Sony adds 'Tethered' to its PlayStation VR launch lineup
Return spiritual balance to the "Heavenly Archipelago" (or club it into submission).
A gaming company called Secret Sorcery Towers has revealed that its lovely-looking Tethered will be one of the launch titles for Sony's Playstation VR. The company says it was influenced by Studio Ghibli animated films, and the game certainly has a delightfully quirky look, judging by the (pre-alpha) video, below. "We've been working with an incredibly talented concept artist called Espen ... and our art team have been tirelessly replicating his incredible concept pieces and bringing them to life in VR," the studio says.
The sandbox-style gameplay is pretty straightforward. During the day, you get your "Peeps" to work chopping wood and doing other chores to build up the "Heavenly Archipelago" settlement. At night, you have to beat back waves of worm-like scavengers using clubs, crossbows and other weapons. "With a simple premise at its core –- gather and prepare by day, survive by night –- our goal is to strike balance between comfort, simplicity, beauty and challenge," says the team.
Secret Sorcery Towers launched in April 2015 specifically as a VR-focused company and says that "comfort and fun gameplay are paramount" for the title. "During a typical play session, you can expect to spend around 30 to 40 minutes building up your village, gathering Spirit Energy, discovering ancient artefacts and learning new skills for your Peeps, not to mention fighting off the denizens of the night." From what we've seen of virtual reality headsets so far, anything beyond that might get tiring, given eyestrain and headset weight. Hopefully, we'll get a better idea if that applies to the PlayStation VR at Sony's E3 presentation on June 13th.
