Martin Rumenov Hidden IO, an innovative VR studio based in Montreal, has announced the upcoming launch of ZIX, a groundbreaking VR action roguelike. Scheduled for release on Meta Quest 3/3S and Steam VR in Fall 2025, ZIX offers an immersive experience where players control reality itself, navigating surreal, ever-shifting worlds filled with relentless combat and larger-than-life enemies.
The Cult of Chaos: A World of Unpredictability
In ZIX, players take on the role of an Acolyte, tasked with spreading chaos across corrupted realms. The game’s central mission involves invading these realms, dismantling their order, and harvesting instability to feed the enigmatic force known as Zix. This journey unfolds across three bizarre worlds, where players can scavenge ingredients to create new mutations of reality using the Cauldron.
Key Features:
- Procedural World Generation: Each run is unique, with worlds that shift and transform unpredictably.
- Reality Manipulation: Players can swap enemies between worlds, twist gravity, and unleash cosmic horrors.
- Combat System: FIRST INSTINCT, a gesture-based combat and movement system, allows for fluid, intuitive combat without menus or cluttered controls.
A Combat System That Moves as Fast as You Think
ZIX’s combat is built around the proprietary FIRST INSTINCT system, which uses triggers and grips to create a seamless experience. Players can dash, dodge, launch projectiles, and string together attacks instantly, making every battle a dynamic ballet of blades and fireballs. This system encourages improvisation, allowing players to react fluidly and creatively.
Reality as a Sandbox—Break It
The game’s procedural world-mixing system ensures no two runs are alike. Players can:
- Mix World Fragments: Collect and blend elements to unleash bizarre effects, such as replacing enemy types or changing the soundtrack.
- Environmental Remixing: Fuse multiple biomes to create wild hybrid levels that defy logic.
- Twist, Break, and Rebuild: Warp the world and yourself by stacking absurd augments and fusing bizarre abilities.
Boss Fights That Bend the Universe
Prepare for colossal-scale boss battles that reshape the battlefield in real-time. Players must dodge not just attacks but world-ending events as they face towering, physics-defying horrors alone or with up to two friends in co-op.
Play Solo or Bring Friends
ZIX is designed for limitless experimentation and replayability, whether playing solo or with friends. Every run is a chaotic mix of movement, creative combat, and emergent strategies, ensuring that both solo and co-op players are constantly discovering new ways to push the limits of destruction.
Join the Chaos Early
To get a head start, players can wishlist ZIX on the Meta Quest Store and Steam. For those eager to dive in sooner, Hidden IO is offering opportunities to apply for upcoming alpha play-tests through their Discord channel.
About Hidden IO
Hidden IO is an independent VR studio founded by brothers Tam and Sol Tahirli, who have backgrounds in gaming and development at industry giants like Unity and Ubisoft. Backed by Meta’s Oculus Publishing program and the Canada Media Fund, Hidden IO aims to push VR boundaries with bold, experimental experiences like ZIX.
