PlayStation VR has gotten off to a slow start in 2017, with two weeks of no new games, but the Asia region will at least be getting one intriguing release next week.
We’ve written about Unearthing Mars from Taipei-based developer Winking Entertainment a few times. It’s a Mars-set adventure game that promises both exploration and action, though much of the game’s plot and structure has remained a mystery thus far. Today, Winking provided UploadVR with a few new details on the project that give us a clearer picture about what this game actually is.
Firstly, take a look at the short film below. It’s not actually an advert for the game, but it does capture the tone Winking wants to capture: “virtual world, true emotions”. There’s a heartfelt innocence to the piece, portrayed as a child’s dreams of adventure but still capturing the drama and excitement of a big screen blockbuster. If the developer can hit upon these themes with the game, it could be one of PS VR’s most emotive games.
The game’s story is set 20 years after mankind first set foot on the Red Planet. Players are cast as a co-pilot on a retrieval mission to gather fragments of a satellite that may contain secrets about the history of Mars. The first half of the game will mainly be focused on exploring the planet’s terrain by piloting vehicles like and landing shuttle.
As you come to learn more about an ancient civilization that used to live on the planet’s surface, though, you’ll start to find more puzzle-solving mechanics. Eventually the game will culminate in all-out action scenes in which you’ll use PlayStation Move controllers to fend off alien attackers. It sort of sounds like a movie in itself, not adhering to one particular gameplay style right the way through. Whether or not that works out for the project remains to be seen.
There will be a total of 10 missions, ranging from short chapters of 6 to 7 minutes and longer segments of 15 minutes or more. From the sounds of it the experience could offer anywhere between one to two and a half hours of playtime.
Unearthing Mars is launching in the Asia region on Thursday January 19th. Winking wouldn’t tell us when the game would be launching in the west, though the Asian release does support full English voice acting. We’re hoping the US/EU release happens sooner rather than later.
