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.

2024 has been a tough one for the PSVR 2. Many influencers post a constant stream lamenting that “PSVR 2 is dead” or “Sony has abandoned PSVR 2.” There is no denying things for VR in general have slowed down but that is expected given it is a niche market and overall gaming is in a downward trend.

The other popular misconception is that PSVR 2 has no games. With a robust library of over 200 titles, this simply is not true. Yes, the PSVR 2 library has a fair share of Meta ports but those ports also happen to be the BEST version of those games.  What the PSVR 2 library has is QUALITY over QUANTITY. Make a list of the top VR games and in the top ten, most of them will be PSVR 2 games. With the exception of Half Life Alyx, the most highly regarded games are on the PSVR 2.

To prove this claim, check out the top ten games on the PSVR 2. This list is based on Without Parole‘s recent top 25 list and my own personal preferences.

Top 10 PSVR 2 Games:

10. Walkabout Mini- Golf

Like golf? Social games? A variety of unique courses? Then check this game out. It is constantly getting new courses – some based on popular content such as Jules Verne’s – 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The best part is that you can play them with up to 8 players.

9. Synapse

Want to know what it feels like to be a Jedi Knight? This non-Star Wars game comes the closest to letting you realize that dream. With it’s eye tracking based interaction, you can lift, move, throw, or destroy environmental objects. You can also do the same to enemies. Darth Vader, eat your heart out!

8. Red Matter 1 & 2

Few games can capture the awe and wonder of being in deep space better than the Red Matter series. In this alternate future series you must travel to other planets, moons, and space stations to solve the mystery of the elusive and dangerous Red Matter. The games are a mix of exploration, action, and puzzle solving set against some of the most beautiful and awe inspiring backgrounds in real life scale, you will ever encounter.

7.  Madison

Horror and VR go together like chocolate and peanut butter. Take the most scientifically rated scary game, put it in VR, and be prepared to be scared. Bring diapers!

6. Legendary Tales

Looking for a full fledged RPG in VR? Legendary Tales will fill that bill with a mix of melee weapons, magic, castles, dungeons, and hordes of enemies to battle. All of this in a lengthy campaign.

5. No Man’s Sky

One of the most successful turn around stories in gaming, No Man’s Sky has not only been resuscitated, it has been revolutionized with the addition of VR. The PSVR 2 version is the prime VR experience and Hello Gaming keeps on providing constant updates. This is an evergreen game you can keep on playing.

4. Saints & Sinners – 1 & 2

The best VR zombie games ever. Skydance has nailed weapon physics with weapons that have a great sense of weight, heft, and inertia. Setting in the wonderfully atmospheric Cajun vibes of New Orleans, this two zombie games offer a primo experience.

3. Resident Evil Village

Capcom has done an amazing job of converting their Resident Evil games to VR. Resident Evil 7 on the PSVR 1 was awesome and, in my opinion, remains the scariest one to date. On the PSVR 2, the level of detail for RE 8 and 4 rival their flat screen counterparts. One could easily flip positions with RE 8 & 4. RE 8 is the more VR interactive of the two but I prefer the story and the lighting of RE 4 more.

2. Resident Evil 4 Remake

Resident Evil 4 Remake in VR  is amazing. After playing RE7 in VR, I could never go back to playing these games, flatscreen. RE4 looks fantastic in VR with the only knock that some of the game interactions revert to flat screen experiences breaking the immersion factor. However, getting to play this game at a real life scale is a real treat.

1. Gran Turismo 7

VR and simulation games with a cockpit are a perfect marriage. To be seated in a dream car depicted in real life scale is just amazing. Add in a force feedback wheel and pedal set and you can really believe you are in a powerful racing machine. This is another evergreen game that you can play forever.

Top 10 PSVR 2 Games Conclusion

There you have it. An impressive list of PSVR games, indeed. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many other great PSVR 2 games for you to check out.

What are your thoughts on the list? Do you agree with my selection? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter, and don’t forget to subscribe to us on YouTube for more great video game content.

The post Top 10 PSVR 2 Games So Far appeared first on COGconnected.

Retropolis 2: Never Say Goodbye is the follow-up effort to The Secret of Retropolis from indie game developer Peanut Button. It is being released on all VR platforms and the version for this review deals with the PSVR 2 version. The game wears its inspiration on its sleeve as it opens with a Raymond Chandler quote. All facets of the game ooze film noir from the settings, the music, and the characters.

The Retropolis series is a point and click adventure series set in a retro future. You play as a, of course, a private detective but a robot private detective by the name of Philip Log. All the characters are robots. That includes the obligatory femme fatale, Jenny Montage. Jenny has a penchant for trouble and once again, it’s up to Log to save her.

Never Say Goodbye is rooted in the 90s style of adventure point and click games. The game places you in the center of a location where you cannot move. But you can rotate 360 degrees. Unfortunately, the game restricts turning to click turns, which coupled to your fixed position, feels very confining. It’s a bit jarring at first, especially if you come from a game where movement is much more open.

Once you settle into how to play the game, the story and the puzzles win you over. The writing in this game is top-notch. Due to the manipulations of the evil Mr. X, Jenny has effectively lost her memory. Also very strong is the voice acting in the game. The only one that you may quibble with, is the actor that does the voice of Log.

Film Noir Stylings

For noir type games, the music is vitally important. In such films, music functions as another character. Without it, no matter how good the locations are at conveying a dark or mysterious place, the element of tension and mood is not complete. Peanut Button must know this, because the music is spot on. You really get that dangerous, smoky yet sensuous vibe.

On the visual side, the hand-crafted art is great. There are black and white scenes, that mixed with the SF movie – Metropolis inspired city skyline shots, give off both film noir and retro-future vibes. The character designs also play into the genre archetypes for the detective, femme fatale, villain, police, and denizens of the city.

As great as the visuals are, there are some artistic choices made you may or may not agree with. The game has an intentional soft look, undoubtedly done to enhance the intended vintage look. Subjectively, the look may appeal to. However, my reaction is the developers are not taking into account the medium of VR. A soft look for a flat game is fine. However, because of the current state of VR tech, a clear image is hard to attain.

To better serve Retropolis in VR, they should choose an image with a sharp look. An image where the edges are accentuated would allow the three dimensionality and space between everything to really pop. If you’re familiar with what a Viewmaster is, the overlapping of two identical pictures creates sharply delineated layers of depth. Such a look would be ideal for Retropolis. Of course, this is totally subjective but I feel it to be the better approach.

Location, Location, Location

The game breaks into five chapters, each with its own locations. You will find yourself in various locations, like a jail cell, a lighthouse, Log’s office, and a bar. Mostly, the locations are standard fare for a noir mystery. What makes them unique is the mix of 1940s architecture with retro tech objects. Yet things like rotary phones are still prominent, further cementing the mix between new and old.

Once you arrive at a location, the game presents puzzles to you. Log interacts with the objects like Mr. Fantastic with the use of his robo-extendo arms. Objects and interactions vary. You may pick up pieces to use later on. Or you may be flipping levers or selecting an object like a card. Some puzzles are multi-leveled, meaning you need to go to another location to proceed. You may need another object or you may find clues to how to solve a puzzle on another floor.

To accommodate the need to take objects to other locations, you have a robot companion that acts as your inventory system. It also acts as a high level objective log. However, it only tells you what the overall aim is. It does not provide any of the sub-quests.

On the technical side, the game has very limited options. You can only use click-turning. An option for smooth turning would be nice. Also, the audio options are odd. There are no separate volume controls for the music and the voice acting.

Retropolis 2 Fits the Puzzle Game

Besides a few technical deficiencies, understandable for a small developer, Retropolis 2 is a splendid game. The story and characters are engaging. The puzzles are fair. And the whole vibe of the game is engrossing and entertaining.

If you are looking for a fun mystery that won’t take you ages to solve, then Retropolis 2 will fill that bill. Fans of film noir will find much to like here. So will fans of puzzle games. Will Log rescue Jenny? Only if you help him out.

*****PSVR 2 Code provided by publisher*****

The post Retropolis 2: Never Say Goodbye Review – Noire in VR appeared first on COGconnected.

It’s been a tumultuous 2024 for the gaming world. Playstation and XBox are into their third year with their latest console and both are struggling on several fronts. Tech-wise there have been only a handful of games available to flex with. Post Covid, the gaming market is struggling with lessened demand and fewer big title releases.

No area of the gaming market has been hit as hard as VR. A niche market at best, any downturn in the gaming market hits VR even more so. Still, not all is lost. There are some great VR games coming, most of them multi-plat.

On that positive note, here is a list of ten VR Games either hoped for or coming out this year or shortly afterwards. Some of them look to be top notch releases that could generate excitement that could cross over into the mainstream gaming consciousness.

VR Games Hopefuls:

10. Half Life Alyx on PSVR 2

Yeah, yeah. I know. This one is a pipe dream. With the PSVR 2 being out more than a year, the chances of this are near nil. But one can still dream, right?

9. Astrobot

The lack of any Astrobot game since the PS5 launched is a real head scratcher. Especially, after how well received the included Astro’s Playroom game with the PS5 was. While rumors and rumblings about an Astrobot game coming out this year exist, Sony has been mum. If there is a new game, Sony should release a version that supports both flat and VR modes.

