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Nostalgics, rejoice: The days of Sony PlayStation demo discs are back– for PlayStation VR, anyway, included with each system.
When PlayStation VR launches October 13th, it will come with a demo disc to sample eight different games. (The last time Sony released demo discs for one of their systems was on the PlayStation 3.) While not as fleshed out a game as Wii free launch title Wii Sports, for instance, hopefully this yet unnamed collection has plenty to offer early adopters of the system.
An alphabetical list of demo titles is below:
Battlezone
Battlezone, an RTS/FPS hybrid from Rebellion and the first ever VR game, was recently remastered, and the same studio is behind the colorful VR release. With an aesthetic mixing laser tag and realistic hues, it catches the eye. If Wii Play minigame Tanks is any indication, this could be quite the timesink.
Driveclub VR
Driveclub gained popularity recently from its free (for PS Plus users) release; it equally balanced realism with accessibility, a surprisingly unique take on the genre. While Driveclub creator Evolution Studios closed due to a rocky launch, the game remained a fun diversion, and it promises to be a thrilling early option for PSVR.
EVE: Valkyrie
An initially surprising addition to the EVE universe, EVE: Valkyrie takes the impressive scale of the interstellar MMO and swaps the granular economy for first-person space battles. While not directly involved in the original MMO, the full title will feature cross-platform play between PSVR, Oculus Rift, and HTC Vive. And the graphics are nothing short of awe-inspiring.
Headmaster
Definitely the tonal standout on the list, Headmaster puts you in the “Football Improvement Center”, a completely abandoned soccer pitch (which may or may not be a prison), and expects you to bounce soccer balls off your face and into different targets, from exploding boxes to pinatas. The Portal-esque testing, and logo that replaces famous painting The Son of Man’s apple with a soccer ball, should be every indication that this game’s tongue is firmly in cheek.
PlayStation VR Worlds
The demo version will feature one of the full game’s five experiences, Ocean Descent. A colorful and “emotional underwater roller coaster”, this will likely be the most straightforward and cinematic of the demos. If you’re interested in lost treasure and tune in to Shark Week, this is probably going to be the demo for you.
RIGS Mechanized Combat League
The pitch for this game should be more than enough: An arena-based fps where everyone’s wearing a hyper-athletic robotic suit and parkouring all over the place. Think Rocket League in visuals, but with mechas and combat. It’s also a PSVR exclusive, so PSVR is your best bet for fighting pits with backflips so far.
Tumble VR
From Supermassive Games, creators of the Until Dawn VR game Rush of Blood, comes …a puzzle game, from PlayStation Move title Tumble. The game has you carefully building (and sometimes destroying) your way through a gauntlet of increasingly challenging puzzles. It seems like Jenga meets Legos meets motion controls– if its motion-capture is accurate, this could be a blast.
Wayward Sky
A lighthearted “look and click” physics-based puzzle game that’s clearly aimed at kids, Wayward Sky finds you exploring an airborne fortress in search of your father, who’s been kidnapped by a robot. Stuido Ghibli’s classic Castle in the Sky, this is not, but it appears to have fun with itself. The fact that one of the mechanics is grabbing a chicken’s legs and flying with it shows that this game may be derivative, but it hopefully picks the right derivations.
Playstation VR, and its free demo disc, come out October 13th.