It’s been almost a year since we heard much from the folks at Uber Entertainment (of Planetary Annihilation fame,) the team behind upcoming PSVR third-person point-and-click adventure title, Wayward Sky. In a PlayStation Blog post last July, we learned about the game and saw some great shots of what it looks like in action, but as anyone that follows the industry knows, screenshots and traditional trailers do very little to communicate the unique aspects of a VR experience.
That’s where mixed reality comes into play! The latest mixed reality trailer for the in-development adventure title does a great job of highlighting what makes these sorts of games so unique. In Wayward Sky, you’ll take a top-down view approach on the environment, similar to that of Lucky’s Tale and other third-person VR games, however you won’t be running and jumping around as you attack enemies. Instead, you’ll be exploring and solving puzzles.
That tonal shift to a new genre feels appropriate, as VR sickness is such a big concern. Since this won’t be in first-person and can feel a bit awkward to some people in VR, it makes sense to take a slower-paced approach. According to email correspondence with Chandana Ekanayake, the Game Director and Art Director at Uber Entertainment, the game “focuses on atmosphere and storytelling through light puzzle solving designed to ease players into VR. You are Bess, a young co-pilot flying with your father when you crash into a mysterious fortress that emerges out of the clouds. Your father kidnapped and plane in ruins, you set out to explore the flying fortress and rescue your father.”
Last year, the game was described as utilizing the PS4 controller itself, but now, it will actually be played with two PlayStation Move controllers. Your perspective is designed to “make the player feel like they are looking at a miniature scaled world. In this view, the player guides Bess with a pointer to areas of interest and exploration,” according to Ekanayake. For different puzzles and interactions, you can also expect the perspective to zoom down and switch to a first-person view.
Wayward Sky will be playable at E3 and is launching along with the PSVR this fall.
