The previously delayed espionage sim Espire 1: VR Operative is now scheduled for release on September 24. After earning several ‘Best of Show’ nominations at E3 and a ‘Best of Show’ award from UploadVR, Espire 1 is available for pre-order on Steam (Index, Vive, Rift, and WMR) and soon available for pre-order on PlayStation (PSVR). The game will also launch on Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift.
Developer Digital Lode describes the game as setting a “new gold standard” for the ‘stealth’ genre in virtual reality, including accommodations for motion sickness like the optional ‘Control Theatre’ mode, which displays artificial locomotion in the game’s world as if the player were standing (or sitting) in a control room, watching the action through a series of cameras set around the Espire Agent’s peripheral view.
In addition to engaging in standard gameplay interactions like shooting and hiding behind cover, Espire 1 players will experience the game’s world in other ways, says Digital Lode. Such interactions will include activating a ‘bullet-time’ mode while hanging off of a surface, yelling “Freeze!” at an enemy guard to make them stop in their tracks, filching a weapon right off of a distracted guard, and creating distractions with loose weapon magazines.
Additional tactics will include “dozens of unique gadgets and weapons such as a tranquilizer pistol and deployable spy cameras in order to complete the mission objectives,” Digital Lode said in its release date announcement.
Further, Espire 1’s focus on tactical, open-ended gameplay means that anyone should be able to mix and match different playstyles to move through the game’s “complete single-player story” at their own speed.
Publisher Tripwire Interactive is giving away a free copy of Killing Floor: Incursion to any who pre-order Espire 1 from Steam ahead of the game’s launch in September. Tripwire also promises that those who pre-order Espire 1 from the PlayStation Store after August 30th will receive a 15% discount.
