Alien: Rogue Incursion shouldn’t be confined to VR

The best looking Alien game in forever and you can only play it with technology strapped to your face. Creative Assembly set the bar for systemic A.I. and sustained tension with their oft overlooked masterpiece Alien: Isolation, and although news of a sequel has mercifully been revealed, there is a lingering sense that Alien: Rogue Incursion should have at least afforded players the option to choose how best to enjoy it.

[CrimsonWing69]

It was specifically made for VR, so…

[Jingsing]

It will be modded out like Half Life: Alyx. Also the person writing the story has his facts all wrong, it isn't the "best looking Alien game in forever" If you know anything about graphics it is pretty weak in many areas players take for granted. This is due to the mobile phone chipset requirements of the game. Alien: Blackout for what it's worth looked better and ironically good have had a VR version as it's just Five Nights at Freddies clone.

[Babadook7]

"If you know anything about graphics it is pretty weak in many areas players take for granted. This is due to the mobile phone chipset requirements of the game"

Actually it's coming to PSVR2 and PC, so not actually made for a mobile chipset in those iterations.

[JTGA]

"best looking" isn't entirely referencing graphics, friend-o. The gameplay mechanics and overall concept are also aspects of that statement. Anyway... carry on!

[fr0sty]

Every time VR gets a good game, the whiners come in "it shouldn't be VR only!"... STFU and strap in.

[Profchaos]

It's not like VR players have much just let us have our solid games

[Neonridr]

seriously, we are out here begging for titles like Oliver.. console players eating good.

[Jingsing]

I left VR when the AAA development left, I'd like quality games as much as the next but this is just another indie game dressed as AAA. For me PSVR will always be better than PSVR2 game wise.

[Babadook7]

I’ll leave VR when AAA leaves. So I’m good till 2025 at least.

[PapaBop]

Metro Awakening, Behemoth, Aliens.. in the last two months of the year alone, we have three quality VR titles.

[sci4me]

The same could be said the other way around.. Cant say that i often see them talking about how important it is to include an vr option so people have the choice how to play.. Looking forward to this one.

[jznrpg]

Stop whining about everything to do with video games!

[JTGA]

Sharing ones wishful thinking over a game being ported to other platforms is hardly whining, buddy boy.

[fr0sty]

It very much is when you're whining about a game being ported to a platform that cannot do the things another platform can.

[MetroidFREAK21]

It absolutely shouldn't be... its a shame the PSVR2 is so expensive. This is one game I'd love to play

[Venoxn4g]

Black Friday might have a good deal on Psvr2

[Jingsing]

Still not worth it mate, I bought a PSVR1 and while I enjoyed it I don't think I ever fully got my moneys worth from it in playtime. Now that AAA developers have left the VR scene the value is even less regardless if the hardware is better. Sony prepared for premium VR like Valve as did many other headsets but it never panned out. Instead it is indie titles galore and I wouldn't pay more than $200 for a headset that is mostly indie experiences.

[MetroidFREAK21]

My PS5 is an offline device now. May get a Meta Quest 3 at this point, but its still super expensive

[PapaBop]

@Jingsing how can you say whether it's worth it when you don't even own one? PSVR 2 is night and day difference to PSVR. Yeah the top quality titles are few and far between but this year has been amazing for VR titles. Go check out Behemoth, Metro Awakening or Alien and tell me they are indie experiences. At rrp yeah I'd say PSVR 2 is a slightly harder sell but at the £350 I paid for it, it's been well worth the money especially now that I can use it to replace my ageing Rift S for PC VR stuff too.

[MIDGETonSTILTS17]

Well, a VR dev wanted to make it, so… go make your own game?

[JTGA]

A bizarre take. I'm glad the devs are getting to make the game they wanted to make. My premise was that it shouldn't necessarily be restricted to VR devices, as immersing horror titles have been a staple of traditional gaming platforms for decades. I just felt like it was a missed opportunity.

See? I disagree with you, but that's OK. I don't need you to go and "make your own game" in order to validate my response.

[Bathyj]

Well people say VR doesn't have enough games to draw them to the platform. So someone makes a game you want and then you don't want to go to that platform, you want it to come to yours?

That's why exclusives matter. It's ok, you don't have to get a platform you don't want. You can just skip the game.

[MIDGETonSTILTS17]

Well, consider that VR devs like themselves have a smaller market to profit from, so saying “please make this non-vr” is like asking a Hibachi restaurant to GrubHub a flaming onion volcano to you.

Sometimes you gotta make an effort yourself to take part in a creator’s vision.

And survival horror is HUGE in VR too, and is arguably the natural progression from Amnesia and Isolation; so keep up or get left behind.

[giovonni]

After all that, (what was written) it’s still confined to VR, and the creators felt its art’s best representation was through VR and I don’t blame them. This can offer the best immersion, which we can agree, is needed in any Alien game. The creator(s) wanted to offer the best experience and felt it was best done in VR. Either invest in one or miss out on what could potentially be the best alien game made

[fr0sty]

There are certain experiences you can create in VR that just don't work on a 2D screen... I'm all for letting developers have the creative freedom to create those experiences without having to worry about being backwards compatible with a flat screen.

[S2Killinit]

Confined? Why not get a VR headset if you like the games so you can play the games the way intended to be played? This is made for VR. It wouldnt be the same without it.

