While Oculus doesn’t offer much publicly in the way of understanding how well individual apps are performing across its VR storefronts, it’s possible to glean some insight by looking at apps relative to each other. Here’s a snapshot of the top 20 Oculus Rift games and apps as of July 2020.
Some quick qualifications before we get to the data dump:
Paid and free apps are separated
Early Access apps are not represented
Only apps with more than 100 reviews are represented
Some apps may have benefited from hardware bundling (like Robo Recall and Lucky’s Tale)
Rounded ratings may appear to show ‘ties’ in ratings for some applications, but the ranked order remains correct
Best Rated Paid Oculus Rift Apps
The rating of each application is an aggregate of user reviews and a useful way to understand the general reception of each title by customers.
Survivors Beat Saber (↓1), Moss (↓1), Trover Saves the Universe (↓1), Lone Echo (↓3), Brass Tactics (↓1), I Expect You to Die (↑3), Robo Recall (↓2), Five Nights at Freddy’s VR: Help Wanted (↑3), Thrill of the Fight (↓3), Dance Central (↓4), Space Pirate Trainer (↓3), Vacation Simulator (↓2), Bending the Light (≡), SUPERHOT VR (↓2), BlazeRush (↓1), Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (↓1), Eleven: Table Tennis VR (↓6)
Newcomers
Electronauts, Racket: Nx, The Room VR: A Dark Matter
Dropouts
Asgard’s Wrath, Witchblood, Final Assault
Yesterday, Microsoft confirmed via a joint press briefing with developer Asobo Studio that Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 will in fact be receiving official VR support, beginning with the upcoming HP Reverb G2 later this year.
According to Microsoft, VR support will be free to all owners of the game. Support will arrive first on the upcoming 4K VR headset upon its launch this Fall, followed by additional VR devices sometime at a later date. According to video game publication Polygon, Asobo Studio is working on compatibility for the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Valve Index.
“The very first piece of feedback that came out of [our announcement at E3 was], ‘Oh my God! This is going to be the best VR thing ever. They better have VR!’” said Microsoft Flight Simulator head, Jorg Neumann, during an interview with Polygon. “We immediately said, ‘Yep, we’ve got to do this now.’ We put a team on it, and and then partnered with HP.”
Arriving August 18th on Windows PC, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 offers players the chance to pilot dozens of real-world air crafts across a 3D simulation of the entire planet. The game uses a combination of artificial intelligence, photogrammetry, machine learning, procedural generation, and over two petabytes of Bing data to generate a near photo-realistic recreation of the Earth, including all of its 37,000 airports.
According to Asobo, each and every player will have access to all 37k airports, regardless of what version of the game they purchase. The only difference being that several of these airports will look better for Deluxe and Premium players.
Here’s a breakdown of all three versions and what they include:
Microsoft Flight Simulator ($60) – 20 handcrafted planes and 30 handcrafted airports.
Microsoft Flight Simulator Deluxe ($90) – 25 handcrafted planes and 35 handcrafted airports.
Microsoft Flight Simulator Premium ($120) – 30 handcrafted planes and 40 handcrafted airports.
“The premium build or deluxe build is not a barrier,” Sebastian Wloch, CEO of Asobo Studio, said. “People that have the standard are not going to be blocked; every airport in the world is there. Basically the entire planet is seamlessly present and you can fly, land on any airport on the planet. … The airports are all there, they have aerial photography from Bing, they’re all very realistic, but the buildings are automatically generated by AI and procedural building generation.”
As if that weren’t cool enough, Microsoft Flight Simulator is able to track real-world weather and air traffic data in real-time. This means virtual pilots can fly side-by-side with actual flights and through real storms as they’re happening.
Microsoft Flight Simulator launches August 18th on Windows PC. Those subscribed to the Xbox Games Pass will have day one access to the standard edition with an option to upgrade to Deluxe or Premium. Asobo will continue to support the game post-launch with a series of free and paid DLC. Smaller updates will be released every month, along with larger, game-changing updates every two to three months. One such update will see the introduction of helicopters, adding a whole new layer of gameplay to the experience.
For today’s livestream we’re playing realistic military sim VR shooter, Onward on Oculus Quest! If you’re curious about how we livestream the way we do then look no further than this handy guide for general tips and this guide specific to our Oculus Quest setup.
