Fruit Ninja for HTC Vive turns you into a virtual slasher

One of the biggest problems with consumer virtual reality products today is input. While the headset immerses you in a world that almost looks real, the illusion is shattered when you try to reach out for something with your hands. Because you can't, unless you're wearing one of those expensive or experimental (or both) gloves. The HTC Vive's and Oculus Rift's controllers are basically sticks that make you feel like you're holding a wand or a sword. Which, in retrospect, actually makes it perfect for a game like Fruit Ninja. You (or someone else) asked, and they heard. Fruit Ninja is now on VR!

Fruit Ninja, alongside Angry Birds, is one of those early mobile gaming hits that are now trying to recover lost time and territory. It started out as one of the first games that embraced touchscreen interfaces into their game mechanics instead of forcing the semblance of gamepads. Although it didn't expand as much as Rovio's breakout game did, the once mindless fruit slashing game now also boasts of getting an animated series or a film, or both.

Unlike in the mobile version of the game, both of your hands are free to use. Which means that you're now a dual katana wielding assassin of all things fruity. The core of the game mostly remains the same, except now you get to slice in 360 degrees. It's not simply an aesthetic change, mind you. The fruits, and the bombs, behave like real physical objects. You can even swat a bomb away. Or skewer fruits ala shish kabob.

Fruit Ninja VR, which is available on SteamVR and therefore the HTC Vive, is still on early access. That means a lot can still change until it launches in final form. Priced at $14.99, the game enjoys a 20% discount until July 14th.

SOURCE: Steam