Onward, the mil-sim tactical multiplayer shooter, has garnered a hardcore playerbase since it released on Steam Early Access a year ago, and if you want to know what all the hubbub is about surrounding what many are hailing as the end-all VR shooter, you’ll be able to get a taste from September 14-17 during the game’s free access weekend.
Onward isn’t your typical shooter. As a project developed by a single core dev, the mil-sim multiplayer has a character of its own, focusing on a brand of realism that emphasizes coordination, communication, and marksmanship skill. This is a strictly ‘no cross hairs and no HUDs’ experience, and the better you know your way around a firearm and the better you can communicate, the more effective you’ll be on the battlefield.
Onward, which currently sells for $25 on Steam, supports HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. The 360 nature of the game though makes a third Oculus sensor a much better choice to eliminate occlusion of the Touch controllers.
Be ready for plenty of stiff competition too, because many long-time players have upgraded their controllers to include a physical stock, giving them a clear leg up as they can steady their shots more easily. The level of competition is so high, that some players have formed an unofficial Onward Championship League.
Its sole developer, Dante Buckley, is a new game designer at 20 years old, while the game is still a work-in-progress, it’s amazing what he’s done with pure determination in such a short time. UploadVR’s David Jagneaux details Buckley’s story of dropping out of college to teach himself game designing from scratch. Buckley told UploadVR that he works “continuous 14+ hour work days. It’s been worth it though.”
In the post announcing the free weekend, Buckley says there will be new content coming out in September and October, including new maps “and more”.