Onward aims to be the ultimate VR FPS for those after an authentic-style military simulation. This is more like Ghost Recon or Rainbow Six than Call of Duty. Now that it’s been out for a full day we can verify the gameplay is just as fun as ever and we can’t wait to see how it evolves on Quest.
Our Onward on Oculus Quest VR livestream is planned to start at about 11:00 AM PT and will last for around an hour or two, give or take, depending partially on how well-behaved my small toddler child will be while left alone. We’ll be hitting just our YouTubeand I’ll be streaming from my Oculus Quest, which will be using a Chromecast Ultra wireless cast signal, plugged into a Capture Card, to get the footage to my PC. I’ll do my best to keep up with chat by checking my phone when possible.
You can watch the stream embedded via YouTube right here. Set a reminder if you’re reading this early!
You can see lots of our past archived streams over in our YouTube playlist or even all livestreams here on UploadVR and various other gameplay highlights. There’s lots of good stuff there so make sure and subscribe to us on YouTube to stay up-to-date on gameplay videos, video reviews, live talk shows, interviews, and more original content!
And please let us know which games or discussions you want us to livestream next! We have lots of VR games in the queue that we would love to show off more completely.
Elon Musk unveiled Neuralink nearly a year ago, and it appears we’ll be getting a progress update in August that further details the company’s research into brain-computer interfaces (BCIs).
Musk announced the event via Twitter earlier this month, however didn’t include any info as to what the progress update would entail.
Although the company is likely waiting for the big day to further details its research, Musk now says in a Tweet that the event will “show neurons firing in real-time on August 28th,” adding cryptically that it’s like “[t]he matrix in the matrix.”
Image courtesy Neuralink
The company’s ‘N1 sensor’ prototype implant was presented as a very small, implantable system on a chip (SoC) that has thin ‘threads’ that measure 4 to 6 μm in width. The company’s first implant is targeting disabled and/or diseased patients with damaged brain functions, such as spinal cord injuries.
The implant, which is supposed to attach to an external device that can be easily removed when not in use, is said to be capable of measuring spikes in the brain’s electrical current. The end goal is reading, processing, and eventually ‘writing’ information back to neurons via these tiny, flexible threads.
What’s more, Musk said at the company’s unveiling that he wants Neuralink’s neural implants to one day become as common as LASIK outpatient procedures are today, something he continues to paint as the startup’s raison d’être.
Yes, should be possible to create a neural shunt from motor cortex to microcontrollers in muscle groups & restore movement even if someone has a fully severed spinal cord. First part has already been demonstrated with Utah array, but not as an outpatient device.
As mentioned last year, the startup hopes to facilitate this sort of outpatient procedure by creating its own neurosurgical robot capable of inserting six threads (192 electrodes) per minute, the company says in its first research paper.
Neuralink’s ambitions are fairly clear: start a company that will one day serve neuro-typical users, and not just those with disabilities. What isn’t clear is how the company will get there, which is something we hope to learn more about on August 28th.
In the meantime, if you want to learn more about Neuralink, check out our wrap-up of the startup’s inaugural event which covers everything from the N1 sensor to the surgical robots the company unveiled last year.
Gyms have been closed for a long time. Workout classes canceled, snacks consumed. General physical movement constrained. I’ve, unsurprisingly, put on some weight since March, struggling to find the right kind of workout that I can do on my own steam,...
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The developer of Polybius is bringing its latest VR game to Steam this August.
Llamasoft, a UK-based studio headed up by famed game designer Jeff Minter, is launching Moose Life on August 12th. A Steam page for the game is already up and running, which confirms the game will support Rift, Vive and Index. Check out some trippy gameplay Minter himself recorded earlier in the year.
If you know Llamasoft, then you’ll probably know what to expect from Moose Life. As with Polybius, Tempest 4000 and others before it, the game is a psychedelic ‘trance shooter’ in which players are subjected to a blaze of neon glory as they blow enemies into colorful neon particles. It’sd rooted in arcade origins with an emphasis on giving players a strong audio/visual sensation. Judging by that video, it’ll certainly achieve that goal.
As the name suggests, this time around you’ll be playing as a moose. At the very least, we couldn’t get you to name another VR game that casts you as a moose, right?
