While the 2023 Meta Quest Gaming Showcase had a lot of exciting reveals on display, anime fans are likely going to be most excited about Attack on Titan VR: Unbreakable. The game was first announced during last year's showcase of virtual reality games, but very little in terms of gameplay or features was revealed at the time. This year, a minute-long trailer showed off some pre-rendered footage of what appears to be in-engine content, giving fans a first look at how the Attack on Titanvirtual reality adaptation may play out when it finally releases later this year.
Attack on Titan VR: Unbreakable is being headed up by Japanese studio UNIVRS, which previously worked on another VR anime adaptation, Little Witch Academia: VR Broom Racing. Since the studio's previous title is all about fast-paced movement in a VR setting, UNIVRS appears to be well-equipped for building a game around the high-speed maneuverability of Attack on Titan's iconic ODM gear. These gravity-defying movement systems are always an interesting idea to explore in virtual reality, with titles like Spider-Man: Far From Home VR and Marvel's Iron Man VR offering experiences that are uniquely suited to VR and having fulfilled plenty of childhood dreams along the way.
Attack on Titan's ODM Gear Is a Natural Fit For Virtual Reality
When facing off against 50-foot-tall monstrosities, the only way for Attack on Titan's comparatively puny human characters to succeed is by using their omnidirectional mobility gear to zip around the Titans at breakneck speeds. The fact that a Titan's only weak spot is at the nape of the neck is another key detail that translates well into "hit the weak spot" style gameplay, and this combination lends perfectly to a VR game. The reveal trailer depicts the player soaring through the cityscape behind the wall, using the Quest's touch controls to target locations to hook their zip lines. Although the footage is pre-rendered and not true gameplay, it can safely be assumed that this is more or less how players will experience the game.
Attack on Titan's ODM gear also appears to be a surprisingly immersive movement tool with touch controllers compared to other games. When playing Marvel's Iron Man VR with touch controllers, for example, the player is still holding a pair of controllers despite the in-game tools being a pair of armored hands. This creates somewhat of a tactile disconnect between the player's actions and what's going on in-game. In Attack on Titan VR, the player is gripping a pair of swords that are more believably translated into the handheld touch controls. It's a small detail, but this can really make a difference when it comes to immersion.
Multiplayer Is A Great Move For Attack on Titan VR
Teamwork is an extremely important aspect of combat in AttackonTitan, as it often takes several people working in tandem to distract a Titan while somebody moves in for the all-important sword stroke to the nape of the neck. It's good news, then, that Attack on Titan VR is tapping into this with a multiplayer component. The online co-op will be limited to two players, and although it would be great to tackle Titans with a full squad, it's great to see that players will be able to recreate some of their favorite duo moments from the series.
Sparse other details have been revealed about other content within the game, but it was noted that fights will grow increasingly difficult the longer players manage to survive. Whether this increased difficulty comes in the form of more powerful Abnormal Titans showing up or simply a greater number of standard Titans remains to be seen. The only environment shown in the trailer is the city behind the wall, so it will also be interesting to see if the game takes players to other ODM-suitable environments from the series such as the Forest of Giant Trees.
Attack on Titan VR: Unbreakable is set to release in Winter 2023 for Meta Quest.