C-Smash VRS
More actions
| C-Smash VRS | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| VR/AR | Virtual Reality |
| Developer | Wolf & Wood Interactive, RapidEyeMovers |
| Publisher | RapidEyeMovers |
| Platform | PlayStation VR2, Meta Quest, Pico 4, PlayStation 5 |
| Device | PlayStation VR2, Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest Pro, Pico 4 |
| Type | Game |
| Genre | Sports |
| Input Device | Motion controllers |
| Game Mode | Single-player, Multiplayer, Co-op |
| Release Date | 23 June 2023 (PlayStation VR2); 4 April 2024 (Meta Quest, Pico 4) |
| Price | US$26.99 (PlayStation VR2, announced launch price); US$17.99 (Quest and Pico launch) |
| App Store | PlayStation Store, Meta Horizon Store, Pico Store |
| Website | https://csmashvrs.com/ |
C-Smash VRS is a virtual reality sports game that reimagines Cosmic Smash, an arcade and Dreamcast game by Sega. Players hit a ball with a racket against breakable blocks on a court inside a space station. In the game's announcement, director Jörg Tittel summed up the original as "low-gravity squash meets block breaker".[1] It was developed by Wolf & Wood and published by RapidEyeMovers, Tittel's company, under license from Sega.[2][3] According to Tittel, "VRS stands for VR and Versus".[1]
The game launched as a PlayStation VR2 exclusive on 23 June 2023, then came to Meta Quest headsets and the Pico 4 on 4 April 2024.[4][5] A non-VR version, C-Smash VRS: New Dimension, was released for PlayStation 5 on 26 September 2024 with online play between PS5 and PS VR2 players.[6]
Gameplay
Each match takes place on a squash-like court inside a space station. The player holds one motion controller as a racket and uses the stick on the other controller to move left and right, always hitting the ball away from themselves toward panels and blocks.[3] The ball is called toward the player with a pulling motion, and movement can use either teleportation or artificial locomotion.[7] A special move allows an overhead smash when the ball bounces above the player's head.[3] The publisher's announcement mentioned finger detection, 3D audio and haptics among the game's features.[2] On PlayStation VR2 the adaptive triggers of the Sense controllers provide resistance feedback for one of the game's abilities; the Quest version keeps controller vibration but has no adaptive trigger support.[7]
Modes
The single-player Journey mode is a short campaign across five planetary orbits with two difficulty options, in which the player picks one of several routes of stages around each planet.[7] TheGamer's review noted that each level has a strict time limit and that failing to clear every block ends the run through a system; a Zen Mode lets players replay levels they fail.[8]
The versus modes are played one against one online. UploadVR describes four of them: Head-to-Head (whoever hits the most panels), Firewall (tagging and holding zones to accumulate points), Bodyshot (narrow stages in which the player must hit the opponent directly) and Quickshot (growing blocks that score more when hit while small).[7] Later updates added Infinity mode, co-op play, AI opponents and Time Attack (see Updates).