“Moose Life is the latest step on our journey into euphoric trance,” the developer notes on the Steam page. “Created in the style of an 80s arcade game, but in fully immersive 3D/VR. You’ll feel like you are inside the mind of Eugene Jarvis Himself.”
It’s reassuring to see the team still making VR titles. In 2018, Minter noted that its last VR game, the then-PS4/PSVR-exclusive Polybius hadn’t “made a penny”. The game later came to Steam, though it’s not clear if it found more success there.
Gadgeteer, the Rube Goldberg-inspired physics VR game, is set to leave Early Access on PC VR headsets and Oculus Quest on August 27th, which is slated to arrive with a host of new features.
The game’s developer Metanaut says players can expect their “most requested features in the full release.” One of the most requested without a doubt has been the ‘Online Sharing’ function, which will let users share and play other people’s machines.
Online Sharing will also include the ability to ‘Like’ and bookmark a machine, filter between Puzzle and Sandbox machine types, and sort through ‘Hot’, ‘Popular’, and ‘New’ categories, Metanaut says.
Another feature coming to the 1.0 release is ‘Puzzle Designer’, which lets players create and share puzzles both locally and online. It basically sounds like Super Mario Maker, but with a crazy assortment of physics-based objects.
Metanaut says ‘Puzzle Designer’ will let you create obstacles, limit the number of usable gadgets, and test solutions for machines before uploading them online.
One of the other big features to arrive with the game’s full launch is 40 new gadgets, which are currently being tested in the open beta.
The studio is offering up beta access of the 1.0 version of Gadgeteer at some point in mid-August, which will be available to owners of the game. If you own a PC VR headset, you can fill out this form if you want to go hands-on with the new features before they go live.
You’ll find Gadgeteer on Steam (PC VR), and the Oculus Store for Rift and Quest, priced at $15.
Help create original characters for an upcoming VR game, no experience required.
Voxel Vibe is an upcoming interactive VR puzzle game in which players are immersed in a hypnotic voxel world similar to a 3D music visualizer. Your objective is to help the Voxel’s recover their stolen vibe by teaching them some sweet new dance moves.
Normally, these brightly lit digital cubes are full of life and exuberance. Lately, however, something has been draining them of their rhythm and vibe. It’s gotten so bad, in fact, that these digital creatures have actually begun to darken and are no longer responding the beat of the music.
In order to restore the vibe and bring these tiny part ahnimals back to life, players will engage in a series of heart pumping, cardio boosting activities.
The game is currently being developed for the Oculus Quest and PC VR by Brett Jackson and his company JumbliVR, though according to the developer, he and his team could use a little assistance. Through Jackson’s Voxel Vibe Creator platform, players can help create additional Voxel character using the same tools employed by the team during development.
Jackson talked with VRScout about this approach saying, “Once I had the ability to animate thousands of blocks I realised how cool it would be if they could morph into characters that had some personality,” Jackson continues, “There’s scope to have loads of varied characters in the game, but that would take a lot of time and I felt there would be people out there that could do a better job than me, so I invested many weeks creating Voxel Vibe Creator. This tool allows you to model characters out of 729 blocks and animate them.”
The Voxel Vibe Creator tool offers multiple features to create your character. Voxels have the ability to light up and come to life as they pulsate in size, rotate, and jump around to the music. Each color reacts differently depending on the frequency of the music. Using the tools provided, contributors can animate original Voxel characters and then share their work with other creators as well as the team. After designing a character, head to video mode to see how your Voxel looks in-game
Once you’re happy with your Voxel Vibe hero, you can then submit your entry to Jackson. The person with the best entry will have their character immortalized in the game forever. The winner will also receive a free copy of the upcoming Voxel Vibe game as well an official mention in the end credits.
To install the Voxel Vibe Creator tool, you’ll need to sideload the platform onto your Oculus Quest headset. From there, just click on the “install APK file from folder” option and then look for the tool in Unknown Sources on your Quest. If you run into issues, you can email Jackson at brett@headstartdesign.co.uk.
If the initiative draws enough interest, Jackson has numerous ideas on how how to expand the platform so that creators can design more complex VR animations and overlay them onto their own videos.
For now, the team will continue to monitor player interest as more creators get their hands on the tool. That being said, handing over a small portion of creative control to the players is sure to drive additional interest towards this already unique music-based experience.
