During a recent media event Insomniac Games revealed two new titles, adding to its already packed release schedule in 2016. Like the fast-approaching Edge of Nowhere, both titles are Oculus exclusives. Feral Rites, a Zelda/God of War amalgam, wasn't playable, but I did get the chance to play The Unspoken, a multiplayer project set in the occult underground of a fantastical Chicago.
The Unspoken focuses on player vs. player combat with magical spells. It uses the upcoming Oculus Touch controllers to demand a wide range of movement from the player: waving, throwing, hammering, drawing--the list goes on. From an onlooker's perspective, the two duelists before me appeared to be engaged in an interpretive dance.
But once I donned the Oculus headset, their movements made sense. I stood on a platform above a backlot in a darkened cityscape. Across the way, facing me from its own platform, was a hooded figure brimming with red energy. After a quick tutorial, the combat started.
Insomniac is famous for its creative, offbeat weapons, like those it displayed in Ratchet and Clank, Resistance, and Sunset Overdrive. Despite the absence of handheld weapons, The Unspoken still displays that same creativity. Some of the spells stick to the norm: a fireball in my right hand, a deflective shield in my left. But others deviate.
Of the five more powerful spells available to me, my favorite was a spectral javelin. By extending my left hand outward, palm toward the ceiling, I opened my spellbook. Selecting the javelin with my right hand, I conjured a hammer and anvil. After striking the anvil three times, the javelin was ready, and I soon hurled it, much like I might a real spear, toward my opponent on the other side. It was as simple as releasing a trigger at the right moment as I opened my fist toward the arena's opposite end.
Soon after, flaming crows descended on me; I threw a paper airplane that morphed into a B-57 bomber; I traced the outline of a square in front of me, summoning a larger, more powerful shield against my enemy's power spells. Despite the mature undertones of the demo's surrounding world and lack of the studio's traditional whimsy, Insomniac's creative touch was on display here as well.
As the duel lengthened, my opponent and I warped between multiple platforms, using the Touch's analog stick to select our intended destination, collecting energy shards to fuel our attacks. This also proved handy for dodging incoming crows, planes, and javelins.
As of now, I haven't seen much of The Unspoken. The demo centered on the intro tutorial and one PvP arena. It's unclear how much the studio plans to delve into the dark underbelly of Chicago's mystical world, and how much narrative will surround the multiplayer combat.
But at the moment, the project feels good from a control perspective. VR is still in its infancy, so much of Insomniac's time has been devoted to ensuring a seamless experience between the player's hands and the hands they see in the Rift.
Insomniac Games is branching into several new territories this year: Edge of Nowhere is a psychological horror game set in a snowy tundra. Feral Rites, also announced today, is taking the studio's creativity into the action-adventure realm. Song of the Deep centers on a more intimate story, contextualized within a Metroidvania game of exploration and two-dimensional oceanscapes. With The Unspoken, the studio is trying to diversify even more. I can't predict whether this will all be for the better, but right now, I'm intrigued.