Development
Tittel became attached to Cosmic Smash while working as a journalist for Official Dreamcast Magazine in New York. The original was released after the Dreamcast had been discontinued and was sold in distinctive orange packaging rather than a standard jewel case, which led him to buy a copy.[3] According to the PlayStation Blog, the original game appeared at the turn of the millennium in select Japanese and European arcades and had a console release only in Japan.[1] Sources differ on the year: Video Games Chronicle called it a Dreamcast game released by Sega in 2000,[3] while Road to VR described it as a 2001 Dreamcast title that also came to arcades in Europe and Japan.[9]
Tittel wrote that the team set out to reimagine the game for VR and online play and that Sega "trusted us" with it.[1] Sega was involved at a licensing level, while RapidEyeMovers self-published the game.[3] In an interview with Video Games Chronicle, Tittel linked his interest in VR to Sega, recalling the company's unreleased Mega Drive headset shown at CES in 1993 (see Sega VR). He said he wanted the game to be "graphic design made physical", so the first people he talked to about the project were the designers Cory Schmitz and Arkotype, with the aim of creating a design bible.[3] He also noted that the original Cosmic Smash had only an AI-driven two-player mode hidden as an Easter egg, and that its cosmonaut characters appeared only in the end credits.[3]
The development team included Wolf & Wood, Schmitz and Arkotype, art director Rob Davis, and sound designer Dan Pugsley.[1] The soundtrack has original music by Ken Ishii, known for Rez Infinite, and Danalogue of The Comet Is Coming and Soccer 96; a track by UNKLE was added later.[1][10] The official website lists a limited edition vinyl of the soundtrack from Lost in Cult Records.[11]
Release
The game was announced on 13 February 2023 for PlayStation VR2.[1] A free demo with a tutorial, a training mode and a sample of online versus play went live on the PlayStation Store on 23 March 2023, when pre-orders opened and the release date was announced.[2][12] UploadVR noted that, as with other PS5 titles, online play required a PlayStation Plus subscription.[4]
| Platform | Release date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PlayStation VR2 | 23 June 2023 | Announced price US$26.99[4] |
| Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, Meta Quest Pro | 4 April 2024 | US$17.99 per UploadVR[5][9][7] |
| Pico 4 | 4 April 2024 | Released alongside the Quest version[5][9] |
| PlayStation 5 (New Dimension, non-VR) | 26 September 2024 | Free upgrade for PS VR2 owners[13][6] |
At the Quest and Pico launch the publisher announced global leaderboards shared across platforms, with cross-platform multiplayer listed as a later roadmap item.[5][9] Limited Run Games sold a region-free physical PS5 disc, PS5 Limited Run #115: C-Smash VRS, listed at US$34.99.[14]
Updates
A free update released on 14 September 2023 added Infinity mode, a two-player co-op variant of it, an AI Versus Bot with Easy, Medium and Hard difficulty, 36 new stages (bringing the total to 140), stage select, Multiball and Portal block types, emotes, instant replays, a music player, personal statistics, and a "Reconstruction" track by UNKLE based on Ken Ishii's "Antimatter".[10] UploadVR described Infinity mode as "a dynamically generated arena that keeps changing with the music".[15]
A Time Attack mode came to Quest, PS VR2 and Pico in an update announced on 30 April 2024. Players try to smash the most blocks within a time limit for places on monthly leaderboards, to a remix of Ken Ishii's "Starstorm". The same update added an endless single-player Practice Mode and ball trajectory prediction for teleport movement.[16]
New Dimension
C-Smash VRS: New Dimension is a third-person, non-VR version built on top of the PS VR2 game, with new mechanics, animations and visual changes. It supports hybrid online play: PS5 against PS5, PS5 against PS VR2, and PS VR2 against PS VR2. Owners of the PS VR2 game received the PS5 version as a free upgrade, and new buyers of the PS5 version also received the PS VR2 version.[13] Wolf & Wood creative director Ryan Bousfield said he hoped the new version would "invoke the feeling and pure playability of the original Cosmic Smash".[13]
Reception
On Metacritic, the PlayStation 5 listing of C-Smash VRS has a Metascore of 70 ("mixed or average") based on 18 critic reviews, and the Meta Quest listing has a score of 84 based on 5 critic reviews.[17] OpenCritic lists a Top Critic Average of 73 with 72% of critics recommending the game, a "Fair" rating.[18]
| Publication | Platform tested | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Video Games Chronicle | PlayStation VR2 (PS5) | 4/5[19] |
| UploadVR | PS VR2 and Quest 3 | 4/5[7] |
| TheGamer | PlayStation VR2 | 3/5[8] |
