Echo Arena, the VR sports game from Ready at Dawn and Oculus Studios, went back into open beta last week. Although it was supposed to end yesterday, the developers are extending the access window so Oculus Rift owners can rocket around in the game’s micro-gravity environment mere days before its official July 20th launch.
Update 07/11: Info on open beta extension added.
Celebrating a critically successful first open beta session last month, Echo Arena is back by popular demand. The game, which is technically considered a multiplayer mode for the upcoming first-person adventure Lone Echo, will be free to all Oculus Rift owners at launch later this month.
The game requires Oculus Touch, the platform’s optically-tracked motion controller.
Featuring a ‘full contact’, zero-G mix of Ultimate Frisbee and an exceedingly comfortable locomotion system that lets you fling yourself through virtual space, Echo Arena really hits the sweet spot of speed, comfort and replayability—something that some are calling the “killer app” of VR.
Stepping into last month’s open beta, only basic matchmaking was available and the party-creating feature wasn’t supported. According to Ready at Dawn, the goal with the second open beta was to further test network updates, skill-based matchmaking, and the first iteration of the Echo Arena Party system. Besides more pre-launch bug fixes, the teams is also prepping a ‘VR Challenger’ series, which they’ll be revealing soon.
For first time players, Oculus has published a ‘tips and tricks’ guide so you can get a better handle on the nuances of throwing the game’s disc, jetting around with your hand-mounted boosters, braking in mid-air, and maneuvering around the space so you can get a leg up on your opponent (and punch their lights out).
You can download the beta for free right now on the Oculus Store and jump in before the game officially launches on July 20th alongside Lone Echo.
