In Robinson: The Journey, you play as a young boy named Robin, whose ship has crash-landed on a planet that is, for some reason, inhabited by dinosaurs. The game’s main drive is for Robin to go out into this new and dangerous world to look for any other survivors, or to discover new pieces of information on just how and why his ship crashed into this planet the way it did. It’s a setting that has a lot going for it, more than any other reason because this is a VR game- getting to see dinosaurs up close and personal is a wondrous experience, like seeing Jurassic Park for the first time ever was back when it was released (maybe not quite as much), and that sense of awe and wonder, quite frankly, never goes away.

"Getting to see dinosaurs up close and personal is a wondrous experience, and that sense of awe and wonder never goes away."

The world these dinosaurs inhabit is similarly lush and beautiful, overgrown with forests and dotted with brooks and rivers, with mountains and hills looming in the distance. Every once in a while, you come across pieces of wreckage from your crashed ship (it’s a mammoth ship, so there’s a lot of wreckage to come across), and seeing these huge, metallic, futuristic pieces of debris in an overgrown and lush world provides some moments of wonderful contrasting beauty. These are all some of the game’s biggest strengths, and they are compounded by the fact that this is a VR experience. Anything and everything of visual beauty sticks out, and Crytek have to be given credit for creating some amazing vistas, and dinosaurs that are amazing to look at (not that dinosaurs are ever not amazing to look at, but still).

But that’s as far as it goes when it comes to the good stuff. Did I say the sights and the beasts to behold are some of Robinson: The Journey’s biggest strengths? Well, they’re not- they’re it’s only strength. Honestly, this would have been a much better experience if it was just a virtual theme park sort of thing rather than actually being a game, because all of its “game-y” aspects are what bring it down. The majority of the gameplay is basically centred around two things- puzzle solving, and traversal, and both these activities are equally bad. Traversal entails Robin climbing vast and dizzying heights, but curiously enough, this isn’t controller by the PS Move controllers, but rather by the traditional gamepad. It would have been fine (-ish) if it was just the gamepad, but a lot of it involves you having to move your head around to, essentially, aim with your nose. It’s bizarre and it just doesn’t work, and what’s worse is that a lot of the times, it made me feel nauseated due to motion sickness.

"Movement isbizarre and it just doesn’t work, and what’s worse is that a lot of the times, it made me feel nauseated due to motion sickness."

Then there’s the puzzles, and they only come in two varieties throughout the game- they’re either dull and uninspired, or they’re frustratingly vague. They’re never designed to be smart or enjoyable in any way, and more often than not, the game does a horrible job of hinting at what’s to be done. Additionally, there are even times when you think a puzzle can be solved with a solution that is painfully obvious, but the game simply doesn’t let you do it that way, because it has a completely different solution in mind that it’s prodding you towards. What makes this all even worse is the fact that the game’s checkpoint spacing is beyond terrible, and there will be a lot of moments when you lose a great deal of progress, making the frustrating puzzles even more frustrating.

In Robinson: The Journey, Robin is also accompanied by two companions- there’s HIGS, a ball-shaped AI, and Laika, a baby pet dinosaur. And while HIGS is occasionally funny, and Laika is adorable to look at, neither of them is ever utilized well for gameplay purposes. HIGS’ prompts and remarks aren’t always helpful, and sometimes, he simply forgets to give any prompts. Laika’s inclusion is even more confusing though- early on, the game teaches you how she can be commanded to growl (to scare away other dinosaurs) or crawl through holes and stuff (for puzzle purposes) and other such actions, but then the game rarely ever gives you any opportunities to make use of her, making you wonder why she is even in the game.

"Puzzles are either dull and uninspired, or they’re frustratingly vague."

In fact, this is a problem with all dinosaurs in the game. Other than the fact that simply looking at them is a wonderful experience in and of itself, there’s just not much else to them in the game. There are a few sections where you have to stealthily make your way around a few dinosaurs, but these beasts are criminally under-utilized throughout the entire game- for the gameplay parts at least.

