AGAINST is an upcoming VR rhythm game from developer Joy Way that looks to be channeling the best parts of popular games in the genre with its own gritty flair and unique mechanics like wall-running, jumping, and weapon switching.
Between Beat Saber, Pistol Whip, and FitXR—some of the most popular VR titles out there—you’ve got slashing, shooting, and punching. But what if you mashed them all together?
That’s what developer Joy Way intends to find out with Against, a new title from the studio behind the VR parkour action game Stride (and a handful of other projects), which is due to launch in Q3 of this year.
Against might be clearly borrowing mechanics from its contemporaries, but it looks to be bringing its own flair to the table too. Not only is it built around a stark, gritty aesthetic, it’s also throwing things we haven’t really seen in the genre, like wall-running, gesture-based jumping, bullet-cutting, and boss fights (which the studio says will bookend each level). Check out the trailer:
The game has an interesting take on movement too. While it uses the same fixed-forward motion of its contemporaries, some of the action takes place while standing still, some while running, and some while wall-running, which could make for some intriguing pacing.
From the trailer alone this looks like a reimagining of the VR rhythm genre as much as a mashup; we’re looking forward to finding out if juggling all of these mechanics will be as fun as it looks.
Joy Way says that Against will launch first on Steam, but the studio seems to have plans to “release on other stores later,” which will hopefully also include Quest and PSVR. The initial launch is expected to bring 10 tracks with three difficulty levels each (Easy, Hard, and Expert).
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It’s been interesting to see Joy Way experiment with this title before finally today announcing an upcoming launch. In late 2020 the studio shared a low-poly Tron-esque prototype it had built which laid much the groundwork ahead of what has been a total shift in the aesthetic. Between Against, Stride (currently available in Early Access), and its other projects, Joy Way is emerging as a studio with a knack for rapidly prototyping interesting VR concepts.
