Rick and Morty are finally making their way to VR in Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality. Coming to HTC Vive and Oculus Rift headsets on Steam and Oculus Home, you can take part in the dimension-hopping adventure starting Thursday, April 20th for for $29.99.
Created by Adult Swim Games and Owlchemy Labs, makers of the tongue-in-cheek VR game Job Simulator (2016), Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality is said to be a “fast-paced, chaotic VR adventure.” So expect plenty of puzzles and multi-dimensional missions as you, a clone of Morty, navigate and rummage through Rick’s garage and the Smith house for interactive items abound.
Road to VR‘s Michael Glombicki got a hands-on with an early version of the game, saying it’s “full of the same absurdist sci-fi humor that fans of the acclaimed Rick and Morty show know and love.”
In the game, you take control of a Morty clone, ostensibly created for the sole purpose of doing chores for Rick. The first task Rick gives you is to wash his dirty laundry by placing it in the washing machine and turning it on. It’s a very simple task, but everything about it, from placing the dirty underwear in the machine to turning the knobs, felt like a activity in Job Simulator. The reason for the similarity is that Owlchemy built the game using version 2 of their VR interaction system and so they were able reuse a lot of the same technology that powered Job Simulator.
Show creator and principal voice actor Justin Roiland has already published a VR experience through his newly created studio Squanchtendo that’s delivered a mix of his signature brand of bizarre and absurdity called Accounting.
Roiland has however had his eye on VR since at least late summer 2015 as he and Owlchemy Labs’ studio head Alex Schwartz (via the official Owlchemy Labs twitter) exchanged a few choice tweets discussing the possibility of collaboration.
Been up all night working on design documents for several VR video games I plan to bring to market for #HTCVive @steam_games I'm so pumped
— Justin Roiland (@JustinRoiland) August 30, 2015
Yep. @JustinRoiland @danharmon We need to drink beer and I’ll show you the new upcoming jobs in Job Simulator. Deal? http://t.co/sEOdLBgGm8
— Owlchemy Labs (@OwlchemyLabs) September 11, 2015
Owlchemy Labs has developed and published over 20 games spanning desktop and mobile, including Aaaaaculus! (2011), one of the first games with Oculus DK1 support on Steam. As a launch title on HTC Vive, PSVR and Oculus Touch, the motion control-focused Job Simulator has not only garnered critical acclaim since release, but has reportedly surpassed over $3million in sales earlier this year and making it one of the most financially successful VR games to date.
“We really believe fans are going to lose their minds at what we’ve developed,” says Owlchemy Labs CEO Alex Schwartz. “It’s been an incredible experience to develop for one of our favorite shows and see the joy on players’ faces when they get to explore Rick’s garage in VR, physically step through portals, and interact naturally with their hands in the world they’re already so familiar with. Players are interacting with the world of Rick and Morty in a way only possible in virtual reality, and they love it!”
Check back for a full hands-on with the Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality game on April 20th.
