Skip to main content

4A Games is creating a first-person shooter for Oculus Rift, Touch controllers

On Thursday during the Oculus Connect conference in San Jose, developer 4A Games revealed Arktika 1, a new take on the post-apocalyptic future designed specifically for the Oculus Rift headset and the Oculus Touch controllers. It’s a first-person shooter that relies on the latest version of the 4A Engine, and is slated to arrive sometime during the second quarter of 2017.

According to the game’s description, the world has fallen into a new ice age as the result of a “silent apocalypse.” The only places humans can really thrive are in regions near the equator. However, there are pockets of humans scattered across each continent that survive on “resource-rich” territories other groups want to control. It’s the typical post-apocalyptic setting pitting groups of humans against others to take control of a town, power plant, and so on, and you’re in the middle of it all.

Recommended Videos

With that setting in place, the player must defend a colony located in the wastelands of old Russia. There are all kinds of nasties out in the cold barren lands, such marauders and raiders trying to steal all of the colony’s resources (including women most likely). Players will also have to fight off “strange creatures” created by the apocalypse.

As seen in the trailer, humans have endured the “endless winter” for a generation, with no end in sight. The game takes place nearly an entire century into the future, but despite humanity’s technical progress, they weren’t prepared for whatever caused the silent apocalypse. “Vostok was the first to feel it,” states an unseen woman, “and first to fall.”

The trailer is interesting in that only the player’s gloved hand holding the weapon is rendered, not the entire arm. Thus, you’ll see what looks like two floating gloves shooting at monsters in an icy fortress. Naturally, each glove is connected to an Oculus Touch controller, providing a more natural first-person shooter experience than using a gamepad or the standard mouse/keyboard setup.

4A Games is widely known for the Metro series consisting of Metro 2033 (2010), Metro: Last Light (2013), and the Metro: Redux bundle (2014) consisting of revamped versions of both shooters. The series is based on a novel written by Dmitry Glukhovsky, and takes place in what’s left of Moscow after a nuclear war. Due to the climate outside, humans must resort to living in the Moscow Metro (subway) tunnels, and fight off mutants and evil humans alike to stay alive.

Hopefully, PC gamers and console owners alike will see a version of Arktika 1 land on their platform as well sometime after the Oculus release. The game looks really awesome, and it would be a shame to see it locked specifically to the Oculus Rift. Then again, the game seemingly relies on a two-handed shooting mechanic, so that may not translate well over to console and PC gaming setups.

In the meantime, here are three screenshots for your viewing pleasure. Click on the pretty image to see the full resolution.

Arkltika 1 Screenshot 1
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Arktika 1 Screenshot 2
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Arktika 1 Screenshot 3
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Kevin Parrish
Kevin started taking PCs apart in the 90s when Quake was on the way and his PC lacked the required components. Since then…
I found the best Prime Day deal on a tablet hidden beyond Amazon
Microsoft Surface Pro 12-inch, stylus, and keyboard.

A good tablet can take your productivity to the next level, but a boring one will find a niche use and eat dust on a table or couch for most of its time. I love iPads and have been pushing them – as far as I can — to act as my primary computing machine for nearly half a decade now. It has never managed to replace a proper laptop, like a MacBook Air or a Windows machine. 

Why not buy a Windows laptop, you might ask? Well, Windows-powered tablets, especially those Surface devices sold by Microsoft, are pretty expensive. I love the new 12-inch Surface Pro, but at $799, it felt like a steep purchase despite its impressive specifications. 

Read more
Prime Day is over, but this powerful Dell laptop is still at its lowest price
The Dell Vostro 3530 laptop on a white background.

Prime Day is already over, but that doesn't mean that there are no more laptop deals for you to shop on Amazon. Here's one that caught our eye -- the Dell Vostro 3530 with 32GB of RAM for its lowest-ever price of $649, following a 28% discount on its original price of $899. This limited-time offer of $250 off may not last much longer though, so if you want to take advantage of this bargain, we highly recommend that you finalize your purchase for this device as soon as you can.

Buy Now

Read more
This Lenovo all-in-one computer is 30% off even though Prime Day has ended
The Lenovo V100 All-in-One Desktop Computer on a white background.

Even though Prime Day is already finished, there are still some excellent desktop computer deals on Amazon. If you don't have much space, or you just want to avoid clutter, you should take a look at the Lenovo V100 All-in-One PC. From its original price of $800, it's all the way down to just $560 following a 30% discount. The offer for this machine will only be available for a limited time though, so you need to act fast and proceed with the transaction immediately to secure the savings of $240.

Buy Now

Read more