The Metal: Hellsinger VR Demo is a collaborative effort from game developers Lab42 and The Outsiders that takes the flat version of the game from 2022 and makes it virtual. Now your journey through hell blasting away demons in rhythm to metal music, you’ll be doing it full scale virtual reality.

You can get a taste of the game right now on Steam as the game devs have released a demo which includes the first two levels. The VR version of the game is more than just a straight port of the game. The devs are committed to using the new gameplay mechanics available in virtual reality.

Every weapon is retooled for maximum effect in VR. Each weapon will feel different to use. The developers have created a new hub dubbed The Unknown’s Lair for players to regroup and strategize before tackling the next level. The hub will also contain options for setting gameplay options as well as exploring lore. In keeping with the lair motif, the options take the form of arcane volumes.

Also available in the hub is weapon and level selection. Additionally, you can review your statistics. All of these functions are designed to work in a VR manner where you can reach and touch or grab items. The game devs are taking great pains to include a host of VR options that in today’s VR game market should be standard.

Hellacious Options

So there will be options for vignettes, snap/continuous turning, turning speed adjustment, head vs hand directional movement and more. For the game in particular because it is a rhythm based game, there will be options for beat indicator, aim assist, automatic/manual weapon pumping and height calibration.

Graphically, the game looks impressive when played on my Quest 2 using a AMD 7800 XT GPU. (Can’t wait to try this when the PC adapter for the PSVR 2 becomes available in August).The level design is such that even though the game is arena based, each stage visually flows into the next one. This approach gives a great feeling of more space than there actually is. The game depicts the hellish environments in an impressive array of colors, with the reds especially popping out.

The reds are notable because some enemies are winged demons that pulse internally with the red in time to the music. This provides a great visual aid when to time your attacks for maximum impact. From the levels available in the demo, there is a decent variety of enemy types that evoke, but do not copy, the Doom enemies.

One option available is a Beat Indicator, which is a reticule that overlays an enemy. It shows you the optimum moment to attack for optimal damage. String together enough maximum hits and you will get a prompt for a finishing attack. This is a combination dash and slash attack where you put down an enemy using your skull handled sword, the Terminus.

Metal: Hellsinger Weapons

Other included weapons in the demo are the Paz, a sentient skull that acts as a pistol. For the shotgun equivalent you have the Persephone, better known as the Queen of Death. For two handed firepower, there are the Hounds, Cerberus and Orthrus. The designers gave each weapon a demonic overall and they look very cool.

Two of the eight ‘hells’ are available in the demo and feature some of the music, which is a vital aspect of the game. For the first level, Voke, there are two songs by Mikael Stanne of Dark Tranquillity. Stanne along with Alissa White-Gluz from Arch Enemy each have a song on the second level, Stygia.

Music is a vital part of the game, and they have collected an impressive array of metal talent. The soundtrack includes work from such artists as the composer duo, Two Feathers plus vocalists like Serj Tankian from System of a Down, Matt Heady from Trivium, and Randy Blythe from Lamb of God.

As you move through a level, the music becomes more layered. It moves from simple rhythmic beats to add more instrumentation and then vocals. This is a great approach, as it heightens the tension as the enemies and action ratchet up.

Coming 2024

A specific release date has not revealed yet beyond sometime in 2024. Metal: Hellsinger will include most of the content from the original game except for the Leviathan mode. The game will officially support the Quest 2, Quest 3, PSVR 2, HTC Vive and Quest Pro. There will be DLC to purchase upon game launch.

Metal: Hellsinger comes across as a cross between Pistol Whip and Hellsweeper, both great VR games in their own right. Considering the positive reaction the flat game has received and what the demo shows, Metal: Hellsinger VR is ready to make a fun entry in the VR Rhythm game genre.

***Metal: Hellsinger key provided by the publisher.***

The post Riffing in the Abyss: Metal: Hellsinger VR Preview appeared first on COGconnected.

Despite the seeming dominance of men in the swashbuckling pirate domain, there were actually plenty of women pirates. Anne Bonney and Mary Read hung out with Blackbeard in the Caribbean. Irish pirate Grace O’Malley tormented the British fleet and in China, Cheng Shih became an almost mythic character of naval power. To say that she has been “forgotten” is probably misleading. It’s more like people in the West have never heard of her. In any case, The Pirate Queen: A Forgotten Legend aims to introduce Cheng Shih to a wider population via a new VR game.

Tempered Expectations

Thanks to big-budget VR games like Assassin’s Creed and Asgard’s Wrath 2, we’re starting to expect our VR adventures to have substance. It’s probably an unfair comparison, but The Pirate Queen feels like a throwback to the demo-length games that early VR was known for. The Pirate Queen: A Forgotten Legend clocks in at a couple of hours, tops. While it doesn’t look low-rent, The Pirate Queen feels fairly lean in terms of gameplay and content.

