Our childhood dream of being an astronaut can finally be fulfilled. Looking at our blue planet from far up can become (virtual) reality. The Swedish software company Quixel wants to turn this dream into a breathtaking nightmare. Homebound simulates a space shuttle crash from the orbit directly into the Earth’s atmosphere. In VR!
Homebound – In the whirl of events
We find ourselves in the space shuttle, looking at high value space equipment through the window of our suit. When the view falls apart, our breath stops. The blue planet is really beautiful from this perspective. We would like to lose ourselves in this moment, but the music becomes menacing. Things come thick and fast as the shuttle breaks apart.
Here is the first teaser trailer:
What’s in: Game Features
The gameplay of Homebound will only cover 10-30 minutes. In this amount of time everything has happened and our survival depends on the decisions we made. A free-roam mode gives us the opportunity to explore the game environment without explosions and time pressure. For this, you can choose between three “levels”: Space, Earth atmosphere and Earth itself are available.
For more variety a time-attack mode is provided, in which we can compete against our own time or the high scores of our friends. Secrets, as well as different ways of solving problems, should provide an inducement to play again. Whether the developers can do all this on the Unreal Engine 4 to create a round package remains unknown.
Where does it come from?
The Swedish software maker Quixel has worked for the US space agency NASA and they have done well to develop tools and graphics software. With their latest project Homebound, the future-oriented Swedes debut as game makers.
Homebound was developed as a VR-game, but later can also be played oldschool with mouse and keyboard / gamepad. For the launch only the HTC Vive and motion controller will be supported, later the Oculus Rift as well as classic peripherals will follow.
Homebound is scheduled to appear at Steam in early 2017. We are curious.
