Cloudhead’s free “Heartbreaker” update to Pistol Whip includes a trio of new scenes with a relaxing vibe. They’re a nice trip and take the total Pistol Whip scene count up to 18 from its original 10. The update also adds two new modifiers and if you turn them on you’re in for a non-stop move-or-you-die shoot-fest that requires an entirely new level of consistency and quick reflexes.
Vengeance and Disorder can be combined with the existing Deadeye modifier to turn Pistol Whip into a harrowing effort to maximize score. Dual wield mode, meanwhile, no longer results in a score penalty. Activate them all and you’ve got two guns to cut down bad guys with a 144.5 percent score bonus to look forward to at the end of the scene. Maybe stretch your legs before doing so, though, because you’re in for quite the journey.
Vengeance adds 10% to your score and causes enemies to shoot back every time you land a shot. Disorder adds 5% to your score and changes up which enemies have armor. Deadeye mode, of course, adds 25% to your score and turns off aim assist, requiring players have the actual aim of an action movie character like John Wick. If Deadeye mode is analogous to Expert difficulty in Beat Saber, then adding on Vengeance and Disorder take it to Expert+. You can still memorize where enemies will spawn but these changes keep you on your toes and require a new kind of situational awareness that Pistol Whip players haven’t seen yet.
Walking Away From An Explosion
You know that action movie trope of a badass walking away from an explosion? These new modifiers in Pistol Whip can make you feel that. For example, at one point I missed an enemy in full body armor who was ground level and very close to my path. So I turned back around and quickly shot him four times. I turned forward again to focus on the new enemies spawning in front of me as four bullets hurtled from behind me toward my head. Can you see where this is going? Pistol Whip is already my favorite VR game and, as I said in my original review last November, it brings me back to my headset again and again. Now I need to add this feeling to the overall experience: It’s a unique kind of satisfaction to play with Disorder and Vengeance and find yourself moving out of the way — just in time — as four bullets you can’t even see at that moment fly past your head. That moment represents a special only-in-VR magic that I think speaks to Cloudhead’s growing confidence iterating on their original design for this game.
The update also includes a water gun with new visuals for shooting and other new cosmetic changes. The Pistol Whip Heartbreaker Trilogy is now available on Quest, Steam and Rift and coming soon to PSVR with the following new songs. Descriptions for each of the new songs are below as provided by Cloudhead:
- Letting Go – EMBERZ: Players dance and shoot their way through showers of stars and rain in this upbeat transitional journey above a dreamy pastel cityscape.
- Embers – Dabin feat. Jill Harris: Angelic vocals help players groove and vibe through this warm, colourful, and abstract scene.
- Another Day – Dabin x Inukshuk (feat. Nevve): Players will experience the explosive and joyous conclusion to The Heartbreaker Trilogy in a fantastical journey across the road less traveled.
