Vertigo Games is kicking off a livestream today in a special Arizona Sunshine 2 Gameplay Showcase that’s slated to reveal more about the studio’s next zombie-slaying adventure.
In the meantime, the studio promised we’d be seeing an eye-full during a special in-depth look at fresh campaign gameplay with developer commentary, all-new game details including co-op announcements, special guest appearances, never-before-seen co-op gameplay from highlighted creators, and more.
Vertigo Games will also be holding Q&A sessions across Reddit, including r/PSVR and r/OculusQuest, which should hopefully answer some of the top burning questions, such as whether we’ll see native Quest 3 footage before release, and how it might handle cross-play co-op.
The livestream kicking off today, November 17th at 8AM PT (local time here). You can tune in on YouTube and Steam.
According to a recent job offer posted by Amsterdam-based developer Vertigo Games, pre-production has begun on a “high-profile, multiplatform AAA VR game,” which is said to be based on a globally recognized franchise.
Posted earlier this month, the studio is looking for a Lead Level Designer with a proven track record in level design for console/PC action-adventure games as well as expertise in Unreal Engine.
Acquired by Embracer Group in 2020, Vertigo Games is behind titles such as Arizona Sunshine (2016) and After the Fall (2021).
The company has grown significantly over the years, having acquired AR/VR studio Force Field Entertainment in 2021 in its bid to develop what it called at the time an “unannounced AAA game based on a well-known IP.”
Since the acquisition of Force Field, Vertigo Games released The 7th Guest VR (2023), the VR remake of the classic ’90s CD-ROM game. It’s also currently developing Arizona Sunshine 2, which is set to release on all major VR headsets in December.
Vertigo Games finally revealed the release date for its upcoming sequel to Arizona Sunshine (2016), which is set to bring us back to the dusty post-apocalyptic desert for another tango with the undead hordes. Also: the first gameplay trailer.
Arizona Sunshine 2 is slated to launch on all major VR headsets on December 7th, which the studio has confirmed will include a co-op mode as well as single player campaign at launch.
We’ve also got our first look at actual gameplay, which admittedly doesn’t look terribly far off from the previous CG trailer released back in May. There seems to be plenty of opportunities to blow up, dismember, and roast the hell out of the shambolic enemies—all in the search of ‘Patient Zero’, which is supposedly the game’s main objective.
Coming to Quest 2/3/Pro, PSVR 2, Pico and SteamVR headsets, you’ll find Arizona Sunshine 2 is also now available for pre-order as a Standard Edition and Deluxe Edition, with each edition including exclusive digital items. Here’s the breakdown:
Standard Edition ($50): Pre-orders include the Biker Bark Vest, Worker Watch, and Ducky Weapon Charm in-game exclusive bonuses.
Deluxe Edition ($60): Available at a 10% pre-order discount. Includes everything in the Standard Edition, plus the Freddy Hands Skin, Doggy Weapon Charm, and Undead Buddy—turning your loyal four-legged friend into an undead killing machine.
Publisher Vertigo Games and Mixed Realms, developer behind Sairento VR (2018), revealed a new trailer for their upcoming combat VR game Hellsweeper VR that shows off more of the game’s co-op action, which thankfully is confirmed to include cross-play on Quest, SteamVR, and PSVR 2.
HellsweeperVR is a follow-up to Sairento VR, this time letting two players join forces to descend into hell and slay twisted souls. The studios say we can expect shared combos and opportunities to execute unique co-op strategies as you take on all the evil the universe has to offer.
The studios say the game’s co-op mode offers a “full roguelike experience with a blend of strategic gameplay and RNG (randomized elements). Each player receives unique blessings, boons, and weapons, ensuring every playthrough offers different challenges and opportunities.”
In rogue-like mode, players fight rounds with various objectives, ending with a final boss fight. You’ll nab loot, upgrade your character, weapons or Hellhound.
Hellsweeper VR is coming to Quest, PSVR 2, and SteamVR headsets on September 21st, 2023. You can pre-order now on Steam, and wishlist on PSVR 2 and Quest. This also includes full cross-play support, so you can play with anyone regardless of their chosen headset.
When the original The 7th Guest launched on CD-ROM in 1993, it was apparently a pretty big deal. The amount of pre-rendered 3D graphics spliced with live action video clips made it a standout title among all PC games at the time, making it and Myst basically the hottest PC games ever. Now, Vertigo Games is rebooting the interactive horror puzzler in VR alongside a fresh injection of volumetric video which was undoubtedly a highlight in our hands-on.
