I have to admire Asgard’s Wrath. This VR Oculus exclusive has a lot of ambition.
I played a demo during a pre-E3 showcase of Oculus games last week in Santa Monica on an Oculus Rift S. It’s beautiful and has some of the graphical fidelity you’d expect from a console exclusive like God of War (maybe I’m just thinking of that game because it’s also filled with Norse gods and stuff).
In Asgard’s Wrath, you play as a god under the tutelage of Loki. Through him, you guide mortals, which often means possessing their bodies. In the demo, I took control of a shield-maiden.
Swords and gods
Much of the action worked as you’d expect from a sword-focused VR game. You use one of your controllers to simulate swinging your weapon through enemies. You could also throw your sword and then magically re-summon it by grabbing at your scabbard.
Yet Asgard’s Wrath has plenty of more creative ideas. When you’re not possessing a mortal, you can get a god’s-eye view of the area. From here, you can grab certain creatures — like sharks and turtles — and turn them into humanoid companions for your champion. They can then accompany your hero, helping them fight enemies and solve puzzles.
For example, at one point a stream of fire blocked my path. I was able to tell my turtle friend to deflect the flames while I passed.
Above: Loki is your ally in Asgard’s Wrath.
Lots to do for one sensitive stomach
All of the puzzle-solving, god stuff, action, and dungeon-delving is a lot for one VR game. It works pretty well, although the experience can be overwhelming. I’m the type who gets sick in VR pretty easily. This is especially true of first-person games where you have full movement. I wanted to move around a lot while fighting and exploring, but that would get me pretty queasy.
Asgard’s Wrath is more than your typical action VR game. It has the amount of story and RPG elements that you would more likely find in a console game. But I do worry if I could play such a game long enough to really get into it before my stomach taps out. And Asgard’s Wrath seems better suited to longer play sessions than short bursts.
