Fast Travel Games, a virtual reality (VR) game developer and publisher, recently launched its new VR first-person shooter/hide-and-seek game called Mannequin. This is an important milestone for the studio, as it is their first multiplayer title and the first original game developed in-house since 2019. Mannequin was initially released in early access on the Quest 3, but now it is available on the Quest Store and Steam with crossplay and custom modes.
Mannequin is a unique combination of hide-and-seek and freeze tag. One team plays as Agents, humans with sensors who search levels where other humans are frozen in time. The other team plays as Mannequins, alien beings who can pose as frozen humans but cannot move once they do. Agents try to seek out and shoot Mannequins, while Mannequins try to touch Agents. Whichever team successfully “tags” out the other team wins the round.
During a preview of Mannequin’s gameplay, it was evident that both sides had their own strengths. Playing as a Mannequin is a fun exercise in mimicking NPCs, and the game’s maps are populated with enough NPCs to make it challenging for players to memorize all the actual NPC locations. However, it requires patience as Mannequins become very visible when they break stealth in line-of-sight. On the other hand, playing as an Agent feels like being the protagonist of a horror game.
Fast Travel Games CEO, Oskar Burman, shared insights into the development and inception of Mannequin. He mentioned that the concept of posing was one of the founding ideas behind the game. The team wanted to create a multiplayer experience where players could use unique poses that are only possible in a multiplayer setting. The game was prototyped three years ago with a small team that experimented with different ideas. Burman expressed his excitement about returning to their own intellectual property (IP) and the original reasons for founding the company.
Fast Travel Games had previously worked on VR titles based on properties from Paradox Interactive, such as Cities VR, Ghost Signals: A Stellaris Game, and Vampire: The Masquerade — Justice. However, Mannequin is one of their own new properties and represents a significant step forward for the studio.
Burman also highlighted the shift in the VR gaming market. When Fast Travel Games entered the market in 2016-2017, many VR games were relatively short, lasting only 30 minutes to an hour. The company saw the potential for longer, more immersive games and believed that multiplayer experiences were crucial for the growth of the VR gaming market. In recent years, there has been a rise in successful multiplayer VR games, attracting a critical audience of gamers who are looking for these types of experiences. Fast Travel Games believes that the market is now ready for multiplayer VR games like Mannequin.
The market for VR titles has expanded in the past year, with a younger demographic entering the VR gaming space and seeking multiplayer and social playground experiences. Mannequin aims to cater to this demographic while also appealing to hardcore VR gamers. Fast Travel Games sees this as an exciting time in the VR gaming space and is optimistic about the reception of Mannequin.
In conclusion, Fast Travel Games’ launch of Mannequin marks an important milestone for the studio as they venture into multiplayer VR gaming. With its unique combination of hide-and-seek and freeze tag gameplay, Mannequin offers an engaging experience for both Agents and Mannequins. The development of this original IP reflects the studio’s commitment to creating immersive and innovative VR games. As the VR gaming market continues to grow, Mannequin represents an exciting addition to the multiplayer VR genre, appealing to both casual and hardcore gamers alike.