The 7th Guest is coming in October to all major VR headsets, however we got a chance to go hands-on with a demo specifically for Quest 2 via a Steam build. Having never played the original ’90s game, I don’t have a basis of comparison, although what I did see was pretty indicative that Vertigo Games has done a ton to make this a visually appealing and modern game through and through.
Here’s the setup. Six guests have been welcomed to a foreboding mansion. There’s something sinister at play, as a wealthy recluse and toymaker, Henry Stauf, hides in the shadows. The ultimate question: Who is the 7th Guest? You’ll have to battle increasingly difficult puzzles and keep clear of whatever bumps in the night to solve the mystery.
Here’s the announcement trailer in case you missed it.
In the 25-minute demo, I got a sense of the scale and refinement of the game, although I still have some questions about puzzle difficulty. Don’t worry, I won’t talk about specific solutions here, just general impressions.
Starting outside, I find myself paddling on a canoe to a boathouse where I’m immediately confronted with my first tutorial-level puzzle. My newfound ‘Spirit Lantern’ doesn’t just let me shine light, but also acts as a magical tool to fix the broken planks blocking my way up to the main house. Later, I spawn the Spirit Lantern to materialize hidden objects or repair them, which comes part and parcel with a ‘Spirit Board’, which lets me see a map of the mansion, get hints and solutions, and check out my general progression. These two feel like the main tools I’ll be leaning on throughout the game.
Spirit Lantern revealing creepy scrawling on the wall | Image courtesy Vertigo Games
Sparing you some of the minor tutorial puzzles to actually get into the mansion (I made heavy use of the Spirit Lantern), I toss open the gate and walk up into the foyer, play a record on the Gramophone, and receive my first set of ghostly memories.
In general, volumetric video can be hit or miss depending on how it’s woven into a game. Here, it seems like Vertigo Games really hit a homerun, as each little character vignette feels like a visual extension of the haunted mansion, replete with ghostly mist and echo-y voice overs.
The acting is admittedly a little pulpy, but I’d consider the ghostly vignettes the right kind of cheesy considering the game’s ’90s indie lineage. It’s supposed to be fun, dare I say, Disney-esque, so it feels right on brand with something you might experience in a haunted mansion theme park ride. I don’t expect any real frights here either—I certainly didn’t have any outside of the atmospheric creepiness of the mansion itself, that is.
Image captured by Road to VR
Again, I’m not going into puzzle solutions, but the early puzzles I did encounter were interesting, although not particularly difficult. A trio of magic hats create portals to one another, allowing you to put your hand into one, and solve a closed puzzle from afar. Unlock a series of boxes, and you’re led to the next vignette of a magician who met an untimely fate.
Whatever the case, I hope the mechanics I’m learning in the early game will be compounded into more difficult stuff later. It’s still too early to tell if the puzzles are one-off things, which would be more like a smorgasbord approach (which is fine) than requiring the player to create specific skills and use them at opportune moments.
Image courtesy Vertigo Games
I came away mostly intrigued by The 7th Guest in my short time going hands-on with the demo, although there’s clearly one thing that I can say I don’t like about it out of the gate. Voiceovers during puzzles that are designed to be constantly ‘helpful’ typically overstay their welcome, and I was hoping whoever the hell was talking while figuring out puzzles would eventually stop. These can be turned off in the settings, although they are on by default. Hopefully in the full game this will be offered as a starting option so players don’t feel like they’re being unnecessarily held by the hand from the get-go.
As for comfort, the gamut of standard options is available: teleportation, free movement, and a mix of both, which is the default movement style. The game can be played standing or sitting, and with support for left or right dominant hands.
Whatever the case, Vertigo Games is one of those VR pioneers that has more experience both in and outside the genre than most, and it seems they’re hitting all of the quality bars you’d expect from a VR remake of such a beloved ’90s game. Maybe I’ll play the original while I wait to play the full game, which is slated to launch October 19th this year.
Mixed Realms, developers behind the samurai-style action-adventure game Sairento VR (2018), announced that its follow-up, Hellsweeper VR, is set to release on major VR headsets in September.
Update (June 8th, 2023): Hellsweeper VR is coming to Quest, PSVR 2, and SteamVR headsets on September 21st, 2023. You can pre-order now on Steam, and wishlist on PSVR 2 and Quest.
The studio also released a new trailer showing off some of the high-intensity gameplay, embedded below this update.
Original Article (June 9th, 2022): The game, which is currently planned for Early Access release on Steam sometime later this year, is also coming to Quest 2, slated to arrive on the standalone “soon,” the studio says.