And so I circle back to something I said earlier in this piece. Robinson: The Journey would have been a much better experience if it was just a non-interactive journey into this lush, beautiful world where we get to look at dinosaurs and get up really, really close to them. Unfortunately, that is not what it is. It tries to include a lot of gameplay stuff to give it the illusion of mechanical depth, but sadly, that’s all it is- an illusion. None of these mechanics have a lot of depth, and neither of them work very well. Robinson: The Journey is beautiful to look at, and the wonder of looking at dinosaurs and the beautiful world they inhabit never goes away, but there’s a lot of other poorly designed stuff that unfortunately pulls you away from the parts that actually work well.

Crytek’s Robinson: The Journey, a VR title focused on exploring a foreign planet with dinosaurs and other hazards, won’t be exclusive to PlayStation VR after January. The publisher has announced that it will be coming to Oculus Rift later this month.

This means that PC users will have a chance to experience the game though no release date or price has been confirmed.

Robinson: The Journey released for PlayStation VR in November 2016 and though lauded for its visuals, the frame rates were blamed for causing motion sickness in players. Crytek has also been facing financial troubles since then, shutting down five studios and focusing primarily on CryEngine and a few other areas of development.

What are your thoughts on Robinson: The Journey coming to Oculus Rift later this month? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for further updates on its release date, pricing and other features.

GamingBolt spoke to technical director Rok Erjavec about Robinson The Journey along with his thoughts on PS4 Pro and how it would improve performance.

"With our experience in VR and knowledge of the PS4’s capabilities we knew this would be a challenge, but it was one that the team was eager to tackle…"

Robinson The Journey looks like one of the first PlayStation VR games that seem to be offering high end visuals, something that Crytek is known for. How far are you pushing the PlayStation 4 (the base model) to achieve those kinds of visuals? Are you maxing out the console like you always do?

When we started development on Robinson, one of our objectives was to set a benchmark for VR visuals, based on and including our prior work in VR on PC. With our experience in VR and knowledge of the PS4’s capabilities we knew this would be a challenge, but it was one that the team was eager to tackle and– in my opinion–- has successfully accomplished. In a lot of ways, we’ve even surpassed our own expectations.

There seems to be some sort of visual downgrade on the latest PS4 footage compared to what was shown a few months ago. Can you let us know why this the case? (video comparison here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6Nrdu1FjWQ )

Actually, the video you shared is comparing an E3 work-in-progress build to the final version of the E3 demo. At the point of WIP capture, art-readability and game design changes for E3 were still being made, but most of the assets were close to final and didn’t change between the two builds.

That being said, the game has undergone significant changes and upgrades since that E3 build in areas such as level design, art quality, rendering quality, and performance, and we intend to talk about this more in a dev diary in the near future

I own the PlayStation VR and although it’s a great entry level solution for VR gaming, I can’t help but feel slightly disappointed with image quality, especially with the blurring and all. How is Crytek handling this on the base PS4 model?

We learned early on that image quality in VR is a vital area to address and optimize for, and while the current generation of headsets will never be a match for 4K pixel density on a big screen, there is a lot that can be done to improve things, when performance allows for it. With that in mind, Robinson is one of the first titles to implement FOV optimized pixel distribution (which we achieve by rendering scenes more than the usual 2x in Stereo 3D).This allowed us to considerably boost the image quality we could reach.

"Shortly after the E3 demo was shown to the public for the first time, we also ran the game on PS4 Pro dev hardware, and one of the first things we tested was what framerate E3 content would hit on the Pro"

Referring back to the E3 demo, that was running at the base 1080p (i.e. 1x scale) – well below what is considered the recommended ratio (1.4x) for matching pixel density of the PSVR headset. With all of the optimizations that have been put in place since, we’re rendering slightly above the equivalent of 1.5x scale on the PS4 in the final game, which combined with a brand-new anti-aliasing method – introduced to CRYENGINE for Robinson – gives us image quality that is among the best on any current VR platform.

Do you think the PS4 Pro version of Robinson The Journey will provide a substantial boost to the image quality while playing the game in VR mode?

In the end this will be something for the users to decide – but we’ve implemented an array of improvements for the Pro, ranging from roughly doubled rendering resolution compared to the base PS4, improved quality of post-process SSDO, mostly eliminated viewing-distances, considerably less visible LOD transitions, and more.

Are you looking to aim more than 60fps on the PS4 Pro mode?

