This Massive VR MMORPG Is Dead - Zenith: The Last City

Sad news today for the Virtual Reality community and VR lovers in general.

The Co-Founders of Ramen VR, Andy Tsen and Lauren Frazier, recently announced that they will no longer be developing and deploying new Patches for the Virtual Reality MMORPG Zenith: The Last City.

Despite massive success upon launching the game on both the Meta Quest and Steam stores, Zenith has become increasingly more barren and lifeless throughout the years since its launch.

This hasn’t been due to a lack of effort on the part of the developers. New features such as instanced dungeons, an entirely reworked tutorial and questing experience, a new class, and new tools for exploration and resource gathering did not breathe new life into the game and keep players coming back to it.

That was the core problem with Zenith: The Last City, no matter what the developers over at Ramen VR tried to do, players just didn’t stick around for more than a month.

This lead to an effect where when you logged in to play the game it felt pretty barren, and any MMORPG is only as good as the players that fill it. So it was easier to simply not log back in, since it seemed that not many others were interested in the game.

Even an overhaul and free to play addition in the form of Zenith: Infinite Realms and rebranding the game Zenith: Nexus didn’t reverse this trend, and the game became too expensive to continue developing.

After the final patch in August, Ramen VR will be ceasing active development on Zenith and switching their focus and resources to new projects.

Though the Zenith: Nexus and Zenith: The Last City servers will remain up and running for the time being, and those who bought ingame currency will be receiving rewards in future games released by Ramen VR… whenever that is.

For more check out the FAQ that Ramen VR has posted on their website or the video they posted explaining their story.

Into The Radius 2 Early Access Release Date Announced As July 24th

Here is a long anticipated release announcement for any fan of VR Survival Games or VR Shooters. Into the Radius 2 will finally be hitting Early Access on Steam on July 24th.

Sorry standalone purists, but there has been no additional announcement concerning a Quest version of the game, so for now Into the Radius 2 will be PCVR only. However, I’m sure that won’t be the case for too long.

If you haven’t tried the predecessor to this title, Into the Radius is one of the best VR Survival Shooters ever created, up there with other greats such as The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners. It’s combination of decrepit eastern bloc and surreal alien settings makes its atmosphere unmatched, and the freedom afforded in its gameplay hardly seen elsewhere in the Virtual Reality gaming scene.

Into the Radius 2 promises to be a continuation of that fine legacy.

Through the many articlesfound here about the first Into the Radius game, you might guess that the first title is a favorite for this publication. While a tense, surreal, survival shooting experience in Virtual Reality might not be for everyone, if you like any of those descriptors then it is likely a game for you.

Understandably, it is extremely exciting to hear about a sequel.

Here is an excerpt of the press release provided by the developers over at CM Games concerning Into the Radius 2:

“Into the Radius 2 is an immersive VR survival shooter, set in a realm of surreal landscapes and deadly anomalies known as Pechorsk Security Zone. Arm yourself with realistic weapons and team up with friends as you venture deeper into the mysteries that lie within the zone.

The sequel retains the beloved features from the original, including meticulously crafted weapons and attachments, a sophisticated loot-management system, and the freedom to explore the secrets of the dangerous locations teeming with anomalies and haunting enemies. Building on this foundation, Into the Radius 2 will introduce riveting expansions, starting with the option for two-player co-op (currently in beta, expanding to four players with updates).”

— CM GAMES

Additionally CM Games also stated the following, which reveals the absolutely massive amount of content that is already planned for the early access release, and is sure to balloon further as development continues on the game.

“Like the original game, this is just a first stop on a long journey to full release, and this is our first public version of Into the Radius 2.

Here’s what you can expect from the initial Early Access launch of the game:

-2 locations + new UNPSC Explorer facility
-7 top priority missions and a number of secondary missions
-13 weapons, some of which have more than 1 variant
-Several backpack options and 6 types of chest rigs to choose from
-A variety of new anomalies and entities
-Single player and 2 player co-op (currently in beta, expanding to four players with updates”

— CM GAMES

As CM Games have shown in their various Devlogs, Into the Radius 2 is shaping up to be not only a continuation, but an expansion of it’s predecessor, and I for one am very excited to try it.

