VR sneak’em up Espire 1 is the latest game to get the Quest 2 upgrade treatment, and we’ve got a first look below.
Espire 1: VR Operative was one of the most ambitious VR games on Quest when it first launched last year and, in many ways it still is. A full, single-player stealth campaign influenced by the sandbox-style freedom of Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell? It was a big ask but developer Digital Lode largely delivered.
Not only that but Espire 1 managed to release right across the broad spectrum of headsets, making its Quest version an even more impressive thing. With the new update, the team builds on the foundations it established on Quest 1 on both versions of the headset. Both Quest 1 and 2 will see updates, though some features are exclusive to Quest 2. Today, then, we’re testing out the Quest 2 version with the patch against the original Quest 1 edition before the update hits next week. Take a look.
Espire 1 Graphics Comparison
There are a few things to talk about here, then. First, there’s the expected benefits: the Quest 2 version does away with fixed foveated rendering and there are updates to shaders and materials that you should see across both headsets.
Moving towards Quest 2, though, there are a few differences on the visual front where Digital Lode has brought the game closer to the PSVR version. The first is to do with bullet impact particles, which make a more noticeable dent on the new headset and create finer sparks. More improved, too, are the meshes for enemy guards. You’ll also see the bullet ricochet effect not evident in the Quest 1 version reintroduced here.
But actually some of the biggest changes to the game here are on the audio front. Whereas in Quest 1, bullets make the same sound no matter what surface they hit, Quest 2 reintroduces context-sensitive sound effects. So shooting glass with sound different to firing at concrete, for example.
Taken on their own, each of these updates may seem small, but they all add up to a game with richer texture than before. The patch will be live for all Quest users on November 17th.
What did you make of our Espire 1 graphics comparison? Let us know in the comments below!
