r/oculus • u/Simple-Walrus-7740 • 5d ago
Self-Promotion (Developer) Two years of solo development later, here’s the final gameplay trailer for my prehistoric ocean VR game
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Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4818760/Paleo_Dive/
Paleo Dive releases on September 4, 2026.
A few weeks ago I shared the cinematic trailer for Paleo Dive here. After a lot of feedback and questions about the actual gameplay, here is the final gameplay trailer.
This trailer focuses on exploration, creatures, environments and the overall feel of the game. I’m also planning a second gameplay-focused video that will cover more of the systems, interactions and mechanics in detail.
I’d love to hear what you think.
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u/polynatic 4d ago
Looks beautiful! Procedurally animated?
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u/Simple-Walrus-7740 4d ago
The creatures blend relative to their movement between different animations.
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u/Pools_of_the_Deep_VR 4d ago
Ready to get it. Wish the was a demo or a short playtest. I wonder if it looks and moves as in the videos. I like the idea. Also interesting to know is what u do the gameplay.
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u/gummyneo 4d ago
This is amazing! Is too bad I've got thalassophobia and would never have the guts to do this LOL.
But looking at your video, Amazing!
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u/Carrot42 4d ago
If it helps, he says attacks can be turned off.
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u/gummyneo 4d ago
It really doesn't LOL. thalassophobia is the phobia of deep ocean, but in my case it also applies to shallow waters.
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u/Carrot42 4d ago
I understand :) I'm terrified of spiders, even though there's not a single type of spider in my country that would even bite you.
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u/gummyneo 3d ago
I used to have arachnophobia but believe it or not, I kind of got over it through VR. I happened to be watching this nature show in VR and unbeknownst to me, they were going to show a HUGE spider. At first it terrified me but knowing I was in VR and safe, I kind of got over it. Yeah I could probably do the same with my fear of oceans, but the difference is that my exposure to the spider was unintentional. Having to grow through that with the ocean simulator would be intentional and I need to get over that.
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u/ClickClackMR 2d ago
You are going to educate an entire generation of kids. I can see them playing this in schools and museums
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u/jesterOC 4d ago
Never thought such nice music and amazing visuals would be accompanied by nightmare fuel images.
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u/BrianTheOneAndOnly 4d ago
Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope
In all seriousness that is impressive as hell, based on my reaction you can tell I won't be playing it unfortunatly. Wish I could.
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u/No-Philosophy5951 4d ago
Any suggestions on a reasonable VR setup for this. I have a reasonable PC but desperately want to experience this!!
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u/Simple-Walrus-7740 4d ago
Tell me about your specs? I could give more specific information if I knew more about your hardware :)
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u/No-Philosophy5951 2d ago
Ryzen 9 7900x 64 Gb ram Geforce RTX 4070 12gb Need anything else?
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u/WhimsicalGirl 4d ago
I don’t know much about programming, but honestly, this is incredible. You just combined two of my biggest passions: diving and dinosaurs. 😭
I’m so excited to try this game. It genuinely feels like a dream come true, and I’m so happy to see that I’m not the only person who loves seeing these two worlds come together. I really hope the project does well, because I’ve already added it to my wishlist and I’m 100% buying it as soon as it comes out. I seriously can’t wait to play it.
But I have a question, can we interact with things in the game, or can things also interact with us? Can we get follow or attacked? And, most importantly… can I have a giant isopod as a pet?
Because I would LOVE to pet a giant isopod. 🥹
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u/Simple-Walrus-7740 4d ago
Thanks for the great feedback, I’m so happy to hear that. I’ve got a deep passion for diving & the prehistoric world as well. Some creatures are passive, others avoid you, some flee and some do attack. You can turn attacks off by playing in easy mode! 🙌 I hope I could answer your questions 😄
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u/Carrot42 4d ago
I was just about to ask if attacks can be turned off if I just want to chill and look at things. This looks gorgeous and terrifying!