Into the Radius 2 will be 39.99$ on July 24th and beyond. Admittedly a little pricey for a VR title. Though the developers over at CM Games have stated that they will not ever permanently change the price.

Battle Talent VR Multiplayer And Mixed Reality Added In Latest Update

If you’ve always wondered how awesome it would be for Battle Talent VR to have Multiplayer then you’ll be excited to hear that suddenly, out of seemingly nowhere, Battle Talent’s latest update has added Multiplayer to the game.

Now it is incredibly easy to hop into a Multiplayer game of Battle Talent with a friend by using the new Multiplayer option in the main menu.

This new Battle Talent Multiplayer is also cross play and so you can play Battle Talent with anybody whether they are running the game on a Quest or on PCVR.

Joining a Battle Talent Multiplayer server. Image courtesy of developer CyDream.

Now you can duel with your friends, or just get into some shenanigans in the new Homology Arena before you head into some arena battles, dungeon runs, or just mess around with the cheat console to do whatever you and your friends want to do.

So if you’ve wanted a multiplayer physics based VR fighting game that gives you a ton of weapons, magic, and powers to fight hordes of enemies with then now is a fantastic time to try Battle Talent.

This VR fighting game is extremely fun alone not only because of the feel of the physics based combat, but also the insane amount of combinations you can pull off with the vast array of magic and powers the game gives you. Now imagine how crazy the battles of Battle Talent can get with the addition of Multiplayer in Battle Talent.

Two players teaming up for an epic combo in Battle Talent VR Multiplayer. Image courtesy of developer CyDream.

Battle Talent has also added a Mixed Reality (MR) mode as well!

Now you can fight the fantasy enemies of Battle Talent wherever you’d like in the real world as well as the virtual one. All of the real life walls and objects in your vicinity also have collision, which is fantastic.

Your weapons and spells colliding with real life walls and doors makes the experience so much more real. The best part is that multiplayer is available in Mixed Reality as well.

Multiplayer is also supported in Battle Talent mixed reality. Image courtesy of developer CyDream.

Some new items and spells were also added in this update, and if you want more details head over to the patch notes on Steam.

This game has certainly come a very long way in the years since it was a free VR fighting game on the Quest 2, and is definitely still worth every penny.

Exploding Kittens VR Announced For Fall 2024

Here’s an interesting new release announcement among a slew of recent release announcements for games coming to the Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest 3.

Exploding Kittens VR will be a Virtual Reality spinoff of the real life social card game Exploding Kittens. As we’ve seen with other VR games like Cards and Tankards there is a lot of potential for VR card games on standalone and PCVR devices.

Not only that, but Exploding Kittens is more of a party game, and so is also part of the more casual VR games genre that is also seeing significant growth on the Meta Quest. It’s easier to sit down and play a light and fun game like Exploding Kittens for a bit then work up a sweat with a VR shooting game or VR fighting game.

This Virtual Reality social card game also seems like it will add quite a bit to the original, physical card game.

It’s good to see a game porting itself to Virtual Reality and making full use of VR to add new puzzles, avatar customization, and gameplay elements to the game that make the addition of Virtual Reality more than a gimmick or a convenience. Rather the addition of VR is a way to enhance the experience of gameplay.

Here is an excerpt of the press release provided by the developers over at Saber Interactive:

“FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – June 25, 2024 – Saber Interactive has announced Exploding Kittens VR, a new experience based on the wildly popular social-strategy card game. Developed under license from Asmodee Entertainment and published by Saber, Exploding Kittens VR is coming this fall to Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest 2 and is available to pre-order now with a 10% bonus discount!

Exploding Kittens VR combines the hilarious strategy and chaos of the original card game with the full immersive feel of VR for a totally unique experience. Play with up to five players online or play on your own against bots and force your opponents to draw the dreaded Exploding Kitten. Be the last person standing to win! Customize your own in-game avatar, explore the social hub, and dive into a variety of entertaining mini-games.

