The 'Super Mario' of VR will come with every Oculus Rift headset in 2016
Making video games is a risky business. It often takes years, millions of dollars, and thousands of man hours to create a single game. And who knows if it'll be a success!
Because of this massive unknown, people running game studios have figured out clever ways to help guarantee success. Ever bought a game console with a game packed in?
Sony / EA
My original NES was purchased with a copy of "Super Mario Bros." back in the late 1980s! Sega's "Sonic the Hedgehog" rose to prominence by being a free pack-in with the Sega Genesis.
Such is the case with the "Super Mario" of virtual reality games — "Lucky's Tale" — which will ship for free with every Oculus Rift VR headset sold when it launches in the first three months of 2016.
Sony / EA
You're forgiven if you haven't heard of "Lucky's Tale"; the game has only been shown at trade events, mostly to journalists. I've been lucky enough to play it a few times, and it's a real delight. You play as the diminutive Lucky, a small fox in a very colorful world.
Sony / EA
And here is Lucky's world:
Sony / EA
Instead of putting you in the eyes of the fox, you see Lucky's world from overhead while controlling him with a standard gamepad. It plays much like "Super Mario 64" or any other 3D platformer you're used to — bonk enemies, collect coins, solve puzzles. The usual platforming stuff.
The twist here is that you're wearing a VR headset, which means you can see things that Lucky cannot. Try leaning down (in real life) and looking underneath the platform Lucky's standing on: there may very well be hidden secrets waiting for you!
"Lucky's Tale" will arrive in the first three months of 2016 alongside the Oculus Rift, Facebook's high-definition VR headset that requires a pretty hefty computer to power its virtual reality.
Check out the game's latest trailer right here:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/jqEm1fXBWKg
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