VR veteran studio nDreams is getting ready to release what looks like one of its most immersive VR games yet, led by its newest internal studio nDreams Elevation. Now, in a behind the scenes VR Developer Direct spotlight, the studio offered up some key insight into just what makes Reach so immersive.
nDreams Elevation announced Reach last week, showing off some initial gameplay in what’s shaping up to be a cinematic, parkour-focused combat game, replete with a ton of VR-native movement and battle mechanics.
In a VR Developer Direct spotlight, nDreams Elevation design director Matt Duff explains Reach is based on three core pillars, which have remained the same since concepting out the game.
“That is: action, adventure, and presence,” Duff says. “Everything we do is ‘VR first’. What we did with Reach, is we redefined how you move in a VR game. A lot of the times, we’re doing physical interactions—you reach out and pull yourself through spaces.”
Jumping, which is usually not something that transfers well to VR due to user comfort, is a big focus in Reach, Duff explains. The studio has implemented a gesture based system that’s “tricking the mind into thinking that you’re doing it.”
Player agency is also a big deal in Reach, the studio says, noting that “if it looks like it can be interacted with, if it looks like it can be climbed, you can do it.”
Underpinning it is the game’s so-called Full-body Awareness system (FBA). You won’t see any floating hands here, as Reach includes a full-body player character, which Duff says “moves in a realistic manner,” giving the user more presence in-game.
But what about combat? Duff says Reach offers both “high action kind of factors and high stealth factors,” letting players choose what tools they’ll use to tackle any given situation, including a bow with multiple arrow types, including explosive, freeze, and stun.
Going the stealth route, players can also draw enemies to fired arrows, giving the user room to maneuver around for a more up-close and personal kill. You can see more action in the video below.
Reach is set to launch on all major VR headsets later this year. In the meantime, you can wishlist it over on the Horizon Store for Quest 3, the PlayStation Store for PSVR 2, and Steam for PC VR headsets.
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