We’ve probably said it before, but VR is in a weird place right now, at least for gaming. Everyone’s pretty sure they want it, but no one really knows what they want. It feels like 90 percent of the releases are those stupid gimmicky games that plagued the Wii’s entire life, where the system’s quirk becomes the focus instead of the quality of the game. With the Wii, we ended up with a million reskinned tennis games instead of well-made releases because you could swing the controller. With VR, we have plenty of “experiences,” but not much in the way of real games. So there’s plenty of neat stuff to look at, but nothing that will make you want to pick up the system a second time.
Though, as the saying goes, where there’s a will, there’s a way, and there’s certainly a will to make VR work. Seeking Dawn springs from that will. It’s a multiplayer sci-fi survival shooter set on an alien planet, almost like a Halo/Left for Dead hybrid. That’s a combo we can get behind, especially since we weren’t nearly as upset with the Flood parts of the Halo series as everyone else seemed to be.
From early previews of the game, as well as information available from the developer, Multiverse, it seems scavenging supplies and crafting weapons are going to be big parts of the game, which might end up alright if the VR implementation is alright. Other games have always gone the way of disembodied hands, but Multiverse decided not to go that route, saying it breaks immersion. We couldn’t agree more. We don’t know what their solution is, but we like the enthusiasm.
One of the other encouraging aspects of the game is how polished it looks. Seeking Dawn’s previews and trailers have always had a AAA look to them, something that constantly nips at the heels of VR games. So many of them look like the developers had big, beautiful ideas but didn’t have the resources to pull everything together. What you end up with is a game where everything is about 80 percent done. From what we’ve seen, Seeking Dawn doesn’t have that problem.
The final encouraging note is, Multiverse isn’t hedging its bets here by making a console port. This game is fully invested in VR and will be a VR exclusive title. That the developer believes in what they’re building, which is generally a good sign.
Seeking Dawn will release on July 12 for HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift. There are currently plans to bring the game to Playstation VR and Microsoft MR at a later date.
