At E3 this month we learned that the intriguing multiplayer mode of Lone Echo will be spun out into its own game called Echo Arena. While both Lone Echo and Echo Arena launch on July 20th, the latter is in open beta for this weekend only, available now.

The Echo Arena open beta runs until June 25th at 8:00PM PT and is available to download now on the Oculus store, Touch controllers are required. The game is a five vs. five match where players floating around in zero-G attempt to score a disc in the opponent’s goal.

Over at the Oculus blog, the company explores the game’s controls and offers a few gameplay tips for Echo Arena:

Practice, practice, practice. Rather than flying head-on into a match, take a second to gather your bearings and practice some moves in the lobby. Rehearse the basics, hang out with other players, and try some more challenging moves like tracking the disc, throwing while moving, and quickly changing directions.

Your best defense is full-contact offense. There’s nothing like a swift punch to temporarily take an opponent out of commission. Hold down both triggers and protect your facemask to block an incoming punch and stun your attacker!

Catapult yourself to victory! Sometimes the fastest way around the arena is to hitch a ride on another player—you can even launch yourself off of an opponent you just stunned with a punch to the face.

The Echo Arena open beta also offers a key opportunity for aspiring VR E-sports players to practice ahead of the upcoming ESL ‘VR Challenger League’ in which the game will one of two VR titles where players will compete for a $200,000 prize pool.

SEE ALSO
Hands-on: 'Lone Echo' Multiplayer is a Totally Surprising Triumph for Competitive Zero-G Locomotion

Following the beta, Echo Arena will launch on July 20th and be free for a limited time.

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Ben Lang
Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • SomeGuyorAnother

    Believe matches are currently only 3v3. This little beta has turned out to be quite a bit of fun. Been listening to people yell over smacking desks, walls, etc… all day (finger hurts from smacking my bookcase, as well), so be careful to anyone who tries this and make sure you have some swinging room and correct yourself regularly.

    • Cristianfx

      too late for my lamp

    • Firestorm185

      Yeah, I share an office with my little brother (currently) and tried it out for the first time this morning and accidentally hit him in the head several times. xD

      Overall this game is a blast to play, but you definitely need lots of open space to actually play it safely. ^^

  • Tommel

    Such a great game. But… VR multiplayer games which are not cross-platform lack the player-base atm. I know they are not going to do this, but it would be awesome to, at least, open the MP titles such as The Unspoken and this pretty game so that Vive and, in a perfect world, also PSVR players could join. Maybe they will announce something during the Oculus convention. IMO they cannot keep the Oculus store closed forever.

    • Firestorm185

      would be great to play with some vive people in the the arena. Playing cross platform with Vive users in Rec Room is already a ton of fun, would love to see it implemented into Touch-tuned games like Echo and Recall. ^^

    • Matthew White

      From what I’ve read they’ve actually been working with the Revive people to iron out problems.

      • Tommel

        This sounds very promising. Nevertheless, an official support would be even better. And, IMO, it might even be good for FB/Oculus as well, because there might be publishers then who decide to only release their games in the Oculus store when they can reach both the Rift- and the Vive-playerbase there.

  • Firestorm185

    Gotta say, love a free beta weekend for a free multiplayer game… xD Just a funny coincidence. ^^

  • CURTROCK

    This game is the best example of being built from the ground up for VR. The locomotion in zero g completely dodges the walking vs teleport issue, and surprisingly to me, there is no motion sickness. The bar has been raised. 2 thumbs up!

  • Tom

    Definetly felt the motion sickness in this but more than anything playing space for this has to be massive. I have an optimal space and padded walls just in case and felt my hands swinging walls more than they did anything else. Game needs to have a better tutorial system that is one continuous vs many small ones. Also teaching how to use the catapult at the beginning would be a nice add. Finally, the fact that you have 15 seconds to get into a catapult is EXTREMELY difficult when first learning and I think you should start in the open space not in the pods to make it easier to get to the catapult in time. Appreciate the free demo but will not be purchasing this game and personally wouldn’t advise it unless you have a massive space to keep from breaking your touch controllers..

    • Tommel

      If I remember correctly this game is free to play. And I also did touch my walls quite a bit… but it’s so much fun to play! It’s always difficult to say, but the basic game mechanics are pretty simple but still there is so much space for tactics and gameplays… I think this game could really make fun over a longer period of time. We will see, but so far I am really having a blast.

    • CURTROCK

      I played this sitting down, on a swivel chair. I used the right joystick for rotating my POV, which employes “snap-turns”. No motion sickness for me, but a 3rd sensor will help with the occasional loss of touch control tracking when facing away from front. I tried standing up, and I immediately felt some motion sickness creeping in, so this will be a seated-play game, for me. No need for a large play space, in seated/swivel mode, and I can play longer.