The simians from the Planet of the Apes franchise are coming to virtual reality. The new title, called Crisis on the Planet of the Apes is being crafted by a new developer, Imaginati. The game is expected to be released April 3, 2018 and is described as “a first-person action adventure VR game”. First-person may be slightly misleading though as you will not exactly be playing as a person. You will more accurately by playing as one of the intelligent apes on which the franchise is based.
From the announcement trailer is it obvious that the game picks up on the fiction of the more recent Planet of the Apes films featuring Caesar as opposed to the original fiction that began with Charleton Heston in 1968 and continued through five films ending in 1973. Ben Miller, Director of VR Production at FoxNext VR Studio confirms that the story takes place between the films Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. The story focuses on an intelligent ape that must escape a military compound.
One of the biggest announcements to come with the game is how the developer has used the fact that you play as an ape to inform the gameplay. Players will move within the world by swinging their arms (and controllers) like an ape would do in real life. You will also have the ability to traverse and climb obstacles that would be impenetrable for a mere human but not for an agile ape. Since we are talking about intelligent apes, you will not be bare handed in all of your combat. As Speciman 139 you will have access to a number of firearms increasing your combat options. If successful, you will be able to return to your ape tribe and to its leader Caeser. The game will be available on Oculus Rift, PS VR and HTC Vive.
