The Death Star Trench Run Recreated In Oculus Rift

It was only a matter of time before it was done, but

has created what many Star Wars fans were waiting for in an Oculus Rift demo of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope’s Death Star trench run.

What Mr. Calhoun made is not nearly the first video game creation based on the integral part of the Battle of Yavin. The Rogue Squadron games, Star Wars: X-Wing and Star Wars: Rebel Assault have all done it before. However, none of them include the use of the Oculus Rift, which immerses you into the cockpit of a T-65 X-wing like no other.

The demo puts you right into the action off the bat, explaining the controls in slow-motion so that you can have enough time to look around at all the graphical details (you can even turn right around to see an R2 unit hooked up to your X-Wing). The trench run itself play similarly to Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader’s non-canon version, including physical barricades you must avoid and towers to shoot at down the guided path. You aim lasers to shoot with by moving around your head.

It appears to be a work in progress, but the audio files containing “A New Hope” dialogue, sound effects and scoring by John Williams is already what helps bring some of the movie magic to an Oculus Rift demonstration near you. Check out the short video of the trench run in action for yourself and tell me you aren’t excited for where the future of gaming could be headed.