The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR was one of the first PlayStation VR2 exclusives that came out after the headset’s launch in February. But the VR spin-off was widely criticized, with many drawing attention to its bugs and visual hiccups. Supermassive Games explained that a patch was coming to address those issues and even recently gave a rough release window. However, this anticipated Switchback VR update has missed that window, which has caused ire among some PSVR2 users.
The Switchback VR update missed its two-week window
The update has a bit of a history that stretches back to the game’s rocky release. Supermassive was quick to address the problems and put out a statement just one day after the game launched, noting that it was “investigating the issues raised as a matter of urgency.” It even specifically called out the blurry visuals players were experiencing. Supermassive community manager Georgina Howlett later said in a Reddit comment that the update is going to contain:
- Fixes for blurred/low resolution visuals
- Fixes for textures and assets popping
- Greatly reduced loading times
- Enhancements to visuals, VFX, and lighting
- Improvements to textures and environment assets
- An introduction of FSR and foveated rendering
A patch for the game went live on April 12, which was mainly focused on stability. And while not quite what players were looking for, Supermassive gave a small update on the reported graphical and performance issues and “[hoped] to share news of another update very soon.”
That “very soon” came on June 29 when the studio explained that it had initially planned for the patch to drop at the end of June, but discovered it wouldn’t make that goal. It then said than an update on the update that it would come within two weeks.
That window has since passed, and Supermassive hasn’t given another proper explanation. Howlett claimed on Reddit that the studio meant “two calendar weeks” from that day, even though it had been 15 days from the post to the comment. She also said as of July 14 that she was still waiting on confirmation for its release date.
Regardless of the peculiar context, many were not pleased, as noted by the PSVR subreddit, which is full of various negative comments about the rail shooter and this illusive update. It seems as though many are tired of waiting for almost four months for the game to get to a more acceptable state and seeing this patch get delayed. This is also only after many, many threads and comments from the last few months detailing how disappointed some users were in the game. Switchback VR didn’t perform well critically, either, as it earned an average score of 68 on OpenCritic.
Supermassive’s titles over the past decade have tended to have technical problems, especially with the dawn of the annual Dark Pictures Anthology. The studio has developed 13 console games in the last eight years, and it’s likely that its next Dark Pictures game, Directive 8020, will bring that total to 14.
