Rhythm games are one of the most frequent genres that we see when it comes to new experiences in the VR space, but that doesn’t mean that newcomers still can’t pop up and try to give their own spin on the popularized on the format. BitCutter Studios is the latest developer to give the genre a shot and will be looking to do so when it releases its latest project in a few short weeks.
Groove Gunner is set to be the newest VR rhythm game that will hit the market later this month, as BitCutter Studios has announced recently that the title will enter early access on October 28. This is the studio’s second VR game that it has created with the first, Balloonatics, releasing back in 2018. The fact that Groove Gunner will be releasing as an early access title means that it won’t be a standard 1.0 launch, but BitCutter will continue to add to the game over time until it reaches this phase.
As the title very much suggests, Groove Gunner differentiates itself from the likes of games like Beat Saber and FitXR and is instead a shooter. That being said, it does largely have the same type of format as the other two experiences. Armed with a colorized gun in each hand, players within Groove Gunner will have to shoot select targets that come their way with the corresponding weapon of the same color that they are holding.
While blowing away targets makes for one way to rack up points though, each weapon also has a shield attached on the outside edge. With this shield, you’ll also have to block incoming projectiles that are hurtling towards your face. In the same way that you shoot targets with the corresponding gun of the same color, you’ll also have to reflect these shells that are coming at you with the shield that matches its color.
You can get a look at Groove Gunner in action right here:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrbeitRNn4M]
At launch, Groove Gunner is said to boast 15-tracks in total, which isn’t too shabby at all for an early access release. BitCutter says it’s also choosing to highlight “fantastic independent music” in the game, so there’s a good chance that you may not have heard of many of these songs before. Still, it’s never a bad idea to expand your horizons or taste.
That being said, Groove Gunner will also contain a song editor which BitCutter says on the game’s website will allow “any artist” to put their own music in the game. Depending on the depth of this editor, this could really be a game-changer with it comes to experiences like this. Perhaps if you’re a musician yourself, you’ll be able to find a way to get your own music into the game.
As for the prospective fitness applications of Groove Gunner, well, it seems quite similar to some of the other rhythm games you’ve likely experienced in the past. While Groove Gunner might see you trying to have pinpoint precision more than something like Supernatural or FitXR would, you’ll still certainly be moving your arms around quite a lot during any given track that you might play. As such, you should definitely be able to get in a pretty good sweat while playing this one.
Groove Gunner will be available via Steam when it launches later this month in early access. As for which headsets it’ll be compatible with, you can give it a go on Valve Index, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Windows Mixed Reality devices. Conversely, if you’d like to try out Groove Gunner today, you can currently download a demo from Steam right this moment.
