I know people seem to want a fully interactive experience in VR, like a “real” game, but there’s something to be said for the more passive moments as well. The mountain’s horizon calls yes Game console VR2Headlining games, built for the new headset and controller.It delivers the full experience – it’s leaner than the core horizon game, but it’s one of those “proper” games. But, maybe I’ll be in the minority here, I prefer it to just let me enjoy the view and not make me do too much. My arms can’t handle any more climbing!
The Mountain Call opens with one of the most incredible scenes I’ve ever seen. But in VR, you’re doing more than just seeing it, at least how it works in traditional TV video games. where are you. In this case, in a rowboat, you are helpless when attacked by a machine. These mechanical monsters are all around you, above you, and for you. At this point you just go with the flow, but I’d sit down and play a whole game like this. Incredible.
After this exciting moment (well, I at least found myself holding my breath some of the time) the game kicks off and you have full direct control of Ryas. What follows is a fairly linear journey through beautiful lands (within whose boundaries you’re free to explore), with lots of bow shooting, lots of climbing, and arena-style combat with machines. Some of these elements work better than others. Did I mention there’s a lot of climbing?
Climbing is the weakest core gameplay beat, which is a bit disappointing considering the entire game is based around a mountain–a mountain that must be climbed and has multiple structures to climb. It’s functional, and you can move your controller like a hand to pull yourself up and through multiple marked paths, but I can’t get my brain to connect to it. These sequences feel like you’re moving the mountain itself rather than the Ryas, and the result is that it feels like the mountain is floating weightlessly in the world rather than a giant landmass. You also can’t see your own body, so it’s easy to lose touch with the whole thing instead of looking down at the vast nothingness beneath your feet.
Exploration is handled either via classic FPS controls or a teleportation system more suited to motion sickness, and it’s pretty neat (the game played well when I was sitting or standing when I was here, which very good). The world has lots of items to interact with (I enjoyed banging the tambourine early in the game) and hidden items to find. A table full of crockery is so irresistible that you can smash it or throw it into the distance like a frisbee, and the world interaction keeps coming through the seven-hour or so experience – though I do wonder how long it took me to throw it Snowball and do some other trivial activities to make up for this.
Oh, and did I mention how gorgeous this game is?Beyond the bow and arrow (which I’ll get to later), the world itself and how you feel like you can actually do look All of this, is the star of the show. Pretty old, Horizon Call of the Mountain is proper demo disc material – and there’s a neat unlockable mode that serves that purpose well. There are also a lot of options to adjust your comfort level in VR, so if you’re a little hard on movement, you can add a vignette around the screen, things like that.
Bows, then, the game’s weapons, are pretty awesome in VR. It feels so natural, I’m not even sure I need a tutorial explaining it, and aiming inside the world is the right thing to do. Whether or not there’s a lot of targeting going on behind the scenes, hitting your target quickly in the sweet spot will never go out of style. During your journey, you’ll gain access to a variety of other tools, but it’s this core weapon that stands out.
Combat is largely limited to arena battles with one large machine or multiple small machines, in which not only is the area restricted, but your movement is limited to strafing and dashing. I think it’s a no-brainer for the average VR user – especially any total strangers – but the fact that you can ride a machine with total freedom of movement throughout the adventure works well and might make some hardcore Users want to have more like it.
If Horizon Call of the Mountain has a real weakness, it’s the frequent conversations with NPCs. While these look great, with characters seemingly looking straight at you (presumably because of the VR2 headset’s eye-tracking technology), I found them rather lackluster. I’ve played both Horizon games so far, but I’m not a fan of them the way some people are, so all legends fall on deaf ears. I know the characters don’t like Ryas at all, but that’s pretty much all I get from all the dialogue. If you’re completely new to Horizon, this might be akin to jumping into the middle of an Adrian Tchaikovsky novel — a little hard to follow.
I’m sure you’ve seen the ratings below and made your judgment on Horizon Call Mountain, but despite the ratings, I still think all PSVR2 owners should pick it up. Without a doubt, it’s the most spectacular VR game I’ve ever played, it’s got tons of cool gameplay moments to show off the controller, and it’s a complete game, but it’s also a bit bland at times and boring at times.