Shortly after the E3 demo was shown to the public for the first time, we also ran the game on PS4 Pro dev hardware, and one of the first things we tested was what framerate E3 content would hit on the Pro – which turned out to be significantly higher than the base PS4. However, after evaluating the visual/other enhancements possible within the time frame against trade-offs of using some of that power for a higher framerate, and given the fact that Robinson is not a high-octane action game, we decided to keep the framerate locked at 60 and maximize visual quality.

How are you ensuring that motion sickness and nausea are kept to a minimum?

One of the first things we start with is maintaining a high framerate and minimizing tracking latency to give players as optimal a VR experience as possible within the chosen constraints. Beyond that, our VR teams have spent a good part of the last two years researching what works and what doesn’t in terms of artificial locomotion in VR, and looking for ways to maximize comfort while still giving players the freedom of movement they have come to expect when exploring 3Dworlds.

"I would suggest that the real question we should be asking is whether native 4K will be seen as an important enough feature for developers to prioritize."

In our first release, The Climb, we created a mechanic to do “platforming-like” locomotion across game worlds (ranging from climbing, jumping, sliding, and more) that maintains a high-degree of comfort for the majority of users. Robinson builds on this and expands the move-set with free-form, on-ground locomotion where we use a balance of factors –from movement speed, control over direction of movement, calibration of moments of acceleration/deceleration, and fixed-angle body-rotation as the default scheme – to again get something that is comfortable for the majority of users we tested with.

The game does provide advanced customization of the control scheme for users that are more tolerant to simulator-sickness, but we are confident that the default scheme is both comfortable and flexible to play with.

I will also like to know your opinion on the PlayStation 4 Pro. When it launches, it will be the most powerful console available. Do you think that power can be used in other ways instead of 4K resolution?

Definitely, yes, and our own title demonstrates multiple aspects of those improvements, and we’ve only started scratching the surface in terms of what is possible there.

Do you think for high end AAA modern games (such as the ones you make), the PS4 Pro is powerful enough to run games at native 4k instead of utilizing checkerboard rendering to achieve the same?

This is something that will vary widely with different games, so there really isn’t any one answer, unless we use a generalization without context. But I would suggest that the real question we should be asking is whether native 4K will be seen as an important enough feature for developers to prioritize .

"There’s a list of interesting enhancements that Pro brings to the table that we haven’t had the opportunity to work with so closely in hardware before."

The PS4 Pro also features an additional 1GB of DRAM which is used to off load non-gaming tasks. This leaves developers with 8GB of improved memory bandwidth. Do you think this leaves for substantial headroom for memory related work scenarios?

The system gives us back an additional 0.5GB over the PS4, which is enough to fill in the increased requirements from things like 4K, higher quality rendering features, etc. Coming out at about a 10% increase, it “can” be seen as somewhat substantial relative to the base console, but mainly it’s there to transparently allow for PS4 Pro-specific improvements without developers having to jump through complicated hoops.

Polaris features and energy efficient GPU architecture that lets boost the GPU while keeping the console form-factor roughly the same. Delta colour compression is making its debut in PS4 Pro. What kind of advantages do you think this will bring to games development on the Pro?

There’s a list of interesting enhancements that Pro brings to the table that we haven’t had the opportunity to work with so closely in hardware before. Some things (like colour compression) are transparent efficiency improvements, so really more of a balancing tool to allow high utilization of the increased compute resources despite the relatively smaller bandwidth increase. Others – like the ID buffer or hardware-multi res – actually pave the way for new rendering pipeline workflows, and as such still need to be experimented with to determine all the possibilities.

Today, the PS4 Pro is finally available– and for the foreseeable future, at least, it will remain the most powerful console on the market, even if it is not quite powerful enough to push the kind of true 4K gaming that Sony wants to associate with it. GamingBolt recently sat down with Rok Erjavec, Technical Director at Crytek- Crytek is a studio for pushing tech to unbelievable levels, and if someone knows exactly what the new console is capable of, it’ll be them .

We decided to ask Erjavec about whether or not the extra power in the PS4 Pro can be used for meaningful improvements to games besides 4K, and he was extremely positive about the possibility. “Definitely, yes, and our own title (Robinson: The Journey) demonstrates multiple aspects of those improvements, and we’ve only started scratching the surface in terms of what is possible there,” he said.