Published by Vertigo Games, Hellsweeper VR is a roguelike first person combat game where you take on the role of an undead immortal.
“Traverse the underworld where every step brings a challenge or a chance. Gain mastery of your weapons and elemental magic, or fall to the unrelenting onslaught of dark creatures,” Mixed Realms says.
In it, you’re tasked with gaining mastery of a wide range of weapons and elemental magic. As you’d imagine, upgrading your gear as you take on undead immortals along the way is supposedly a big part.
Here’s what the studio says about Hellsweeper VR:
“Hellsweeper VR came about from our desire to improve on what made our first game, Sairento VR, a huge hit with fans,” Mixed Realms says. “We wanted to build upon a core tenet of Sairento – an intense no holds barred locomotion system that offered wall-running, power-sliding, backflips and more – all while improving its arcade-style action with semi realistic physics, allowing you to pull off even crazier moves. Juggle enemies in the air. Lop off a limb and use it as a club. Land on an enemy and use them as a bloody surfboard – yes, you read that right.”
Vertigo Games, the VR pioneers behind the Arizona Sunshine franchise and After the Fall, announced a new VR game during Meta’s Quest Gaming Showcase that takes you to a haunted house for some eerily lifelike encounters with the paranormal. Well, not exactly new.
Called The 7th Guest, the single player VR adventure is actually based on the classic ’90s CD-ROM title that tosses you into a haunted mansion for puzzles and full-motion video (FMV) characters spirits who bring the early adventure game to life.
Instead of flat video though, the new 7th Guest is being built with volumetric video capture alongside a complete overhaul of everything, top to bottom. Here’s how Fast Travel Games describes it:
The team is using volumetric video capture to recreate the FMV (full-motion video) storytelling of the original game, bringing the classic adventure to life like never before. And for the first time ever, the iconic mansion is being recreated in full 3D—though don’t be surprised if it starts shifting around you. After all, it’s haunted. Spooky but never gory, The 7th Guest is like a thrilling amusement park ride you can experience at home, packed with puzzles that pay homage to the original point-and-click adventure while taking full advantage of VR.
The 7th Guest is being developed by Vertigo Studios Rotterdam, a division of Vertigo Games based in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
There’s no exact release date yet, however the studio says it’s coming to Quest 2 and Quest Pro sometime this year.
During PlayStation’s gaming showcase today, Vertigo Games unveiled the sequel to its classic zombie-shooting adventure, Arizona Sunshine (2016).
Dubbed Arizona Sunshine 2, the game appears to have taken a page out of Fallout 4’s book by including a four-legged pal named Buddy who seems to be eager as ever to help out in the wasteland.
Notably, the game’s reveal trailer is labeled as a ‘CG trailer’, so it’s unclear how much of the slapstick zombie abuse will translate into gameplay.
Here’s how Vertigo Games describes the sequel:
Welcome back to sun-kissed, zombified Arizona. Narrated by the unmistakable quips of our dark-humored protagonist, Arizona Sunshine 2 sets you on an all-new limb-strewn adventure in search of answers. In a post-apocalyptic world where every bullet counts, experience the thrill of realistic combat as you wield all-new and fan-favorite weapons–from shotguns to machetes and flamethrowers.
And what’s better than braving the end of the f*cking world? Surviving it with your new best friend–Buddy. Not only is Buddy your four-legged companion through thick and thin, he’s also the goodest boy and will help take down those pesky Freds for you. In a desolate world, suddenly you’re not so alone anymore. It’s funny how things go.
The studio confirmed Arizona Sunshine 2 is slated to arrive on PSVR 2 and SteamVR headsets at some point later this year. You can now wishlist it on PlayStation and Steam.
It’s not clear when the sequel will arrive, or whether it will also target Quest like the original. For now, the studio has only confirmed those platforms and that rough launch window.
We’re back for another dose of mind-bending puzzles à la Bob the Fisherman. The sequel offers up a longer, more emotionally complex story while packing in a ton of new puzzle mechanics that makes Another Fisherman’s Tale feel leagues ahead of the original in almost every sense.
