COMPOUND is an intriguing VR hobby project from developer Bevan “NotDead” McKechnie which drops players into a “rogue-lite, free-roaming shooter” for VR, with a totally unique and authentic pixel-art feel. We’ve had our eyes on the game since 2017, but with no official announcements from McKechnie in nearly nine months, the fate of the title was beginning to look uncertain. A recent post from the developer assures fans that the game is still in the works, with an updated demo and Early Access launch coming soon.
In a recent post to Compound’s Steam page titled “I’m still here!,” McKechnie apologies for the months of radio silences, but assures fans that he’s “been constantly working on Compound for a while now and I’m getting very close to releasing a hugely updated demo and an Early Access version.” A series of GIFs in the post show new weapons, enemies, and environments:
New weapon: the double barreled shotgun
New weapon: the clip-loaded railgun
Two new maps, three new enemies, and lots of other new features and improvements
McKechnie says there’s “much, much more than I could show in a few gifs, but I hope you get an idea of how much Compound has been evolving.” He further says that the game’s Early Access release is “close to being ready,” and that much more content is planned between Early Access and the game’s eventual 1.0 release.
In the meantime, players can still download the free Compound demo from Steam, with support for both the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.