Alvo

Alvo
Information
VR/AR	Virtual Reality
Developer	Mardonpol Inc.; OutsideIn Entertainment (credited on Steam)
Publisher	Mardonpol Inc. (PlayStation VR, 2021); OutsideIn Entertainment (Quest 2 and later releases)
Platform	PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Meta Quest, SteamVR, Pico
Device	PlayStation VR, PlayStation VR2, Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, Pico headsets, PC VR headsets
Type	Game
Genre	Shooter, Action
Input Device	PlayStation VR Aim, PlayStation Move, DualShock 4, PlayStation VR2 Sense Controller, tracked motion controllers
Play Area	Seated, Standing, Room-scale
Game Mode	Multiplayer, Co-op
Release Date	April 13, 2021 (PlayStation VR)
Price	US$19.99 (PS5) and US$14.99 (PS4) on the US PlayStation Store as of October 2026
App Store	PlayStation Store, Oculus Store, Steam, Pico Store
Website	https://alvogame.com/

See also: VR Apps and VR Games

Alvo (sold on newer storefronts as ALVO VR) is a multiplayer virtual reality first-person shooter for up to 10 players, with free-for-all and five-versus-five team modes. It was developed by the Canadian studio Mardonpol Inc. and first released for PlayStation VR on 13 April 2021, with support for the PlayStation VR Aim controller. Announced in 2017 for a 2018 launch, the game was presented by Road to VR as an attempt to make a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive-style team shooter for VR.

Publisher OutsideIn Entertainment later released the game on Meta Quest 2 in March 2022, on PlayStation VR2 in 2023 and on Steam in February 2024, with cross-play between the supported headsets. It has no single-player campaign; bots fill empty slots in online lobbies.

Reviewed 13 October 2026. Checked every cited source (UploadVR, Road to VR, MIXED, Game Developer, PlayStation Store, Steam, Metacritic, OpenCritic, Mardonpol and official site) against announcement, platform release dates, prices, modes, maps, controls, update history, review scores and quotes. About review dates.

Gameplay

Alvo is an online first-person shooter for up to 10 players. At its PlayStation VR launch it had three modes: a 10-player free-for-all, 5v5 team deathmatch, and 5v5 Search and Destroy, a round-based mode in which one team plants a bomb and the other defends the bomb sites or defuses it. Movement uses artificial locomotion, and players can run, jump, climb, slide and go prone while firing. UploadVR rated the game's comfort level as "intense".

In the launch version, progression was earned through play, and the in-game Alvo Coins could not be bought with real money. Players started with an AK-47-style rifle called the Annihilator, a pistol and three grenade types, and unlocked six more primary weapons and another sidearm with Alvo Coins. The launch build had four maps plus a night version of the Monastery map, two weapon attachments (a laser and a bayonet), seven scope types and four customizable loadouts. The game also has killstreak rewards, perks, and daily and weekly challenges. The current PlayStation Store listing describes in-game voice chat, dedicated servers, bots that fill empty lobby slots, and options for gun offset, HUD, audio and comfort settings, and sells packs of an in-game currency called Brass.

On the original PlayStation VR, the game can be played with the DualShock 4, the PlayStation VR Aim controller or a pair of PlayStation Move controllers. The PlayStation VR2 version requires the PS VR2 Sense controllers and supports seated, standing and room-scale play, with a minimum area of 2 m x 2 m for room-scale. The Quest 2 version added dual wielding and a manual reload option.

Development

Mardonpol, whose previous game was Quiz Night Tonight!, revealed Alvo in October 2017 as a PlayStation VR shooter with Aim controller support that would also come to the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive with cross-platform multiplayer. The studio planned a 2018 release. The game appeared on Sony's list of more than 60 PlayStation VR games due in 2017 and 2018, and Road to VR noted that the first trailer did not show actual in-game footage. Mardonpol's company site describes the studio as founded and headquartered in Canada.

The 2018 date was missed. In January 2021, UploadVR published gameplay footage captured on a PlayStation 4 Pro with the Aim controller; a developer told the site that a closed PlayStation VR beta was planned for Europe and North America, that PlayStation VR and Rift cross-play was already working, and that PC VR and Quest versions would follow the PlayStation VR launch.