Another Fisherman’s Tale Details:
Available On: SteamVR, Quest 2, PSVR 2 Release Date: May 11th, 2023 Price: $30 Developer: Innerspace VR Publisher: Vertigo Games Reviewed On: Quest 2
Gameplay
Bob’s tall tales are taller than ever this time around, as the adventure swells to scale up to new emotional depths which reveal more about the real Bob and his family. I won’t spoil the story behind Another Fisherman’s Tale, because it’s really something you should unfold yourself. It talks about love, loss, responsibility, freedom—it’s way heavier than the first, and often strays outside of original’s safe storybook narration. Where you might have ignored some of the angsty Dad drama of the original Fisherman’s Tale, and just got on with the game’s smorgasbord of mind-bending puzzles, this time around the narrative takes more of a center stage, all while presenting new and innovative mechanics to keep you guessing.
The most prominent mechanic on display is the new ability to detach, replace and control your hands—like physically pop off your hands, trade them for more useful ones, and shoot them out to solve a variety of puzzles that only a little crawling (or swimming) remote controlled hand-beast might. Although you really only have two other hand styles regularly at your disposal besides your wooden digits, a hook for climbing and a claw for snipping, the puzzle variations are impressively wide.
Image courtesy Innerspace VR, Vertigo Games
While there are a ton of one-off puzzles to compliment, a constant throughout the game is the need remotely control your hands, which is done by twisting your motion controller in the correct relative direction and pressing the trigger to move them forward. You’ll be pulling levers, crawling your digits through circuitous routes, and grabbing key items before snapping them back to your arms where they belong. This took some getting used to, as oftentimes you’ll need to control your hands from afar while actually moving your body to different locations to get a better viewpoint, which can be confusing at times since your body’s relative position changes and your hands sort of wig out.
And with separable hands, you might as well be able to pop your head off too. Simply press two buttons (‘B’ and ‘Y’ on Quest) and you’ll launch your head forward to reach far flung areas for a better point of view. It’s basically plays out like a dash teleportation that follows a predictable arch as opposed to physically picking up your head and tossing it around, which wouldn’t be terribly comfortable. More on comfort below though.
Image courtesy Innerspace VR, Vertigo Games
While I wouldn’t call any of the puzzles particularly hard, they’re always creative and rewarding. I had hints enabled, although you can turn them off in the settings, which mutes a few of Bob’s timely and helpful lines. Still, Bob isn’t overbearing in how or when he delivers hints, making him feel much more like a dad who wants you to figure something out on your own than a ‘helpful robot’ that just wants you to get on with the puzzle already.
My personal playtime was just under four hours, which puts it nearly four times longer than the original game. I didn’t feel like any of it was filler either, which is a testament to the game’s deeper story and puzzle variations that require the player to develop skills that are useful throughout—essentially everything I wanted from the original but didn’t get when it initially released in early 2019.
Immersion
The star of the show is undoubtedly Bob, who is brought to life by the whisky-soaked tones of the probably never-not-smoking French comedian Augustin Jacob. In my review of the first game, I called Jacob’s interpretation more akin to a kitschy short that you typically see before a proper Pixar movie—charming, but not enough.
Image courtesy Innerspace VR, Vertigo Games
Here we get a full-fat dose of Bob as well as a new cast of characters that are equally engaging, making it feel more like that Pixar adventure I wished it could have been in the first place. One thing that hasn’t changed though is the inclusion of a sweeping score, which perfectly frames the game’s linear, sometimes storybook style adventure.
While the story goes off the rails at points, snapping you back to reality, it isn’t a large, open world with a ton of freedom of movement, or even puzzle creativity. Another Fisherman’s Tale is compartmentalized into chapters, each of which have a number of linear areas to unlock. The physical variety of the spaces though makes it feel less like a long series of closed escape rooms, which might otherwise feel a little too repetitive. That’s simply not the case here, as you’re always left guessing at what your next adventure will be, and where you’ll go next.
Image courtesy Innerspace VR, Vertigo Games
Set pieces are thoughtfully designed, and the cartoony nature of the game looks generally very good, even on the game’s most humble target platform, Quest 2. Object interaction is very basic, although that doesn’t detract too much since it’s mostly levers and a smaller momentary puzzle bits we’re dealing with here. As a result, there’s no inventory to speak of since all tools will be presented to you as needed, and thoughtfully poofed back into existence in case you lose them.
Comfort
Another Fisherman’s Tale has what we’d now consider the standard swath of comfort settings, which will let most anyone play with relative ease. There are moments though that personally make me feel a little iffy—not ‘hang my head in the toilet bad, but I’ve played VR long enough to know my triggers.
