Phantom: Covert Ops kayak "gets rid of all abstractions in VR"

Virtual Reality is a growing platform which is gaining more traction as the technology becomes more accessible. At this year's E3 we saw a whole host of new and interesting VR titles, both announced and available to play, and one of the more interesting experiences was Phantom: Covert Ops, which is a stealth action game played entirely from a kayak. We know it sounds unusual, but to understand what led developer nDreams to this choice, we spoke with game director Lewis Brundish about it.

"What we found with the kayak was that it's a way that you can get rid of all abstraction in VR," said Brundish. "If you want to move around in VR, there's always something that takes the immersion away a little bit, you might have to teleport, or you might have to push a stick to walk. When we came upon the idea of a kayak, you can be seated and navigate using your arms and that's exactly what you're doing so there's no abstractions. We love the idea but getting it feeling right, took a lot of work."

Phantom: Covert Ops is not all about rowing and stealth though. Throughout the title, players will be required to use many weapons to eliminate enemies and keep themselves hidden, or alternatively utilise one of the many pieces of equipment to help traverse the land.

Phantom: Covert Ops is scheduled for release on Oculus Quest and Rift sometime in 2019, although an actual date is yet to be revealed.

What do you think about a stealth action VR game played entirely from a kayak?