Factsheet

Developer:
Vertical Robot
Based in Madrid, Spain

Release date:
24 May, 2018 (Oculus Rift)
10 Nov, 2018 (Steam)
6 Dec, 2018 (PSVR SIEE)
11 Dec, 2018 (PSVR SIEA)
15 Aug, 2019 (Oculus Quest)

Platforms:
Oculus Rift
Steam
PlayStation VR
Oculus Quest

Website:
http://redmattergame.com

Regular Price:
-

Description

Red Matter is a story-driven VR puzzle adventure game set during a dystopian Sci-Fi Cold War. Take on the role of Agent Epsilon, an astronaut of the Atlantic Union dispatched to an abandoned Volgravian base on Rhea, one of Saturn’s moons. Your mission: to investigate a shady top secret research project.

Solve puzzles in a beautiful, high-detail brutalist environment which only becomes more and more surreal as the story progresses. Use an array of hi-tech tools to decipher hidden messages and mechanisms and uncover ever deeper and darker secrets of the facility. But beware of what you may find... Once you discover the truth, will you be able to stomach it?

History

For this game we wanted to create a distinct, out-of-the-ordinary sci-fi world. We found inspiration in Soviet space race visual propaganda, because of how bold and iconic those images are. However, we wanted to distance ourselves from reality by creating a dystopian fantasy in which the Cold War is waged between two made-up nations: the Atlantic Union and the People’s Republic of Volgravia. Red Matter stems from stark imagery, to which we add Orwellian overtones in order to construct an entirely original backdrop. In fact, the game even features its own language and alphabet for Volgravia, forcing the player to utilize an array of high-tech tools at their disposal to decipher messages and unravel the mysteries contained within the game’s plot.

Red Matter is a bid for total interactivity, allowing the player to freely manipulate objects and interact with the environment in a natural, unrestricted way, thus creating a sense of true presence and immersion. To achieve this seamless integration within the virtual world, the team at Vertical Robot decided to feature the Oculus Touch controllers directly inside the game world: as you grip the controllers, your character will in turn wield an array of tools that perfectly match the game’s theme and setting. One of such tools is a set of claws that allow your to interact with the environment in a surprisingly natural and intuitive way, allowing players to grab, inspect, and handle objects and solve puzzles encountered in-game with literally no restrictions.

Concerning its visuals, Red Matter features a realistic but slightly stylized art style. The environments you traverse are inspired by the rawness and functionality inherent to neo-brutalist architecture, and gradually evolve into later architectural trends, such as deconstructivism or postmodernism. The prevalence of concrete, light and massive, eye-catching structures evokes a retro-futuristic atmosphere, strongly influenced by 80s sci-fi cinema, Soviet space age imagery and the Cold War.

Features

  • Complete freedom of interaction with all objects.
  • Challenging puzzles integrated directly into the storyline.
  • Complex and immersive narrative.
  • Beautiful, high-detail brutalist environments which only becomes more and more surreal as the story progresses.

Videos

Release Trailer YouTube

PSVR Trailer YouTube

Oculus Quest - Sizzle Reel YouTube


Images

download all screenshots & photos as .zip (67MB)
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download logo files as .zip (6MB)
logo
logo

Red Matter Release, Press Note (EN)
Download the Red Matter release announcement verticalrobot.com.

Lanzamiento Red Matter, Nota de Prensa (ES)
Descarga el anuncio de la publicación de Red Matter verticalrobot.com.

Red Matter Soundtrack - Soundcloud
Listen to Red Matter's captivating soundtrack by Eduardo de la Iglesia soundcloud.com.

Red Matter Website
Visit the game Website! http:.

Red Matter E-Mail
Send us an E-Mail: redmatter@verticalrobot.com .


About Vertical Robot

Boilerplate
At Vertical Robot, we are a small yet dedicated team of experienced professionals with a diverse background in the gaming industry. Our notable portfolio includes renowned AAA titles for consoles such as Castlevania: Lords of Shadow saga and Spec Ops: The Line, as well as successful mobile projects. This rich experience has provided us with valuable know-how in optimization, allowing us to deliver smooth, immersive gameplay in our VR creations. Driven by our shared passion for immersive storytelling and cutting-edge technology, we established Vertical Robot to explore the captivating world of virtual reality game development.

Despite our small size, we have achieved remarkable success, earning two D.I.C.E. awards and being named "Best VR Developer of 2022" by UploadVR. Our mission is to innovate within the VR gaming landscape by pushing artistic, technical, and creative boundaries. We focus on crafting highly immersive experiences that captivate players and showcase the full potential of the platform, while maintaining exceptional attention to detail, optimization, and a polished finish in all our projects.

More information
More information on Vertical Robot, our logo & relevant media are available here.



presskit() by Rami Ismail (Vlambeer) - also thanks to these fine folks