VR Games Upcoming:

8. F1 2024 – PCVR

EA F1 games have recently added PCVR support post launch but the implementation has been a bit wonky. This year’s game will be launching with a VR mode from the get go. Here’s hoping EA has nailed the VR mode.
And hey! Some PSVR 2 love would be appreciated too!

7. Aces of Thunder – PSVR 2

VR is perfect for cockpit based games be it spaceships, cars, or planes. PSVR 2 lacks such games besides their flagship title – GT 7. A title which is more than enough reason to own a PSVR 2, BTW. So getting a multiplayer WWII flight game in VR is a big deal for the platform.

6. Alien: Rogue Incursion – Multiplatform

Horror is perfect for VR and the Alien franchise is perfect for both.
The VR version of Alien Isolation is a prime example of this. Little is know about the game to date and it likely won’t release till 2025.

5. Wanderer: The Fragments of Fate – Multiplatform

The original Wanderer released on PSVR 1 and was limited by the tech and the power of the platform. Despite all that, Wanderer still managed to dazzle with it’s scope and gameplay. Think of Quantum Leap mixed with Myst. Now with the power of the new platforms, Wanderer: The Fragments of Fate is more than just a re-imagining of the first game, it is the full realization.

4. Batman: Arkham Shadow – Meta

An announcement trailer just dropped recently so expect it next year. If it was being released this year, this would easily be in the number one or two spot. Because, hey it’s Batman!

3. Metro Awakening – Multiplatform

The Metro series is highly regarded and the dystopian setting is perfect for a VR game. This is a built from the ground up VR experience. Given the technical flair the previous games have shown, big things are expected from this game.

2. Arken Age – Multiplatform

Arken Age is a VR action-adventure game set in a terraformed fantasy world. This world is called the Bio-Chasm. Here you will engage in full physics combat using Arkenite infused swords & guns. The visuals are stunning and mixed combat of guns & swords look amazing.

1. Behemoth

This is the biggie! Pun intended. Brought to us by SkyDance – the makers of the excellent Saints & Sinners VR games. Excitement levels are high as the studio has been giving sneak peeks to VR influencers. They are under NDAs at the moment but rumblings say that could end the last week of May. Little is know about the game, except it looks gorgeous and there are whispers this is Shadows of the Colussus done in VR.

There you have it. An impressive list of VR games, indeed.

What are your thoughts on the list? Do you agree with my selection? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook or Twitter, and don’t forget to subscribe to us on YouTube for more great video game content.

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The post Top 10 VR Games Coming In 2024 appeared first on COGconnected.

Madison VR from Bloodious Games is the gaming direction VR enthusiasts have long championed for but rarely get. Most VR versions of flat games lay in the domain of modders. It is very rare for the studio to develop a virtual version of their flat game. So when Bloodious Games announced they were doing the VR version of Madison, VR gamers rejoiced.

Well, Madison VR is out, so how well did the transition from flat to VR go? Grab your Polaroid camera and let’s find out.

The original game came out July 2022 and the Science of Scare gave it the award as the “Scariest Game Of All Times”. That’s marketing gold. Fortunately for the game, when Madison scares, it really delivers the scares. No mean feat for a flat game, but if VR has proven one thing, when it comes to horror games, playing them in VR takes the scares to the next level.

Madison VR has been released on PC and PSVR 2. For the PSVR 2 version, Bloodious Games wisely tooled the game to run at a native 90 FPS and not at 60 FPS, reprojected to 120 FPS. This gives the game a very clean and sharp presentation. Most importantly, there is no ghosting. That sounds weird for a horror game, but the only ghosts in a VR Horror game should be those of a supernatural, not a technical nature.

Demons and Ghosts! Oh My!

Madison VR has ghosts, or demons, of the supernatural. Their presence is ambiguous though because the game is not just horror but psychological horror. In Madison VR, you play as Lucas from a family with a troubled history of mental illness and murder. You start the game in a darkened room with bloody hands and someone pounding at the door.

Turns out that someone is your father, and he blames you for something terrible. Something that harkens back to the mass murders that your grandmother is accused of. So right from the get go, you are in doubt about the sanity of Luca, the character you play. Does he suffer from the same affliction as his grandmother? This adds tension to everything you do and experience.

Darkness is a big part of Madison. The game takes place in your home and your goal is to escape. This means exploration and going into poorly lit rooms, corridors and crawl ways. In such circumstances, a flashlight, lantern, candle, cell phone, or lighter is available for navigation.

Madison gives a unique solution to light the way, which is the game’s defining gameplay mechanic, the flash and pictures of a Polaroid camera. The flash serves two purposes: it lights dark areas and also triggers events to happen. And it uses both to excellent effect to generate scares. Most of them jump scares. Some believe them to be the cheapest way to generate scares.

Madison VR Jump Scares

There is a definite validity to such a view as most jump scares are for shock value. They are in your face and don’t have any lasting impact on the story. On the flip side, they are a proven method to build tension. The best jump scares are those that happen at the edge of your vision. A fleeting glimpse of something evil, which you are not sure what it is, stays with you.

Madison VR employs a mixture of the two and those quick flash moments are definitely the ones that unsettle the player more. One of my favorite ones is someone, or something, flits across the screen too fast for you to make out. Beyond the impression, it is not human. Very scary.

Another area which Madison excels is in the 3D audio. As always, sound is so important in horror games, especially in interior spaces such as the house you want to escape from. Distant creaks, the rain pattering on windows, the wind howling outside, and a telephone ringing in another room are all conveyed perfectly. They increase in volume and location the closer you get to them, as they would in real life.

The game creates a wonderful eerie atmosphere on the sonic and graphical fronts. So it’s more than a shame, Madison VR stumbles on the control and inventory front. Let’s deal with the controls first. While clumsy and awkward, you can at least adapt to them. Object interaction is unnecessarily clunky. Opening doors and drawers are too finicky, but you learn to deal with them. Going down a ladder is too obtuse. Rather than grab the first rung, as in most other VR games, you have to interact with a position in front of the ladder.

Control Clunkiness

Where Madison VR really stumbles is with the inventory system. When you pick up an object, you must place it in your backpack. Until you place the object in your backpack, you cannot move. This means an immersion breaking mechanic of constantly calling up the inventory screen. Most frustrating, especially when the object in question is to be used in the same room.

There are two other inventory design decisions that annoy. The first is you can only carry ten items. A rather small number. So if you are at the limit, then you must go to one of the safes and store excess inventory there. The other more irritating inventory mechanic is how you store items. They scroll in front of your field of view horizontally, like bullets in a gun cylinder. To select an object, it must be directly in front of you. As often happens, the object you want is either half way around or, even worse, just off screen so you have rotate through all the items to get to the one you need.

These two game mechanics not only break the immersion. They also let some of the dread built up leak out.

On the PSVR 2 platform, Madison VR makes good use of the tech available. Madison VR maximizes the use of the tech on the PSVR 2 platform. The HDR OLED screens deliver an image that seems almost photo-realistic. Plus those blacks! Oh my, those dark and dimly lit areas of the game are inky black.

Heavy Headset Haptics

The game also makes good use of the haptics. Of special note is how Madison VR uses the headset haptics. Sometimes your character is under extreme mental duress. So the game punctuates those moments beautifully by sending strong pulses to your head. It really works to unnerve you.

Many people claim that Madison VR is the scariest horror game ever. Such a claim, scientifically backed or not, still depends on you. As a veteran of many a horror game, it is certainly in the discussion. Smooth controls and an improved inventory system would make Madison VR a definite contender for the title of the scariest horror game ever.

*****PSVR 2 Code provided by publisher*****

The post Madison VR Review – Control Crippled Creeps appeared first on COGconnected.

Mixture from game developer Played with Fire is a port of the Quest version of the game released in February 2023. The closest cousin in terms of gameplay is the Moss series of games. These games employ a single player coop style where you play as two characters. In both games you not only play as the in world character but also a form of omniscient being that sees the world from a god-like perspective.

While the games share similarities, they differ in terms of tone. Moss features Quill, an immensely likable mouse protagonist who shares a truly amiable relationship with your character. In Mixture, the relationship between the exiled moth knight, Sola and your character, the Alchemist Sephairos, is much more adult and complicated. You start out the game as antagonists. In fact, the Knights of Light defeated the Alchemists in battle.

The stylized art style of Mixture makes for sharp boundaries and definitions between objects. There is a decidedly more metallic tone to the environments in stark contrast to the lush and organic, storybook fairytale aspects of the Moss world. Along with the characters, this is a more adult and serious world.

The levels of Mixture are huge. Except for the opening level that takes place in a dungeon, the start of each new stage fills your view and goes beyond. There is also verticality to the levels that will require the two of you to work in tandem so that Sola that successfully through them. Besides, the environmental obstacles there are also enemies to be overcome.

Mixture Has Big Levels

The level design differs from Moss in terms of your perspective. In Moss, the game limits you to a single area in each level. So your view is like looking at a picture on a screen. Your position is at the midpoint and you have an equal view of all areas. In Mixture, because the levels are so large, your view continually changes. You cannot roam freely. This can cause moments where your view becomes obstructed because you are confined to a specific location.

