A VR space adventure that’s reaching for the stars 

Developer/ publisher Cyborn

Format Index, PSVR2, Quest, Rift, Vive

Origin Belgium

Release 2022 (Index, Rift, Vive), 2023 (PSVR2, Quest)

Our mission on Hubris’s alien planet begins underwater. Fortunately, a tutorial has already showed us how to swim, and when we exit our landing capsule semi-submerged in a tranquil lake it’s the first lesson we have to call upon. These opening moments almost feel like a birth, as we paddle up until our head breaks the surface, unveiling the big, wide world. And what a view we’re treated to: blue skies, the arc of a moon, a mysterious monolith. It’s not unlike when we first saw the curve of the ring in Halo, perhaps, yet now with the sense of depth afforded by VR.

Such a cinematic reveal shouldn’t be surprising from Cyborn, a studio with origins in animated film. Indeed, game director Ives Agemans explains, Hubris is one slice of a larger project that grew from these roots. “We created Hubris a long time ago,” he says. “We started to make a lot of concept designs for a film. We’ve also made a short miniseries that tells about what happens before the game.” Thus, there’s a grand backstory to events here involving warring empires, terraforming, and an organisation called the OOO, for which our protagonist apparently works. In truth, it all feels a bit like walking into a Star Wars spinoff without knowing your Wookiees from your Ewoks. But in the water, such concerns quickly wash away.