“I’m sure people will have fun using the tool and I’m hoping that they will share their ideas with each other and contribute some of their work to my game. I’d love to build a community that can input ideas and characters into the Voxel Vibe game and join me on the journey as I progress. I know the final game will be much better if I can get more people involved,” said Jackson.
Download the Voxel Vibe Creator tool to start building your own Voxel Vibe character now. Who knows! Maybe you’ll see your name credited as a game developer!
Today Onward released for Oculus Quest with PC crossplay and the update resulted in some major Onward PC changes. Fans are not happy.
As a result of the port, the PC version of Onward has been patched to v1.8, which includes dramatic map changes to accommodate for alterations made to get the game running on Quest. Previously, Downpour Interactive had told us these changes would mostly be in the form of altering the layout, removing some features the Quest couldn’t have right now like extra foliage, and so on. But it seems more dramatic than that. The Onward Discord server is a steady stream of users unhappy with the update and posting reports of various new bugs.
After reading over Onward VR Reddit comments, new PC VR user reviews, Discord impressions, and trying the new 1.8 version of Onward PC for myself, the differences are quite clear. Every map now looks notably downgraded visually, suffers from similar texture pop-in issues that hinder the Quest version, and generally is lower quality now.
On the bright side, the update has resulted in significant stability and performance improvements on PC. Users that previously had issues maintaining framerate will likely now have a much smoother game to enjoy. Additionally, KasperVid, a Community Manager in the Onward Discord, claims the game’s new structure will allow for more robust and feature-rich updates in the future:
“We rewrote and rebuilt large parts of the game over the past months,” says KasperVid on Discord. “On the one hand we’ve created tons of headroom for future improvements and expansions to the game, on the other there is the temporary pain we’re experiencing right now. And I completely understand it’s frustrating. But we’ve been working on this game for many years, and we’re dedicated to it. That won’t change, so please give us that little bit of credit that we’ll make it right, soon.”
Furthermore, MrDeathpwn, an Onward Community Manager on Reddit, also explains, “me and the devs have been recording all your feedback and we’ll do our best to get these issues resolved asap. I’ll be sharing all the feedback with the team. Let’s make this a 2 steps forward and 1 step back situation.”
We’ve reached out to Downpour Interactive directly for additional comment and will update this post once we hear back. Let us know what you think of the 1.8 update on PC down in the comments below!
A new patent application filed by Valve last year but published today details a wireless VR system.
“In at least some implementations, a wireless data transport system is provided that includes an electrically steerable antenna, such as a phased-array antenna, that is operative to selectively steer its beam based on electronic control input,” the patent application’s description reads.
“The wireless data transport system may include a tracking subsystem that is operative to track a mobile wireless device (e.g., HMD, tablet computer, smart phone) as the mobile wireless device moves around in a tracked volume. Advantageously, the wireless data transport system utilizes the known current or predicted future position and/or orientation of the mobile wireless device receiving the data (e.g., video data) from the tracking subsystem and compensates for movement of the mobile wireless device by selectively adjusting the beamforming pattern of the steerable antenna based at least in part on the tracking data received from the tracking subsystem.”
We confirmed recently that Valve continues to explore wireless VR possibilities but this patent application offers one of the most interesting looks yet into the ideas being explored by the maker of the Index headset and SteamVR Tracking system.
“Among other things, this feature allows the amount of buffering to be decreased, which decreases latency—a critical parameter in some applications such as VR applications where MTP is an important industry metric,” the application continues.
“Further, in at least some implementations, tracking data from other objects, such as one or more hand-held controllers, may also be used to detect when a user’s hands are moving in a direction that may occlude the receiver antenna of the mobile wireless device. It has been found that even partial occlusion by a user’s hand, for example, can cause significant data loss without relying heavily on buffering, interleaving, or forward error correction.”
Earlier in the month a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Half-Life: Alyx confirmed that Valve’s hardware team is working on “what’s next”. The company’s Jeremy Selan himself noted the Index was already “two years old technology” at this point. In our interview following Alyx’s launch, Valve’s Greg Coomber also suggested that the game’s ending could have some implications for the future of the company’s hardware.
We’re still digging into the patent application and will update this post as we dissect more information about it.
Downpour Interactive's VR multiplayer shooter Onward is finally available on Oculus Quest, bringing with it the full PC VR experience in its entirety. This includes 5v5 multiplayer matchmaking, single player and co-op game modes, and a wide arsenal of realistic weaponry, surveillance tech, and other tactical equipment designed to keep you alive on the battlefield.
Unlike other PvP shooters available on Oculus Quest, Onward is a hyper-realistic mil-sim paced experience requiring an immense amount of team communication as well as strategy in order to survive. This means memorizing map layouts, familiarizing yourself with a wide range of somewhat complex weaponry and equipment, and getting comfortable with information gathering.
It can be a lot to take in, which is why we're offering a handful of tips perfect for those jumping into the action for the first time on Oculus Quest. That being said those who've already spent time with the game on PC VR may find the following advice fairly obvious. Again, this guide is aimed at brand new players entering the battlefield for the first time. So, without further ado, here is our complete beginner's guide to Onward on Oculus Quest.
Familiarize yourself with the weapons and tools of Onward.
The most obvious tip, besides completing the tutorial, is to familiarize yourself with the wide range of weaponry and tools at your disposal. Before the start of each match you'll have the option of choosing between two factions, each of which featuring their own unique weaponry to choose from. Take time to experiment with a handful of weapons in the Freeroam game mode before hopping into a real match. Each gun features its nown uniuqe layout so it's usually a good idea to practice firing and reloading before jumping into a firefight.
Compare the stats of each gun, such as their recoil and damage, to find the ones best suited for your needs. Players can choose from multiple classes, each complete their own weapons and two loadout slots. The general rule of thumb is to customize one loadout for day and one for night. When fighting in larger, well-lit maps, for example, you may want to equip the air drone. For smaller, darker maps, however, consider opting for night vision. Each weapon, tool, and attachment costs a certain amount of points, so you'll need to choose your equipment wisely.
Duck & cover!
Once you've made your way to the battlefield, make sure to duck and cover! This sounds like obvious advice, but you'd be surprised how many players I see firing at enemies from the center of an open street. Much like a real battle, remaining behind cover could mean the difference between life and death. Make full use of the Quest's 6DoF functionality; maximize your available protection by hugging walls and other obstructions as tightly as possible, only exposing yourself when absolutely necessary.
Here's a neat little trick: when rising from behind cover to shoot, turn your weapon sideways. This will expose even less of your body to enemy fire by lowering the sights of the weapon, and therefore your head, closer to the cover. There are even a few side-mounted sights available, allowing you to maximize your coverage without sacrificing accuracy.
Keep an open line of communication.
There's no such thing as oversharing on the battlefield. Provide your teammates with every little update you have, no matter how trivial it may seem. Spot an enemy moving to a new position? Call it out. Pushing left to flank? Call it out. Reloading your weapon? Call it out. Call it all out, your teammates will thank you for it, trust me. Chatting with your squad within close proximity is as easy as talking into your mic. When communicating over longer distances, however, you'll need to access the radio located on your left shoulder. Just be sure you're using the NATO phonetic alphabet, copy?
Gather intel.
In addition to communicating with your team, gathering additional intel using surveillance equipment is vital. Using equipment such as the air drone and ground drone, you can remotely scan nearby locations for enemy movement, allowing you to better plan your attack. Be careful though as enemy players can shoot down and destroy your drones, rendering them inaccessible for the remainder of the match. Remember, information is the most powerful weapon of all.
Shoot first, ask questions later.
9 times out of 10 the winner of a gunfight in Onward is the one who fired first, so don't hesitate to squeeze that trigger. Obviously you should never spray and pray, but sometimes firing a little early can actually prove beneficial. One technique you may see floating around is "pre-firing." This is when you begin shooting at an enemy before making visual contact so that you're guaranteed the first shot. Of course, this technique requires that you arelady know the enemies position before attacking. Still, when used correctly, this is a highly-effective maneuver.
And there you have hit! Five simple tips guaranteed to improve your performance on the battlefield. Again, those who've played Onward before may find this information a bit obvious. This is aimed at brand new players entering the action for the first time on Quest.
Onward is available now on Oculus Quest for $24.99 via the Oculus Store.
Onward has come a long way since it first launched into Early Access on Steam back in 2016. While we’re still waiting for a ‘full release’ of the game four years later, indie studio Downpour Interactive has managed to tighten up the team-based shooter to fit onto Oculus Quest, replete with PC VR cross-play. Although it notably suffers in the visual department, and could do with more polish, Onward offers the same intense gameplay, making it generally feel at home on the standalone headset.