The opening dungeon level serves as a training area to become familiar with the controls sets of the two characters. Sola’s has a limited move set compared to yours. She has a parry and dodge move to start with. You can expand her move set by collecting seeds. As a moth, she also can glide. For your part, as an alchemist, you can mix compounds to create elixirs with unique properties such as glue or making objects bouncy.

You will also be able to lend Sola a literal hand to cross gaps. To create elixirs, you need to gather material via your magnetic ability. The elements are minerals scattered throughout each level. As you relearn your abilities, a new formula opens. The formulas are accessible through a bracelet around your dominant hand. You grab a test tube with the R1 trigger button and move the tube into the selected formula.

Once you have crafted an elixir, you must throw the tube at an object for it to work. Unfortunately, aiming is not always accurate. Part of this is has to do with the normal throwing option. If you throw normally, part of your swing is out of the headset’s camera range. Thus, a lot of the force of your throw is lost. Once I changed my throw to start from my chest, the force of my throws felt more natural.

Tricky Throwing

To get proper aim remains a challenge. Fortunately, Playing With Fire took this into account and has an Aim Assist option that marks your target before you throw. The throwing mechanic could have been greatly enhanced if the game utilized the PSVR 2’s eye-tracking ability. Games like Call of the Mountain and Synapse prove how intuitive eye-tracking is when implemented properly.

There is a greater emphasis on combat than puzzle solving in Mixture, especially in the first half of the game. The balance between the two shifts as you traverse the four biomes that comprise thirty levels. New gameplay mechanics come into play as you expand the character’s skill sets to face the new enemies and environmental challenges.

There are beings made of living metals and gigantic boss battles. Some levels will have Sola half-piping sections of them. The levels are set up to allow for exploration and item collection. You’ll also open an option to visit any level upon game completion so that you can collect any missing items.

Much of the story is relayed through text box dialog. There are no character voices. This approach distances the player from the story, especially if you skip through it. Understandable given how much text there is for the game. Also there is little in the way of spatial audio. This is due to all action taking place in front of you. It’s a bit weird to have the sound so forward heavy in a VR game but it is understandable given the game design. The music score is good if nothing too memorable.

Quest Port

Mixture is a challenging game and you should expect a fair bit of experimentation to figure out correct solutions. There are regular checkpoints in each level so you won’t need to restart a level over every time you die.

This appears to be a straight Quest port. There is no haptic feedback, nor is any use made of the adaptive triggers. The biggest omission is the already mentioned lack of use of eye tracking. In addition, there is no use of dynamic foveated rendering. On the plus side, there are no reprojection issues. Frame rate appears to be a native 90 FPS.

If you like one player coop games in the style of Moss, then Mixture may be worth checking out. There are too few games of this type, be it flat or VR. Mixture may have less personality than Moss, but the gameplay is overall solid minus the throwing mechanics. Mixture provides a solid challenge and an interesting world.

***PSVR 2 code provided by the publisher for review***

The post Mixture (PSVR 2) Review – Moss Mate appeared first on COGconnected.

Operation Serpens was first released on PCVR by developer GINRA-TECH back in September 2020. Billed as an arcade shooter, this is a fast-paced game. The developers initially released the game as a fixed location wave shooter but have since updated it to include movement within its stages.

You play as a member of an elite armed force assigned to take out the leaders of the evil terrorist Snakes Organization. The game starts with a forced tutorial that familiarizes the player with the weapon controls. From there, you move onto the first level to capture the first Snake leader. After a quick briefing from your Commander, it’s up to you to neutralize all the enemies to allow the leader’s capture.

The first stage takes place on the third or fourth floor of an office building overlooking a city street with a similar building across the way. There is a mix of civilians and henchmen at the ground level. Henchmen also pop up in the windows of the building.

Upon being offered a sniper rifle to clear out the henchmen, you quickly realize the limitations of the arcade controls. The wild gun spray of automatic weapons and the too-close magnification of the sniper rifle scope make those guns frustrating to use. It also means not hitting pedestrians is a near impossibility. I found the best results with the handguns. While still difficult to aim, I minimized collateral damage.

Moving Around

In VR shooters, players prefer the gunplay to be as realistic as possible. This includes mimicking reloading actions through hand motions. However, such motions take time and are out of place in a frantically paced arcade shooter. So a button press or lowering the weapon to your waist does the reload action.

Despite the update to include locomotion in Operations Serpens, it is quite apparent that the level design did not account for player movement. Most levels are quite small, so the payoff for mobility is quite limited. In the first stage, you can move between the two windows. In other, even smaller stages, you are in an elevator, the back of a truck, or outside a doorway. The major benefit is being able to dodge incoming fire.

Even in these larger areas, including locomotion, the limitations of the level design are made clear. There are geometry issues and clipping happens frequently, hobbling movement. You have to take constant corrective actions to overcome them. This proves to be problematic in the later stages, where you have to do a lot of climbing. Not quite The Call of the Mountain level of climbing, but a lot. Expect to fall through the environment geometry and take hits from enemy weapons fire through said geometry too.

Beyond the standard weapons, there are also grenades, flashbangs, and, a surprise inclusion, a drone. They all work pretty well except for the drone. With the grenades and flashbangs, you can manually pull the pin or use a button input. In addition, you can store them in your mouth, which may surprise you with how often or useful it is to do so. Sadly, the developers missed a great immersion opportunity to not let you pull the pins using your teeth.

Max Payne/Matrix Time

Grenades do the expected damage while flashbangs give a great tactical advantage. In sections where you are heavily outnumbered, the flashbang slows down time for ten seconds, evening things out, similar to the bullet time effect in Max Payne or The Matrix.

Let’s talk about the drone. In theory, this seems like a great gameplay addition. In practice, however, the drone is too slow. You control it with a PDA device that has a left and right joystick. The controls are very finicky and, along with the slow speed of the drone, make its use more frustrating than fun.

Rounding out the controls are the displays on your right and left wrists. Your right wrist shows your percentage completion while the left shows your health status. This allows you to determine exactly how far you are into each level as well as decide when it’s time to collect health packs or riot shields.

From a haptics perspective, its use is rudimentary. There is no use of the adaptive triggers when you fire a weapon. Each round fired gives a brief rumble, but it’s the same rumble no matter which weapon you use.

Gameplay Modes

Three gameplay modes are available. You’ve got the main gameplay mode, which is a seven-stage campaign featuring three difficulty settings. You can also play the campaign in zombie mode. The second mode is a shooting gallery for those that fancy leaderboard competitions. You have three lives to kill as many animated dolls as possible in a bar setting. Finally, there is the wave shooter multiplayer mode that supports cross-platform play. In this mode, you and three other players defend a mall against enemies with limited ammo. This is easily the most engaging and interesting section of the whole game.

Graphically, the game harkens back to the arcades of the late 80s and early 90s. The environments are cartoonish, with no textures and dynamic lighting. Character models exhibit the same traits. The style chosen makes sense as the game is aping the arcade look of a bygone era. There is a certain charm to it, but if you want realistic graphics, best look elsewhere. The framerate is solid and smooth with no reprojection.

Gameplay audio is serviceable, but directionality is unimportant as enemies appear from all parts of the screen. The screens are so busy that it is easier to ignore the audio and just visually track enemies. The gun sounds even wash out the soundtrack.

The VR gaming landscape has changed a lot in the last couple of years. When Operations Serpens first came out, it probably made a bigger splash. Nowadays, VR vets expect more from their games, even retro ones like this. Operation Serpens has a certain charm to it and if you are looking for a mindless retro arcade style shooter, this one should fit the bill for you.

***PSVR2 code provided by the publisher for review***

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The suffocating atmosphere that resides in horror games puts you in a constant state of anxiousness as you question every step. While terrifying on the flat screen, this is amplified when transported to the virtual realm. The psychological horror, Madison, was released in 2022 and make its way to the PlayStation VR2 later this year. I was given the opportunity to step into the daunting house to discover the secrets that lie within. Will the transition to virtual reality elevate the experience, or will it fall short of delivering a chill?

You play as a Luca, a young man who has no memory of the horrific events that have recently occurred. As you progress through the sinister corridors of the mansion, you’ll discover snippets of information about the history of the family and the titular character, Madison. The game never takes you out of the action to deliver story elements, instead you learn from notes and audio files dotted around. While the story did lack clear direction in the opening moments, it was intriguing enough for me to want to learn more.

Dastardly Design

The ambiance is intoxicating and this is achieved through its stellar sound design and creepy setpieces. It definitely places you in a state of unease as the environment alters in the blink of an eye. A key tool throughout the short demo was the camera. You will use this to solve puzzles and progress further into the house. It’s a clever way to alter the perception of reality. An area may look a certain way but taking a quick snap might show something sinister.

Puzzles are at the forefront of the gameplay and often include environmental clues to help you progress. There were plenty of times when I encountered an obvious puzzle but could not solve it at that moment in time. This leads to backtracking through the house when you have the correct information to progress down a different path. This can lead to not knowing what to do next, however, due to the small areas, you shouldn’t get stuck for too long.