[ApocalypseShadow]

Why should I even read this nonsense? It was made for VR. You'll be able to play it on console, PC and stand alone VR. Stand alone costs $300 starting. Article writer most likely never said anything about having flat games with VR options. Why should VR games have flat options? Cry more writer. VR needs big titles like gamers say but then cry when it does.

His next articles going forward had better be about how flat games should have VR options.

[Neonridr]

it was no different with Alyx. Non-VR users have been begging for that game to be released in a flat version even though it was designed around VR, same as this.

[ApocalypseShadow]

There wasn't any large amount of gamers looking for an alien game. It's not like Alyx where gamers were waiting for a third game. Not even the same situation. Poor comparison.

Batman has been made forever for flat gaming. Gamers cried that the recent Batman game was for VR only. Now gamers are complaining that Allen is in VR. Probably complaining that the next Metro game was put in VR.

Gamers can't complain that VR doesn't get big games then complain when they do get big games to try to get people onboard.

The writer should from now on ask that every flat game releasing comes to VR. Because VR gamers feel that flat games are locked to TVs when there should be a VR option for increased immersion. He sees it one way but can't see it the other way for VR gamers. It's like complaining that some games are only for Nintendo portables. My suggestion is that they by the damn system if they want to play certain games or keep their mouth shut.

[Jingsing]

I kind of hate how people into VR call everything else "flat games" it is one of the small many reasons that puts me off getting back into the VR community. Also their complete lack of critical reviewing on VR games as they don't want to say anything negative that might make their platform disappear, it is pathetic. At the end of the day VR came and went before and it might have to go away for a while so technology can progress behind the scenes, right now people are just getting burned right left and centre with all these constant prototype/developing headsets that aren't there yet. Every Meta headset is just not there yet and you can't keep getting people to spend $300-500 every 2 years for a lot of crap software to go with it.

[ApocalypseShadow]

You think I care what you think in what words can be used? TVs are flat. They aren't immersive like VR. If the word flat offends you, then maybe you should stay with flat gaming and never go back.

I play both ways in and out of VR. Old school games and the latest games. Arcade games. Mobile games. Portable games. VR games. The term flat is fine. Just like rogue like, smups, side scrollers, AAA, etc etc. It's a word used to describe gaming not in VR. Cope more.

There are many good VR game reviewers that will plainly say that a game is no good. That it sucks like the recent Hitman port to Quest. Or has bad graphics or is too short or has a bad story. You must not be looking hard enough for good reviewers. Do some more research. They are there.

You say it's not there yet but that's a total LIE. Motion tracking with great resolution, frame rates at 90 to 120fps, great graphics like GT or Kayak or Alyx, etc. Actual working AR with hand tracking works TODAY. Don't bullshit and say headsets need to be glasses or contacts or a jack to the back of the head. And no. You don't need to buy a new VR headset every 2 years. Who put the gun to your head? You think Sony is forcing you to buy the Pro? PS5 plays the same damn games. Don't be stupid.

You obviously don't know any better about VR. VR has a long way to go just like FLAT games. It's not going to happen overnight. Flat gaming, and yes, I'm going to use flat over and over just for you. Flat gaming took decades to get where it is today. VR has to be allowed to have it's own path parallel to flat gaming. And not expect immediate success. I'm out.

[Jingsing]

@ApocalypseShadow you are exactly part of the problem and why I won't return to VR and will actively encourage others not to waste their money in doing so. Keep doing what you're doing.

[Neonridr]

@Jingsing - clearly people are into the Meta headsets, they sell millions. Calling games like Batman and Hitman in VR crap shows that you don't play VR at all.

[ApocalypseShadow]

Trust me, VR doesn't need gamers like you to support it. And I really don't care what you do. Your comment tells me you weren't a supporter of the technology anyway. Threatening to tell others to not support it because of your feelings tells me you should stay far away from VR. Next then you'll do is tell gamers to not support portable gaming. I wouldn't even call you a gamer. Most likely a millennial who gets his feelings hurt from hearing the truth. Put your big boy pants on.

[JTGA]

No tears being shed here, pal. Just wishful thinking. Resi 7 is a fantastic example of how titles of this nature can co-exist in multiple formats.

[ApocalypseShadow]

Not every game needs to be both because there are game situations that won't work for flat or VR without being reworked. It would be nice if it was. But that's not the case and not every developer can do it or afford it. Which is why exclusives are important for some.

You think Capcom did RE VR games on their own that have both options on PlayStation? That's Sony money paying for exclusivity and VR. What other devices play RE7, RE4 Remake or RE8 in VR excluding mods and hacks on PC? None.

They are great examples. But Sony footed the bill.

[Lexreborn2]

Gaming Media: VR space doesn’t have enough justifiable games to make it worth adopting.

Also Gaming Media: this *insert new vr game* shouldn’t be VR exclusive.

Insane that you get these great reasons to explore VR and people just find excuses not to want it

[JTGA]

Nope. I want this to succeed in VR, because you're right, for the format to be viable it needs titles designed to harness what makes it unique. My point was simply that I think it would be nice for it to be ported to traditional platforms; perhaps as a way to increase awareness of the game itself, and open up its potential audience.

[talocaca]

And we VR players often feel the same about "flat" games 🤷‍♂️

After playing RE4:Remake on PSVR2 I felt like Silent Hill 2 had potential to be so much more and we will probably never get it.

If Alien delivers, it's because it used the VR format well.