Press Kit – The Wizards – Enhanced Edition

Basic Information

Developer
Carbon Studio
Publisher
Carbon Studio
Release Date
March 8th, 2018
Price on Release
$19.99
Platforms
PCVR, PSVR
Languages
English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Chinese (simplified)
Age Rating
PEGI 12

About the Game

The Wizards is an award-winning VR spellcaster set in a fantasy world, where the player becomes a sorcerer and casts powerful spells with hand gestures to protect the kingdom from the enemy forces. The player embarks on a mission to save Meliora, a land ripe with magic and wonders, through time travel and epic battles in beautiful, mysterious locations. The game’s unique casting mechanic puts magic directly in the player’s hands, doing away with pop-up menus, button combinations, and other traditional systems. Each of the six basic spells requires a distinct gesture to be performed; combined with fast-paced combat and environment exploration, the game provides a fun and thrilling experience for any VR enthusiast. Along with exceptional spellcasting mechanic, The Wizards features acclaimed narration and voice acting by Jason Marnocha, a single player story campaign, and Arena Mode with endless battles. The single player campaign consists of three regions divided into several stages each, offering roughly six hours of gameplay. During the game, the player gets a chance to explore locations such as deadly catacombs and haunted desert, as well as fight various enemies, ranging from orcs and goblins to a monstrous dragon. The player becomes a wizard’s apprentice, traveling in time to protect the Realm of Meliora from destructive enemy forces. During the adventure, they and their mentor visit different lands and face different opponents in a high fantasy world. Spell casting in The Wizards is based on the energy of the four elements, and the key to the victory is adapting your tactics to the flow of the battle. The game is exclusive to VR and uses all the best the technology has to offer. Players can weave spells with their hands using motion controllers, which provides a completely immersive experience in the magical world. With the powerful Unreal Engine 4, the creators want to build a rich and beautiful fantasy world full of stunning visuals.

Key Features

Action-adventure VR spellcaster set in a rich fantasy world
Story campaign featuring time travel, heroic battles, and dragons
Intuitive and immersive spell casting with hand gestures
Six element-based spells to learn and upgrade
High replayability thanks to game-modifying Fate Cards
Arena mode with challenging battles on the arenas
Free movement and teleportation-based exploration

Features added on the full release

Completed story with new stages and cutscenes
Master Enchantments for all the spells
Dynamic lighting from all the spells and improved performance
New battle arena and a Fate Card
Steam Achievements

Other features added during Early Access

Free movement and free teleportation locomotion
Shrike’s Desert – new region, spells, and enemies
Arena Mode – endless battles on two arenas
NVIDIA VRWorks integration
Left-handed mode

Free Locomotion

Six weeks after the early release, Carbon Studio introduced a Free Locomotion Update. This update introduced new ways to explore the world in place of the old scheme, allowing players to choose between free movement and free teleportation to any flat surface in reach. In addition to the new movement types, the update featured new map areas, item pick-ups, and new interactive world elements, crafted to encourage and reward thorough exploration.

Arena Mode

In November, Carbon Studio introduced the second major update – Arena Mode. It invited players to assail endless hordes of enemies on two brand new battle arenas and compete with other players on a global leaderboards. Along with brand new levels, Arena Mode introduces new hub, new enemy types, unique Fate Cards and a progress system independent to the campaign.

Fate Cards

Fate Cards are modifiers that can change game difficulty and rules to the player’s liking. They increase replayability and accessibility, making the game satisfying for both challenge seekers and casual connoisseurs. Fate Cards modify score multiplier according to the game’s difficulty, allowing ambitious players to reach higher places on the leaderboards.

History

The Wizards is the second VR game by Carbon Studio from Gliwice, Poland. Game has been released on Steam Early Access on July 28th. Full release came after seven months – on March 8th. The idea behind The Wizards was conceived during VR Funhouse Game Jam, organized by the Epic Games and NVIDIA. During the event, a team from the Carbon Studio created a prototype of a spellcasting game that uses motion controllers. The goal of the game was to defend a land from oncoming hordes of enemies. This basic mechanic, combined with character development and the Fate Cards system, is the core of The Wizards.