Virtual reality excels when you are able to interact with the world and Madison VR does include elements of this, however, its implementation is poor. Grabbing and manipulating items is awkward which stifles the experience. If you notice something is on the floor, you’ll have to either physically go to the ground or press crouch to then grab it. Including a quick pick-up option would vastly improve this aspect and allow you to immerse yourself in the world rather than fight to collect or move an item.

Careful When You Move

While the environment is packed with character, offering clues about what occurred, there are issues with the exploration of these locations. There is a constant stutter which is both offputting and potentially nauseating. It’s extremely disappointing as you have to struggle past this to enjoy the well-thought-out puzzles. In addition, other VR elements also need work. At one point, I had to descend into a well by climbing down broken ladders. I missed a rung and just floated mid-air which removed the notion of danger. There are definitely elements that need fixing before launch but there are creative ideas under the issues.

The Madison VR demo is full of intrigue. The story is demented and I’m interested to see if it can live up to its promising premise. I enjoyed the puzzles and the PT-influenced segments which adds a foreboding atmosphere to proceedings. Unfortunately, the VR elements are what really need working on before launch. Interacting with objects is frustrating and the stuttering breaks the immersion. As it stands, the game has potential but Bloodious Games has a lot to do to ensure this a smooth and scary experience when it launches later this month.

*** A preview code was provided by the publisher ***

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Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Hiroki Totoki recently disclosed in a financial call that Sony’s first-party gaming lineup will experience a notable hiatus, with no major PlayStation franchise titles slated for release before April 2025 at the earliest. Totoki elaborated that while significant projects are in progress, Sony’s primary focus for the upcoming fiscal year, ending on March 31, 2025, will revolve around bolstering its live-service offerings rather than launching new installments in established franchises.

In Totoki’s words, “Regarding first-party software, we aim to continue to focus on producing high-quality works and developing live-service games. But while major projects are currently under development, we do not plan to release any new major existing franchise titles next fiscal year like God of War Ragnarok and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. Although the burden of acquisition-related costs will ease next fiscal year, we expect profit from first-party software to decrease slightly from this fiscal year due to the impact of the decrease in sales.”

While enthusiasts may have to wait longer for new Spider-Man or God of War installments, the absence of major franchise releases in 2025 also suggests a delay in anticipated sequels from other iconic Sony series such as Ghost of Tsushima or The Last of Us. Nevertheless, Sony’s gaming horizon is not devoid of excitement, with new video game franchises like FairGame$, Marathon, and Concord actively in development. Additionally, the forthcoming year promises a plethora of PlayStation timed exclusives including Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Rise of the Ronin, and Stellar Blade, offering players a diverse array of gaming experiences to anticipate.

In other revelations from the briefing, Sony acknowledged its failure to meet the ambitious sales target of 25 million PS5 units for the current fiscal year, revising the projection down to 21 million sales. Notably, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has surpassed 10 million copies sold, underscoring the continued success of Sony’s flagship titles. Furthermore, the company disclosed that the PS5 has entered the “latter stage” of its lifecycle, hinting at potential shifts in its future gaming strategies and hardware endeavors.

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.

VR Skater SL Pro Series Tour DLC from DEFICIT Games brings more content to VR Skater. That includes more maps, more gameplay modes, more leaderboards, new PSN Trophies, and the ability to skate the new maps in both directions.

As mentioned in our game review – here – the game is as close as being on a real skateboard you can get. VR Skater simulates an activity that is mostly controlled by one’s lower body with your hands. And does so brilliantly. All thanks to the PSVR 2’s motion controllers that handle steering, speed, and braking more naturally than ever before.

While VR Skater handles the mechanics of skate boarding with aplomb, the game environments are somewhat flat. There are no pedestrians, no vehicles – moving or otherwise, or any activity. The environments are static and sterile. The biggest deficiency is you can only travel in one direction.

DEFICIT Games have addressed that failure with the release of the VR Skater SL Pro Series Tour DLC. The Pro Series Tour comprises five new maps that allow the player to go in either direction. These maps are based on courses from real-life professional street skateboarding championships. They are enclosed spaces with ramps to gain air, railings to grind on, obstacles – such as spikes – to jump over, and half-pipes at each end to reverse direction.

There are five skating parks in the Pro Series Tour that expand upon the gameplay. Each track has five modes, one of which is a practice mode. All the track surfaces are smooth concrete, which enables the player to attain the desired speed to pull off tricks, aerial moves, and, most importantly, facilitate the opportunity to chain them in combos. Combos really let you rack up points.

More Modes

There are two gameplay modes in the Pro Series: Mission Run and Pro Run. Mission runs focus on such things as collecting objects in the environment in a specified time period. These include such things as the letters that spell out VR Skater. The Pro Run challenges you to pull off a series of moves with a specified score target.

What this DLC has accomplished is to elevate VR Skater up to the Virtual Reality Equivalent of the Tony Hawk series of games. Each of the pro maps will test all your skateboard skills. To get a real gauge of your skills and see how you rank against the world, there are fifteen new leaderboards that include three ranked modes for each map.

To be the world’s best VR Skater and sit atop the leaderboards will undoubtedly take much practice and many runs. For Playstation trophy hunters, there are also four new PSN Trophies to collect.

PRO content has been to the Skate Shop. Besides the previous decks and trunks, there are nine new SL Pro exclusive ones to really make your board stand out from the crowd.

Coming to PSVR 2 & Steam

For PSVR 2 players, the VR Skater Pro Series Tour DLC released on January 15th, 2024. There will also be a VR Skater PRO bundle that includes the base game and the DLC.

PC gamers can rejoice too later with the game coming out of Early Access on February 22nd.

DEFICIT Games have made a great effort to expand upon the initial release of the game, which lacks the freedom one associates with a skateboard game. The DLC also elevates the challenge level and raises the game to a level from where comparison with the big skateboarding videogame franchises is now valid.

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

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After making waves on PCVR, the acclaimed sci-fi adventure makes its way to the PSVR 2. Influenced by the Half-Life series, Vertigo 2 aims to embody the same level of innovation that engulfed Valve’s flagship title. With such a lofty goal from a primarily single-person developer, will the title manage to meet the high expectations and set a new standard for immersive sci-fi gaming on the platform?

You awake, confined to a small room in the Quantum Reaktor, a place that captures creatures from other dimensions. When guided around the premises by a flying robot similar to Wheatley from Portal 2, the unthinkable occurs, a breakout. As strange beings terrorize each corridor of the Quantum Reaktor, you must use your gun to blast these down and escape. The opening is a great way to learn the mechanics and prepare you for the strange journey ahead. Although this is a sequel, you don’t need to have played the original game to get to grips with the story. A recap and background information is presented from the number of characters you meet on your way.

A Strange Story

Some cutscenes are presented on a screen but are still 3D. This threw me at first but I could overlook this quickly. One thing that was harder to ignore was the voice acting. There’s an inconsistency that spreads throughout with certain personalities being portrayed authentically while others lack the nuances found in great performances. The dialogue has moments of humor and while this doesn’t always land, it keeps a lighthearted tone for the adventure. As audio segments initiate through cues in the game, it can be jarring when these sections don’t commence. At times, I would be wandering in the correct direction only to notice that the AI companion had stopped in its tracks. I had to go back to start this sequence so that I could progress. Although not game-breaking, it is an annoyance that can occur.

Gunplay is at the forefront of the adventure. With fourteen weapons available throughout, you will need to master the art of shooting. Each gun feels unique and has its own reload mechanic which adds further individuality to the weapons. In the beginning, it can be a little difficult to accurately shoot the array of enemies striving to end your life. However, as you progress, you will unlock aspects for your weapon adding new sights, extra ammo, and much more. The methodical placement of these elements adds a nice pace to the game as you continually feel as if you are getting stronger the further into this sci-fi epic. Rather than searching for ammunition within the environment, Vertigo 2 includes a system where each gun will synthesize ammo while equipped. This allows you to experiment with weapons as switching between them becomes vital when waiting for cartridges to replenish.

Blasting Beasts

Due to the strange narrative that includes multiverses, the enemies you encounter are varied and odd. Foes attacks in different ways which makes you consider their actions and counter accordingly. Although there are plenty of unique characters, the diverse designs affect the synergy of the world. You jump from shooting aliens with a hand as a head to living rocks in quick succession which ends up feeling like a bunch of ideas thrown into a level.

Visually, the game is a mixed bag. Zulubo Productions opts for a cartoon-esque design that suits the premise and tone of the game. While this works and further ties the game to its influences, there are plenty of basic textures and stock environments that make Vertigo 2 feel generic at times. In contrast to these segments, there are moments of awe with incredible landscapes. Even though these look amazing on the PSVR 2, clipping and pop-ins do occur. The larger, open areas are impressive, however, I did encounter more frame rate drops in these sections compared to the smaller enclosed locations. None of this affects the gameplay but it does hinder the immersion.

Slick Beats

The synth-heavy soundtrack is fantastic and perfectly marries gameplay. At pivotal points, the slick 80s beats pump and really enhance those sequences. Adding to the sound design is the great use of spatial audio. You can quickly and easily identify the location of a creature based on sound alone. Although I was generally impressed with the sound of guns and other effects, bugs meant that at times some sound effects got cut off or failed to appear which did stifle the experience.

