Developer StressLevelZero is fulfilling their promise of adding a single player campaign to Hover Junkers—one of the Vive’s earliest titles—arriving in the free 1.3 ‘Junkroad’ update. The team recently posted a short gameplay teaser, showing a distinctly less frantic atmosphere compared to the game’s original multiplayer mode, with the full trailer and release coming in the next few weeks.
Multiplayer first-person shooter Hover Junkers from developer StressLevelZero was a popular launch game for the HTC Vive, built from the ground up for VR and motion controllers, using hovercrafts as moving platforms on which to shoot, an innovative way of traversing large maps while reducing the chances of nausea. The hovercrafts allow for some interesting gameplay mechanics, such as creating cover made from junk, and players can share the platforms in co-op matches.
Perhaps due to the slow update schedule or lack of progression, the multiplayer scene has unfortunately all but dried up; a single player campaign could help to reignite interest in the game. The free 1.3 ‘Junkroad’ update is due to launch within the next few weeks. The campaign’s concept was outlined by StressLevelZero founder Brandon J Laatsch in a news entry on the game’s Steam page in March, saying it would be familiar to anyone who played the classic Oregon Trail series.
“You start each run by loading up a junker with supplies. Once ready you depart on rails as you head for another planet to start a new life for your family. You make choices about pace, rations, when to hunt for food, and many more randomly occurring choices to make along the way.”
In another news entry posted in June, Laatsch offered a few screenshots of the single player, and stated that there would be “plans moving forward to hopefully address player count and community involvement!” While the teaser for Junkroad seems unusually subdued, StressLevelZero developer Chris Sherwood confirmed in the YouTube comments that there will indeed be enemy AI to fight, with bandit encounters “in the works”.