The Pirate Queen: A Forgotten Legend takes place over the course of one night. You play as the titular Cheng Shih, whose pirate husband Zhang Bao has recently died. You have inherited his pirate empire and you are on your way to pirate ascendancy. Only Guo Podai — a near equal in the pirate trade — stands in your way, so you attempt to poison his tea. The British launch a surprise attack, so suddenly your path to pirate leadership means defending your leadership on several fronts. 

A Pirate’s Life for Me

This capsule summary hints at swashbuckling adventure, exciting naval combat, interpersonal struggles, and more. Unfortunately, none of these promises are kept. Instead, The Pirate Queen is more akin to a rowing and climbing simulator with lots of escape-room type puzzles.

The Pirate Queen: A Forgotten Legend is an entirely linear game, so even though, for example, you are rowing from ship to ship, you’re on rails. There is no free exploration on the ships either. You’re either climbing the rigging to reach a specific goal or solving object-manipulation puzzles to move forward in the narrative. Combat consists of firing below-deck canons but you don’t really see the impact of your actions. 

The puzzles are definitely the highlight of the game and they can be approached via an “easy mode” where clues are highlighted or a more challenging mode where hints are on demand. Still, the challenge in this case is relative and only puzzle game novices will struggle with putting objects together.

Veteran actor Lucy Liu provides the majority of narrative exposition and voices the main character but her performance, while professional, is also a bit dispassionate. There are no other rendered characters, but we do hear the occasional voice and see shadowy silhouettes behind curtained windows. It’s a reasonably successful solution to a low-budget situation. The Pirate Queen: A Forgotten Legend is more in “the spirit of” historical events, rather than an accurate representation of them. It conflates or re-orders several real conflicts and situations. That’s probably irrelevant to anyone but diehard fans of Chinese naval history.

Sail Away

Exteriors, outdoor environments, and close-up textures are pretty typical of budget VR games. The Pirate Queen’s use of Chinese iconography and authentic ship design is a bit more distinctive. The art direction inside the cabins shows excellent attention to detail. The game’s lighting provides an evocative atmosphere.

I can see the value of The Pirate Queen: A Forgotten Legend as a great introduction to a specific slice of cultural history. After all, what young person doesn’t like pirates? Though they might be disappointed by the absence of Jack Sparrow, Cheng Shih was a formidable character and leader. For older, more experienced gamers spoiled by the likes of Asgard’s Wrath 2, The Pirate Queen will probably feel like an action-adventure downgrade.

***Meta Quest 3 code provided by the publisher for review***

The post The Pirate Queen: A Forgotten Legend Review – Low Tide appeared first on COGconnected.

Prepare your power washers, for the Adeptus Mechanicus is making its way into the world of PowerWash Simulator! FuturLab has lifted the veil on its latest DLC expansion, plunging players into the depths of the Warhammer 40,000 universe to scrub away the grime of battle from iconic vehicles and machines.

Scheduled for release on February 27, 2024, the Warhammer 40,000 Special Pack promises an immersive experience across multiple platforms, including Xbox Series X and S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam. Priced at $7.99 / €7.99 / £6.50, this expansion invites players to embody the fervent disciples of the Machine God, armed with the formidable MKII Aqua-Santica Arquebus power washer—a symbol of the fusion between humanity and machinery.

Diving into the heart of the DLC, players assume the role of valiant members of the Adeptus Mechanicus, tasked with cleansing revered relics of warfare. From the revered Land Raider of the Ultramarines to the formidable Deathwing Redemptor Dreadnought of the Dark Angels, every iconic vehicle awaits meticulous purification. The roster extends to the Astra Militarum Rogal Dorn Tank, the House Hawkshroud Imperial Knight, and the thunderous Blood Angels Thunderhawk, each a testament to the rich tapestry of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Moreover, keen-eyed enthusiasts can expect a plethora of Easter eggs scattered throughout the immersive levels, promising delightful discoveries amidst the grim and dark ambiance. The trailer, unveiled during IGN FanFest, teases a voiceover soaked in solemnity, ensuring an atmospheric journey through the depths of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Having initially launched on PC and Xbox platforms in 2022, PowerWash Simulator has steadily expanded its repertoire, embracing diverse universes with bespoke DLC packs. From traversing the realms of Tomb Raider to reliving the epic saga of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and even diving into the whimsical world of SpongeBob SquarePants and Back to the Future, FuturLab continues to redefine the boundaries of the power washing experience.

SOURCE

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Bulletstorm VR from Game Developer Incuvo has landed on multiple platforms – PC, Quest, and PSVR 2. It is a port of the 2013 flat game and embodies the 1980s era of pop culture. It’s big, brash, and laced with testosterone expletive deleted software. The flat game is an on-rails shooter that rewards players for coming up with creative and gory kills.

