Get your gun-fu on in this Beat Saber-meets-SUPERHOT VR rhythm shooter.
Developer Cloudhead Games today confirmed their highly-anticipated rhythm-based VR shooter, Pistol Whip, will be arriving on Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, and SteamVR on November 7th, with plans for an eventual PlayStation VR release currently in the works.
Originally announced during the E3 2019 trade-show this past June, Pistol Whip tasks players with shooting and — yes, pistol-whipping — their way through waves of digital henchmen while simultaneously dodging a barrage of enemy gunfire. A new trailer released alongside the November release date showcases more of the intense endless-runner-style experience.
“There’s all these great action movies. How do we pull a user in a relentless unstoppable way through an action sequence in a movie,” said Denny Unger, CEO of Cloudhead Games, during an interview with UploadVR. “What people want is the power fantasy how having a gun and feeling like they are a bad-ass action movie hero, but they don’t necessarily have the skills to be a ‘John Wick’ or something like that.”
“Internally we’re saying it’s a cinematic shooter with rhythm elements, and that describes it pretty well because we lean heavily on you having the agency to be an action hero and there are these little sweeteners with the rhythm.”
When it came to providing players with a fast-paced, eclectic soundtrack in which to shoot to, Cloudhead reached out to Montreal-based music label Kannibalen Records. At launch, Pistol Whip will feature a 10-song soundtrack, including music from EDM artists Apashe, HVDES, and a personal favorite of mine, Black Tiger Sex Machine. More levels and music are planned for release sometime after launch.
“They just seemed to have this library of really dramatic and kick-ass, epic action songs,” explained Joel Green, Audio Director on the project. “But they’re also just super fun, so it really kind of hit the sweet spot for us and what we were looking for.”
Prior to Pistol Whip, Cloudhead developed The Gallery, a two-part episodic VR series featuring an interactive cinematic fantasy experience that had players exploring a jaw-dropping world inspired by dark 80’s fantasy adventure films.
“The Gallery is such a contemplative experience. You go into it and need to sink in an hour or two in order to immerse yourself and really feel present in that space,” explains Antony Stevens, Designer at Cloudhead Games. “Pistol Whip is just simple to do. You don’t have to think about controls, you don’t have to think about movement, you don’t have to think about anything other than being in the experience.”
Based on the new images provided, it also appears as though players will have room to customize portions of their experience, including the style and appearance of their weaponry.
Pistol Whip will launch on Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift/Rift S, SteamVR, and Viveport November 7th. According to its Oculus Store listing, the title will go for $19.99.
Feature Image Credit: Cloudhead Games
