From the ashes of a fire rises a phoenix, born again and ready to take on the world. And from the ashes of Free Radical Design comes How We Soar, a PlayStation VR game that might give you vertigo, but only in the best sense.
How We Soar is the first game from Penny Black Studios, a developer composed of former Free Radical and Crytek staffers. Managing director Tom Turner calls the game a “VR flight experience,” where difficulty is secondary (and probably tertiary) to taking in the papercraft world that his team has created. It bears a resemblance to Tearaway, but the beautiful red phoenix and fake paper clouds juxtaposed against the “real” ones below create a brilliant effect.
“With your DualShock 4 controller becoming your reins, you will find yourself seated on the back of this mythical creature and in full control of its every swoop, glide, and dive,” Turner says. “Your phoenix can gain great speed as you fly, giving a thrilling VR experience as you rush past the environment. Or you can just take it easy, even slowing down to a hover, just so you can take in the scenery.”
The announcement trailer shows the phoenix flying from third-person perspective, but given the purpose of VR and Turner’s language, it sounds like this will be a very “up close” view, allowing you to see the phoenix while still taking in the world.
As you fly through each level, destroyed bits of paper will be reformed into “recognizable environments,” and you can also “restore color to the world” as you progress. This element certainly still sounds a lot like Tearaway.
How We Soar doesn’t have an official release date, but you can expect it to launch on PlayStation VR before the end of the year.