It is a perfect vehicle for converting a flat game to VR. Unfortunately, said conversion leaves a more than a little bit to be desired on the non-PC platforms. This is a tough review to write because I’ve been an advocate for hybrid games where a VR Mode for Triple A games is the best path to pushing VR Gaming into mass adoption.

The PC version of Bulletstorm VR has been better received than the Quest and PSVR 2 releases. The situation mirrors the same reception that another VR Game from Incuvo, Green Hell, also received. It seems that there are different development teams for the various platforms and this is the reason proposed for the quality disparity.

Ugly Visuals

Whatever the reason for the quality differences, the version reviewed here is the PSVR 2 one, and it is disappointing. Ugly visuals and low-level textures saddle the game, which give it a blurry and jagged appearance. The game is also not properly optimized for PSVR 2. This results in dropped frames in larger areas. There are also constant loading screens within a stage that present themselves as immersion breaking black screens.

I have also experienced game crashes under different circumstances. One time it happened during a busy combat moment while the other crash came when the game displayed an in-game video clip.

Something to note about the video clips, Bulletstorm offers a great option to view the cutscenes in 3D. That is outstanding and should become a standard option for all flat games converted to VR. Sadly, the implementation of the 3D clips is subpar. They are low detail and blurry. Even worse, they are often blown out with blinding white levels.

There are other technical letdowns that affect the game’s personality. Another annoyance is the sound effects and music. They often do not synch to the game and they sound off in seemingly random matter. The disappointment doesn’t end there, though. Enemy AI is just plain terrible. They stand around or run up to you and do nothing. Oft times they also do not react to gunfire hits.

Unfinished Game

Finally, the game looks way worse than flat screen version and this is not only because of the low level textures. There has been no attempt made to employ dynamic lighting. All the shadows are static. These factors leave the environments flat and lifeless. This is really apparent if you compare the graphics of the flat version game to the VR version.

The game feels fundamentally unfinished and could use another six months of development and polish. Incuvo publicly acknowledged the myriad issues on Twitter. They pledged to document all the issues raised by gamers and promise to correct them in future patches.

We shall see. They made the same pledge about Green Hell and there has yet to be any significant corrections made on the non-PC versions.
All those issues aside, when things do work properly, the game can be fun to play. Remember, this is an over the top arcade shooter and the gameplay is fun but dated. You play as the protagonist, Grayson Hunt, in the first person. Hunt is a former elite mercenary who is now rogue. He is rogue because he learns his former commander, General Victor Sarrano, used him and his unit to kill innocent civilians instead of military targets.

Your ship crash lands on Stygia, which is described as a hell planet. The goal of the game is to make your way through hostile territory and confront the general. You’ll face multiple enemies and set pieces that are designed to allow you to wreak the most gruesome havoc possible.

Dual Wielding Damage

One of the new features of the VR version of the game is the ability to dual wield weapons, something not possible in the flat version. You’ll be able to tote a gun in one hand and an energy weapon called the Leash in the other. Using the two weapons in tandem allows for devastating destruction.

The weapons are the strongest part of the game, especially the Leash. Think of the Leash as a whip composed of energy. You can lasso enemies from quite a distance and fling them either towards you or into the environment. This allows you to impale enemies on spikes or barbed wire or electrical wire or throw them over the side of structures. You can also fling explosive barrels.

For close in combat, you can kick enemies either by stunning them or pushing them into environmental objects. The more inventive you are in dispatching enemies, the greater the reward. There is a Skill Kill Point List which you can reference as a guide for actions left for you to accomplish.

So there is a good basis from the flat game for having a lot of mindless fun. However, the issues mentioned above short-circuit any sustained enjoyment of playing the game. In its current state, on the PSVR 2, I cannot recommend this game. Your best bet if you want to play the game now is to get the PC version.

Fingers Crossed for Fixes

Hopefully, Incuvo will honor their pledge to fix the game and in short order. There are teasing moments of fun that shine through all the current issues with the game. If they ever get fixed, then Bulletstorm could still turn out to be a fun game.

***Bulletstorm VR PS5 code provided by the publisher***

The post Bulletstorm VR Review – Bold and Brash, But Buggy appeared first on COGconnected.

The emulation world just witnessed a surprising announcement. Citra, the renowned open-source 3DS emulator, is set to embark on a new frontier as it introduces CitraVR, a native OpenXR application designed for the Meta Quest platform. Scheduled for release on January 20th, 2024, this transformative step promises to deliver an immersive experience for gaming enthusiasts seeking to explore the vast library of Nintendo 3DS titles in a virtual environment.

