DIG VR appears like PowerWash Simulator for digging, and it is coming to Quest quickly.
Developed by Simply Add Water (Sniper Elite VR), DIG VR joins an rising vary of sims on Quest like PowerWash Simulator VR and Garden Mowing Simulator VR. Revealed throughout Wired Direct ‘24 by writer Wired Productions (Arcade Paradise VR), you are tasked with excavating completely different areas throughout Diglington, beginning with a mini-digger and varied attachments earlier than unlocking extra.
Calling DIG VR a “deeply private” sport, Leo Zullo, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Writer Wired Productions, says the thought was conceived throughout the early days of 2020’s COVID-19 lockdown. “In search of issues to do, I employed a digger and that eureka second got here – the controls of the digger can be excellent for a VR sport,” Zulla confirmed in a ready assertion.
I went hands-on with an early construct throughout GDC 2024, enjoying the opening tutorial on Quest 3. DIG VR goals for an genuine management scheme that makes use of two levers for motion and two sticks for controlling the dipper. Adjusting to those controls took time, although there’s pleasing physicality to this method and I ultimately eased into them. I am informed thumbstick controls are additionally supported.
That physicality extends past the speedy controls. Just like your sales space in Border Bots VR, your digger features a radio with eight in-game stations ranging between lo-fi, classical and nation western. As somebody who loves enjoying PowerWash Simulator with an exterior musical playlist, it is a welcome addition that retains you motivated.
Naturally, every mission’s fundamental objective includes digging up grime with some variances. You’ll want to information the dipper into the bottom, scoop up the grime, and deposit it onto a close-by patch of land. Easy on paper however this required appreciable finesse. On a number of events, I by chance tipped it too far ahead and the grime all of a sudden fell again into the outlet, so getting it proper felt satisfying. Eight completely different device heads can be found that you could swap your grime bucket for, although I solely tried the drill for breaking massive rocks.
DIG VR options two issue modes – Graded awards adverse marks for infringements, like operating over backyard objects or not putting the grime down accurately, whereas higher efficiency awards a better payout to your providers. Zen is a extra chilled-out possibility that does not penalise you, although it solely awards a default payout. It is a danger vs reward trade-off that I did not get to correctly evaluate, although I respect it is inclusion. When you end a mission, you may return to a totally explorable workplace the place you possibly can choose your subsequent job.
There are just a few options I’ve but to strive, like co-op, mini-games, and the sandbox mode. Nonetheless, DIG VR has left me pleasantly shocked me. Simply Add Water is taking an exercise you would not historically take into account adapting right into a sport and creating an entertaining lite simulator with pleasurable gameplay depth. I am optimistic for what comes subsequent.
DIG VR is “coming quickly” to the Meta Quest platform.
