NeryK

NeryK, rok temu

The lack of VR support for in Odyssey, on top of numerous issues at launch, soured me on the whole thing. I know VR is a niche that did not take off so it likely did not make sense for them to prioritize it ; but Elite was the quintessential early killer app for VR, so it stings. Shame, I spent hundred of hours in Elite and would have liked to spend more.

NeryK, rok temu

The early times of this wave of VR (which really started with the commercial launch of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive) were very exciting. Lots of “experiences” back then: sometimes mindblowing, often half-baked, always interesting. After a couple of years people realized there was no money in it and lots of them moved on.

7 years in, I’m pretty much over early access promising prototypes and flat screen games being modded to support VR. I want VR-native games-ass games of the caliber of Half-Life: Alyx, or Moss. I want VR support to be a standard feature of any new cockpit-based driving or flying game, not an afterthought. We are not getting the former, and slowly maybe getting there for the latter.

Elite Dangerous is the perfect illustration of this cycle: Frontier started supporting VR very early. My first VR experience was Elite Dangerous on a loaned Oculus DK1. It was mind-blowing ! It was also very very puke-inducing ! Then proper hardware came with the Rift and Vive, Elite had full VR support, and it was fucking great. And now, well VR support is still there, but it’s no longer first class, and slowly decaying.

NeryK, rok temu

Friend and I were looking for our next co-op game after Remnant 2 (very good btw) and were somewhat eagerly awaiting this one. Turns out it has the same PvP invasion mechanic as the Souls game unless you play offline. That’s a deal-breaker for us unfortunately.

NeryK, rok temu

Sounds like proper co-op, according to lordsofthefallen.com/co-op-multiplayer-hexworks-d…. No temporary summoning bullshit.

Except the story progression does not carry over which seems to be the new norm recently.

NeryK, rok temu

They are as ugly to look at as they are fun to play. That is to say a lot.

NeryK, rok temu

Honestly even the very best VR-only games are only interesting because they are in VR.

Half-Life: Alyx is IMO still the best of those and it can be played outside of VR thanks to mods… But in that case it’s a curiosity, not an actual good traditional game.

HLA in VR is incredible though and I wish there were more games like it.

NeryK, rok temu

The assisted reload was also in the first game (notably for the recoilless rifle also featured here) and requires a great deal of coordination. A great co-op mechanic with high rewards when playing it right.

NeryK, rok temu

That’s a shame that even a 30 year-old studio is just one commercial failure away from closure, even when part of a larger company. Then again, Volition’s output after Saints Row IV has been pretty middling… So it’s not that big of a surprise that they were on the chopping block.

NeryK, rok temu

Both games are have roughly the same numbers, on Steam anyway https://sh.itjust.works/pictrs/image/582e6206-b811-4784-a7f0-a3e81745a810.webp

The playerbase is still large enough to find matches pretty easily in both cases. Darktide has been such a disappointment I am kind of glad significant updates are still coming to Vermintide 2 (5 new maps, for free, in the last 12 months is pretty good for a 5 years old game).