Previews

CentraSphere is a multiplayer VR buggy battle racer set inside a sphere

Nearly there

CentraSphere is a multiplayer VR buggy battle racer set inside a sphere
|
| CentraSphere
yt
Subscribe to Pocket Gamer on

CentraSphere is a multiplayer VR buggy battle racer headed to Oculous Rift and we went hands - and heads - on with it at Develop.

Hyper Thetical Games has clearly worked hard on making CentraSphere an immersive experience as the attention to detail was pretty impressive.

You can have a good look around the the insides of your buggy and even stand up to get a better view of the seat and what's behind you. That being said, it's a bit disappointing that there's no virtual character.

Outside you can see the inside of the sphere which is low-res and smacks of retro and indie inspiration. Imagine playing a VR Tron but in a buggy and you're on the right lines.

Let's move

The camera moves where your head does while the buggy is controlled using the familiar Xbox 360 controller. You can accelerate, break, and shoot a projectile that creates a dome where it lands, slowing down any buggy that drives through it.

The sense of momentum is pretty spot on. The buggy accelerates fairly quickly and settles on a speed which is satisfyingly quick without feeling nauseating - this is a VR game after all.

Bumping into objects gives you a similar sensation to a bumper car, jerking you off track and bringing you to a quick stand still. In fact, that's probably the best way to describe how it feels to play - like a bumper car.

What am I doing again?

Your objective is to collect as many crystals as possible before your timer runs out and the round ends. These are constantly spawning around the sphere.

Multiplayer challenges you to collect more crystals than your opponent which you can hinder by shooting that dome we mentioned earlier into their path. Each time you collect a crystal you get a point and your opponent loses one. The first to ten wins.

It's a lot of frantic fun - especially in multiplayer but you kind of get the sense that it's a very good proof of concept rather than the finished product. It needs fleshing out with a few more game modes that take advantage of the unique gameplay to really shine.

Chris James
Chris James
A footy game fanatic and experienced editor of numerous computing and game titles, lively Chris is up for anything - including running Steel Media! (Madman!)