D-Day Enhanced on PSVR2 - First Impressions

I have uploaded gameplay from my fresh experience with the game here if you want to see how it looks / plays. My first impressions are shared below:

Based on my limited time with retail release, I recommend playing D-Day Enhanced on the PSVR2 if you have any interest in large scale (up to 64 players) PvP battles.

It is an online PvP focused first person shooter set during WW2, supporting large scale (up to 32 vs 32) player matches such as Team Death Match ( 23:15 ) and Attack & Defend ( 33:26 ). The game features large open maps where you can drive tanks and jeeps or run and gun on foot. The game is designed to give you modified slice of map when player counts are lower and the full map when the player counts are high enough. I think certain maps will only be available if there are enough players.

The only solo content in the game is the self-paced Training Grounds which encourages players to learn the game before going into its core online mode by offering 4 trophies:

• Practice makes perfect for shooting all the targets in the training ground rifle range
• Big boom for destroying a vehicle on the tank range
• Soldier or racer? for driving jeep around training ground track
• Panzer king for driving tank around the training ground course

All other trophies are for playing the PvP mode ( 17:38 ) where I think hardest would be earning a 20 Kill Streak and longest reaching level 100. There is a Platinum for getting them all. After first day, there is only one trophy sitting at 0% which is Veteran for reaching level 100, so I think all trophies are working reliably.

The game is free upgrade for owners of the PSVR1 game called Honor and Duty: D-Day for a limited time. It is being sold in three options:

• Standard Edition which contains base game
• Special Edition which contains base game + 2 exclusive "Officer" characters + 2 cosmetic DLC options included
• Gold Edition which contains base game + 2 exclusive "Officer" characters + 4 additional "Officer" skins + 5 cosmetic DLC options

The game provides many cosmetics you can unlock by playing, but is also offering 36 paid cosmetic DLC options, including some packs that include multiple or even all. The game is priced in a way to be inexpensive to get into, but also structured to provide additional revenue to developers to allow them to continue supporting and improving the game long-term.

The game has launched as a PSVR2 exclusive but is planned in consideration to release on SteamVR (and / or other VR platforms) with cross-play at a later date. The value of this game will be how it is supported and manages to keep the lobbies populated. Their plan is to run seasons that will have a theme and battle pass (season 1 open at launch), and for each subsequent one to release new maps, weapons, vehicles and cosmetics. They also plan to add new game modes such as Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, and Zombies.

The game underwent over 6 months of public beta testing that I participated in. I have played the game when it was roughest and I wondered how this could ever be successful to taking steps forward and improving, then taking steps back, and then taking many steps forward. I share that because my confidence in the development team and their ability to take constructive feedback and continually improve the game has been well founded through that experience. The game released into retail player hands isn't perfect, but it is ready for you to have fun.

A few tips to not let remaining issues get in the way of fun:

• If your character gets mangled (tends to happen when using vehicles), hold the options button to re-center. If your ammo pouch isn't in normal place, do it again.
• If your weapon isn't firing (happened just once in what I played yesterday), dying fixes it.
• If you are holding your weapon weirdly upon spawn, release off-hand grip, straighten your other arm to hold it out better, then grab it again.
• Jeeps are wild, practice safe driving in training ground or don't get in them.
• Any other issue, get on the Strange Games Community Discord, create tickets using the # bug-report channel, give them time to fix

Positives worth mentioning:

• Loading is non-existent.
• Waiting is non-existent.
• 6+ months of public beta ensuring netcode is highly optimized, so PvP feels lag / latency free.
• In-game voice chat is working well since beta first started (you hear your team, except on results screen, you hear all).
• Game lets you choose your preferred refresh rate (60, 90, 120 or leave on auto).
• Visuals are crisp and clear, sometimes even beautiful depending on map.
• Sound effects are on point making use of PSVR2 3D spatialized audio, and the kill "ting" is so satisfying.
• Full range of VR comfort options including tunneling, snap turns, etc that you can turn off.
• Use of resistive triggers and haptics (subtle) that make different weapons feel distinct in use.
• Option of manual reloads can be faster than button press based reloads that get weapon specific timers.
• Intuitive well designed controls for selecting weapons, offering quick swap.
• Eye-tracking used in sensible ways that enhance menu usage, but you can turn off.

My biggest concern was / is if lobbies will remain populated 24/7 long term, but for the times I normally play, launch day was clear success. I was personally very nervous about that because beta had some 40-50 player participation where game was most fun but also some dwindling down in other sessions. There are other unknowns as well, such as I don't know how the game handles when there are more than 64 players because there isn't a server list (that I have seen). It also doesn't have any features around allowing friends to squad up and play together (that I am aware of). For now, I think the game just has to find active community of players that don't mind what team they get placed on and then enjoy what it is, and for anything else that can be improved, engage with the developers on their discord as a community of idea contributors.