I'm swinging from beam to beam in a multi-level temple with my sword when I'm suddenly attacked by flying enemies. I grab one and pull it close for a finishing move. Other opponents start to surround me from behind, so I throw my ax off the boomerang and send it bouncing from one to the other. I do all this without much thought — in Asgard's Wrath 2, it's easy to feel like a god.
After years of hard work from Sanzaru Games, Meta finally has a killer app. The game has set a new standard for standalone VR, dethroning my long-time favorites Half-Life: Alyx and Skyrim as the ultimate VR experience.
You will face some truly colossal enemies like in this encounter with Shakhmet.
This sequel picks up where the first game left off, with your player character, a fledgling deity with the power to possess mortal bodies, betrayed by Loki and left in an illusory prison. But soon enough you're transported to a fictional Egypt, where you first meet a tomb raider called Abraxas – who isn't happy about the deal at first. But you have cosmic powers, Abraxas has a human body: together and later with other mortals, you will work to find the “Hero stones” that will reveal Loki's whereabouts and stop his mayhem.
Sanzaru Games harnessed some sort of dark magic to bring us the visuals in AW2, which were optimized for Quest 2. I was in awe of the epic set pieces, giant enemies, and the allure of the Egyptian landscape. I was speechless when I first encountered a huge ox-like beast towing a massive stone tower behind it. I finally noticed it after wandering the desert curious about a strange blowing sound. It's one of those gameplay moments that sticks with you — and Asgard's Wrath 2 has plenty of those moments.
The breathtaking temples and statues look fantastic in Quest.
Meta/Sanzaru Games
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Meta/Sanzaru Games
The breathtaking temples and statues look fantastic in Quest.
Meta/Sanzaru Games
While this game isn't as high-fidelity as what you could play on PC or PS5 VR, it's one of the coolest things I've seen on Quest. The big budget and careful care extend to the story, writing, music and voice acting, with a cast that includes stars like Forest Whitaker and Tessa Thompson.
The sword fighting is both fun and challenging.
The game is also HUGE, about 130 hours if you include every mission and side mission. “Uncharted Rifts” (rogue-lite dungeons with asynchronous multiplayer) and “Cosmic Events” (themed events that appear every month) add even more playtime and replay value.
Combat is fast and dynamic. Swordplay rewards timing with a heavy emphasis on parrying, but there are plenty of other unique weapons for each character, each with their own fun playstyles. Throwing Abraxas' ax boomerang-style and then pulling it back for double damage is incredibly satisfying. Cyrene's squid harp truly made me feel imbued with the power of the gods as each musical wave sent murderous screams to my enemies.
Followers you meet along the way will fight alongside you and transform into rideable mounts to help you traverse the landscape.
While you'll spend most of the game as a mortal, you'll occasionally transform into a giant God form to move, say, large statues to help solve puzzles and fight other gods. Followers you meet along the way will also fight alongside you, each with unique special abilities. Conveniently, they can also be converted into rideable mounts to help you traverse the landscape. You'll need to pay attention to them and occasionally throw food or potions to keep them happy – in turn, you'll earn skill points and unlock character skins and additional dialogue scenes with your follower.
I've never seen a VR title with such varied gameplay: it's full of fighting, puzzles, climbing, swinging, riding, flying, fishing, mining, hunting, crafting, cooking, and even some moments of mixed reality (for Quest 3 players) where enemies rip a hole in the fabric of your reality and start attacking you in your living room.
Mixed reality moments can unexpectedly bring enemies into your living room.
As impressive as it is, this variety can be overwhelming. For example, you can craft armor and upgrade weapons, but it didn't occur to me to equip them with my character until I ran into it in the menus (hours into my campaign). On one occasion, the game suggested a disabled quest marker that led me to an unpassable point. Fortunately, fast travel makes it easy to jump back to the outpost or another part of the map if you get lost or stuck.
The first Asgard's Wrath won acclaim for its visuals and world-building when it launched in 2016 — though it had a much smaller audience at the time. While Asgard's Wrath 2 had to make graphical concessions to run on standalone VR hardware – the gameplay, pacing and story are a godsend. VR enthusiasts have been begging for a long-form AAA title designed specifically for VR headsets like Meta Quest, and here it is.
James Perkins Mastromarino contributed to this story.
