Soon, You Can Experience the Horrors of The Persistence Without PlayStation VR

If you thought developer Firesprite Games had closed the book on updating PlayStation VR’s The Persistence, you were wrong. Updates are still rolling out, and an upcoming free one will give players access to a version of the sci-fi horror game sans the PSVR requirement. This new version, The Persistence: Complete Edition, is currently due out on an unspecified date in Summer 2019.

But the non-VR option isn’t all that’s on the docket. Firesprite Games has added a number of other changes that intend to greatly improve the overall experience. Game Director Stuart Tilley took to the PlayStation Blog to outline the studio’s plans for The Persistence‘s forthcoming new version. Players who already own the title for the PlayStation VR will have access to the update for free. At present, a price has yet to be provided for those interested in picking up the game for the first time.

The following trailer for The Persistence: Complete Edition accompanied the news. Check it out in the video below:

A few of the new features and changes include those updates to the graphics, camera animation alterations, and changes to the gameplay, controls, presentation, and user interface. On the graphical side of things, Firesprite will enhance The Persistence, so it can achieve a 4K resolution at 60 frames per second for the PS4 Pro. Lighting and particle effects will undergo an overhaul, to make the world feel “more atmospheric.” New camera animations will increase the “natural sense of movement,” with additions such as subtle movements of player character’s head.

Much of the focus, with regards to gameplay, concerns transitioning the experience from VR to non-VR. According to Tilley, this means ensuring maneuvering throughout the ship feels just as seamless in the game’s original version. In addition, players will be able to interact with objects in a new way. Finally, updates for The Persistence’s user interface will make the on-screen display “super intuitive” for flat-screen TVs.

The Persistence originally launched in July 2018 for PlayStation VR. Its roguelike qualities separate it from other survival horror titles, but its premise is certainly a familiar one. Aboard a colony ship, stranded in deep space, a lone survivor must battle through, and sometimes hide from, mutants and other horrors to get the ship’s engine systems back online. It makes for quite the experience, which generally received positive reviews upon its release. Our review of the horror title applauded its healthy combination of combat and stealth.

[Source: PlayStation Blog]