The first State of Play for 2023 was loaded with announcements for the recently releasedPSVR 2, with Journey to Foundation being one of the most intriguing titles announced, with a release date of Fall 2023.
Foundation is a series of novels written by Isaac Asimov that details the rise of the Foundation, a governmental body that attempts to preserve humanity after the collapse of a galactic empire. The original concept for the novel examines the fall of Rome through the lens of science fiction, which was an intensely political situation. Now, 80 years later developer Archiact hopes to set players into a prequel of the legendary novels.
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Journey to Foundation has players take the role of Ward, an agent of the Commission of Public Safety, who is tasked with investigating civil unrest in the crumbling Galactic Empire. While this imperial force has kept the peace for 12 thousand years it has also stretched itself thin, leading to stagnation and unrest within the fringes of the Empire.
The player’s journey truly begins when they infiltrate defectors who hope to make their way to Foundation, an institute that has predicted the exact time of the demise of the Empire. The player’s actions determine if they fight with the Empire or turn against the life they’ve known.
The game gives the player a myriad of options to approach each challenge the game offers. A stealthy approach can be taken to get past enemies, alternatively, players could just blast through them with their modular gun and make their way to their objective, but it might mean that other characters distrust the player or will refuse to work with them.
Ward can also use an ability called Mentalics which allows the player to influence those around them, which could allow them to talk down someone threatening them or forcibly pull information from other characters. This all feeds into the dialogue system, which the player has full control of. By making smart choices, using Mentalics, and picking considered dialogue, Ward can escape most situations without bloodshed, influencing future events in the story.
This is wildly ambitious for a VR title, let alone a traditional gaming experience. The process of adapting such a well-regarded literary work was no doubt challenging, but to add the layers of complexity Archiact promises, is another challenge entirely. VR fans should keep their eyes on this project.
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