Pistol Whip (2019), the VR rhythm-shooter from Cloudhead Games, just got a new dielselpunk-inspired update, available now on Oculus Quest and SteamVR-compatible headsets.

Called ‘Dark Skies’, the update includes a new level set on Zeppelin, replete with hanger bay and plenty of cinematic flair. Like many of the game’s other levels, ‘Dark Skies’ takes inspiration from a few works of fiction, namely the airship scene in Ninja Gaiden, The Rocketeer (1991), Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004), and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).

The update also includes three wartime-era pistols, and a new metal finish for all available weapons. Broomhandle Mauser, anyone?

Image courtesy Cloudhead Games

Cloudhead calls its latest content drop “the penultimate entry to our monthly Pistol Whip updates as we begin to move toward our long-term roadmap.” The studio says a major update is also planned for later this year.

‘Dark Skies’ comes hot on the heels of Pistol Whip’s most recent update in March, which arrived with a Mad Max-inspired scene called ‘Full Throttle’ and a number of goodies including new modifiers, new weapons, and new weapon skins.

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Launched in November last year, Pistol Whip took Road to VR’s 2019 SteamVR Game of the Year Award for its uncanny ability to marry rhythm and shooting in the stylish and interesting worlds that, thanks to its many successive updates, has grown past its original John Wick vibe.

You can nab Pistol Whip for $25 via Steam and Viveport for your standard mix of SteamVR headsets, and the Oculus Store for Rift and Quest.

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Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 3,500 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Rosko

    All the songs sound the same, if you are not into this generic EDM sound you are screwed. Shame as the gameplay is good.

    • LowRezSkyline

      Yeah just like Beat Saber… I really wonder if they think it’ll kill these companies to include a wide variety of tracks… Hell a pack of old rawk songs would be awesome as hell.

    • Adrian Meredith

      I think they are relatively cheap to license that’s why. Agree 100% love the gameplay but some levels make me not want to play them cos the music is just noise. A few of them though are really good but not enough for a predominantly music game

  • LowRezSkyline

    Great game that keeps on giving. Just wish they would create leader boards for every combo of mods… I play on hard with dual-wield and it would be nice to see where I rank against people playing with the same setup.

  • nice

    Seems like custom tracks feature is dead, not that they ever promised it. This makes this game slowly fading away in popularity. Hope that people who bought it don’t feel buyers remorse, I sure would. 15 min of fun every month and then it goes back to library, I’m not a fan of trying out every modifier just so I will not bore myself in 10 minutes. They claimed that they took the best from Beat Saber, but I think that custom songs is the only reason that Beat Saber still is great, which makes Pistol Whip missing out the best feature of Beat Saber.

    • Jeremy Kins

      Custom tracks in Pistol Whip just wouldn’t really work, at least not nearly as easily as Beat Saber. There’s so much more to coordinate in the level and I’d rather have high quality content monthly than otherwise. The game is plenty popular still and gets better with every update. And Beat Saber is also totally worth it without mods, despite popular belief.

  • Ace

    sad it won’t get mods (even if it took work to make them, EDM fans are very dedicated) and frankly this is the only thing that has ever made me go “huh i sorta dig edm”, but it made me realize i REALLY wanted other songs i already knew that were insanely good in it. the songs fit together in a sort of loose story too which is kinda neat to go through the first time if you pay attention

    hvdes is a good artist either way

    • People online are big and bold

      Ace = IDIOT