In lieu of cutscenes, the game loves to do sweep your POV around slowly, which is mostly fine, although much of the time you’re being shrunk down so scenes can appear bigger. I generally dislike this lack of control, even if it only happens maybe once per chapter. There are also moments when your POV will be upside-down, however this too is a pretty rare occurrence. All things considered, it’s a pretty comfortable game that basically anyone can play without feeling anything but few momentary bits of weirdness.
‘Another Fisherman’s Tale’ Comfort Settings – May 11th, 2023
Turning
Artificial turning
Snap-turn
✔
Quick-turn
✔
Smooth-turn
✔
Movement
Artificial movement
Teleport-move
✔
Dash-move
✖
Smooth-move
✔
Blinders
✔
Head-based
✔
Controller-based
✔
Swappable movement hand
✔
Posture
Standing mode
✔
Seated mode
✔
Artificial crouch
✖
Real crouch
✔
Accessibility
Subtitles
Languages
English, Italian, German, French, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese
InnerspaceVR is bringing its sequel to the VR puzzle adventure A Fisherman’s Tale soon, aptly named Another Fisherman’s Tale. And now both InnerspaceVR and publisher Vertigo Games have released a new gameplay video showing off just what awaits. Detachable body parts, galore.
Revealed today at the Future Games Show (FGS) Spring Showcase, the new trailer shows off some of the upcoming VR puzzle game’s mind-bending universe, which this time is said to use the player’s own body as core puzzle mechanic, tasking you with detaching and replacing key body parts to solve puzzles.
Check out the trailer below:
InnerspaceVR says the sequel brings a new chapter to the story of Bob the Fisherman, “weaving a magical and moving narrative about the meaning we create through building and rebuilding our authentic selves.”
In it, the studio says players will do things like throw Bob’s hand across a ravine and then make it crawl to retrieve an object, or send your head elsewhere for a different point of view.
Limbs are also modular, as you replace them with a variety of objects to unlock new skills, such as a pirate hook hand to let you scale walls, a crab’s claw to cut through a rope, and a fish’s tail to improve your swimming ability. Puppeteering hands will also let you pick up distant objects, items and tools.
InnerspaceVR says Another Fisherman’s Tale will be a five to six hour adventure, putting you in the shoes of Nina, the daughter of the series protagonist. Here’s how InnerspaceVR describes it:
“Recollecting Bob’s grandiose stories of pirates, sunken ships, treasures and mystical locations, Nina begins re-enacting his adventures and dives head-first into an imaginative world of memory and fantasy. Will she be able to separate fact from fiction and uncover the hidden truth behind the fisherman’s tale?”
And yes, it appears French comedian Augustin Jacob is reprising his role as the game’s smokey, baritone narrator.
Another Fisherman’s Tale is slated to launch in Q2 of this year, coming to PSVR 2, Meta Quest 2, and PC VR.
A Fisherman’s Tale (2019), the VR adventure from Innerspace and Vertigo Games, is getting a sequel, launching on all major VR platforms this year.
Aptly called Another Fisherman’s Tale, the episodic tale is bringing you back for another round of mindbending VR puzzles which the team says lets you use your own body, detach and control your limbs, and find new attachments to progress.
“Discover the truth as you journey through beautiful and unique locations, brought to life by the makers of A Fisherman’s Tale. Get ready for a captivating VR experience unlike any other,” the description reads in the game’s announcement trailer.
A Fisherman’s Tale puts you in the boots of Bob, a fisherman who lives in a strange, recursive world centered around a dollhouse-sized lighthouse. In the sequel, you return to the story as Bob’s daughter Nina for another round of mind-bending escape room-style puzzles.
We liked the smorgasbord of VR game mechanics in the original, although a big sticking point was its overall playtime, which we clocked in at just around one hour in our review of A Fisherman’s Tale. The sequel is slated to take around five to six hours—promising to offer up plenty of adventure to keep you scratching your head.
Creative Director Balthazar Auxietre of Innerspace VR stated that the goal was “to renew the gameplay and the storytelling [of the first game] while keeping key elements of a universe that has obviously reached the heart of VR gamers.”
He added that the studio’s recent experiences allowed them to “pursue a new level of ambition for the A Fisherman’s Tale franchise, thanks to the multifaceted gameplay and the diversity of the models’ worlds. Everything is in place for a new adventure that will take us across the virtual oceans.”
At the time of this writing, the 2019 A Fisherman’s Tale garnered a user rating of a 93% ‘Very Positive’ rating on Steam, and a [4.5/5] star user rating on Quest.
Another Fisherman’s Tale is slated to arrive sometime this year on PSVR 2, Quest 2, and PC VR headsets via Steam and Viveport.
