A voice cast of veteran performers join one of Oculus Studios’ most ambitious new titles.
Coming exclusively to the Samsung Gear VR July 13th, Oculus Studios’ Augmented Empire is shaping up to be one of the most ambitious story-driven VR games to date. Engineered by UK developer Coatsink, Augmented Empire promises to bring a whole new level of immersion to virtual reality gaming with an experience that compliments tight, tactical point-and-click RPG mechanics with a captivating plot full of interesting characters.
According to the company, “Augmented Empire is a story-driven RPG set on the island of New Savannah, an isolated neo-noir city divided into three tiers by the ‘Citizen Grade System. ‘While the citizens deemed of high societal value live in luxury at the summit, outliers and criminals are forced to live in squalor at the island’s depths.”
From the armchair of their secluded hideout, you’ll be able to use simple look-and-click controls to instruct your team of 6 augmented misfits in a world rendered as an ‘augmented reality’ diorama before youe eyes while interacting with the office around you to investigate new developments, make calls and develop the skills of your team.
The new Samsung Gear VR controller is absolutely perfect for a point-and-click experience, made even better by the top-down perspective the VR headset can provide. We’ve already seen other successful VR titles take a similar approach in camera angles, such as Oculus’ Lucky’s Tale. Placing all the action in a diorama environment and filling it with toy-like characters has proven to be an excellent way of utilizing the unique capabilities of virtual reality while still remaining a comfortable experience.
On top of teasing a fully developed story set in a universe that looks like Mirror’s Edge meets Ghost In The Shell, Coatsink and Oculus acquired a stellar group of incredible performers to fill the shoes of the games eclectic roster of characters. Among the cast is Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, Shaun Of The Dead), Doug Cockle (The Witcher Series), Kate Mulgrew (Star Trek Voyager) and Garrick Hagon (Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, Horizon: Zero Dawn).
“With a strong focus on story and deep but accessible gameplay, we wanted to give Gear VR gamers an extraordinary experience,” said Coatsink CEO Tom Beardsmore. “We’re thrilled with the calibre of talent involved in Augmented Empire.”
It’s encouraging to see Oculus continue to provide AAA content to not only the Oculus Rift, but its Samsung Gear VR platform as well.
Augmented Empire is available exclusively for the Samsung Gear VR July 13th with Gear VR controller support.
