REVIEW: The Climb 2 (Oculus Quest)

The Climb was released in 2016 by technological wizards Crytek. It offered a way for users to experience something that most of us will never get to, and it focused on the thrills associated with Free-Soloing (rock climbing without safety precautions). The original game, which was available on the PC before it made its way to Oculus Quest, was a spectacular graphical display of VR's potential. However, bringing it to Quest gave the headset unparalleled freedom, although some graphics fidelity was lost. The Climb 2 has been released exclusively on Oculus Quest headsets five years later, thanks to the backing of Facebook. The Climb2 aims to push Oculus Quest to the limits. However, that doesn't make it a bad game.

The Climb 2 is not intended to tell the full story of Oculus titles like Asgard’s Wrath. It aims to master one trade: climbing. Parkour has been featured in VR titles many times over the years. It was often used as a short set-piece in Blood and Truth, or as a small part in The Walking Dead Saints and Sinners. However, it is the core concept of this title and there is no comparison. You can climb fluently, and you can pick up impressive speed if your mind is in the flow.

It is easy enough. Your Oculus controllers correspond with your left and right hand, and each grip button is used to grab onto the appropriate level. The stamina meter is also used to replenish your stamina. This can be done by holding onto the grip button with one hand and using both hands simultaneously. Your stamina bar will rapidly decrease as your hands become more damaged from holding onto sharp-edged rocks for prolonged periods of time. You can compensate by making sure your hands are well-cleaned to prevent slippage. This is done by pressing the trigger until you reach the sweet spot at the middle of the mark.

It feels great to use the controls and it keeps your stamina in check. There are many options for routes and jumping mechanics, which can be done by pushing your arms or pressing a button. This allows you to set new records and also gives you the opportunity to try other routes. Once you get into a rhythm during a climb, you'll forget all about your stamina as you accelerate up the landscape, only to soon find yourself crashing towards the ground. You can climb as fast as you like without worrying about your stamina.

Although The Climb 2 doesn't offer a cardio-focused VR experience, it isn't a workout. You may feel fatigued if your arms are held high above your head. Oculus has listed the Climb 2 as a moderate VR experience. This is a great choice. Although the motion of climbing is not too difficult for people who aren't yet proficient in VR, certain levels can cause discomfort. Zip-lines and other moving objects can be a sure way to cause queasiness. The Climb2 is a good way to get started with VR content.

Unfortunately, the lack of multiplayer content is evident in this game, just like the previous one. The only online capability comes from your friends and other worldwide players. You can race via ghost mode, which has been featured in many racing titles, including the first Trials HD. Although it's a difficult task for Crytek to figure out how to make the mode more competitive, it seems reasonable considering the cost.

The climb 2 doubles the detail of these environments. The fifteen maps include five sub-worlds. Areas such as the city offer three different difficulty levels. The game has many small details that make it feel alive. These include the animals that are waiting for you to leap across the alps or the traffic jams beneath you in the cityscape. Each world has a different map, which keeps things interesting. The city world is so beautiful that you will want to explore more of it.

The other worlds may be beautiful, but there's something thrilling about climbing a huge set of skyscrapers. It gives you the feeling of a Mission Impossible hero. It would have been wonderful to see The Climb 2 adopt the Hitman 2/3 model. Levels from the original game could be ported to The Climb 2, with the new graphical fidelity. This would allow you to enjoy older content without having to go back to the older title.

No matter how stunning The Climb 2 looks on the original Quest - no major leap within the game was close to the challenge I had to overcome due to the games astonishing performance, other than the climbing levels. It would seem that rendering large environments is the most difficult part of older hardware, but The Climb 2 the menus are the worst. Menus were extremely slow, and images freezed. My headset also stopped recognising what I was looking at. Even worse, the game crashed and closed every time I completed a course. I have never had such an issue with any other title on the platform. It is truly a shame that planned play-sessions were cut short by the forceful removing of immersion.

The climb 2 is a great way to have fun if you avoid performance issues. It doesn't feel like a huge leap in content and feels somewhat tech demo-like for a 2021 game, but for those who love the thrill of free-soling, and the satisfaction of beating others in time records it will delight and keep them coming back for more. This gameplay engine may be used in a Crytek title.