Horizon Call of the Mountain is the definition of a day one hardware title, and a project that fulfills that dream. When I was a kid I dreamed of games that had huge draw distances, where you could view the horizon in stunning detail to the point where it was a feature in and of itself. The new tech also features stellar haptic feedback support, which comes in handy when using the bow and arrow mechanic and (you guessed it) while climbing. Everything is incredible responsive and intuitively in reach. I mean it’s a literal fact that Move tech is multiple generations old, but it’s hard to describe just how much better the new control method is with Sony’s second iteration of VR. Folks, these are multi-generational leaps over the Move controllers. Speaking of feedback: the new PSVR 2 controllers are a standout bonus that I should mention (and will talk about more in the PSVR 2 hardware review). The whole adventure lasts around five or six hours - more if you enjoy messing around with all the random junk strewn about the game (playing musical instruments, or chucking plates against a wall to hear the crash). You’ll be taking down robot dinosaurs of all shapes and sizes (land, sea, and air) with your trusty bow and arrow - which, truth be told - never gets old due to the precision and haptic feedback involved. This is easily one of the best VR worlds ever made, up there with Half-Life Alyx.Įxploration is compounded by combat, all of which mostly funnels into linear paths and carefully-crafted fight locations. All this to say: I climbed everything I could in Call of the Mountain, just to see the view from up top. For many people, VR does make a huge difference when it comes to enhancing self-imposed challenges, and enticing players to explore more for little to no reward. As for myself, one of my favorite VR games is called The Climb, so I think I’m good here. And being right there in VR perspective helps ground you in the world, which is often quite terrifying.Of course, there should be an actual game here at some point, and there is! A lot of it is climbing-based, which could be make or break depending on what your tolerance of the mechanic is. Keeping the flowchart of readying an arrow, aiming, dodging, firing, looking for resources, rinse and repeat, all becomes much tougher when facing some of Call of the Mountain’s more intimidating boss encounters. Reaching behind my back to pull an arrow from my quiver, then hurriedly knocking it and aiming for that sweet weak spot constantly felt intense and quite challenging. Largely, it’s just you, a machine or two, and how well you can aim. While encounters can feel scripted – you’ll rarely square off against more than two or three enemies at a time – most feel memorable because of it. While climbing in Call of the Mountain becomes a chill endeavor, combat is anything but. Climbing and combat segments start appearing closer together the more I play, the more thrilling the game becomes. As you progress further into the game, the time you can spend smelling the roses decreases. This level of interactivity ties into Call of the Mountain’s brilliant difficulty curve, too. I always love little pace breakers like this in VR they allowed me to relax for a few minutes while showing how creative devs can be with the tech. In another instance, I found a blank wall with a conveniently placed assortment of paintbrushes. One was a selection of working musical instruments like drums, maracas, and even a set of pan pipes. You can look around for hidden targets to shoot, but I stumbled across even more interesting examples. After a major climbing or combat segment, you’ll often have time to rest in a more open area where you can explore and take part in fun activities and distractions. I appreciate, too, just how well-paced Horizon: Call of the Mountain is.
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