As reported by UploadVR, CitraVR’s beta launch will be facilitated through SideQuest and GitHub, bypassing Steam due to legal challenges faced by the Dolphin emulator. The application offers users the opportunity to play 3DS titles legally by enabling game dumping through a modified 3DS. While downloading ROMs is an option, it’s important to note that Citra does not endorse or encourage such practices.

Navigating CitraVR on the Meta Quest platform will be a seamless experience, allowing users to select their games through a visible 2D panel in the Quest’s home interface. Once in-game, the perspective seamlessly transitions into a full 3DS display, creating an authentic gaming atmosphere within the virtual realm.

Developer Amanda Watson emphasizes that the performance of CitraVR will be contingent on the specific game being played. Additionally, Watson clarified that the emulator will not support original Nintendo DS titles. This development follows Citra’s previous expansion to Android in 2020, where it garnered acclaim for its comprehensive support and functionality.

CitraVR represents a significant stride in the convergence of emulation and virtual reality, providing users with an innovative way to engage with classic Nintendo 3DS titles. As the beta version takes its inaugural step into the Meta Quest landscape, the gaming community eagerly anticipates the possibilities and experiences that CitraVR will unlock in the realm of virtual Nintendo adventures.

SOURCE

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Working from home has become the norm for a lot of people. You get up, have some coffee, and sit at your desk, ready to start the day. What if your job was just that simple? What if you simply had to sit down at your desk and not touch a thing? Developed and published by ForwardXP, Please, Don’t Touch Anything: House Broken is a delightful puzzle-solving/ escape room-esque experience in VR. Players are set up with a nice little home office, complete with a simple desk featuring a big red button. Your instructions are simple; don’t touch anything. It’s right there in the name. If you manage to avoid the tantalizing temptation of touching anything, you will eventually be rewarded with one of the game’s 15 unique endings. But where is the fun in that? Press the button!

Pressing the big red button once makes a simple toggle appear, and each successive button press makes some new and interesting features of the desk come to life. In fact, try hitting that big red button over and over just to see what happens next! For taking place in one small room inside your home, there is quite a lot to do, and some of the puzzles can be especially challenging until you get the hang of it. Everything in arms reach will play a part in at least one solution.

Many of these solutions, however, rely on the same early step of entering the same code into a pin pad. Were there a few other early puzzle options to branch from, I feel it would be a little more engaging. Once I realized so many puzzles needed that same set-up to complete, I began each run doing the same thing.

Look For Clues Around Every Corner

Please, Don’t Touch Anything is built for people who love escape rooms. It’s more than just solving a puzzle put in front of you. Players have to look for solutions and patterns in unique places. This sort of game is perfectly paired with VR as you not only manipulate the objects around you but also have to move around the environment for clues. Finding potential clues by physically searching feels far more rewarding than uncovering them in a brick of text on a screen. I found myself closely inspecting everything, trying to parse out any hidden features that could help me solve the room.

Interaction with the objects is fluid and quite charming to behold. Anti-gravity makes everything not bolted down float and spin in the air. Chalk can be used on the chalkboard in a realistic and immersive fashion. I know this is the nature of VR gaming but it doesn’t make it any less impressive when it is pulled off so flawlessly.

Upon activating the aforementioned anti-gravity, I sat in the room and toyed with the clipboard, chalk, and other floating debris. Tossing them in the air to watch them spin, colliding off of each other in the air. When I first grabbed the coffee mug, I juggled it back and forth to myself before throwing it at the wall for fun. It shattered, then respawned on the desk. VR games like this provide the opportunity for childlike wonder, a brief reprieve from the world, and a chance to just marvel at the surreal.

A Delightful Reprieve From The Mundane

The majority – if not all – of the solutions to Please, Don’t Touch Anything: House Broken’s puzzles end in outlandish ways. Beginning in such a mundane place and evolving to something unexpectedly comical and weird is refreshing and rewarding. The UFO ending is my favorite, offering a variety of interactive moments and some genuinely fun effects. The Fly ending was mildly unsettling (without spoiling it, of course), and let us not forget that simple toggle. After that single press of the big red button, the toggle appears. It stays there through the remainder of your session, regardless of what you are working on. Carelessly bumping the toggle will set it off, and… well, don’t hit the toggle.

Please, Don’t Touch Anything: House Broken is brimming with charm. It has a cheeky sense of humor with some genuinely complex, head-scratching puzzles that are satisfying to solve. There is so much rich gameplay packaged into a small, simple room. The physics of each object feels great, and the graphical detail – even on the Meta Quest 2 – is sharp enough to trick the senses. I experienced no issues with environmental interactions, no bugs or glitches, just smooth, challenging puzzles. My only minor issue was how many puzzles required the same starting interaction. Given the varied endings, however, and their complex solutions, this is easily overlooked. It’s the most engaging fun I’ve ever had sitting at a desk.

