Polybius | |
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Developer(s) | Llamasoft |
Publisher(s) | Llamasoft |
Platform(s) | PlayStation 4 Windows |
Release | PlayStation 4 May 9, 2017 Windows December 21, 2018 |
Genre(s) | Shoot 'em up |
Mode(s) |
Polybius is a 2017 shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Llamasoft. It was released in May 2017 for the PlayStation 4, with PlayStation VR support available. A version for Windows was released in December 2018. The game takes its name and inspiration from the fictitious 1981 arcade game and urban legend Polybius . It is also inspired by games like TxK and aims to induce the psychological state of flow. It was positively received by critics.
Llamasoft's Polybius is a fast-paced 3D shooting game with elements of racing games. The game's play was designed to minimize virtual reality sickness [1] by the use of continuous forward motion with limited abrupt changes and no interruptions to gameplay other than controlled breaks at the end of each level; however, the game does include intense visuals. [2] Although designed as a VR game, Polybius is fully playable in 2D on a standard PlayStation 4, and also includes support for 3D television output. [2]
In 2016, Llamasoft announced a game called Polybius for the PlayStation 4 with support for the PlayStation VR. [3] Polybius was added on the PlayStation store on Tuesday May 9, 2017. [4] In early marketing, co-author Jeff Minter claimed to have been permitted to play the original Polybius arcade machine in a warehouse in Basingstoke. [5] He later more realistically stated that the game was inspired by the urban legend, but does not attempt to reproduce its alleged gameplay. [6] He said it was instead based on his interest in the ability of video games to induce the psychological state of flow (also called "being in the zone") [7] and his own observations of positive psychological effects as a result of playing VR games, most notably the unreleased VR version of TxK . [6] Minter also cited influence from multiple other classic games including Space Harrier , After Burner , the 1983 vector game Star Wars , S.T.U.N. Runner , Zarch and quite possibly NanoTek Warrior . [8]
On July 13, 2017, industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails released a music video for the song "Less Than", featuring a woman playing Polybius. [9] Llamasoft later described the version of the game used in the video, a custom build running on the PC with user configurable effect sequencing. [10]
On December 21, 2018, the game was released for PC, playable in VR or non-VR.
Aggregator | Score |
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Metacritic | 84/100 (PS4) [11] |
Publication | Score |
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Destructoid | 8/10 [12] |
Edge | 9/10 [13] |
Eurogamer | (positive) [14] |
Metro | 9/10 [15] |
Polybius received positive reviews from game critics. On review aggregator Metacritic, it holds an average score of 84 out of 100, based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [11] Metro called it "one of the definitive action games of the current generation". [15] Eurogamer awarded it a Recommended trophy, labeling it as "magical" as well as one of Llamasoft's best works. [14] The website also ranked it 44th on their list of the "Top 50 Games of 2017". [16] The game was nominated for the Coney Island Dreamland Award for Best Virtual Reality Game at the New York Game Awards 2018. [17]