At the Playstation Experience conference, it was expected that virtual reality games would have a more prominent role on the keynote stages. Setting the standard early, PS VR was mentioned with the Resident Evil 7 demo and the Ace Combat 7 trailer reveal. Soon after those, a new and original PlayStation VR game was revealed via trailer.
Starblood Arena drops you into the cockpit of your own highly maneuverable mech in an intense, first-person action shooter exclusive for PlayStation VR.
The trailer shows Battle Royale and Team Deathmatch modes and the player maneuvers around an enclosed arena with various objects obscuring your path or offering cover. There’s a variety of mechs with different strengths and weaknesses. The gameplay looks more geared toward a multi-player experience, but PS Plus is required for online play so the game will have to offer up a substantial single-player experience at the least. Online, there is also 2-4 player co-op combat mode where you face waves of enemies as a team.
The game has been in development for over a year with more than 40 people on the team. One of our writers got some hands-on time at PSX and didn’t experience any discomfort after taking on a few bots, despite the ability to . move the mech in any direction fairly quickly. So players with quicker reflexes are likely to stand above the crowd in the multiplayer engagements. The trailer says the release is pointed at Spring 2017, but our conversation with the team at PSX suggested a more specific launch date in March planned. We’ll update with more information as it comes and stay tuned for more coverage of the PlayStation Experience.
