First teased at QuakeCon 2016, Bethesda’s three major franchises are getting VR support between the HTC Vive and PlayStation VR.
Three of Bethesda’s best-selling games of recent history are getting the VR treatment later this year, confirmed by the debut of three gameplay trailers at E3 2017. Though early builds were available to play at QuakeCon 2016– assuming fans survived the insane waiting period- both Fallout 4 and DOOM will receive virtual-reality games and support respectively this Fall. In the case of Fallout 4 VR, the entire post-apocalyptic world of the base game is free to explore; players can still use the Pip-Boy as their arm-mounted menu system, but Fallout 4 VR will also allow players to access their inventory and issue Follower commands in real-time with the HTC Vive controllers.
DOOM VFR is a re-imagined version of the 2016 hit, with gameplay mechanics adjusted for use with the HTC Vive; the left Vive remote lets players teleport to hand-placed waypoints, while the right operates as the primary weapon and weapon wheel; other scenarios may have players interacting with objects in the environment with both hands, such as examining demon corpses, obtaining key items or interfacing with levers and control panels.
Following the announcement of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for the Nintendo Switch and the previous Definitive Editions for the PS4, Xbox One and PC, Bethesda will release Skyrim VR for the PS4 this November. Skyrim VR will be the full Skyrim experience, including the additional content of the Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn expansions. Bethesda’s announcement during their E3 2017 presentation only relates to the PlayStation VR release, but the publisher has since confirmed that a PC version with HTC Vive support will arrive shortly thereafter.
DOOM VFR and Fallout 4 VR have no official release date, but are “coming soon” for PC, with a PS4 PlayStation VR version of DOOM VFR arriving on a later date. Skyrim VR will release first for the PS4 this November, with a PC version coming on an unannounced later date.
ThePlatformer 