Onward for Quest Details:
Developer: Downpour Interactive Publisher: Coatsink Available On: Oculus Quest Release Date: July 30th, 2020 Price: $25
Note: This game is in Early Access which means the developers have deemed it incomplete and likely to see changes over time. This review is an assessment of the game only at its current Early Access state and will not receive a numerical score.
Gameplay
Onward is the archetypal mil-sim VR shooter: no crosshairs, no mini maps—just you, your five-person fire team, and a limited amount of ammo to eliminate the opposing force, be it the NATO-style ‘MARSOC’, or the Soviet Bloc-style ‘Volk’.
In its time on PC VR headsets, Onward has attracted a hardcore player base—a noteworthy feat considering many multiplayer VR games seem to be easily abandoned by both studios and players alike. Not so with Onward. Downpour Interactive has been gradually growing the game to offer up a good array of real-world weaponry, accessories, and smartly designed maps of varying sizes, all of it framed around a game that rewards users for marksmanship, communication, and team-based tactics. It’s easy to see why this uncompromising penchant for realism has garnered it a solid userbase, as some VR users just want to play War. Now Quest users can jump in and experience it all, of course with a few caveats worth mentioning.
Image courtesy Downpour Interactive, Coatsink
Like the PC VR version, the Quest port offers both online multiplayer (co-op and team-based modes) and single-player mode play with variable AI number and difficulty. Not all maps are available on the Quest version at the time of this writing, so there seems to be some more work to be done in bringing the Quest version up to parity with the PC VR version. For example, there’s no Workshop on Quest just yet, which allows users to create their own maps.
There are a few other things to know about before jumping in, which distinctly separates it from its PC forbear.
The Quest version is notably lower res than its bigger brother on PC VR, and can leave you squinting more than if it were being driven by a full-sized gaming PC and not the Quest’s SoC.
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Onward on PC, Image captured by Road to VR
Onward on Quest, Image captured by Road to VR
Although it may have more to do with the Quest’s displays, far field objects appear pixelated and are hard to distinguish without a scope attached to your rifle. Of course, this really only effects large-size maps where you’d be at a disadvantage without a scope anyway. Outside of this, it seems many of the maps currently available have a muddiness about them that makes target acquisition somewhat difficult, something that may be due to a lack of color contrast. As opposed to the PC version, playing Onward on Quest feels like the brightness has been turned down significantly. What was once a more vibrant mix of whites, yellows and blacks seem to be morphed into blues, reds, and browns. Some levels also seem to be too large to render all at once, so far field objects pop in and out depending on where you’re looking, which can be annoying.
As cross-play servers go live, it will be interesting to see what effect the Quest port’s more humble visuals will have on gameplay, and whether PC VR players will have a leg up or not as a result. Since I was only able to play against fellow Questers, I can’t say for sure for now, although the decreased visual fidelity didn’t stop the core game from truly shining in its online mode for me personally. Much of that fits into the ‘Immersion’ section below, so read on to learn more.
All said, the single-player portion of the game has a few goodies to keep you coming back when you aren’t in the mood for people (or losing constantly). It has a dedicated shooting range, a ‘free roam’ mode so you can check out all of the available levels, and a few game modes, including PvE ‘hunts’ and an infinite wave-based ‘evac’ mode where you battle against AI of variable difficulty and number. The AI can be a overpowered at moments, and always seemed to spot me before I was even capable of seeing them coming, although that seems to be the case on the PC version as well.
Immersion
What the game lacks in environmental realism—structures have a blocky, low-poly aspect to them—it makes up for in core mechanics.
It’s worth noting that the Quest version (predictably) strips away a bunch of the visual effects that have come to the game over the years, including dynamic lighting and certain particle effects such as smoke. At the same time, it ramps up immersion by letting you go wild and free without cables, which truly feels like how the game was meant to be played in the first place. I won’t spend any more time on the visuals, as we all know visuals are only a piece of the larger Immersion Puzzle.
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Onward on PC, Image captured by Road to VR
Onward on Quest, Image captured by Road to VR
Getting into a prone firing position is liberating; the level of friction inherent to the PC VR version is just enough to make me want to either stand or slightly crouch, but on Quest I’m way more apt to make full use of body to get the best, most stable shooting position for the job. If it weren’t a blazing 38 degrees outside, I would love to play in a wide, open field with grass underneath my feet.