*Meta Quest 2 Code provided by the publisher*

The post Please, Don’t Touch Anything: House Broken Review – Please Touch Everything appeared first on COGconnected.

Taking the base idea of Tetris and placing it in a 3D world is easier said than done. Yet, the limitation of flat screens and complicated controls render the game’s difficult or unauthentic. However, that could be about to change. Today, BloxAR Game is happy to announce that their AR/VR Tetris-style game, BloxAR, is out now on Meta Early Access. Interestingly, the game takes the block breaking puzzle approach of its predecessor and transports it to an AR environment. Of course, this means players will have complete control over the blocks that will show up in a completely realistic world. 

BloxAR removes the frantic, rhythmic, style of Tetris and replaces it. Instead, the game offers a more laid back, relaxing, approach to the block stacking puzzle genre. Interestingly, the game integrates the board into the real world using VR technology. This means that players can choose how big they want the blocks, rotate them in real time, walk around the puzzle to explore options, and more. Of course, players can also customize the size of the blocks. For instance, players can choose to make the blocks as small as a phone or as large as building itself. Additionally, players can explore different puzzles and even an endless mode. 

Importantly, BloxAR is in the Early Access stages of its development. The developers have promised more modes to come in a press release, yet for now, three puzzles are available. Check out the trailer for the game below. 

BloxAR is available now in early access for Meta Quest 2, 3, and Pro. More information is available on Meta’s store.

SOURCE

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When I play or review a new VR game, I ask two, fundamental questions. First, if the game was just a regular flat screen experience, would it still be any fun? Would its story, mechanics and characters hold up minus the distraction of VR? The second question is really just an inverse of the first. What experience is it giving me that justifies wearing this chunk of plastic strapped to my face? Any game that has satisfying answers to these questions is probably pretty good. In the case of Asgard’s Wrath 2, the game spins happy circles around my questions. It’s spectacular.

Asgard’s Wrath 2 is — obviously — a sequel to 2019’s Asgard’s Wrath. Bundled with the new Meta Quest 3, it’s the literal definition of “system seller.” Owners of the Quest 2 or Pro can play the game as well. I can’t address performance on those devices. The game was clearly built with the new hardware in mind.

Flight Into Egypt

While Asgard’s Wrath 2 obviously draws characters from Norse mythology, much of the game takes place in ancient Egypt. Imprisoned by the trickster Loki, you are a god with the ability to both enter into the bodies of humans and jump back into god form. During the expansive narrative in which you move ever closer to avenging yourself, you’ll occupy four, very different characters. Abraxis, a thief and melee-focused fighter; Cyrene, a support-type, ranged weapon user with a magic harp; Alvilda, a precision ranged fighter that can also use bombs; and Djehiuty, a hybrid melee, magic and ranged specialist.

Divided into seven Sagas — each one longer than the majority of VR games — Asgard’s Wrath 2 has all the elements of classic, open world RPGs. There are mounts, a hub home base, a number of useful follower characters, imposing bosses and extensive skill trees for each character. All these come together with the same polish and depth as a traditional flat-screen game. The VR aspect adds something those games lack. In VR, combat is more immersive and towering bosses all the more terrifying.

Built for VR

Asgard’s Wrath 2 makes thrilling and convincing use of the Quest 3’s relatively robust capabilities. Its success comes from an admirable level of mechanical polish and stellar art direction. Every action in combat or movement feels natural, and the UI is excellent. Like with every VR game — or any action game, really — controls take some time to learn but eventually become fairly transparent and intuitive.

In particular, jumping, climbing and even wall running have none of the inconsistent, frustrating or nausea-inducing animations so often found in VR action games. The game allows for three levels of comfort control. I found the setting that combines free movement with the option for snap turns and to be perfectly comfortable over long periods. 

Let’s be honest, though. When it comes to wearing the device, no standalone headset is perfectly comfortable over extended play sessions. For me, there’s a limit of a couple of hours at a time, with frequent breaks. I’ve also replaced the substandard stock strap with an upgrade, and use custom lens instead of wearing glasses. Asgard’s Wrath 2 clocks in at an astonishing 80+ hours, so do the math. It’s a big but absolutely worthwhile commitment.

Like the Meta Quest 1, 2 and Pro, the Quest 3 is powered by a mobile CPU and graphics processor. It looks very good, but no one should expect PC-level texture detail or impressive effects. Still, character models are far better than in most VR action games. There’s some texture pop-in and a few rough edges but it’s more than a little miraculous that a game so ambitious can live on the Quest 3 at all.

Perfect Balance

Asgard’s Wrath 2 balances three elements: combat, exploration and puzzle solving. 

