Shredding an air guitar never felt so good.
Vertigo Games, publisher behind hit VR games such as Arizona Sunshine and After the Fall, is collaborating with developer Anotherway on a new VR music game that will have you shredding a virtual guitar on-stage in front of a sold-out crowd.
Inspired by popular rhythm games such as Guitar Hero, Unplugged puts you in the shoes of a globe-trotting rockstar as you slay your way through song after song using your trusty air guitar. According to developer Ricardo Acosta, Unplugged less about providing a realistic guitar-playing experience and more about replicating the rockstar lifestyle.
“Unplugged is a VR music game that puts you in front of a crowd,” says Ricardo Acosta in a behind-the-scenes video. “It’s not about learning to play guitar, it’s about feeling like a rockstar, it’s about immersion. We want you to feel like you are there, you are a rockstar in front of a big crowd and you’re interacting with them.”
One of the most interesting aspects of Unplugged is its control scheme. Unlike existing VR rhythm games like Beat Saber, Audica, and Synth Riders, Unplugged does away with gamepads and even the Touch controllers, instead relying on the Oculus Quest’s built-in hand-tracking. Like an old-school air guitar, players shred their virtual instrument using their bare hands. Similar to playing a real instrument, every song features a different combination of chords to strum and notes to play, each of which requiring specific finger and hand positioning.
“With Unplugged, Anotherway applies novel and high-quality hand tracking technology to VR gameplay in the best way possible and creates a whole new level of immersion that really impressed us,” adds Richard Stitselaar, Managing Director at Vertigo Games, in an official release. “We are excited to bring Anotherway’s unique vision to VR in 2021.”
Unplugged is set to arrive on Oculus Quest and Oculus Quest 2 headsets Q3 2021. For more information visit unpluggedairguitar.com.
Image Credit: Vertigo Games
