Ubisoft announced today that their VR Escape Room experience, called “Beyond Medusa’s Gate,” has launched at more than 100 location-based entertainment centrers across the US and Europe. This virtual reality adventure that is designed as a co-operative multiplayer VR experience where players are transported to the world of Ancient Greece where they must team up in order to solve a series of complex puzzles that include various activities, including interaction with ancient objects, climbing, shooting arrows, and more. Read more for a teaser trailer, additional pictures and information.
Unlike its predecessors, the Oculus Quest is a stand-alone virtual reality headset that uses motion controllers similar to the Rift’s Oculus Touch and features displays with resolution of 1600 x 1440 per eye with an option to adjust the lens spacing. The headset is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 mobile chip, thus making it possible to move around without restrictions. It officially launches on May 21, priced at $399 USD. Read more for a review and another hands-on video.
Valve Index is the latest virtual reality headset set to hit the market, and the official release date as well as price have been revealed. Featuring two 1440 x 1600-resolution RGB LCDs running at 120Hz, with an experimental 144Hz mode, built-in speakers, and an IPD slider to adjust for the distance between your eyes. It costs $499 by itself and will also be sold in a bundle with the new trackers / Knuckles controllers for $999, with pre-orders begining tomorrow in the United States and European Union – shipping by July 1. Read more for a hands-on video, additional pictures and information.
Apollow of “Disrupt”, a popular YouTube channel, wanted to experience the future of gaming firsthand. So, he loaded up VR Minecraft on his PC and spent 24 hours inside the game, and then turning the recorded footage into a documentary for the world to see. For those who don’t know, Minecraft’s day-night-cycle is shorter than the real world, as 24-hours in the real world equals 72-days in-game. During this time, he did take 3 short sleep breaks with the headset and headphones on. Read more to see exactly what went down.
First announced at the first ever PlayStation State of Play, Marvel’s Iron Man VR is hitting PlayStation VR exclusively this year, and it takes virtual reality to the next level. This game has you taking control of genius inventor Tony Stark, who confronts ghosts from his past—powerful forces that seek to ruin him and everything he stands for. Players will come face-to-face with iconic allies and Super Villains as they jet around the globe on a heroic mission to save not only Stark Industries, but the world itself. “We’ve set our sights on not only giving the player thrilling moment-to-moment action. But also a deeply personal, and appropriately funny, narrative that puts players in Tony Stark’s armored shoes,” said Camouflaj director Ryan Payton on the PlayStation Blog. Read more for a hands-on video impression and additional information.
Here’s a first look at ILMxLAB’s Vader Immortal, which is currently being demoed at the Star Wars Celebration Event using the Oculus Quest headset. This Star Wars VR Series transports fans to the dark lord’s home turf of Mustafar, and with a lightsaber in hand, puts them at the center of an original Star Wars story. The canonical immersive adventure takes place between Star Wars – Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope, and is set up by the events of Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire, ILMxLAB’s award-winning location-based virtual reality experience. Read more for two videos and additional information.
Facebook officially unveiled the Oculus Rift called Rift S at GDC 2019 today. At $399 and set for release this Spring, it’s compatible with both apps and games from its predecessor, all powered by your gaming PC. The virtual reality headset also replaces the original PenTile OLED panels (2160 x 1200) with a single LCD panel offering 2560 × 1440 resolution, or roughly 40% more pixels. There’s five onboard cameras for “inside-out” tracking, while the controllers are nearly identical to the original Oculus Touch. Set up is a breeze, thanks to “proprietary technology” passthrough mode, called Passthrough+, that uses computer vision algorithms to deliver “stereo-correct passthrough” while tracing out Guardian boundaries. Read more for two hands-on videos and additional information.
Virtual reality headsets are nothing new or special nowadays, but one guy decided to take things to the next level by wearing one for an entire week. Meet Jak Wilmot, co-founder of Disrupt VR, who decided to conduct an experiment, or a 168-hour VR marathon session to be more specific. However, he did allow himself 30 seconds to switch headsets when needed as well as 30 second break sessions to eat, if required. “I have never appreciated the smell of outside air so much. One thing we cannot replicate is nature. We can do it visually and auditorally, but there is something about the energy of outside that is amazing,” said Wilmot. Read more to watch his experience and for additional information.
Director of Research at Facebook Reality Labs Yaser Sheikh is currently working on a virtual reality project that involves photorealistic avatars using 3D technology. It’s officially called “Codec Avatars,” and is designed to let people in the future create lifelike virtual avatars of themselves quickly and easily. “The reason is because we want to be able to understand exactly how you look from every different viewpoint. Because in virtual reality, we might move and look at you from different perspectives, and it has to look as real as you do,” said Sheikh. Read more for another video and additional information.
The Nintendo Labo: VR Kit has been unveiled ahead of Mario Day on March 10th, and it aims to create a simple and shareable virtual reality experience for kids and families. This kit features six new Toy-Con creations to build, including Toy-Con VR goggles, a blaster, camera and lots more. This kit encourages passing around the Toy-Con creations among a group of people so everyone can easily join in on the fun. Simply slide the Nintendo Switch console into the Toy-Con VR Goggles and hold it up to your eyes to start playing, no head strap needed. Read more for a video, additional pictures and information.