Vertigo 2 is packed with great ideas. Being built specifically for VR, there is a nice layer of tactility with the inventory and reload systems. There are plenty of wonderful set pieces that make a bunch of memorable moments throughout the well-paced campaign. Although the visuals are dated and bugs will crop up from time to time, it’s still a wonderful, ambitious game.

*** PSVR 2 code provided by the publisher ***

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Arcade shooters are always hectic. The chaos is one of the main draws of the genre. However, what happens when the player gets dunked into the chaos itself? Soon gamers can find out. Today, Atari is excited to announce that Jeff Minter’s psychedelic arcade shooter, Akka Arrh, is coming to PlayStation 5 with PSVR2 in March of 2024. Introducing players to a chaotic and vibrant kaleidoscope of  bullets and action, the game allows players to participate in a challenge of fast reflexes and endurance. A launch trailer for the game gives players a good look at the trip that awaits them. 

Akka Arrh introduces players to a shooter that becomes almost trancelike as players dive into it. Combining action-based shooting and scoring systems of arcade classics, the game allows players to create massive chain through destroying enemies with a variety of weapons. In fact, the game allows players to use different combat modes to defeat enemies. For instance, if enemies get past your perimeter of bullets, players will need to beat them back in melee mode. Of course, the switch to VR will place players directly inside of this chaotic action. Importantly, the VR aspect of the game will take this retro shooter and completely immerse the player in the colors, combat, and craziness of the game. 

Importantly, players can get a better look at Akka Arrh in the release trailer from last year. Check out the trailer below.  

Akka Arrh is releasing to PlayStation 5 and PSVR2 in March of 2024. Currently the game is available on PC via Steam, Xbox One and Series S|X, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.

SOURCE

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We’re gamers. We’re used to surprises. Sometimes these are negative, like leaks, hacks, delayed games, and layoffs. Often though, we’re surprised by something good, like an unexpectedly great game or a game that defies the odds and evolves from terrible to awesome. Here are just a few of 2023’s happy surprises.

10. Metroid Prime Remastered

One of gaming’s most beloved titles, Metroid Prime got a bright, shiny remaster thanks to the folks at Retro Studios. Game technology has moved far beyond the capabilities of the Game Cube. Metroid Prime Remastered was released for the Nintendo Switch last February and in addition to seriously upgraded graphics, the Remaster also brought the controls up to modern standards and added some fun Easter eggs.

9. Super Mario Bros. Movie

Here’s a real surprise. The track record of films based on games has been spotty, at best. The live-action Mario movie from 1993 is hot garbage. So no one really expected the 2023 Super Mario Bros. Movie to be anything more than an hours-long Nintendo commercial. Despite a paper-thin plot, the Super Mario Bros. Movie had great animation and colorful visuals, with voice acting from pros like Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Charlie Day, and Chris Pratt. Sure, it was still an ad for Nintendo, but an entertaining one.

8. Sea of Stars

Sometimes Indie games go for style over substance. Sometimes they have great art but poor gameplay or a warehouse full of tech issues. Now and then, though, an indie game hits on all cylinders. At first glance, Sea of Stars is a pretty standard pixel art style action RPG. Some of that’s true, but what’s also true is that Sea of Stars has an excellent plot, great characters, engaging mechanics, and a refined visual style. The surprise here is how much life is left in a familiar genre, if in the right hands.

7. Dave the Diver

Speaking of hit Indie games, Dave the Diver was one of the year’s most original releases and it has found a surprisingly large fan base. Part action adventure, part economic sim, and part pixel-art RPG, Dave the Diver is also partly based on a real-life person.

6. Cyberpunk 2077 and Phantom Liberty DLC

Few games disappointed people as much as CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077. Following The Witcher 3’s mammoth success, Cyberpunk’s massive number of technical issues and unfinished content left gamers pretty angry at the developer. Three years later, Cyberpunk 2077 is now one of the best action games on the market. Constant updates, technical and narrative improvements, and the new Phantom Liberty DLC have made Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 a must-play RPG.

5. Lethal Company

Sometimes games are more than the sum of their parts. Not only is Lethal Company still in early access, it has relatively primitive, stylized graphics and still-missing content. This survival horror game is surprising for the loyal and energized fan base it has spawned, and for its addictive gameplay that’s tense, challenging, and fun.

4. Hogwarts Legacy

Sure, the films are beloved and the books are a cultural phenomenon, but let’s be honest, video games based on the Wizarding World franchise have all pretty much sucked. While it’s no surprise that the release of Hogwarts Legacy was a bit tainted by the controversy around author J.K. Rowling’s transphobic comments, it is surprising that Hogwarts Legacy overcame the, well, legacy of bad Harry Potter games to be an excellent action RPG.

3. Hi-Fi Rush

Infused with rhythm and music, Hi-Fi Rush has a colorful, lively art style and animation, incredible action, and a baller soundtrack full of licensed songs and original music. Addictive gameplay and finely tuned mechanics made Hi-Fi Rush a hit. Maybe the biggest surprise is how much gamers realized they missed playing a simple action game that was just lots of fun.

2. Lies of P

For anyone seriously addicted to Soulslikes, there was no game more surprising this year than Lies of P. Gorgeous to look at, mechanically sophisticated, and polished to a sheen, Lies of P was an homage to FromSoftware to the extreme. I mean, many gamers thought it was a worthy stand-in for Bloodborne 2.0 or the next Sekiro game. There were many, many Soulslikes released in 2023. None were better than Lies of P.

1. Baldur’s Gate 3

No one even remotely familiar with Larian Studios should have been surprised by Baldur’s Gate 3. Not to mention it had been cooking in early access for a long time. Great acting, great gameplay, great visuals, and music: Baldur’s Gate 3 has all of them, taken to a surprisingly high new standard. So what’s the surprise? Baldur’s Gate 3 seemed like it was poised for greatness.  But lots of games show promise, only to face plant on release day. Not so Baldur’s Gate 3. It surprised us by being everything we thought it could be.

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The Resident Evil 4 Remake VR Mod from the Capcom game studio is another testament to their technical prowess. Fresh from winning Game Of The Year nomination for their remake of the legendary Resident Evil 4, Capcom shows how well AAA games translate to Virtual Reality.

You can check out COGConnected’s written and video  reviews for our previous thoughts on the game.

Now, on Dec 8, 2023, a mere nine months after the release of the remake, Capcom delivers a free VR Mode for the PS5 and PSVR 2. This is their third VR update. You have to go back to the PSVR 1 and Resident Evil 7 for their first effort. A highly successful one. Even though it’s only six years ago, it seems like ages ago.

What Capcom accomplished on the creaky technology of the PSVR 1 with its external camera and light based tracking remains nothing of amazing. For the first time in the Resident Evil universe, players could step into a fully realized, true to scale experience. Despite Capcom’s continuing excellent work with VR releases, the RE7 one remains the most impressive because of the technical limitations of the PSVR 1 platform.

Capcom Ups Their VR Game

The PSVR 2 allows Capcom to up their game. The bridge between the visual quality of the flat versions of RE 8 and RE 4 is smaller and smaller. While RE8 looked great, the Resident Evil Remake looks even better. The visual difference between RE8 and RE4 is obvious. Part of this may be because of the game settings and part may be because of Capcom’s increasing proficiency with their VR conversions.

The two major visual differences between RE 4 & 8 are the lighting and the visual detail. RE 4 has a lot of open areas with foliage and they look fantastic. The trees, their leaves, the grass, the weeds and other foliage have a near photo-realistic detail. Shadows look fantastic and they are accentuated by the flashlight lighting, all accentuated by the deep blacks of the PSVR 2’s OLED display. It’s the best seen in VR to date.

From the opening title screen, you know you are in for a treat. The iconic path that Leon takes from the police car to the first house awaits you. I just stood there for a few moments and did a couple of 360s just looking around at everything. The shadows and shafts of light shining through the trees really sets an eerie mood.

The Remake added some modern gameplay tweaks to the game that COGConnected has previously covered. You can find them here. Most notable are the enhancements done to the gameplay mechanics with the knife. These upgrades really shine in the VR version.

More Intense Combat

Combat against life-sized villagers and larger-than-life figures and creatures has never been so intense. The intensity magnifies by including real life weapon reload mechanics. Rather than just a button push, you can opt for ejecting a spent magazine, grabbing a fresh one from your belt, slamming it into the weapon and then cocking the weapon. A simple set of actions that become frantic when a group of villagers swarm you.

Given that the RE 4 is twenty years older than RE 8, some concessions exist. A shotgun reload only requires you to chamber one shell instead of each one individually. This lack of VR interactivity, which VR Gamers refer to a game being VRAF, is no doubt tied to RE 4’s age.

The VRAF factor in RE 8 is higher than in RE 4. In RE 4, you can usually only interact with the items that have a purpose. Containers that contain keys or treasure are one such example. Another would be valves or levers that open doors. This holds true for things such as notes or photographs that you pick up to read or look at.

For cut scenes, RE 4 is more restricted to the number that is converted to VR than RE 8. RE 8 had a mix of conversion of cut scenes where some are left in 2D and others in VR. 2D scenes display as a large cinematic. The transition between VR and 2D is quick and seamless.