Speaking about whether or not the PS4 Pro will be powerful enough to push native 4K visuals on modern AAA, Erjavec instead raised the counter question about whether or not native 4K is even something that most developers would see as a feature worth pushing.

“This is something that will vary widely with different games, so there really isn’t any one answer, unless we use a generalization without context,” he said. “But I would suggest that the real question we should be asking is whether native 4K will be seen as an important enough feature for developers to prioritize.”

Erjavec ‘s second answer is also in line with something a lot of people have been saying- that native 4K is simply not a feature that a whole lot of the market will be jumping at the prospect of, so there’s no point getting so hung up about it. To which I usually only say- remember when people said the same thing about HDTVs?

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

Arguably the biggest and most controversial title of next month, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare will finally arrive, taking the series’ signature shooter action to outer space. Players can engage in space battle and zero-G fighting while exploring various planets and completing side missions. Multiplayer will further develop on Specialists of Black Ops 3 with Combat Rigs allowing for more customization and zanier battles. It’s out on November 4^th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered

If you’re not interesting in the futuristic trappings of Infinite Warfare, then Infinity Ward and Raven Software have something better – a remaster of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. With brand new textures and improved character models, enhanced lighting and excellent detail, Modern Warfare Remastered re-captures the magic of the game that arguably elevated the franchise to where it is today. Unfortunately, it’s only available to those who pick up the Legacy Edition of Infinite Warfare. Still with all the work gone into the remaster, it’s definitely worth checking out next month.

Robinson: The Journey

Imagine being stranded on a foreign planet and having to survive against all odds. Now imagine actually experiencing this struggle in first person as you deal with dinosaurs on the planet Tyson-III. Something has gone awry when your ship crashes and you must locate your missing crew. Set in a gorgeously rendered world, Robinson: The Journey is out on November 8^th for PlayStation VR.

Dishonored 2

Emily Caldwin and Corvo Attano are back but this isn’t the same steampunk drama from before. After her kingdom is usurped by an outside force, Emily takes up the Mark of the Outsider and embarks on a quest to regain her birth right. New powers, including a shadowy murder beast and simultaneous multi-kills, make Emily a devastating force. Corvo is also playable this time around and the new setting encourages as much creative murder as the first game. Dishonored 2 arrives on November 11^th for Xbox One, PS4 and PC.

Watch Dogs 2

Another big-name sequel in a month full of them, Watch Dogs 2 has significantly lower-key hype then the first game. You play as Marcus Holloway, a DedSec hacker working to dismantle ctOS 2.0 in San Francisco. Featuring expanded movement options, better driving mechanics, different ways to complete missions and true freedom to rally followers to your cause, Watch Dogs 2 may very well redeem the franchise when it releases on November 15^th for Xbox One and PS4 and November 29^th for PC.

Killing Floor 2

Tripwire’s co-op FPS has had a rather interesting release history. It’s been in early access since April 2015 and featured plenty of maps, bosses, perks and weapons since then. However, it will be officially launching on November 18^th for PS4 and PC, bringing the Zed killing action to consoles for the first time. With six player support and even the ability to hunt humans as a Zed, Killing Floor 2 is definitely one of the more under-rated releases for next month.

Pokémon Sun and Moon

You can finally put Pokémon GO down. Game Freak’s popular franchise returns with Pokémon Sun and Moon on November 18^th (November 23^rd for Europe). Along with new Legendaries, trainer customization, the Poke Finder for photographing creatures and new starter Pokémon, there will be Z-Moves that can help turn the tide of the battle. The short version? If you love Pokémon, then you won’t want to miss Sun and Moon.

Final Fantasy 15

The hotly anticipated open world RPG – and perhaps the most important Final Fantasy of the past decade – Final Fantasy 15 is out next month. We know of the war between the Kingdom of Lucis and Niflheim. We know about Noctis and his quest to save his fiancée Luna along with repelling the enemy. But will Final Fantasy 15 deliver 100 hours of quality, role-playing content like we’ve always dreamed? We’ll find out on November 29^th when it releases for Xbox One and PS4.

