Smashbox Arena, one of SteamVR’s best rated titles, today launches on Playstation VR. The game plays like a mashup of a first person shooter and a game of dodgeball.
Smashbox Arena originally launched for the HTC Vive in late 2016. On SteamVR the game has been well received, holding an impressive 97% positive rating among user reviews and has seen regular updates since launch (including official Rift & Touch support on SteamVR). The game has since found its way onto the Oculus store as well, and today a version comes specially made to PSVR priced at $30 ($10 more than the PC version; we’ve reached out to the developers to understand why).
Update (7/26/17): A spokesperson for Archiact explains the price discrepancy: “The price is in line with the original launch pricing on the other platforms. They’ve been in market 6+ months on the other platforms so they’ve now undergone some of the usual post launch price adjustments.”
With singleplayer and multiplayer modes, Smashbox Arena is a knockout style shooter where teams of 3 vs. 3 aim to eliminate each other by firing dodgeball-like projectiles. With just one life per round, the tension amps up as the match winds down to the final combatants. Powerups like shields, exploding balls, sniper balls, homing balls, and more, add strategy and diversity to the gameplay. Players get around the maps with teleportation, but there’s also an emphasis on physical movement to dodge incoming fire and to hide and & shoot behind cover.
Though the game is available on all three major VR platforms, unfortunately there’s no cross-play between headsets supported at this time. If you’re looking for great games to play across headsets, check out our list of the best cross-play multiplayer VR games.