Detached - gamescom Preview

Of all the VR games I experienced while wandering the floors of gamescom’s press area, Detached was the closest to making me vomit. That might sound like a negative but I happen to think it’s a ringing endorsement for a game that places a player in the deepest recesses of space and tells them “escape”. The game is meant to be a hardcore VR experience, something stressed to me as I try and get control of my zero-gravity movements and stop the screen from spinning in front of my eyes.

Detached takes one glance at one of the cardinal rules of VR development - not to include acceleration (which causes motion sickness) - and says “nah, sod it”. The game allows for full movement in any direction at any speed, as would be possible in the void, and pretty much blames the player for any illness they feel. As an astronaut, your movement is guided through the use of a controller - thankfully meaning the game can be played while sat down. The game build which I got my hands on allowed me to float around an empty space station and eventually burst out into a vast playground of asteroids, boost pads and inky blackness.

Detached isn’t about exploration though. It’s a PvP match-up between two players trying to race each other in an outer space game of capture the flag. Despite this there is no combat, forcing players to think on their feet to defeat their opponent via the use of traps, airlocks or simply better movement through space. The game currently only supports a one-on-one mode, put down to the fact that the VR crowd is still small, but there are hopes for expansion.

When I mention to developers Anshar Studios that it felt like I was inside a film like Gravity or Interstellar their wide-eyed looks of appreciation are enough to tell me that those films were a major inspiration. On that account the developers have done well, and have created something of a visceral VR experience that will transport the player into the disorientating environment of zero-gravity environments.

Detached is available now on Steam Early Access with the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift.