Polybius
Fan-made playable version of the rumored game called Polybius
SCREENSHOTS
HISTORY
Polybius is a 2017 shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Llamasoft. It was released in May 2017 for the PlayStation 4, with PlayStation VR support available. A version for Windows was released in December 2018. The game takes its name and inspiration from the fictitious 1981 arcade game and urban legend of the same name. It is also inspired by games like TxK and aims to induce the psychological state of flow. It was positively received by critics.
Gameplay
Llamasoft's Polybius is a fast-paced 3D shooting game with elements of racing games. The game's play was designed to minimize virtual reality sickness by the use of continuous forward motion with limited abrupt changes and no interruptions to gameplay other than controlled breaks at the end of each level; however, the game does include intense visuals. Although designed as a VR game, Polybius is fully playable in 2D on a standard PlayStation 4, and also includes support for 3D television output.
Development and release
In 2016, Llamasoft announced a game called Polybius for the PlayStation 4 with support for the PlayStation VR. Polybius was added on the PlayStation store on Tuesday May 9, 2017. In early marketing, co-author Jeff Minter claimed to have been permitted to play the original Polybius arcade machine in a warehouse in Basingstoke. He later more realistically stated that the game was inspired by the urban legend, but does not attempt to reproduce its alleged gameplay. He said it was instead based on his interest in the ability of video games to induce the psychological state of flow (also called "being in the zone") and his own observations of positive psychological effects as a result of playing VR games, most notably the unreleased VR version of TxK. Minter also cited influence from multiple other classic games including Space Harrier, After Burner, the 1983 vector game Star Wars, S.T.U.N. Runner, Zarch and quite possibly NanoTek Warrior.
On July 13, 2017, industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails released a music video for the song "Less Than", featuring a woman playing Polybius. Llamasoft later described the version of the game used in the video, a custom build running on the PC with user configurable effect sequencing.
On December 21, 2018, the game was released for PC, playable in VR or non-VR.
Reception
Polybius received positive reviews from game critics. On review aggregator Metacritic, it holds an average score of 84 out of 100, based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Metro called it "one of the definitive action games of the current generation". Eurogamer awarded it a Recommended trophy, labeling it as "magical" as well as one of Llamasoft's best works. The website also ranked it 44th on their list of the "Top 50 Games of 2017". The game was nominated for the Coney Island Dreamland Award for Best Virtual Reality Game at the New York Game Awards 2018.
GAMEPLAY VIDEO
STORES
Prices are cached from each storefront and may be out of date. Last checked 23 Sept 2026.
PRICE HISTORY
Every price change we know of, per shop. Flat means the price held; PC shops reach back through IsThereAnyDeal's archive, console shops start when this site started watching.
Fanatical low: $6.99 (21 Dec 2020) , Steam low: $2.09 (22 Dec 2021)
REVIEWS
Published elsewhere, collected here. Every score is the outlet's own, on the outlet's own scale. Follow the link for the full review.
“Polybius looks like a frenetic shooter that constantly has the player in a state of heightened tension, but the truly amazing thing about it is that it's almost the complete opposite in actual play.”
“Polybius is an excellent trance shooter which deftly delivers just enough sensory overload to thrill but not frustrate. While the lack of clarity about just what's happening on screen makes for a small but intended bump in the road, it's the strong core gameplay – which steadily introduces interesting twists to its formula the longer you play – stellar soundtrack, and excellent PlayStation VR support that'll blow your mind in all the right ways.”
“A superb distillation of every arcade game Jeff Minter has ever worked on, creating one of the definitive action games of the current generation.”
“Even though it ended on a sour note for me with a few too many elements snowballing into an avalanche of hair-pulling frustration, on the whole, Polybius had me in a trance. I'm happy just thinking about it. PlayStation VR owners, Jeff Minter fans, and arcade enthusiasts need to get in on this.”
“Polybius' tempestuous pace and kaleidoscopic assault indulge its urban legend while its principled operation betrays its sinister infamy. It's a spiraling supersonic tunnel shooter that only seems like it's bulldozing cognitive ability, and parsing its putative chaos tips its scale from pandemonium to precision. By allowing fury to give way to Zen, Polybius lives up to its legend.”
“If too many games today entangle the mind with ceaseless complications, proliferating differences with only superficial distinctions in outcome, "Polybius" provides the feeling of having one's mind washed clean for a few moments, shaken free of clutter. Its biggest reward occurs in the moment when the headset is removed and the screen goes dark, a moment when it feels possible to see everything with what feels like new eyes.”
“Llamasoft's latest is one of its best.”
Reviews are the work of the outlets named. Titles, scores and quoted excerpts are reproduced for identification and criticism; each links to the original.