I’m not always a big fan of environmental puzzles. So often they seem arbitrary and illogical. I was surprised, then, to find myself thoroughly enjoying the sometimes challenging puzzles in Asgard’s Wrath 2. They usually involve various combinations of simple object manipulation, rather than gathering obscure pieces of loot. The ability to warp easily into the titan view — which turns the environment into a living 3D diorama — was novel and engaging every time. It gave the puzzle elements a unique dimension that drained the tedium from the process of trial and error.

As an action RPG, Asgard’s Wrath 2 is heavily invested in its combat, and its genius move is moving the player through four characters and their various weapons and combat styles, which include all the basics: melee, ranged combat and magic. In each case, combat was generally immersive and satisfying. I say generally, because melee combat on the Quest still lacks some of the visceral punch of many non-VR games. I was sometimes not entirely sure whether my parries and sword swings were making contact.

Exploration is incredibly fun and there are countless secrets, hidden treasures, engaging side quests and mini games. It can’t be stated too many times: Asgard’s Wrath 2 is not just epic for a VR game, it’s epic compared to most games in the open world RPG genre, period.

The New Standard

VR was too long characterized by games that were essentially tech demos, throwaway concepts or experiences lacking in ambition and depth. It is no wonder that consumers hesitated to join the VR movement. But that’s changing. Games are getting bigger, more satisfying and making a clear case that VR is headed into a new and exciting phase. Maybe not quite maturity, but something very close.

Asgard’s Wrath 2 is one of the most impressive open world RPGs I’ve played in any format. That it’s in VR and on a wireless headset is sort of astounding. Asgard’s Wrath 2 is simply a must-play for new Quest 3 owners and a compelling reason to pick up the hardware. It’s hands down VR’s Game of the Year.

***Meta Quest 3 code provided by the publisher for review***

The post Asgard’s Wrath 2 Review – Virtually Flawless appeared first on COGconnected.

Here it is. Easily the most important ranked GOTY list we write at COGconnected; the Sexiest Video Game Character of the year. In past years, we’ve had a literal who’s who of sexy appearing on these lists. From Samus Aran to Lady Dimitrescu, From Urbosa to Tifa Lockhart. 2023 was an incredible year for gaming, and there is absolutely no shortage of sexy on this list. Let’s get started.

10) Bubba Sawyer AKA Leatherface – Texas Chainsaw Massacre

A fellow with a face only a mother could love – and also the mother of the skinned face he wears. Creepy. But, there is something about a man who hunts his own food.

Have you ever wished you could nail that Leatherface look, be sure to check out the official Texas Chain Saw Massacre cosplay guide! Just… maybe skip the real human skin parts…

9) Gale Dekarios – Baldur’s Gate 3

Gale is the good boy most parents hope their daughters will someday find. He’s clever, with an intelligence of 17 and is good-hearted. He is a bit of a pompous ass at times, but he also has the ability to cast Witch Bolt, so it’d be wise to just let his cockiness slide.

8) Clive Rosfield – Final Fantasy XVI

Clive had a rough childhood. He was supposed to be the Dominant of the Phoenix, but there was a slight failure to launch in his teens. But, as with most moody teens, he went a bit emo and instead became the Dominant of the dark Eikon, Ifrit.

7) Purah – The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Can you believe Purah is over 125 years old? Looks pretty smokin’ hot for that age. She discovered a de-aging process decades before, and oddly enough, no one in Hyrule seems to be pressing her for more info!

6) Jill Warrick – Final Fantasy XVI

Jill is one of the protagonists in Final Fantasy XVI and the “adopted” sister to Clive Rosfield (you know, the fellow who only ranked 8 on this list). She is a Dominant of Shiva, which gives her ice cold powers and minty fresh breath.

Check out page 2 for our top 5 sexiest video game characters.

The post The Sexiest Video Game Characters of 2023 appeared first on COGconnected.

Remember when VR was a niche segment of gaming? While VR gaming and hardware might still not be as omnipresent as PCs and consoles, an estimated 23% of US households own a VR device. That’s kind of astounding. VR gaming is a billion-dollar-a-year piece of the video gaming pie, and the vast majority of users are Gen Z and Gen X’ers. A whopping 37% of VR owners have incomes of $100K or more. Even if only a relatively small number of potential users participate in multiplayer games, that’s still a pretty big market. Games like Racket Club are banking on it.

A Whole New Racket

There are many tennis, ping pong, and outright invented racket sports games in the VR space. Some have been around for a long time. Racket Club joins the “invented racket sports” lineup. It doesn’t model an existing real-life sport, but brings together elements from tennis, pickleball, table tennis, and handball or squash. While there is a training mode against bots, Racket Club squarely aims at competition between human players.

