Ironlights is a new combat and duelling melee VR game coming to the Oculus Quest, Rift and SteamVR in Spring 2020. The announcement coincides with a Kickstarter aimed at helping developer E McNeill “finish the game strong” before launch. Most notably, the game will support LAN play between two Oculus Quests, allowing you to fight your fellow Quest owners in the same space without online latency.
Ironlights sees you choose one of five classes and battle against an opponent in measured, dynamic combat in a stadium arena setting. Each class of fighter has a different type of weapon – the Knight has a two-handed greatsword, the Duelist has a rapier and buckler, the Monk has a staff, the Ninja has duel katars and the Crusader has a flail and shield. You can view the trailer, embedded above, to get a better idea of how the combat looks and plays out.
On the Kickstarter campaign page, developer E McNeill outlined how they’ve responded to some of the common problems associated with unsatisfying melee combat mechanics in VR. Ironlights includes measures like prioritizing a weapon “feeling right” over it being realistic.
The game’s combat also plays out entirely in slow motion, “so it’s never just a reflex challenge.” Each weapon will shatter after one hit, “so there’s no disconnect between your weapon and your controller”, alongside an “asymmetrical melee” system that means only an attacker can do damage, leaving the other player to simply block attacks, before presumably swapping roles. These are all some intriguing additions and gameplay decisions, so it will be interesting to see if it pays off.
The game will have a single player campaign along with head-to-head multiplayer matches online. Interestingly, the game will also allow LAN connections between two devices, allowing you and a friend to play in the same space. This is a huge boon for Quest owners who want to physically play together with their other Quest-owning friends.
While the game is almost complete and on track for a spring launch, the Kickstarter campaign is aiming to help the developers “make some serious improvements with a little extra funding” including more armor models for variety and a few further stretch goals include sound design and background art improvements. You can check out the campaign here, which has a funding goal of $15,000.
Ironlights launches for the Oculus Quest, Rift and SteamVR in Spring 2020.