Football Manager 17

Of the many sports sims released over the years, Sports Interactive’s Football Manager series has been one of the most robust and entertaining. Football Manager 17 will up the ante further with two new playable factions, new challenges and other improvements. If you feel like skipping Call of Duty, then Football Manager 17 will be out on November 4^th for PC, Linux and Mac.

Mario Party: Star Rush

Mario Party on the handheld sounds like an even quicker way to lose friends but Mario Party: Star Rush actually sounds kind of intriguing. It removes the turn-based nature of previous titles, allowing all players to move simultaneously and introducing interesting boss battles. There’s even a mode that allows everyone to play as Toad as they recruit other series’ characters to their party. It could be hilarious or it could make you hate your loved ones. Either way, Mario Party: Star Rush is out on November 4^th in North America for the 3DS.

GamingBolt spoke to Niklas Walenskin, game designer for The Climb and Robinson: The Journey, about the same and delved deeper into Crytek’s mindset when it comes to virtual reality.

"The Climb’s exploration is focusing on the navigation in the environment. It is about finding the next grip and the best route to the top. Robinson’s exploration is more about the world and the interaction with it."

How has progress been on Robinson: The Journey? How have its game play elements expanded over time?

During development of Robinson: The Journey we went through multiple iterations where we tested different ideas and mechanics. Now the core loop has been tightened and we removed components which didn’t feel right for this installment. In future VR projects we would like to bring those back, because we think they are great ideas once the player is familiar with the medium and the scenarios we create.

Do you think it will be a benchmark setter as far as visuals go on the PlayStation VR?

As Crytek we are known for the graphics quality we can achieve with CRYENGINE, and like on every platform we are doing our best to push the graphics on PSVR to its limits. We want to set a benchmark on this new platform.

Furthermore is Robinson: The Journey a complete exclusive to PSVR? Any chance of it coming to Oculus Rift or Vive?

We’re launching Robinson: The Journey first for PlayStation VR and all our efforts are focused on creating the best possible product on Sony’s platform.  We do have plans for the title’s future which see as many players as possible experiencing Robinson.

The Climb looked really good when we saw it at GDC. How do its exploration aspects and challenge differ from Robinson: The Journey?

The Climb’s exploration is focusing on the navigation in the environment. It is about finding the next grip and the best route to the top. Robinson’s exploration is more about the world and the interaction with it.

Still both titles have benefited from each other. You can interact with the world in The Climb and you have navigational exploration in Robinson: The Journey. They are not the focus in each of the games, but they add some variation and make the gameplay more interesting.

"We strongly believe that VR has a bright future. We already see it not only being used in games, but also other fields like movies or room planning."

When can we expect to see The Climb and Robinson: The Journey release?

The Climb is available since April 28 and Robinson will be released close to the launch of the PSVR in winter of this year.

Do you have any plans to bring The Climb on the PlayStation VR?

At launch The Climb will be an Oculus Rift exclusive title. We are lucky to have a great publishing and development partner in Oculus, who shares our ambitions for the game. We’ll work together to make that vision come true for the Rift.

With so many different VR devices and engines floating about, how does Crytek feel about the potential of the medium in the long term?

We strongly believe that VR has a bright future. We already see it not only being used in games, but also other fields like movies or room planning. With more companies investing in VR and making it accessible to more and more people we are sure that it is a technology that came to stay.

With the resources being invested in VR by Crytek, what kind of returns are expected down the line?

We hope that we can help pioneer VR and show that CRYENGINE is the “go-to” platform when it comes to VR development. Apart from that we want to show people around the world how magical VR can be.

"PSVR definitely has an advantage when it comes to accessibility, since people will only need to buy a PlayStation 4 to use the headset."

Which VR device has you most excited for the long-term?

All of them are unique in their own way, so it is hard to pick a favorite. I guess that the future will show which VR device will be the best suited for each kind of person.

Furthermore, do you think the PSVR will have some sort of head start as far as sales go compared to Rift and Vive? I mean the PSVR already has the PS4 install base as a backup and a low entry price.

PSVR definitely has an advantage when it comes to accessibility, since people will only need to buy a PlayStation 4 to use the headset. However, it is also the last of the major three headsets to be released this year, so the Rift and the Vive will already have a user base.  In the end the software available on each platform will determine its success, and it is hard to judge that right now.