After the PlayStation VR release, the developers announced in September 2021 that Alvo had been approved for the Oculus Store on Quest and recruited closed beta testers through the game's Discord server, with builds distributed through App Lab to Quest 2 headsets only. In June 2022, Mardonpol confirmed to UploadVR that a PlayStation VR2 version was in development.

Release

Alvo launched on the PlayStation Store on 13 April 2021 for US$40, playable through PlayStation VR on both PS4 and PlayStation 5, without PS5-specific graphical improvements at launch. PlayStation Plus members received a 25% discount for the first two weeks.

The Quest 2 version, published by OutsideIn Entertainment, was released on 17 March 2022 for US$24.99; Mardonpol Inc. was credited as the developer. A co-op zombies mode arrived on Quest 2 in update 1.2.45 in April 2022. At that time the developers said that bringing zombies and dual wielding to the PlayStation VR version was their "current top priority", and that a new map, Dojo, would start cross-play between the two platforms. By August 2023, the original PlayStation VR, Quest 2 and Pico versions were cross-play compatible.

In August 2023, OutsideIn Entertainment announced the PlayStation VR2 version for 14 September 2023, with enhanced dynamic lighting, 4K resolution, and headset and controller haptics. Owners of the original PlayStation VR version could upgrade for US$5. The PlayStation Store listing for ALVO VR gives a release date of 18 August 2023 and names OutsideIn Entertainment as publisher. The Steam version was released on 12 February 2024; its listing credits OutsideIn Entertainment as developer and publisher, supports headsets including the Valve Index, Quest 2, Quest 3, Rift and PlayStation VR2, and lists Training, Free-for-All, Team Deathmatch, Search and Destroy, Hardpoint and Zombies modes, with 14 core maps and four day and night variants.

Platform	Release date	Notes
PlayStation VR (PS4, also playable on PS5)	13 April 2021	US$40 at launch; DualShock 4, Aim or Move controllers
Meta Quest 2 (Oculus Store)	17 March 2022	US$24.99; published by OutsideIn Entertainment
Pico	Not confirmed	Available and cross-play compatible by August 2023
PlayStation VR2 (PS5)	Announced for 14 September 2023 (PlayStation Store lists 18 August 2023)	US$5 upgrade for PlayStation VR owners
SteamVR (Steam)	12 February 2024	Cross-play with other supported headsets

As of October 2026, the US PlayStation Store sells the PS5 (PlayStation VR2) edition for US$19.99 and the PS4 edition for US$14.99, with PlayStation Plus required for online play. The official website lists PlayStation VR2, PlayStation VR, Meta Quest, Pico and SteamVR as platforms with full cross-play, and describes a Sanatorium map for the zombie mode and a Dojo multiplayer map.

Reception

Alvo has no Metascore on Metacritic, which lists two critic reviews for the PlayStation 4 version, below the four needed for an aggregate score.

Publication	Score	Notes
UploadVR	3/5 stars	Listed as 60/100 by Metacritic; PlayStation VR version
Pure PlayStation	75/100	Score as listed by Metacritic
GBAtemp	8.5/10	Score as listed by OpenCritic
WayTooManyGames	3.5/10	Score as listed by OpenCritic

In UploadVR's review of the PlayStation VR version, Nicholas Sutrich wrote that the game was "seriously great fun thanks to lighthearted, arcade-like mechanics" and had "excellent bones, even if there isn't very much to do". He criticized the small amount of launch content (five maps and three modes), the lack of a campaign, weak sound effects and weapons catching on walls, and found the US$40 price "a bit steep" for the content. Metacritic's excerpt of the Pure PlayStation review says the game is "not very polished" but, despite its flaws, "a perfect complement to PSVR's only other VR military shooter", and describes it as a run-and-gun shooter closer to Call of Duty than to Rainbow Six Siege. MIXED wrote that the PlayStation VR2 version could compete with Pavlov and described the earlier Quest 2 version as "graphically rather mediocre".