10 VR Games That Revived Awesome Game Studios Back
4. Wilson's Heart
Game Studio: Twisted Pixel Games
Pixel's early days saw them evolve into Xbox Live Arcade's first superstar indie developer, with hits like The Maw, 'Splosion Man, and Comic Jumper. They all featured airtight mechanics, witty humor, and a charming sense of retro fun.
Coinciding with the success of Ms. Splosion Man, Microsoft bought them in 2011...but soon after, things went south.
The next two collaborations were underwhelming: The Gunstringer, an average shooter for Kinect, then LocoCycle, a straight-up mediocre action racer.
After only four years, Pixel announced their divorce from Microsoft, leaving the studio out in the cold and with a tainted fanbase. Yet, with nothing to lose, the dev doubled down on creating ballsy VR games.
Landing the gig of making Oculus's first proper triple-A exclusive, Wilson's Heart. It impressed critics with its Noirish black-and-white sheen, and gripping horror scares.
It was a big win for Pixel, and morphed them into one of the most distinct VR developers for Oculus' platforms, with none of their exciting genre-hopping aesthetic becoming compromised.
For example, 2019 saw them delver two eclectic VR hits: Defector, a rip-roaring spy blockbuster, and Path of the Warrior, a hilarious first-person spin on the retro beat-em-up.