Boneworks, Stress Level Zero’s upcoming physics-based shooter, is slated to launch on December 10th on SteamVR headsets. While we got to see a good slice of the action in the first gameplay reveal trailer earlier this month, the studio recently released a more in-depth look at a near-final build of the game.
In the new video, the studio reveals that the protagonist ‘Ford’ is an employee at Monogon Industries, the makers of an artificial intelligence VR operating system called ‘Myth OS’. In a seemingly Tron-inspired turn of events, you find yourself going through a virtual game “for what seems to be the last time,” studio head Brandon Laatsch says, as you fight things such as zombie-like ‘Null Bodies’, a sort of ‘corrupt’ viral enemy, and what feels like the white blood cells of the entire operation, gun-toting baddies that shoot first and never ask questions.
One of the bigger reveals in the new gameplay video is the new slow motion button, which lets you go into bullet time do you can easily get off more focused shots, or in the case of Node’s Daniel Kim (aka ‘D’), a pretty sweet kickflip reload maneuver. It’s uncertain if the slow motion mechanic will be limited in some way, or whether it will effectively infinite, but it’s definitely making us wish slow-mo was available in every shooter.
What’s also interesting is the general lack of player UI, or a visible HUD for the user. This makes a certain amount of sense since Boneworks is going for a more 1:1 simulation, which is of course despite your superhuman ability to fall long distances and execute your ‘force pull’ power, which let you grab objects from a distance (everyone’s back is thanking them for that concession). A side effect to going the simulation route is more realistic gun-loading, as ‘D’ is seen fumbling a magazine in a tense scramble to kill one of the white blood cell-type enemies.
At the time of this writing, the new video has already garnered more than 1.1 million views on YouTube; in the long wait up to Valve’s Half-Life: Alyx, which launches in March 2020, gamers of all stripes seem to be following the VR space more than ever now. The studio created a similar video for its first VR game Hover Junkers (2016) before its release, which garnered half as many views to date.
Boneworks is launching on Steam for Rift, Vive, Index, and Windows VR headsets for $30. You can wishlist it here.