Key Features:

- Experience Your Favorite Card Game Like Never Before: Socialize with friends and make new enemies in this laugh-out-loud VR strategy experience based on the hit card game.

- Master a Variety of Tools to Win: Use a slew of tools to strategically outsmart your opponents and come out on top. Look into the future, steal items from other players and deny their moves, defuse an Exploding Kitten at a crucial moment, and more!

- Three Unique Game Modes: Battle it out in either classic or blitz mode with up to five players, or against your biggest rival in duel mode.

- Engage with Immersive Social Hub: Discover an array of activities in the social hub, including mini-games, character customization and more!

- First released in 2015, the original Exploding Kittens card game was a breakout success, going on to spawn multiple adaptations across multimedia, including video game consoles, mobile devices, and even an animated television streaming series planned for this summer.”

— SABER INTERACTIVE

Exploding Kittens VR is planned for release this fall and is available for Pre-Order on the Meta Quest store for 10% off.

Blade And Sorcery Is FULLY Released With the 1.0 Update

Today we have extremely exciting news for fans of the physics based VR fighting game Blade And Sorcery. It has finally been fully released with the latest 1.0 Update!

So what does this mean? Well, it means that Blade And Sorcery is now a very different game from what it was before this update, and is less of a purely sandbox focused experience with the addition of the long anticipated Crystal Hunt game mode.

With the 1.0 Blade And Sorcery Update you can go on a Crystal Hunt of your own!

With the full release of Blade And Sorcery you can now embark on a dangerous quest to gather as many crystals as you can and unlock the magical power of an ancient civilization.

It won’t be easy though, you’ll have to use your fighting skills and magical abilities to defeat the many factions that also want to claim the power of these crystals for themselves.

The new Blade And Sorcery Crystal Hunt game mode brings RPG elements to Blade And Sorcery.

With the Crystal Hunt game mode Blade and Sorcery isn’t just a sandbox game now, but a full fledged VR RPG! A pretty damn good one too. Collecting crystals gives you upgrade points to increase your magical or combat skills, and you can unlock new skill trees by collecting special crystals that give you new magical powers.

The inventory system has also been expanded, and there’s even a stats page in the inventory screen as well.

Check out this inventory in Blade & Sorcery.

This inventory system means that you can collect and store loot to sell at your good buddy “The Baron’s” store.

The more loot you collect and sell then the more money you’ll have for new weapons, equipment, healing items, and armor. Like any good RPG, deciding where to invest your hard earned cash first is always a tough decision.

Buying items from The Baron in Blade And Sorcery.

Of course you can always get more by fighting your way through the various procedurally generated levels. This is the same procedural generation introduced during one of Blade & Sorcery’s last big updates in the “dungeon” mode.

There are a ton of new weapons and armors, and enemy factions and equipment are separated into tiers which increase in difficulty as you get more power and more wealth and progress through the game.

There’s even Blade And Sorcery Lore now! With notes you can find throughout the dungeons, and even a friendly NPC in your friendly shopkeeper “The Baron.”

There is a lot of Blade And Sorcery lore to uncover.

This Blade And Sorcery update has been the most exciting of them all, and the full release of Blade And Sorcery is certainly a big deal in the Virtual Reality gaming community. Blade & Sorcery has long been a beloved game for its fantastic physics based melee combat and wide variety of community made mods.

Though, unfortunately, this massive update has yet to come to the standalone Meta Quest version of the game, Blade And Sorcery: Nomad, though it is planned for the future.

For now it is a bright day for VR gaming, and experiencing this massive Blade And Sorcery update has been extremely rewarding and exciting.

If you haven’t gotten the game yet though the price has increased to 30$ to reflect the increased amount of content in the game. If you already owned Blade And Sorcery on the Steam or Oculus stores though the update is completely free.

This is a fantastic time to get into Blade And Sorcery, especially if you aren’t a huge fan of sandbox experiences (though the sandbox is still very much available) and want a fantastic Virtual Reality RPG to sink your teeth into. For more on this update check out the update notes from the developers at WarpFrog.