In the early days of VR gaming, fresh and new content is relatively hard to come by. That’s not to say that new ideas don’t exist or that people aren’t working on them – hundreds of people are making VR experiences as you read this, some are even learning to develop for VR for the very first time – but it’s still early days. Innovation takes time, but as a new consumer that paid money, I’d wager you’d rather have new and fun things to try out right now.
That’s we want to start delivering comprehensive run downs of the new things that drop each and every week on the official storefronts around the VR world. For the HTC Vive, that means new game releases that list the Vive as an officially supported headset. Updates of old games may not make it onto these weekly roundup lists and things outside of Steam might get missed for Vive, but we’ll endeavor to be as thorough as possible. You can expect to see this list published at UploadVR every Friday afternoon to prep you for a weekend full of VR gaming.
Let’s take a look at what’s new on the HTC Vive for the week of 05/02/16.
Astral Domine, from Spectral Illusions –
Release Date: 05/01/16, Price: $19.99
This game is of note due to the fact that the developers have actually released a free demo that you can try out before purchasing the game – a lost art that seems all but forgotten in the age of modern gaming. Astral Domine looks like one of the more interesting experiences from a purely visual standpoint – bright and vivid abilities contrasting against the dark and foreboding atmospheric environments – which is a nice change of pace from the more common stylings found in other releases. The female robotic narration is awfully reminiscent of Portal, but feels more like an imitation rather than truly channeling that same level of wit and humor.
As a single player interactive adventure designed specifically for the HTC Vive’s motion controllers, gameplay seems to consist of nothing more than shooting giant energy balls, but like I said, at least it’s pretty. The developers also updated the game shortly after release with new control schemes, which is a good sign for its continued support down the line. Check out the demo and see if it’s for you!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbAuXrLLux8
Valiant, from Offpeak Games –
Release Date: 05/02/16, Price: $19.99 (Currently 15% Off)
We covered the launch of Valiant earlier this week, as it looks like a great treat to enjoy in multiplayer. From our original announcement: “Players take part in team battles, slaying friends on horseback with weapons like swords, bows, and, of course, lances for jousting. Multiplayer battles are capped at five vs five and use either a traditional gamepad or mouse setup or, in the case of the Vive, position tracked controllers for more realistic battles.”
Kismet, from Psyop –
Release Date: 05/02/16, Price: $6.99 (Currently 29% Off)
Kismet is another one we already wrote about earlier this week and it’s off to a great start. From our original announcement: “Powered by a deck of 22 hand-painted Tarot cards and an accurate real-time map of the solar system, Kismet is meant to be experienced daily, with unique outcomes every calendar day that are directly tied to not only the cards that you choose, but your individual birth date and the actual alignment of celestial bodies at the time of your reading.”
Vintage VR, from Dunderwave –
Release Date: 05/02/16, Price: Free
Portals to the past are assuredly a big point of opportunity for VR and Vintage VR is a great example of that. While it would be easy to simply create a short video explaining how stereoscopes and picture cards worked back in the late 19th and early 20th century, it’s far more immersive, engaging, and frankly just purely educational, to experience it for yourself. For free, you can check out over 700 different art pieces from the era. It’s free, it’s clever, and it’s worth checking out!
Ricerca VR, from The Family, LLC –
Release Date: 05/03/16, Price: $0.99
Most of this list is full of games, but don’t forget how powerful of a medium VR is for films as well. In Ricerca, a short narrative VR experience, you follow a man searching through memories to find something he has lost over time. It was originally developed to be experienced on 5 different simultaneous projector screens in an art gallery, but has been ported to the HTC Vive headset. Experiences like this really make the solitary nature of VR feel even more powerful.
Omega Agent, from Fireproof Games –
Release Date: 05/04/16, Price: $14.99
If you’ve been following VR gaming for a while now, you’ve probably heard of Omega Agent already. It originally released on the Gear VR several months ago and now the inclusion of HTC Vive support brings with it more graphical fidelity. Despite the fact that you’re flying around in a jetpack grasping two joysticks in the game world, Vive motion controllers are unfortunately not supported – only a gamepad. However, the thrills of soaring through the air and between buildings is still there, even if an updated control scheme isn’t.
Mind Unleashed, from Frost Earth –
Release Date: 05/05/15, Price: $2.99 (Currently 15% Off)
If you’re too impatient to wait for Damaged Core in order to get your “playing as a robot” fix, then Mind Unleashed might be appealing. You’ll take control of a robot that can fly around maps as you gun down waves of robotic enemies. Some users report nausea concerns, but the developer is working to iron out some of those initial kinks. Gameplay looks fast and fun and it’s hard to beat that price.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4hPbkqNwqM
Periodonica, from Jumping Llamas –
Release Date: 05/06/16, Price: $29.99 (Currently 33% Off)
Since Peridonica just hit very, very, early access today, you’ll need to approach this one with a bit of caution. It’s aiming to be a sports compilation game exclusively for motion-tracked, room scale VR. Think of it as kind of like the Wii Sports of the Vive. Right now only the menus themselves and Bowling work – so there isn’t much to do. But if you want to get in early and help shape development, they’re aiming to eventually support other sports like baseball, archery, frisbee, curling, golf, handball, and tennis, including multiplayer.
Yon Paradox, from Digital Mantis –
Release Date: 05/06/16, Price: $2.99 (Currently 15% Off)
This is the type of game I imagine was conceived by a bunch of people around a table trying to think of the most perplexing and absolutely mind-bending scenario as they possibly could. In Yon Paradox, you’re literally playing a game against your past self in the future. Let me explain. Time is distorted and continually blasts you backwards in time and populates the world with your past alter-egos replicating what you already did. In this way, it’s a puzzle game against yourself. Trippy, right?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKsfW8m-ms0
Insane Decay of Mind, from GoManga Interactive –
Release Date: 05/06/16, Price: $2.99 (Currently 15% Off)
You’ll play as a young girl lost in the eerie hallways of what she thinks is her school. Throughout the game you’ll be stalked and haunted by shadow creatures and experience terrifying virtual nightmares. Insanity naturally plays a big role in the themes of Insane Decay of Mind, so you can expect to experience some truly spine-tingling moments, especially when in the confined solitude of your VR headset.
