QuiVR has been seeing steady improvements for the past few months as the developers gear up to the final release. The Early Access title has now received one of its final updates, and it’s a good time for players to jump back in.
There are many new events, powerups, and changes that you might have missed. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the most important ones.
New Events
New events will challenge players to find more effective ways to dispatch foes, sometimes under limited conditions or with strict regulations on how to win. There are 8 of these events adding small twists to the core gameplay of QuiVR.
For example, one puzzle event asks players to rearrange floating orbs in the sky while another shifts players to a tabletop view of the map for an entirely different take on gameplay. Three boss events will assault players with massive and dangerous creatures.
The Worm is probably the most prominent example of what the team is trying to accomplish. Each boss, and some other events, have glowing “spears” that players will need to strike in order to damage creatures. Players will need to look for opportunities to strike. Be sure to keep an eye out for these highlighted weak points.
The most recent event, The Pit, hints at some locomotion that might be coming in the near term as well. Players currently fire teleportation arrows at targets marking locations they want to travel to.
Events spawn roughly every 6 tiles, and some are time sensitive, so you’ll need to learn what’s required and act quickly. A few events might take more than one try to figure out what’s needed, and maybe a few additional tries to actually complete the challenge.
New Items
Long time players are already aware of QuiVR’s rarity-based loot system, but new legendary items promise some variety. The team wants to create weaponry that is only as good as the player, so balance might seem a little odd until you start experimenting. Other items, like Frigid Mitts, have pretty obvious uses. Collect less rare item types and you can melt them down in the armory in the hopes of getting something more powerful in exchange.
A little something for you loot hunters out there: QuiVR knows what loot you have and will no longer drop duplicates. Neat!
Another new addition is powerups, which are a lot like special weapons in a shooter game. Think a limited number of arrows, but highly damaging effects. These new pickups spawn from fallen foes, so be sure to take down as many as you can in defense of the tower and in search of better weaponry.
New Systems and Improvements
QuiVR isn’t a barebones release, but its sound was lacking. New updates have improved sound effects and updated the soundtrack. It’s good to see developers paying more attention to these smaller details.
To balance difficulty, continues have also been reduced to one. Trust us when we say QuiVR is a game that starts off easy and climbs in difficulty. Be patient and pay attention to what works when you’re taking down large enemies.
Finally, the team has added Tobii Eye Tracking for foveated rendering. Most don’t have access to this technology, but those who do will see better resource consumption and potentially improved definition.
Fitness Potential
QuiVR works the arms and shoulders while honing reactions and situational awareness. The game is still solidly in development, but these changes add some features to excite fitness gamers. We see a lot of potential for personal growth in players. Some might find themselves addicted to the loot system, others looking for the fastest way to an objective, or testing their skills against the randomized tiles. There are many ways to delve deeply into the systems the game has to offer.
The trouble with QuiVR is its difficulty, or how quickly that difficulty scales to be precise. New players may experience some culture shock when smaller enemies suddenly become large, seemingly unkillable monsters that plow through defenses. Powerups should help to balance things out, but some players may find trial and error on the puzzle and time-sensitive events frustrating. They break up the pacing well but fail at providing a relentless physical experience.
The base game offers mid-level intensity on par with some other archery titles we’ve seen. It’s no Holopoint, but these changes bring a lot more depth to QuiVR.
The Bottom Line
QuiVR is another solid entry in the archery adventure genre of VR gaming. It’s not just target practice, you have objectives and reasons to fight or get stronger. It’s well optimized and adds new content regularly. Now that QuiVR’s Early Access is drawing to a close, we’re excited to see what the near future holds.
I want to end by bringing some attention to the technical side of QuiVR. The developer continually visits conventions, updates the game to add new technology (Tobii Eye Tracking and Valve’s Knuckle System), and the game gets steady upgrades. It’s not often we see VR developers embracing new upgrades. The consumer market looks promising.
Be aware that the current price is $19.99 but is likely to increase in the next few months if the developer leaves Early Access. If QuiVR scratches your archery itch, pick up your copy today and tell us what you think in the comments.