Multiple Points of View

RE 4 offers some options for which viewpoint you prefer to take depending on the situation, usually for boss battles. If you prefer, you can tackle these in a third person VR mode or 2D cinematic. If you have your VR legs, the third person VR mode is the way to go.

There are a couple of instances where Leon switches to third person mode. The first is when he is doing his roundhouse kick. Capcom also handled ladder climbing in third person along with stealth attacks with a knife.

One of the neat tricks of the Capcom development team was to actually lower Leon’s first person point of view. They made it lower than his eye level to make things seem even larger. This makes the villagers more menacing. Of course, it also adds to the size of El Gigante and other boss characters.

Capcom handles the inventory system in virtual reality backed by a black background. In this virtual space, you can handle objects as the flat game. You can rotate objects and zoom in and out for closer inspection.

Sounds Good Too

The game audio is also fantastic. Capcom game positions environmental and opponent audio cues spatially correct around you. The 360 soundscape really adds to the mood and atmosphere of the game.

Audio cues are further enhanced by the PSVR 2’s controller and headset haptics. Beyond the expected feedback from weapons, there is the use of environmental cues. You’ll feel the concussion from explosions in the headset. As well as wind blowing too, plus vibrations from vehicles such as the police car, the mine car, and the jet-ski. Nifty additions to the sense of immersion.

RE 4 takes advantage of VR in several more ways. Puzzles are now presented in a three-dimensional manner. You can rotate dial puzzles at the same time with both hands. Puzzles that require you to insert and rotate cubes at different angles can also be held and spun in your hands.

The game also has more options with figurines collected. You can view them life size in even greater detail. This also includes Leon’s model, which you don’t get to see as much in the game as you play him.

PSVR 2 = The Best Version of RE 4 Remake

You’ll have to forgive me for how effusive I’ve been with this review. PSVR 2 fans have been waiting for the promise of the PS5 platform to deliver AAA First Party Gaming. Except for a few titles like GT 7 and RE 8, the PSVR 2 library comprises mainly smaller titles. Games of the quality of Resident Evil 4 are a showcase for what PSVR 2 can do.

To sum it all up. As good as the flat version of the remake of Resident Evil 4 is, the VR version is the superior way to the play the game.

*** A PlayStation 5 code provided by the publisher for review***

The post Resident Evil 4 Remake PSVR 2 Review – RE 4 Made to Feel Real 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***

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2023 Great Year of Gaming

As 2023 winds down, it will be remembered as one of the best for gaming. The number of great titles in this year has been staggering. Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur’s Gate 3, Spider-Man 2, plus remakes of Dead Space and Resident Evil 4 are just the tip of the iceberg. Yes, 2023 is a very good gaming year.

But there’s more.

VR Gaming

There is another area of gaming that also had a great year – VR Gaming. With the launch of the PSVR 2 and the Quest 3, the new hardware moved VR Games closer than ever to match their pancake big brother. And with the promise of even greater strides to come.

So if you are new to the world of VR Gaming or have bought a family member a VR Headset, you may be wondering what games to buy. Have no fear! COGConnected is here! Launch titles such as Gran Turismo 7, Resident Evil 8, and Call of the Mountain are a must. But what about the latest and greatest?

Below are the ten most recent releases of the last month or two that are definitely worthy of adding to the present list. Or buying for yourself.

Happy shopping!

10. Ghost Signal: A Stellaris Game
For starters, the first game is an overlooked gem. This is a space battle combat roguelike game that has a great combination of strategy and compelling story that keeps you coming back to further advance your progress. The controls are intuitive, the graphics are crisp, and the music is excellent. For all the strategists out there, don’t let this one get by you.

9. Lego Bricktales (Meta)
Here’s one for the youngsters or young at heart. Previously released flat, it now comes to the Meta platform. If you own a Meta Quest 3, there is the added bonus of a mixed reality mode that merges your virtual Lego creations with your home.

8. Demeo Battles (All VR Platforms)
The first game, Demeo was a big hit as it took the table top D&D experience and converted to a digital format. In Demeo each campaign takes three to four hours to complete. Demeo Battles takes the Demeo experience and condenses it down to quicker, faster paced thirty minute sessions.

7. The 7th Guest VR (All VR Platforms)
The 7th Guest 1993 PC Games is one of those seminal PC games everyone has heard of like Myst. The 2023 VR version feels like the game the original developers wanted to make but couldn’t because of the technological limitations of the time.

6. Five Nights At Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2 (PSVR 2)
Five Nights At Freddy’s scared gamers in the flat version. Imagine how much scarier it is when you are in the world of Five Nights.

The post Top Ten New VR Games For Christmas 2023 appeared first on COGconnected.

Get ready to step into the immersive world of Among Us like never before as Schell Games, Innersloth, and Robot Teddy announce the arrival of Among Us VR on PlayStation VR2. The cleverly designed virtual reality adaptation brings a fresh perspective to the globally acclaimed social deduction game, Among Us.

Dive into games featuring four to ten players set across two intriguing maps, The Skeld II and Polus Point, where the line between Crewmates and Impostors blurs. As you work on completing tasks alongside your supposed fellow Crewmates, be wary; one or more players among you may be Impostors aiming to thwart your efforts and eliminate everyone. The suspense builds as you question your own role — could you be an Impostor trying to sabotage the mission without getting caught? Among Us VR ensures that the classic hallmarks of the original game, from tasks to sabotage, venting, and emergency meetings, are seamlessly integrated into the virtual reality experience.

Express your inner Bean-sona in style with a plethora of hats to choose from, ranging from cute and cool to classic and eclectic. With dozens of options available, you can find the perfect headgear to make a statement. Want even more choices? Explore additional Hat Pack DLC bundles featuring classic styles from the original game or exclusive VR attire.

This game not only preserves the beloved mechanics of the original. but also introduces a host of features tailored for the virtual reality environment. Enjoy proximity voice chat, accessibility features, comfort settings, and crossplay compatibility with other VR headsets. Whether you’re a seasoned Among Us player or a newcomer, the VR adaptation promises an exciting new dimension to the emergency meetings, camaraderie, and suspicions that define the Among Us experience.

So, assemble your crew, pick out your favorite hat, and navigate the virtual terrain, making sure to steer clear of electrical hazards. The next emergency meeting awaits, and Among Us VR is here to deliver a 360-degree twist to the social deduction sensation.

SOURCE

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Prepare to dive into the heart-pounding world of Resident Evil 4 like never before, as Capcom unveils the highly anticipated Resident Evil 4 VR Mode, set to release on December 8. This free add-on promises an unparalleled immersive experience, allowing players to step into the shoes of the iconic Leon Kennedy in virtual reality. Alongside the full main story of the game, the VR Mode introduces 3D audio for an even more intense encounter with the horrors that await.

Capcom has gone above and beyond to make this VR adaptation a comprehensive experience. In addition to the main narrative, players can explore the interactive Shooting Range, a unique feature designed to test their skills with the game’s arsenal, including fan-favorite weapons like the iconic handgun and powerful rifles. This interactive mode aims to provide a hands-on feel for the physical interactions within the game, offering a thrilling and immersive encounter with Resident Evil’s signature weaponry.

For PlayStation VR 2 owners on PS5, the excitement doesn’t stop there. Capcom is set to release a free demo alongside the full VR Mode, allowing players to get a taste of the horror-filled adventure that awaits them. The demo will include access to the Shooting Range, offering a sneak peek into the game’s interactive mechanics and serving as a thrilling precursor to the full Resident Evil 4 VR experience.

The journey to bring Resident Evil 4 into the virtual realm began earlier this year when Capcom first teased a VR version. The company officially showcased the VR Mode with a debut trailer at a PlayStation Showcase in May, generating immense anticipation among fans. Adding to the game’s repertoire, Capcom unveiled the Separate Ways DLC in September, starring the enigmatic Ada Wong.

As players gear up for the immersive horrors of Resident Evil 4 VR Mode on December 8, the anticipation builds further with the game’s nomination for Game of the Year at The Game Awards on December 7. Capcom continues to redefine the survival horror genre, offering fans an unprecedented experience that promises to be both nostalgic and groundbreaking.

SOURCE

The post Resident Evil 4 VR Mode Lands on December 8 with PS5 Demo appeared first on COGconnected.

I’ve doomscrolled the depths of TikTok to find the very best in TikTok cosplay, and this week, I’ve stumbled across a cosplayer that’ll blow your mind. Rolyat has been cosplaying for a very long time and has developed quite the following of fans. Not only is she prominent on TikTok, but she’s also created an impact on other platforms such as X, Facebook and Twitch. Heck, even the iconic magazine Playboy featured her online. Rolyat is the real deal.

Enjoy some of her best TikTok videos!

@rolyatistaylor

Open up #fridaythe13th #freddyvsjason #jasonvoorhees

♬ original sound – Rolyat

@rolyatistaylor

Chucky and Tiffany FAKE KNIFE #chucky

♬ original sound – Rolyat

@rolyatistaylor

A BAKED BEAN?!?? @Drew

♬ original sound – Rolyat

@rolyatistaylor

Meow #catwomancosplay #catwoman

♬ оригинальный звук – Askat_production

Check out page 2 for more of Rolyat

The post Rolyat’s TikTok Cosplay Will Blow Your Mind appeared first on COGconnected.