Crytek has been quiet regarding AAA games development. What is happening with Hunt: Horrors of the Gilded Age and Arena of Fate?

Both games are still in development and we can see weekly progress. We hope we’ll able to share interesting news soon.

Crytek’s Robinson: The Journey, an adventure title exclusive to PlayStation VR has received a new trailer at E3. This showcases how exactly the protagonist Robinson ended up in a world full of dinosaurs, thus beginning his adventure.

The adventure title is a mix of sci-fi and survival. You play as Robinson who’s stranded on a prehistoric-esque world after being separated from his spaceship. With an AI droid by your side, you must find a way to rejoin with your ship. Of course, it won’t be easy with dinosaurs roaming here and there trying to turn you into a snack.

Though Robinson: The Journey is exclusive to PlayStation VR, we still haven’t heard about its release date. PlayStation VR is out on October 13th and will offer 50 different titles at launch alone. Perhaps Robinson: The Journey (or Crytek’s other title The Climb) will join its launch roster? Stay tuned this October when we find out.

When it was first announced at Paris Games Week last year, Crytek’s upcoming VR title Robinson: The Journey was confirmed as a PlayStation VR exclusive. However in an interview with GamingBolt, Crytek’s Niklas Walenski, Game Designer on The Climb and Robinson: The Journey has confirmed that the game will land “first” on PSVR but they have plans for the game’s future so that it can be experienced by as many players as possible.

“We’re launching Robinson: The Journey first for PlayStation VR and all our efforts are focused on creating the best possible product on Sony’s platform. We do have plans for the title’s future which will see as many players as possible experiencing Robinson,” Walenski said to GamingBolt.

Walenski also shared an updated on how development of the game is progressing and how gameplay elements have been expanded since the game was announced last year.

“During development of Robinson: The Journey we went through multiple iterations where we tested different ideas and mechanics. Now the core loop has been tightened and we removed components which didn’t feel right for this installment. In future VR projects we would like to bring those back, because we think they are great ideas once the player is familiar with the medium and the scenarios we create.”

Robinson The Journey does not have a release date yet but is expected to launch later this year.

Crytek’s upcoming game for the PlayStation VR, Robinson The Journey will set new graphical benchmark according to Niklas Walenski, Game Designer on the game. In an interview with GamingBolt Walenski boasted the capabilities of the CryEngine and how it will push the PSVR to its limits.

“As Crytek we are known for the graphics quality we can achieve with CryEngine, and like on every platform we are doing our best to push the graphics on PSVR to its limits. We want to set a benchmark on this new platform,” Walenski said to GamingBolt.

Furthermore, he also thinks that the PSVR will be highly accessible given that people who already own the PS4 only need to buy the VR headset.

“PSVR definitely has an advantage when it comes to accessibility, since people will only need to buy a PlayStation 4 to use the headset. However, it is also the last of the major three headsets to be released this year, so the Rift and the Vive will already have a user base.  In the end the software available on each platform will determine its success, and it is hard to judge that right now.”

Robinson The Journey is expected to launch later this year.

PS4 console exclusive Robinson: The Journey is one of the more intriguing VR titles to arrive in the coming year and it’s even more interesting since it will be out on PlayStation VR/PS4.

Speaking to Press A 2 Join, executive producer Elijah Freeman was asked about the game itself. “With Robinson, we want to use the level of presence that VR offers to really make the players feel like they’re located in a different world.

“This means the freedom to explore a vast environment in 360 degrees of detail and to interact with their surroundings in fresh ways. Exploration is firmly at the heart of Robinson, and we’re using the power of CRYENGINE to ensure the sights and sounds all contribute to the sense that players have crash-landed on a mysterious planet and are discovering something amazing for the first time. We can’t say too much more at this point, but we’re certainly very excited about the game and we’ve been glad to hear others feel the same way.”

It will be interesting to see what kind of gameplay concept the developers have in store but given the dinosaur setting and a rich, detailed world, Robinson: The Journey could be one of the standout VR titles of 2016. Robinson: The Journey will be out later this year for PS4, PlayStation VR and PC.