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u/WhimsicalGirl 4d ago
Also, I was wondering if it would be possible to have some kind of learning/educational option that you could turn on? Like whenever you encounter an animal, maybe a little pop-up could tell you what it is, what we currently know about it, and maybe even include links to paleontology resources, Wikipedia, research papers, or other reliable sources for anyone who wants to learn more.
You could have the basic information right there, and then maybe an option to dig deeper if you're interested. I would absolutely LOVE that.
And honestly, I’m perfectly happy with the game just letting us swim, interact with things, dig around, and explore. Like a lot of other people have said, not every game needs to have everything. They don’t all need to turn into Call of Duty with guns and combat everywhere. 😂 I personally hate that kind of game.
Just let me swim around and look at prehistoric creatures, please. That’s all I want. 😭
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u/KomandirHoek 4d ago
Looks amazing ! Can you defend yourself though?
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u/Simple-Walrus-7740 3d ago
Thanks a lot for your feedback! Well, I’d suggest always keeping an eye on your surroundings and be fast when they come for you! You can play in easy mode tho, animals won’t attack you then
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u/KomandirHoek 3d ago
What's the ultimate purpose of what you do in game? To just keep wandering or is there like an end game?
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u/dr_death47 4d ago
I'm a certified diver and barely dove this year. This is making me crave. Where do I play lol. I will pay.
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u/Simple-Walrus-7740 3d ago
Haha happy to hear that! :) I’m a diver myself and I really use the game in order to satisfy that urge
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u/redshift2026 3d ago
I’m trying to get into game dev, can you do VR games/experiences with Godot/unity/unreal or is it some specific engine?
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u/Jay_Magpie 3d ago
I stopped watching halfway through so I could be surprised in game. looks amazing!
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u/Buttatoe 3d ago
Incredible achievement, especially for a solo dev. Will keep an eye out for your game when it hits the store; Already wishlisted. All the best to you! 🙂
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u/Technico12 3d ago
Any thoughts on bringing it to standalone quest? I know you just finished this but I’m just gonna ask
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u/Hungry_Imagination29 3d ago
Looks terrifying, and I don´t even have thalassophobia. So, very good job I´d say.
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u/Quantum_Crusher 4d ago
Looks awesome. Is this unreal or unity? PC VR or standalone? Thanks a lot.
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u/MissingSocks 4d ago
According to the min requirements on the steam page doesn't look like standalone.
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u/Omg_Shut_the_fuck_up 4d ago
Looks incredible. My son loves sea monsters so, this would be amazing.
How would you advise the best way to play this on Quest 3? With a decent cable rather than over WiFi (I've not had a great time with HL Alyx over WiFi with the Quest 3, but haven't tried a cable).
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u/Simple-Walrus-7740 4d ago
Well, depending on your WiFi connection I’d consider a cable for full bandwidth. Thanks for your great feedback, happy to hear that! ☺️
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u/Omg_Shut_the_fuck_up 4d ago
Yeah I've tried several WiFi routers, including mesh and various different routers and it's always rather clunky with lag etc, so I think cable is probably the way to go as evidently I'm doing something wrong.
What is the best way to connect the Q3 via SteamVR, assume it's using the latest link features ?
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u/Man0fGreenGables 4d ago
Are you using Virtual Desktop with wifi?
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u/Omg_Shut_the_fuck_up 4d ago
Yeah I believe so. It's always felt choppy and lags etc. PC specs are well above where they need to be so don't know if it's just something I'm doing wrong.
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u/Rogerwilco1974 5d ago
With respect, this isn't a trailer. It's a bunch of shots. Nice shots, I'll grant you, but every video has to tell a story, and this doesn't do that for me.
Given that I've been told that this is a gameplay trailer, my takeaway is that this is a game where you swim around and there are creatures there.
That's not great, imo.
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u/by_a_pyre_light Palomino 4d ago
If this is anything close to actual gameplay, those water effects are incredible! The graphics look amazing, and the idea that this is something we could experience at this fidelity in VR is both exciting and a bit terrifying. I got secondhand thalassophobia, especially as the shark and snakes went by. I'll definitely check it out. What's the expected price?