Games in Racket Club takes place on small courts framed with transparent walls, allowing players to use bank shots and other tricky moves. Did I say the courts were small? They’re weirdly narrow and a bit claustrophobic. If they were real-life spaces you’d be bruising your teammate with every move. Especially in singles matches, it feels like you’re playing in an aquarium. The racket and ball are borrowed from tennis, but the zone layout of the court derives most closely from pickleball.

Aside from the design of the courts and transparent walls, gameplay and scoring are similar to other racket sports. There is a virtual clubhouse where you can sign up for online matches and tournaments, and outdoor courts for singles and doubles play. You can even spectate other online matches. One cool feature is that the game can also be played in mixed reality mode, so you can have a court plop down in your living room. I’m personally always down for the mixed reality mode in recent VR games. 

Follow the Bouncing Ball

As with any virtual sports game, it’s important to really feel like there’s contact between the racket and the ball. This tactile element is not entirely missing in Racket Club, but it’s pretty muted. While I know in my head that I’m not going to actually hit the narrow walls of the court or my fellow players, those small courts really inhibit large, physical gestures. I’m guessing this design encourages close-up, pickleball-like volleys. Controls are simple enough. You pick up the ball with the trigger of one controller and swing your racket with the other. 

Racket Club goes for colorful and stylized art that isn’t focused on detail, but it’s inviting enough. Player-created avatars — the character creator tools are a bit limited — are weirdly dead-eyed and not terribly convincing. 

Aside from singles and doubles matches with other, online humans, there’s a very rudimentary training mode. It has four levels of challenge. 

Simple Fun

To me, the biggest challenge of an invented VR or videogame sport is: do I want to play it in real life? The second challenge is: does it feel like I am playing it in real life? Racket Club scores somewhere in the middle. I’m sure that creating a new racket sport is probably easier than modeling a familiar one. People know what pickleball and tennis play like, after all.

Racket Club offers a pretty spare experience that only really works with a community of online players. The sport itself feels pretty familiar but I wasn’t crazy about the restricted, walled-in court design and lack of single-player options. The game certainly doesn’t make use of PC-VR or the Quest 3’s increased power and fidelity but it’s still a moderately successful iteration of a brand new sport.

***Meta Quest code provided by the publisher for review***

The post The Racket Club Review – Mixed Doubles appeared first on COGconnected.

Although countless games are set during a zombie apocalypse, there’s still something appealing about the concept. The idea of searching abandoned cities and scavenging for items while fighting against a horde of the undead is exhilarating, especially in VR. Vertigo Games aims to capture the notion with its sequel to the cult classic, Arizona Sunshine 2. Will this return trip to an infected, sunkissed city be a heart-pounding adventure or a living nightmare?

You don the well-worn boots of the nameless protagonist from the first outing. What at first seemed like a normal day quickly turns upside down when you witness a helicopter crash close to your location. With hope of freedom and companionship at the forefront of your mind, you investigate the incident only to find that the pilot has died. When all hope seems lost, you hear a message over the comms unit. The army is in search of patient zero who may be the key to the discovery of a vaccine.

Watch it, Fred!

Although the narrative is quite basic, the delivery is strong. The protagonist has a dark and twisted view of life and this is amplified with interactions and observations in the world. However, the real star of the story is Buddy, a police dog that you find after the helicopter crash. The dog adds an additional layer to the character of the protagonist as it allows you to form a bond. You soon rely on the canine and use him to support you in battle and as a sounding board for your mental state. Your furry friend can scurry across the environment to gnaw on the undead and reach items in hard-to-reach locations. The addition of a sidekick improves the overall experience on both a gameplay and story level.

As you’d expect, Arizona Sunshine 2 is focused on the evisceration of zombies in a range of locations. Due to this, you will use an array of weapons to create a bloody-soaked symphony on your trek to the objective. Vertigo Games has made the decision to move to a realistic reload mechanic which heightens the intensity when trying to avoid being overwhelmed. Similar to Pavlov, you will need to eject your magazine, grab a new one, insert it and finally cock your gun before sending a bullet to the head of your enemy. This can also add an extra layer of panic as you attempt to shoot before readying your weapon, making you retreat in fear. The focus on interactivity heightens the immersion as you feel part of the world. Each area of your body is a dedicated inventory spot which adds further tension as you switch between weapons.

Armed and Dangerous

Shooting feels and looks incredible. Each shot carries weight and the impact is glorious. Often I would wait for a zombie to get within arms reach just to create a fountain of blood from a well-placed shotgun to the chin. Haptics, although subtle, improve the heft of guns and help to capture the unique feel of the weapons. As shooting is at the forefront of the Arizona Sunshine 2, it’s great to see that the game has improved on every aspect of it.

