This has been republished from late May 2018 to coincide with E3 2018 coverage.
Cooperative first-person VR shooter Evasion is officially coming to PSVR and we got the chance to go hands-on with it at a pre-E3 Sony preview event last week. Described as a “bullet hell” shooter for VR, you and some friends will jump into this world as one of four different classes and do your best to stay mobile and dodge the torrential downpour of lasers and missiles as you blast hundreds of aliens and robots into thousands of pieces.
Evasion is basically like a modern VR interpretation of what a sci-fi co-op Serious Sam game might look like and I’m all here for it. I’ve played this same mission multiple times, including first way back at VRDC in October, then GDC earlier this year on an expensive Vive Pro, and finally now on a PSVR.
My PSVR demo was quite different from the previous two though because I wasn’t using just two motion controllers this time. Instead, I was holding the surprisingly sturdy PS Aim Controller while standing in place with my VR headset firmly plastered to my face. Immediately, I was getting Farpoint flashbacks.
However, Farpoint mostly deals with ground-based enemies, is a bit slower-paced, and leverages its narrative very heavily. In the case of Evasion, it’s like cranking the action up to 11. You’re basically required to sprint around the map at full speed at all times to make sure you can dodge all of the incoming bullets, which means keeping your head on a swivel and your trigger finger nice and loose.
The benefit of using two motion controllers on Vive and Rift (which include analog sticks) is that you can block with your left hand and shoot with the right separately. In the case of the PSVR while using the PS Aim Controller, my shield is attached to the front of my gun so I can only block in the same direction as where I am aiming. It’s a slight limitation, but it feels appropriate given how satisfying the gun is to hold in VR.
I’ve played a lot of VR shooters, many of which featured cooperative or competitive multiplayer of some kind. The closest comparison out there to what Evasion is trying to do right now is probably Gunheart, but there’s no word on when that game is actually coming to PSVR, although we know it’s in development.
The bottom line is that if you have a PSVR with a PS Aim Controller that’s been collecting dust ever since Bravo Team failed to meet expectations, then Evasion is your reason to dust it off. With this and Firewall: Zero Hour both on the horizon, now is a good time to get reacquainted with your smooth, plastic peripheral.
Evasion is currently slated for release on Rift, Vive, and PSVR later this year. The PSVR version of the game will support both DualShock 4 and PS Aim Controller play styles, although based on our demo we have a feeling that the PS Aim will be the best way to play the game.
Let us know what you think of Evasion so far down in the comments below!
