by Joseph Luster

If there’s one place that hasn’t had much opportunity to spread its wings in the world of World War II-related games, it’s virtual reality. We’re still in the early stages of VR gaming, and even with retail Oculus Rift units becoming available shortly, it’s still far from viable to your average consumer.

But, things are beginning to get interesting on that front.

World War Toons is a PlayStation VR game that was originally shown at E3 2015, and it brings with it not only a novel approach to World War II games, but a unique take on the first-person shooter genre in general.

[text_ad]

VR WWII Gaming With a Family-Friendly Flair

The team behind World War Toons is Reload Studios, which is comprised of not just former Call of Duty devs, but veteran animators from both Disney and Marvel, as well. While its setting is indeed inspired by World War II, the stylistic approach manages to spin it into a more family-friendly affair that can be enjoyed by everyone. Reload Studios unveiled a new trailer during December’s PlayStation Experience event, highlighting a blend of cartoony, operatic comedy and pre-alpha in-game assets. The result is a strikingly different take on the WWII shooter, with a refreshing lightheartedness that manages not to come off as inappropriate.

Will Reload Studios be able to bring first-person shooters into virtual reality? It's not exactly a new idea, but they still might deliver...

Special item pick-ups cause pianos to drop from the sky, enemies ride Looney Tunes-esque TNT rockets across the battlefield, and the recently revealed Sniper character even gets a very literal heads up in the aiming department. More specifically, whenever the Sniper peeks through his scope, his opponents’ heads boom into cartoonishly massive caricatures, letting the player focus on aiming without getting motion sickness from zooming in and focusing too far ahead. That’s really the aim of the entire control scheme.

Are We Closer to a True VR FPS?

There are still plenty of people who can’t touch VR, especially first-person shooters, because of motion sickness issues. A refined control scheme is being implemented to make sure World War Toons is more accessible than anything else, and Reload is hoping to revolutionize the FPS genre within the world of VR with this one. Here’s hoping they succeed and we get the chance to try out World War Toons for ourselves soon.

Will Reload Studios be able to bring first-person shooters into virtual reality? It's not exactly a new idea, but they still might deliver...