While the game includes staples of the genre with its array of weaponry, I would have liked to see a little more experimentation with types of guns. Regardless of whether you are using melee or range-based items, every method of attack feels and looks great. Blasting off limbs of the undead never gets old and results in the moment-to-moment gameplay being a joy.

The campaign itself is a good length and includes a variety of set pieces to make plenty of memorable moments. A highlight is playing the eternity in co-op. Teaming up with a friend to fight against zombies is a blast and one of the best co-op experiences on PSVR 2. The horde mode is a little simple and gets repetitive. Hopefully, Vertigo Games revisits the mode to add more content to make players come back for more.

A Bloody Treat

Zombies look hideous in the best possible way. They are full of detail and there is a surprising number of character types that make encounters feel fresh. While certain aspects look great, other elements lack detail and texture. There are times when you’ll encounter an environmental object that looks a little basic, conflicting with the impressive enemies. Odd glitches can occur too with creatures passing through the environment but these are infrequent. Although you can easily overlook this, it can break the immersion.

Arizona Sunshine 2 improves on every aspect of the original to make this one of the best zombie games on the PSVR 2. The weapons have never felt better and make mowing down enemies a thrill. Although the horde mode is a little basic and you’ll encounter the odd glitch, the fact you can play everything with a friend improves the entire experience. With its dark humor and well-designed world, you’ll have a sadistic time annihilating foes on your trek through a post-apocalyptic world. 

***A PSVR 2 key was provided by the publisher***

The post Arizona Sunshine 2 Review – A Bloody Blast appeared first on COGconnected.

Whatever else it is, the endless array of licensed LEGO games, toys, and entertainment is nothing if not consistent. Fun, family-friendly, and ubiquitous, LEGO products appeal to everyone with a sense of goofy humor. Building with the physical brick toys is relaxing and deeply satisfying. While some of the movie tie-in games are a bit lackluster, 2022’s LEGO Bricktales focused on the pleasure of creative problem-solving and building with bricks. It was about as close as any game has come to the “pure” Lego experience. Until now, with LEGO Bricktales for the Meta Quest 2, 3, and Pro.

Problem Solved

Physical LEGO bricks have a couple of well-known downsides. It’s a right of passage for every parent to step on a sharp brick or two, or wrestle bricks from the mouth of an unruly pet. Even the most elegant and complex LEGO creation has to find a home somewhere, which takes up space. Sure, the original Bricktales came close to simulating the building experience, but on the Meta Quest 3, the illusion takes a giant leap forward.

Bricktales — both in the original release and on VR — has a simple premise. You are trying to help your inventor grandfather bring a faded amusement park back to life. To do so, you travel to a handful of richly detailed environments. You build and repair and make the people in each little land happy, earning you rewards to take back to the amusement park.

The story is benign and occasionally amusing, but the heart of Bricktales is building and puzzle-solving. You have a series of building challenges that take place outside the world, allowing you to focus on one small task at a time. For each puzzle, you have a limited and specific collection of bricks. The puzzles amp up in difficulty, and encourage all sorts of creative thinking approaches to solve. The process is immensely satisfying.

Walkabout

LEGO Bricktales for the Meta Quest doesn’t significantly change the original game. The premise and worlds are the same. The puzzles are the same, but the ability to examine the fully 3D dioramas is absurdly engaging and fun. There is a lot of detail, small animations, and character that really come through in 3D. You can, of course, move or resize the dioramas, or you can walk around them and see them from different angles. The same applies to the separate puzzle-building challenges.

LEGO Bricktales can be played in AR, with the dioramas floating in the middle of your play space, or in VR with a plain background environment. I’m still thrilled by the Quest 3’s implementation of AR. Thanks to improved and color passthrough cameras, I was able to place the dioramas approximately on an actual table in the room. It was kind of amazing.

Moving and building are pretty intuitive. You pick up with your hands and manipulate them naturally. You bring up the UI by looking at your watch. My biggest frustration was that very often the UI was imprecise to control and responded sluggishly. Of course, no matter how much it has improved, manipulating objects in AR/VR still lacks the tactile element that would make it feel truly real.

No Clutter, All Fun

Coming on the heels of the excellent Assassin’s Quest Nexus, the Meta Quest 3 is developing a strong post-launch lineup. The hardware itself is outstanding and using custom lenses from Zenni — and ditching my glasses — has made the experience even more comfortable.

LEGO Bricktales was one of the best and purest versions of the brick building experience. On the Meta Quest 3, and especially in the AR mode, the game takes on a whole new life that comes very close to the real thing. The puzzles are challenging and the tone is lighthearted. Aside from some fiddly controls, LEGO Bricktales is more proof that the Meta Quest 3 is the VR headset to have.

***Quest code provided by the publisher for review***

The post LEGO Bricktales Meta Quest Review – Proof of Concept appeared first on COGconnected.