The HTC Vive launched in the spring of 2016 and since then the headset has been the home to a number of great VR PC games. While HTC may be thinking about spinning off or even selling the Vive division, that doesn’t mean you should shy away from purchasing the headset. It recently got a $200 price cut, making its price $599. Once more, there are quite a few big VR games that are coming out over the next several months that will support the Vive. One of them is a pretty huge exclusive for the headset.
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Fallout 4 VR
Perhaps the biggest HTC Vive exclusive game that will be released in the next few months is Fallout 4 VR, which is set to arrive on December 12th. Bethesda Game Studios’ hit post-apocalypse RPG, originally released in 2015, is getting a virtual reality port that will be available only for the Vive for at least a period of time
Bethesda is redesigning Fallout 4’s gameplay so that players with Vive headsets will be able to engage in combat with any number of mutated creature and humans, along with crafting and building systems.
Unfortunately, Fallout 4 VR will only feature the base game; it will not include any of its’s post-release DLC content, and there’s no word on when or if it will be included in future updates. However, there should be plenty of content available in the base game to please VR gamers who want to explore the blasted nuclear wastelands.
Project Cars 2
Developer Slightly Mad Studios released the original Project Cars game for the Rift in 2016 to wide acclaim. Now the sequel to the racing sim game, Project Cars 2, is nearing release, and it looks to be a huge hit on not only for the PC and consoles but for VR gaming fans as well. Indeed, the game will be released with VR support the same day it comes out on other platforms on September 22.
The game will feature over 170 real-world vehicles, spanning the range from old classic and vintage cars to modern supercars. Players will be able to drive all these vehicles in over 140 tracks, and Slightly Mad have gone all out to make sure that these locations will be as realistic as possible. Everything from dynamic weather from all four seasons, to track surfaces that actually change due to more rubber placed on the asphalt, will be available. The cars themselves will have highly accurate physics and handling models, and drivers can compete online with others or drive in the game’s single player campaign modes. Oh, and the graphics looks exceptional. Project Cars 2 could end up being one of the best games released for VR in 2017.
Transference
Ubisoft continues to be one of the few major game publishers to embrace virtual reality. It has already released several VR games, but the upcoming title Transference may be the oddest one of them all. The game is being developed in collaboration with SpectreVision, a Hollywood movie production company that has actor Elijah Wood among its co-founders.
Beyond that, the game also looks very interesting. The basic storyline will put the player in the minds of several different members of a family as you try to discover their secrets and try to repair their lives. The trailer makes Transference look like a horror film, but one with some intelligence rather that just going for shocks and gore. Expect the game to arrive in Spring 2018.
Doom VFR
The 2016 reboot of the classic first-person shooter Doom was a surprise critical hit, with reviewers loving the return to the fast-past shooter gameplay, but with updated graphics and tons of blood and gore. This fall, developer id Software and publisher Bethesda Softworks brings Doom to the virtual reality space with Doom VFR.
Rather than a straight port of Doom, the new game has been made as its own stand alone experience. Indeed, you won’t be shooting up demons on Mars and Hell as the unnamed “DoomGuy” this time, but rather you will be playing as a science in the BFG program, Dr. Peters. In fact, Dr. Peter’s physical form gets killed early in the game, but you control his digital mind as he enters and hacks into computer systems and takes over cybernetic bodies. However, even with all of this digital hacking, the main thrust of the game is killing monsters with a variety of weapons, only in full 360 degree gameplay.
Skyworld
Developed by Vertigo Games, who recently released the acclaimed first person shooter Arizona Sunshine, Skyworld was actually shown way back in early 2015 as one of the first demo games for the HTC Vive. However, it’s finally due for release this fall. The fantasy-themed game will put players in the center of a tabletop-like strategy world.
The game is an interesting mix of turn-based strategy with some real-time gameplay elements. The turn-based portion of Skyworld have you leading your fantasy lands as king as you manage your resources and build your units. The real-time gameplay comes when you actually focus on beating enemies in tactical strategy conflicts. In addition to a single player campaign, Skyworld will also feature a skirmish mode, along with online cross-platform multiplayer with Oculus Rift and Windows Mixed Reality PC players.
This one will arrive in Q4 of 2017.
Time Carnage
Developer Wales Interactive is creating a cool looking VR-based first-person shooter that sounds a lot like Doom meets Doctor Who. Time Carnage will put the player character into the role of a hunter who travels through various time periods to shoot a number of different creatures and prehistoric monsters with a variety of weapons to choose from.
The game will feature a single player campaign, but will also have a Custom Arcade Mode for unlocking even more weapons. It will even offer a number of special challenge modes, such as Double Up Zombie, Russian Dolls, Pieminister and Mail Escort. If you successfully complete one or more of these challenges, you will be able to unlock a number of special cheats that should make playing Time Carnage even more fun to play.
You’ll be able to pick up Time Carnage on Steam on November 27th of this year.
Those are just some of the HTC Vive games we are currently looking forward to. What about you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
