Insomniac’s ‘Stormland’ Will Be Playable for the First Time at PAX West

By Stefanie Fogel

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Insomniac is showing off its new open-world VR title “Stormland” at PAX West in Seattle, Oculus announced on Thursday.

A playable demo will be available for the first time at the pop-up on Friday, Aug. 31 only. It will be open to the public, not just badge holders, Oculus said.

“Stormland” is a narratively-focused game that promises an expansive world with complete freedom. As an android caretaker on an alien planet, players can bound up cliffs, glide across chasm, fly, battle monolithic guardians, and more. Meanwhile, an entity called the Tempest constantly rearranges the game world, opening up new challenges, areas, and enemies.

In a recent interview with Variety , Insomniac Games said “Stormland” incorporates all of the lessons it learned creating its previous four virtual reality titles, plus its two decades of game development experience.

“Ultimately, this is about taking components of the open world structure and gameplay from ‘Ratchet & Clank,’ ‘Sunset Overdrive,’ and ‘Spider-Man’ and marrying that to what we’ve discovered in VR development,” said Insomniac chief creative officer Chad Dezern.

“It’s about creating a lot of player choice and not being constrained in any way by the medium,” he said. “We put you in a world where you can go anywhere with a set of traversal mechanics. On top of that, there is a combat model that is free form. You can steal weapons from an enemy, you can upgrade the android’s ability to shoot electricity from its arm, to cloak from enemies, or create a shield. You can use the environment to place traps or blow up enemy munitions. It’s how you want to play, how you want to engage.”

“Stormland” will launch in 2019. PAX West attendees who want to try it can visit the pop-up at 1927 3rd Ave., Seattle, Wash. 98101. It will be open from 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. PST. Insomniac is giving away limited-edition swag to people who play the demo, while supplies last.