At the turn of the new millennium, Sega created a game called Cosmic Smash. It came to select arcades in Japan and Europe ahead of a Japan-only console release.
Set in refreshingly minimalist spaces brought to life by music and graphic design, the game was a unique blend of sports and puzzle action. Think low gravity squash meets block breaker. A real journey to the confines of space and time.
Against. Concept by art director Rob Davis. (Copyright, RapidEyeMovers 2023)
The game seemingly came out of nowhere but quickly established itself as an icon of design and style for the ages, one of those rare games that looks, sounds and feels different from anything you’ve ever played before. .
While the game felt like it came from an alternate universe, it fully embraced the most fundamental part of what makes games great: it was a blast. If I ever wanted to travel to a virtual world, this would be it: a place where I can relax while moving, in inviting, uncluttered and effortlessly stylish spaces, free from the stresses, noises and cries of our everyday lives. . .
Cosmonauts. Concept by art director Rob Davis. (Copyright, RapidEyeMovers 2023)
This world was meant to come in virtual reality, but building beautiful worlds requires great people.
As our planet locked down, I partnered with a dream team of people whose work I admire. From VR pioneers Wolf & Wood, with whom I built the PS5 and PSVR2 game The Last Worker with top designers Cory Schmitz (Rez Infinite, Sound Shapes) and Arkotype (Polytron), musicians Ken Ishii (Rez Infinite) and Danalogue (The Comet is Coming, Soccer 96), art director Rob Davis (The Motherless Oven) and sound designer Dan Pugsley (Alba: A Wildlife Adventure).
Together we set out to reinvent the beloved classic for virtual reality and online gameplay. Surprisingly, Sega trusted us.
Here’s a first look at our game, C-Smash VRS.
VRS stands for VR and Versus. On March 23, you can get a taste of both when we release a C-Smash VRS demo for PS VR2 on PlayStation Store, which you can enjoy with another player online or in single-player practice mode. I can’t wait to show you a virtual reality that we could only have dreamed of until now.
C-Smash VRS (Copyright, RapidEyeMovers 2023)
We’ll be sharing our release date soon, when you can pre-order the game from the PlayStation Store, so be sure to wish list today to be notified when this and the demo are live!