The table has been set, the drinks have been poured and the family arguments have begun. Ah, the traditions of American Thanksgiving. Well, that means it’s time to talk turkey. By that, I mean those lame decisions, terrible games and misguided trends and tech from the past year. They make that steaming dish of mashed yams topped with marshmallows — yes, all you non-American readers, that’s a thing — look like the best side dish ever. 

Of course, every industry and hobby has its annual share of boneheaded moves. The video game industry doesn’t have an exclusive patent on stupid. But given that the gaming industry is such a potent force in entertainment, when things go south it impacts a lot of people. Gamers are disappointed. People lose their jobs. The Elden Ring DLC gets delayed until the next generation…of human beings. (Don’t panic, readers, that’s a joke. Probably.)

So pull up an uncomfortable dining room chair and let’s gobble up some of the worst of 2023.

Bad Behavior: Game Industry Layoffs

Although this year has been stellar for gamers, it has been pretty horrific for a lot of the people actually making the games. What do Electronic Arts, Bungie, Unity, Microsoft and Ascendant Studios all have in common? They — and a large number of other developers — laid off a collective 6,500+ employees in 2023. 

Some of the companies seemingly went out of their way to make the process as painful as possible, like literally locking out the employees without prior notice (Bungie) or laying off half the studio because a game performed poorly in the marketplace (Ascendant). But even those hard-working coders and creatives that were treated fairly found themselves faced with an uncertain future and many have left the industry, soured by their experience.

In the interest of fairness, the economics of the videogame industry is incredibly complex and the impact of the pandemic remains a disruptive force. But that doesn’t excuse treating people like expendable accessories. 

Bad Timing: Too Many Games (Close Together)

I have been covering games for decades, and every time we have a good year filled with good games, people complain. But it’s true. The release schedule is way out of whack. Games that should dominate the headlines and gamers’ time for weeks (if not months) get swept aside as the next big thing comes along. Oh, look, it’s Tears of the Kingdom. No, wait, what about Final Fantasy XVI? Remember when it was the best thing ever? Do you even remember playing Hogwarts Legacy or Jedi Survivor? In some years, they would be duking it out for GOTY.

Crowding so many big titles together doesn’t serve anyone well. Gamers don’t have the time or resources to play more than a fraction of these marquee releases. And even if you throw them on the backlog pile to play in the “future,” you know you’ll be too distracted by the newest, shiny game to return. The result? Too many excellent games don’t perform well in the long run.

On the industry side, we get it. The publishers and developers need to recoup expenses and meet financial projections and, in this case, a lot of games developed during the pandemic were ready to roll in 2023. The problem will probably never go away, but developers, if you’re listening, let us come up for air!

Bad Games: Quantum Error, Payday 3, Gollum and More

On the flip side of all that goodness, there was sure a lot of stink, too. I played more bad games this year than I can count. Not just mediocre games — there were plenty of those, too — but aggressively terrible, no good, very bad games.

Top of my personal pile would have to be Quantum Error, an action adventure game whos graphics and mechanics felt decades old. The Unreal Engine 5 never looked so bad. The heist genre was knocked down a few times thanks to Crime Boss: Rockay City and Payday 3. The Skyrim wannabe Testament: Order of High Human reminded us that Bethesda at its worst is still light years better than most of its imitators.

That brings us to Lord of the Rings: Gollum, which asks the question “Wouldn’t it be fun to take an unlikeable character, give him nothing to do, and throw a bunch of technical issues on top?” The answer? No, it wouldn’t. It wasn’t. Gollum was terrible.

Bad Tech: PSVR 2? Meta Quest 3? PS5 Slim?

As I started compiling my list of bad tech, I realized that, well, there really wasn’t much to complain about. There will always be bad knockoff controllers, mediocre mice and sub-par gaming PCs. But these aren’t worth grousing over (unless you paid for them, of course). There were some significant new gaming devices that appeared this year. Most of them, like everything in the world of gaming, had their share of haters.

Take the PS5 Slim. Inside, it’s essentially identical (or better) than a PS5 in a smaller form factor. The whining started immediately. “Oh I liked the look of the original more,” “this one isn’t way better,” “It looks cheap,” and on and on. There are some downsides, like that the stand is an extra expense. But overall, the Slim is great option for those who never bought the original PS5.

Another great example is the Meta Quest 3. Admittedly, it can’t come close to the power of the tethered VR units like the PSVR 2. And it’s pretty heavy. But the wireless form factor and overall improvements from the last generation make it a great — not bad — piece of tech.

Bad Omen: A.I.

We all know that AI is a pervasive and ever-growing aspect of technology, and by extension, our lives in general. Our AI overlords aren’t going anywhere soon. Games are already built on AI technologies and there are many ways in which generative AI will only make games more lifelike and full of interesting choices.

AI in the games industry has a dark side, too, as people have come to discover. As the recent writers’ strike demonstrates, there are massive concerns over AI replacing skilled writers, editors and other creative types. And even those remaining in their jobs will need to adapt.

Another huge issue is intellectual property. Who owns content created by AI? Will developers come to rely on AI generated characters, levels and mechanics and forego the excellence of careful, human-crafted content?

Overall, 2023 was a great year for those of us consuming games, less so for the people making them. Let’s hope 2024 is a year of creativity, fairness and success for everyone.

Thank you for keeping it locked on COGconnected.

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The post The Biggest Turkeys in Video Games 2023 Edition appeared first on COGconnected.

Kill It With Fire from developer Casey Donnellan Games tailored a well balanced game to carry out its goal. The game has been around for a while. First, it has been released flat on every platform. Casey Donnellan Games have also done it in VR for the Meta and Steam platforms. Now it is making the leap to VR, and this review is for the PSVR 2 version. When you ask someone what creatures freak them out the most, the top two answers would be spiders and snakes. The phobia is so strong for each of them that there is a whole sub-genre of movies that pit characters against them.

Kill It With Fire knows this and adroitly balances between a game scary but also very fun. The game employs a cartoony, brightly colored visual style that softens the overall tone. How strongly a gamer reacts to stomping out spiders will totally depend on whether you instinctively abhor them.

Where the game tightens the tension, is with the sound design. The game’s music, which uses strident violins, enhances spider sightings. Its effect is excellent. When those violins kick in, you get a visceral reaction much the same as the music cues from movies such as Jaws or Psycho. It really invokes the sensation of a multi-legged creature scurrying across the floor. Or maybe up on you!

Keeping the fear factor in mind, Kill It With Fire, has an option to turn off that particular music cue if you find it too unnerving. Or maybe it becomes too irritating for you. Personally, I think it does the game a great disservice to turn that sound cue off. The music in the game is an upbeat, jazzy, spy type affair that is an excellent contrast to the spider music cue.

Scare Versus Comfort

Another comfort option is the one that deals with spiders that jump. If jumping spiders are too creepy for you to handle, you can disable it. Again, if you do so, it takes away an awesome creep factor, dare I say it, jump scares. If you can remind yourself that it’s only a game, then do your best to leave this setting enabled.

Let’s talk about the spiders. There are a variety of them, but they all look very similar to one another. The arachnids scale up in size as you gain better items to dispatch them. They move realistically as they scurry around the room. They crawl up, over, under, behind, and in between items.

The game starts in your typical bungalow style home with each room filled with interactive objects. All you have is a pair of gloves that come equipped with a spider radar to start with. The game prompts you to hunt out and kill spiders. Kill so many spiders and you open up more weapons. One of the first items is a hair spray flame thrower in honor of the game’s name.

The first levels are small. You move around a living room, a bathroom, and an office. Weaponless, you can use your fists or can pick up household items to squash spiders. It’s up to you to suss them out and dispatch them. You can use household items like TV remotes, speakers, game controllers to squash them. It makes some for tense moments as the spiders zip around the room and climb furniture to escape you.

Going Bigger

From there, everything gets progressively bigger: the stages, the weapons, and the spiders. Quickly enough, you power up enough, and killing spiders changes from being scary to becoming comedic. It’s an understandable evolution of the gameplay. The experience is meant to be fun instead of scary. Personally, I would have preferred the game to take the scary route and pay off with a Lord of the Rings – The Return of the King – Shelob level of confrontation.

As your array of weapons grow – flame thrower, guns, ninja stars, and bombs to name a few. With such an arsenal at your disposal, the difficulty level drops while the collateral damage increases dramatically. This is how the game combats the boredom that can arise with a repetitive gameplay loop in several ways.

First, the game is short. You can complete it in a handful of hours. Next, the game gives you objectives that require you to be creative with your kills. One example is you have to kill six spiders with a gun, but only with five bullets. You access the objectives through your Arachno-Gauntlet.

Finally, the art style and aesthetics of the game are geared towards a younger crowd. Ten to twelve-year-olds will have a blast with this game. This is not a deep game, but it ties in adroitly with the fear of spiders and the desire to get rid of them.

Kill It With Fire Is A Well Balanced Game

Casey Donnellan Games has tailored a well balanced game to carry out its goal. Kill It With Fire hits the right mix of fun and length. If you are an arachnophobe, this may not be the game for you. If the idea of squashing spiders for fun appeals to your darker side, this is the game for you. Kill It With Fire is available on all platforms, be it flat or VR. And now it has come to the PSVR 2. Happy Hunting!

