Reach is the debut title from nDreams Elevation, coming to all major VR headsets next month. I got a chance to go hands-on with the Quest 3 version during the first in-person VR Games Showcase event in London earlier this month, where Reach proved to be an immersive and surprisingly cinematic adventure I truly can’t wait to get my hands on.
Reach’s demo was one of the longest I’ve had at a live event like this, clocking in around one full hour of gameplay. It’s pretty rare to be given so much time to poke around a game, which took me through the tutorial and a few disparate chapters to get a sort of ad hoc vertical slice of the action. It feels polished. Dare I say, ‘AAA’-esque.
While a 15-minute tutorial focused on teaching me the game’s full-body movement scheme and basic bow-shooting mechanic, it ultimately turned out to be a clever bait-and-switch. My character isn’t actually fighting gun-toting baddies through a city; in reality, I’m really a movie stunt performer, making the opening moments a clever, low-stakes taster for the real action yet to come.
That said, I don’t really know what the hell is actually happening in Reach at this point. From what I’ve played, you slip through a crack in the ground opened up by an earthquake, thrusting you into some sort of fractured realm ruled by magical robots tussling with some sort of ancient power grab. How I got there, or why I need to help the mysterious robot bro Atlas, has yet to be revealed.
Narrative intrigue aside, if I had to describe Reach with one word, it would be embodiment, i.e. you feel like your virtual body can do things you’d expect it to, and in a way that feels natural.
In Reach, you’ll be parkouring your way through some of the best level design I’ve seen in VR (at least in my hour-long demo), offering up an impressive amount of verticality at every turn that is intertwined with both 3D platforming and a host of environmental puzzles. It’s packed with cinematic moments, like sliding down near-vertical cliffs, ziplining over infinite drops, and blasting through the world as it crumbles around you.
Notably, jumping isn’t tied to a single button, but rather activated when you thrust your hands upward, mimicking a natural movement, which makes it feel very comfortable—but just one of the ways you’ll move around.
Despite the frenetic nature of the game’s many parkour challenges, I never once felt the telltale wooziness that comes with disproportionate virtual movement. All of the standard locomotion options are there, but it’s clear the game is intent on making movement not only functional, but truly cinematic.
You’ll also be climbing and squeezing through tight spaces by ‘grabbing’ walls and ledges to move you through the game’s multilevel, tower-like halls. The physics-based nature of your full-body avatar also extends to your virtual fingers, which are delightfully floppy and present the player with dynamic hand poses (which are undoubtedly the best and most immersive).
That said, I didn’t get to do a ton of combat outside of the tutorial, which I learned is pretty representative of the sort of arena-style areas I’ll see in the full game, which punctuate the game’s winding halls filled with patrolling baddies.
Still, the whole kit on offer feels suitably full-featured, including the main weapon: a bow and multiple arrow types, which you progressively unlock as you explore the game. Beyond your standard shot, arrows aren’t infinite, requiring you to manufacture them with items found in the environment.
You’re also armed with a Captain America-style shield, which you can throw and ping around corners as it bounces. Additionally, the shield pulls double duty as a locomotion device, clicking into bespoke slots and cleverly allowing you traverse levels by tossing the shield to make a death-defying jumps across wide chasms.
A grappling hook-style drone also lets you make stupid far leaps on bespoke glowing green overhangs, which not only adds a pretty real skill check as you explore, but a way to escape and dynamically fight back during larger arena-based battles. You’ll see those tubes at key points throughout.
Found weapons are a thing too, although these are one-and-done pickups that you can use tactically and then toss away. Think pistols, shotguns, grenades—all of them suitably futuristic and equally un-reloadable. The idea is to rely mostly on your bow, but offer up a bit of flavor as you grind through baddies.
But it’s not all combat. Every puzzle I encountered felt genuinely smart, and equally massive to fit the game’s arcane, sci-fi vibe. Best of all—none of them were spoiled by simple solutions, or a ‘helpful’ narrator telling me what to do or where to go. You’re simply placed in front of an enigmatic device, unsure of whether solving it will progress you through the story or lead you down a byway for some sort of new ability as reward for your patience.
Walking out of Reach, I’m left with a few questions beyond the admittedly impressive bits I experienced. The story for now is a mystery. I’m also curious to learn how much of the combat will involve arenas, which I hope don’t veer into your standard set of time-killing wave-based interactions. Bosses are also a big question mark, since I only ever saw one, but didn’t fight. Will they satisfyingly combine all of my learned skills? Simply act as narrative-forwarding set pieces? I simply can’t say for now.
It is however safe to say that I’m very impressed by the game’s locomotion, level design, and immersion of the whole package. You won’t have to wait too long either to get your hands on Reach.
Reach is slated to launch on the Horizon Store for Quest 3 & 3S, Steam for PC VR headsets, the PlayStation Store for PSVR 2 on October 16th, priced at $40. In the meantime, check out the gameplay trailer below:
Disclosure: VR Games Show covered travel and lodging expenses for one Road to VR writer to attend the event.
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Disclosure: VR Games Show covered travel and lodging expenses for one Road to VR writer to attend the event.
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