it's hard to speak definitively after a short demo, the early signs are promising.
Augmented Empire arrives on the Horizon Store on November 21.
David Jagneaux
Update Notice
Coatsink informed UploadVR after publication that the timed combat bar will be an optional feature in the full release, confirming this feature isn't present in the demo build. We've updated the article to reflect this.