***Kill It With Fire PSVR 2 code provided by the publisher***

The post Kill It With Fire Review – Silly VR Spider Squashing appeared first on COGconnected.

It’s hard to believe but the PSVR 2 has been out for nine months now. The headset is a unique mixture of pluses and minuses. The primary minus is that it is a cabled headset. Part of this stigma is because of the legacy issue that originates with the PSVR 1.

The PSVR 1 uses light tracking and an external camera that necessitates an awkward setup. You have to stand a distance from the camera, which means the cable has to lie on the floor in front of you. This arrangement raises the probability of getting tangled in the cable. Or making its presence known more likely, which also breaks immersion.

The PSVR 2 uses a different tracking system and minimizes cable issues. However, it still has issues that can break immersion. No current VR headset is without them. What follows is a list of eight tips specific to the PSVR 2 beyond the common ones that should help maximize your enjoyment.

1. Face away from display

You no longer have to have the cable strewn across the floor between you and your TV or monitor. The PSVR 2 headset has its own cameras, which gives a lot more setup freedom. If your room setup allows it, you can stand as close as possible to your PS5, which keeps the cable behind you, instead of in front of you.

2. PSVR 2 Lens Inserts

Lens Inserts provide several benefits even if you don’t wear glasses. They protect the headset lens from getting scratched. The headset design with its telescoping headpiece makes it easy for glasses wearers to use the headset. However, accidents can happen, especially if you let a friend or family member try out the headset.
For glass wearers, getting lens inserts specific to your prescription provides a clearer image. Another bonus, they also reduce any incidents of reflections and glare between your glasses and the PSVR 2 lenses.

3. Proper Lighting

Even though the PSVR 2 uses IR emitters to track hand movement, appropriate room lighting is necessary. The cameras on the headset need light to work properly. A dimly lit room will cause poor tracking.

The PSVR 2 needs normal lighting to work properly. Normal lighting is a pretty nebulous term, so experiment with different lighting levels to see how it affects your tracking. Light conditions in a room with windows will change between day and night, which will require adjusting room lighting accordingly.

One further tip, focus the lighting on raising the overall room lighting. Don’t setup lighting that shines directly into the cameras.

4. Use the telescope function of the PSVR 2

This tip is tailored to the more physical VR games. These are games such as Beat Saber, Pistol Whip, Synth Riders, and Les Mills Workout, to name a few. Even though the headset has a fan and vent for cooling, they can’t keep up to the body heat generated when you play strenuous games.

A quick way to cool things down is to telescope the headset out between rounds or pauses in the action. Also, because the sweet spot of the headset is small, telescoping out and back in, is a quick way to reset your view and get back into the sweet spot.

5. Wipe your eyebrows and upper eyelids

This ties in with Tip 4 but helps with all games. We all have body oils present even if we haven’t worked out. You’ll find proof of this when you take off your VR headset. Look at the lenses. Chances are you’ll find the upper part of them smudged. This is from the ever present body oil. A quick wipe of your eyebrows and eyelids before putting on the headset will reduce this and keep your view cleaner, longer.

6. Microfiber Wipes

Speaking of wiping, have a supply of microfiber wipes on hand. These cloths are the best for cleaning your lenses. Before you wipe your lenses, dust them off with the cloth to remove any dust or particles that may scratch your lenses if you go straight to wiping.

Never, ever, use any type of liquid cleaner! You will damage the IR sensors used for eye tracking, making the headset unusable!!!!

7. PSVR 2 Mod Kits

We each have our own unique faces, so there will never be a single facial interface for a VR headset that will work for everyone. This is best exemplified by the PSVR 1 and PSVR 2. Even though the two headsets are very similar in design, their ergonomics are different. The PSVR 1 uses pads made of a soft material, whereas the PSVR 2’s pads are soft rubber. Some found the PSVR 1 more comfortable, whereas others find the PSVR 2 to be so.

I fall into the PSVR 1 camp. For me, the PSVR 2 is uncomfortable because I have to really tighten the headset to stay in the sweet spot. This becomes more problematic when playing games where I work up a sweat. The rubber padding slips when this happens. So I had to search for other solutions. Wearing a bandanna and a toque, helped but not enough. So third-party solutions were the next step. There are a few out there and how well they work is a unique situation for each of us.

My ultimate solution came from the oddly named Globular Cluster, for a VR peripheral maker. Their kit contains a variety of padding from silicon to pads with cooling get to felt pads that are washable. I settled on the felt pads and now my PSVR 2 headset is even more comfortable than my PSVR 1.

8. Check PSVR 2 Cinema Setting

This may be only game specific, but I ran into a situation where I could not get the game, Journey to Foundation, to work. The game would start, but after quickly displaying the game logo, the screen would go black. I could hear the main menu sound effects and score, but the screen would remain black.

After going back and forth with the game company, they hit upon the solution. The problem was because of having my headset set at 120 Hz in Cinema Mode. I had tested playing some flat games that supported 120 Hz in the headset and left the setting enabled. Disabling the setting fixed the problem. Hopefully, one that a future patch will correct.

So there you go. Eight tips, some of which you may be already aware, to improve your PSVR 2 experience. Hopefully, there’s a couple that will be of some help.

Thank you for keeping it locked on COGconnected.

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I don’t think there’s a person alive who doesn’t dream of being part of the Ghostbusters. Since the 80s, the fab four has had a strong presence in the media with iconic movies and charming cartoons. Due to this, people from around the world have fantasised about tracking spectres with the PKE Meter and blasting spirits with the Proton Pack. While there have been virtual renditions of the group, the new VR adventure, Rise of the Ghost Lord, aims to fulfil that childhood wish with a level of immersion and interactivity never before experienced.

Tasked to collect the iconic kit from a spooky mansion, things quickly go from bad to worse. After accidentally unleashing the Ghost Lord upon the city of San Francisco, you must join an all new team of Ghostbusters to maintain order. The story itself is merely a premise for the multiplayer missions that will have you track down and capture spirits. Snippets of the narrative do occur from time to time, however, they are firmly in the background. Although I understand the focus on online gameplay, I would have liked a dedicated story mode that would allow you to play out that Ghostbusting dream.

We Got One

As you step into a mission, you have your PKE Meter, trap and Proton Pack to protect you from ghouls that roam the environment. Each of these is accessible from your waist and back which adds a nice sense of immersion. You will need to quickly jump between tools in order to find and capture entities.

Smaller ghosts will vaporize with a blast from your gun whereas larger ones require a bit more work. Your stream will weaken them, eventually allowing you to wrap your beam around the ghost. Similar to Luigi’s Mansion, you must now fight against the momentum of the creature and then guide it towards the trap to vanquish the foe. When against particularly large enemies, you can send a blast through your beam after you have built up heat in your Proton Pack from wrestling with a spirit. This can also result in your gun overheating and shutting down if you are not careful which adds a nice layer of strategy and creates an addictive loop that truly captures the feeling of busting ghosts.

There are a variety of spirits that feature unique attacks to keep you on your toes. The options available to traverse the area allow anyone to engage in the game. With smooth and click turning, full movement and teleportation, the game adds a ton of accessibility options to make this a comfortable experience. You’ll need to avoid being slimed in order to stay conscious, otherwise you’ll need a pal to give you a high five to get back in the fight. There doesn’t seem to be any penalty for getting knocked out as your team can keep reviving you without issue. While this ensures that all remain in the game, it removes tension from battles.

He Slimed Me

There are four different mission types that you can select from the HQ. Exorcism involves you and your team attempting to close a portal. You must scour the environment for three particular items, attach them to specific generators which will then unleash a huge demon for you to slay. On the Clock is a fast and hectic mode where you must fight against waves of  enemies to ensure that you can clear the area in the time permitted. In Giga Trap Retrieval you must find the correct location of the trap and try to carefully extract it. This can have a variety of effects which make the mode intense and an absolute thrill. Finally, there is Harvester which involves you repairing a machine and capturing ghosts. Each mode is enjoyable and distinct with friends but a little lonely when on your own. 

After the completion of a mission, you’ll earn money which allows you to upgrade your equipment. This adds a steady progression to proceedings allowing you to improve your abilities for each subsequent mission. Unfortunately, the lack of story content means you’ll simply cycle through missions without feeling like you’re closing in on the Ghost Lord. Having more structure would have made it feel like you’re closing in on the antagonist rather than just completing random missions.

Who Ya Gonna Call?

The overall presentation is fantastic. Each map is impressive in scale and the cartoon aesthetic allows nDreams to make each ghost a vibrant treat. The visual style means that they can substitute detail with personality which works perfectly in VR. Characters are stylized and so are the environments which helps to transport you into the boots of the Ghostbusters. Musical cues further embed the franchise into the world and sound effects feel authentic.

Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord nails aspects of the experience but its lack of structure hinders the overall package. Using the famous tools from the franchise has never felt better and faithfully captures the feeling of being a Ghostbuster, however, the lack of focus on the narrative gives no context to missions. Fighting against spirits is a blast with friends but doesn’t hold up in single player. Although busting feels good, more attention to the story and its progression is needed.

***A PlayStation 5 key was provided by the publisher***

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