Video Games Chronicle called it "a must-buy for PSVR 2 owners" and praised the motion control precision and the Sense controller haptics, while noting that the game needs a lot of room and that single-player content was not plentiful.[19] UploadVR's updated review, covering both PS VR2 and Meta Quest 3, called it "a fine remake of an arcade classic that feels better than ever in standalone VR"; its criticisms included the short Journey campaign and the loss of adaptive trigger feedback on Quest.[7] TheGamer's Stacey Henley was more critical, writing that the game "conspires to make the experience frustrating with precise controls, harsh timers, and a lack of solo play modes".[8]
C-Smash VRS was one of six nominees for Best VR Game at the 2023 Golden Joystick Awards, a category won by Horizon Call of the Mountain.[20][11]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Jörg Tittel (2023-02-13). "C-Smash VRS reimagines Sega's iconic futuristic sports puzzler for PS VR2, demo out next month". PlayStation Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. https://blog.playstation.com/2023/02/13/c-smash-vrs-reimagines-segas-iconic-futuristic-sports-puzzler-for-ps-vr2-demo-out-next-month/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Sal Romano (2023-03-23). "C-Smash VRS launches June 23, demo now available". Gematsu. https://www.gematsu.com/2023/03/c-smash-vrs-launches-june-23-demo-now-available. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Steve Boxer (2023-02-27). "Inspired by a Dreamcast obscurity, PSVR2's C-Smash still oozes futurism". Video Games Chronicle. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/features/inspired-by-a-dreamcast-obscurity-psvr2s-c-smash-still-oozes-futurism/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Henry Stockdale (2023-03-23). "C-Smash VRS Demo Now Live, Arrives On June 23 For PSVR 2". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/c-smash-vrs-release-date-demo-psvr-2/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Henry Stockdale (2024-02-07). "C-Smash VRS Reaches Quest & Pico This Spring". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/c-smash-vrs-quest-pico-release-date/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Adam Cook (2024-09-26). "C-Smash VRS New Dimension out today on PS5". God is a Geek. https://godisageek.com/2024/09/c-smash-vrs-new-dimension-out-today-on-ps5/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 Henry Stockdale (2024-04-03). "C-Smash VRS Review - The Future Is Retro". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/c-smash-vrs-review/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Stacey Henley (2023-06-22). "C-Smash VRS Review - Orange Squash". TheGamer. https://www.thegamer.com/c-smash-vrs-review/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Scott Hayden (2024-02-08). "VR Remake of Dreamcast Classic 'Cosmic Smash' to Release on Quest & Pico in April". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/dreamcast-cosmic-smash-vrs-quest-pico/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Jörg Tittel (2023-08-30). "Huge C-Smash VRS update brings co-op, Infinity mode, new levels, music from Unkle and more September 14". PlayStation Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment. https://blog.playstation.com/2023/08/30/huge-c-smash-vrs-update-brings-co-op-infinity-mode-new-levels-music-from-unkle-and-more-september-14/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "C-Smash VRS". C-Smash VRS official website. RapidEyeMovers. https://csmashvrs.com/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ Stephen Tailby (2023-03-23). "C-Smash VRS Release Date Announced, Playable Demo Available Now for PSVR2". Push Square. https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2023/03/c-smash-vrs-release-date-announced-playable-demo-available-now-for-psvr2. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Sal Romano (2024-07-18). "C-Smash VRS: New Dimension launches September 26". Gematsu. https://www.gematsu.com/2024/07/c-smash-vrs-new-dimension-launches-september-26. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ "PS5 Limited Run #115: C-Smash VRS". Limited Run Games. https://limitedrungames.com/products/ps5-limited-run-115-c-smash-vrs. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ Henry Stockdale (2023-08-30). "C-Smash VRS Gets Co-op & New Modes This September On PSVR 2". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/c-smash-vrs-co-op-update/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ Henry Stockdale (2024-04-30). "C-Smash VRS Adds Time Attack Mode On Quest, PSVR 2 & Pico". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/c-smash-vrs-time-attack-mode-update/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ "C-Smash VRS". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/c-smash-vrs/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ "C-Smash VRS Reviews". OpenCritic. https://opencritic.com/game/15139/c-smash-vrs. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Jordan Middler (2023-07-26). "Review: C-Smash VRS is a PSVR2 ace". Video Games Chronicle. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/review/c-smash-vrs/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.
- ↑ "Horizon Call of the Mountain climbs to Best VR game at the Golden Joystick Awards". GamesRadar+. 2023-11-10. https://www.gamesradar.com/horizon-call-of-the-mountain-best-vr-game-gja-2023/. Retrieved 2026-10-04.