Pool Nation VR is one of the most positively received games available for the HTC Vive. It's also one of the most surreal multiplayer experiences that I’ve had the pleasure of taking part in. Currently, Pool Nation VR is an HTC Vive exclusive, but that will change in October when the PSVR comes out.
Pool Nation VR launched at the beginning of June, and it was an instant hit with fans. Pool Nation VR takes place in a virtual pool hall setting. There are a couple of billiards tables and a few dart boards. You’ll find air hockey and shuffleboard tables, and there’s even a skreeball alley to try your luck with. If you prefer something a little bit more cerebral, you can sit down for a game of checkers or chess, too. There’s something for everybody, and best of all, it's a multiplayer experience.
The current release of Pool Nation VR is limited to two players in the bar, but the environment is so large that it feels somewhat empty in there with so few players. I expected that we’d see the player limit increase at some point, and it appears as though that hunch was correct: When the game hits PSVR, the maximum player count will increase to eight.
It’s not clear if that change will also come to the PC version of the game. The current system relies on one player hosting the match instead of on dedicated servers. It’s not likely that PS4 consoles will host the matches, though; that task should be offloaded to dedicated servers, which would allow for a higher number of players in a given instance. We hope to see eight-player hangouts come to the Vive game, too.
There’s no word about Pool Nation VR coming to the Oculus Rift platform. However, once the Oculus Touch controllers are available, there’s no reason why it couldn’t. Pool Nation VR relies on hand controls, but you don’t need room-scale support, thanks to the teleport mechanism.
Perilous Orbit and Cherry Pop Games, the developers behind Pool Nation VR, announced that they are bringing the game to Sony’s VR platform around the same time that the system will hit the market. The developers did not reveal the exact release date, but the PSVR HMD will start shipping on October 13, so there’s a chance the game will be available on launch day.
