Editor’s Note: This post was written by Evasion developer Archiact’s Lead Writer, Peter Boychuk, and is being published here as a guest developer blog.

Evasion is a sci-fi bullet hell shooter for PlayStation VR, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. If you haven’t already, check out the latest trailer for a glimpse into the pulse-pounding action we’ve got in store for you later this year.

We’d like to take this opportunity to do a deep dive into Evasion’s characters, locations and story.

Humanity Takes to the Stars

Evasion is set in the early 23rd Century. Humans have colonized the spaceways thanks to FTL drives that run on a fuel called chloragen, which has become the galaxy’s most precious commodity.

The richest source of chloragen is found in space claimed by the Optera, a highly advanced and fiercely xenophobic race. When humans attempted to mine one of their worlds, a terrible war erupted. Millions of lives were lost on both sides before a fragile truce was declared. As a concession, humans were permitted to colonize one of the Optera’s moons. That moon, which the humans christened ‘Faro Colony’, became the galaxy’s largest exporter of chloragen.

Peace is Shattered

Now, decades later, the Optera have suddenly and unexpectedly launched an attack on Faro Colony. Your mission is to find out what happened on Faro Colony, and unearth what motivated the Optera to reopen a conflict that nearly brought both species to the brink of extinction. The lives of the over twelve thousand colonists, not to mention the rest of humanity, hang in the balance. Along the way, you’ll liberate outposts, travel deep into a chloragen mine, explore a town built into a crater, and face off against legions of Optera.

Enter the Vanguard

You play as a member of the Vanguard, an elite special ops team that specialize in breach reconnaissance. Like Navy SEALs of yore, the Vanguard are sent into galactic ‘hot spots’ to reconnoiter and deter threats. The Vanguard have four different classes — Striker, Surgeon, Warden and Engineer — each of which have a unique arsenal of weapons and abilities. You will learn more about each of these ‘hero classes’ and their capabilities in future blog posts.

A Lethal Enemy

No human has ever set foot on the Optera homeworld, so little is known about the Optera’s true origins. Did they evolve from insects, as their physiology would suggest? Are their exoskeletal structures some kind of cybernetic armor or a robotic vehicle? Their technology is highly advanced: they wield deadly energy weapons, can instantly teleport troops, and are able to launch highly coordinated attacks that don’t seem to rely on verbal communication. But what they want, and why they are so zealous about guarding their territory, remains a mystery to be solved.

You will encounter dozens of different kind of Optera as you travel through Faro Colony. From the ubiquitous Paragord to the elusive Skimmer to the fearsome Megatoma, they each pose a unique challenge that will force you to use every weapon and ability in your arsenal to survive.

Into the Storm

The campaign kicks off with a desperate distress call by Carl Dyson, a mine supervisor. Faro Colony is under attack, he proclaims, before his transmission is jammed. By the time you have boots on the ground, the moon is swarming with Optera, and you have to fight your way to the comm tower in order to discover what happened to Dyson and the other twelve thousand colonists.

Your actions are coordinated by A.D.E.L.E., an Autonomous Deep Learning Entity that helps you overcome obstacles throughout the game and provide vital insights as you fight your way deeper into enemy territory. By gaining power ups, you will unlock new weapon capabilities and learn how to wield the powerful equipment at your disposal. And as you progress further in the story, you will solve the mystery of why the Optera attacked, and what it means for the rest of the galaxy.

If you’d like to keep up to date on the latest information about Evasion, check out evasionvrgame.com or get involved via our official Reddit , Twitter and Steam Forums.

Be sure to wish list us on Steam and follow us on the official PlayStation page.

See you on Faro Colony!

Disclosure: This is an unpaid guest contribution from Evasion developer Archiact’s Lead Writer, Peter Boychuk. For more on Evasion, read our hands-on previews of the PC VR version and PSVR version using the Aim controller.