Another liberating aspect of Onward is the ability to toss a gun or ammo to a friend. If you and a buddy choose the same gun, say an AKM rifle, you can easily just hand them a new mag if they run out and you’re in a tight spot. It’s these moments when the world acts like you think it should, that you start to lose yourself in the action. And there’s plenty of action to be had when a well-trained group of hardcore Onward players are expertly zeroing in on your hiding spot.
Image courtesy Downpour Interactive, Coatsink
Personally the inventory system isn’t my cup of tea. Things are so densely packed on your body that you need to physically look down to differentiate between a mag, rifle, pistol, or otherwise. I get it: you need to carry everything with you and have easy access to it too, but I feel like new users will have a harder time developing that specific muscle memory over a more ‘gamey’ way of holding all your necessities.
There’s some things you may gloss over too, such as the game’s sound design. It’s actually super clever, and shows a keen ear for realism. Shooting from inside a house sounds very different to shooting outside. You’ll hear flies when you walk past a dumpster. A low level din of distant gunfire and alarms pervades nearly all levels, keeping the user on their toes as you listen for enemy chatter and the origin of gunshots.
Image courtesy Downpour Interactive, Coatsink
One thing I really love is the game’s radio, which is one of the smartest things I wish more FPS developers used. As soon as you’re out of direct vocal range, the radio becomes the only way you can communicate, and it requires you to physically hold down a button on your left shoulder, adding to the game’s realism. Once you’re out of vocal range you also lose the directional information of where your buddy is, making it necessary to call in where you are and keep the information flow tight and relevant to the task at hand.
Onward is, for an FPS, an extremely comfortable experience. Walking and running are generally at a slow pace, and variable snap-turning is available if you prefer to stay front-facing—otherwise you’ll physically face the direction you want to head in.
The game has been a staunch supporter of hand-relative locomotion. I much rather prefer head-relative, which unfortunately isn’t an option here. Keeping your leading hand on the foregrip of your rifle mostly assures you’ll be walking in your intended direction, although I really wish head-relative was an option so I could play how I’m most comfortable.
Onward expects you to get up out of your chair, as there’s no dedicated seated mode. The more physical movement you’re able to do, the better.
Conclusion
Onward on Quest seems to keep all of the most important bits from the base game on PC VR. Gameplay is intense, and largely unaffected by the necessary cuts the studio had to make in order to shove the game onto Quest’s modest Snapdragon 835.
Once cross-play servers are open we’re guaranteed to find out whether those visual changes have helped, hurt, or kept the game neutral across all supported platforms. Whatever the case, you should always rely on your teammates, and there’s sure to be no shortage of them as Onward sallies forth with a muddy, but confident foot forward onto Quest.
Note: This game is in Early Access which means the developers have deemed it incomplete and likely to see changes over time. This review is an assessment of the game only at its current Early Access state and will not receive a numerical score.
For today’s livestream we’re playing realistic military sim VR shooter, Onward on Oculus Quest! If you’re curious about how we livestream the way we do then look no further than this handy guide for general tips and this guide specific to our Oculus Quest setup.
Onward aims to be the ultimate VR FPS for those after an authentic-style military simulation. The PC version excels in this regard and even though the Quest version is downgraded, it’s still a blast. It also features cross-play with PC for all game modes!
Our Onward on Oculus Quest VR livestream is planned to start at about 10:30 AM PT and will last for around an hour or two, give or take, depending partially on how well-behaved my small toddler child will be while left alone. We’ll be hitting just our YouTubeand I’ll be streaming from my Oculus Quest, which will be using a Chromecast Ultra wireless cast signal, plugged into a Capture Card, to get the footage to my PC while Jamie and Zeena join in via webcam to hang out and help out with chat.
You can watch the stream embedded via YouTube right here. Set a reminder if you’re reading this early!
You can see lots of our past archived streams over in our YouTube playlist or even all livestreams here on UploadVR and various other gameplay highlights. There’s lots of good stuff there so make sure and subscribe to us on YouTube to stay up-to-date on gameplay videos, video reviews, live talk shows, interviews, and more original content!
And please let us know which games or discussions you want us to livestream next! We have lots of VR games in the queue that we would love to show off more completely.
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