VR HERE TALKS
ONWARD
TAKING OUT AI PLAYERS HAS NEVER BEEN SO GOOD
Let me start off by saying that Onward isn’t for casual VR players, if you play regular games you may pick some things up faster but this is a full on tactical simulator. Don’t get me wrong, I would never say to someone you can’t play this as your new to VR but what I mean is that harder games such as Onward need to be learnt well and mastered over time. Starting with the tutorial which actually opens the game when you first install it, Onward makes use of every button on the controller and the tutorial does a more than satisfying job of learning you how to reload your weapon to healing yourself with a medical syringe. Movement is another big factor and although it uses slide locomotion to transport you around the environments it actually feels okay, I’ve been playing VR games for a long while now so this kind of movement doesn’t affect me but certainly someone new to VR would feel a bit uneasy on their feet. After you complete the tutorial the main menu is open giving you access to solo and multiplayer game modes as well as settings and tutorial.
This isn’t CS:GO or it’s VR counterpart Pavlov, you won’t find death-match modes here and there isn’t any desire for these options to be added so I’m told. Onward is a tactical based shooter as mentioned, there is multiplayer with a host of in depth game modes and options like which load-outs you want to use. I’ve never felt so bad ass in a VR game before, selecting a night level and equipping night vision googles with a laser sight on my rifle was just insane to behold. There’s no point in splitting up if your tackling one the Operation missions, AI enemies will soon take you down and it’s game over. Equally if you don’t plan co-op based missions you will fail pretty quick, evac mode on Operations is tough and I soon found that if we went in without any real idea on how to repel hostiles while we waited for the chopper extraction then we would die straight away. There’s also a mode in which you can opt to be the VIP which only gives you a side arm for defensive, your team need to escort you to a point on the map before the other team take you out. Luckily your team can carry full gear so you aren’t totally helpless but again if you start with no real plan then you will find out that it’s easy for the other team to find you and eliminate you.
Most modes can be done in solo, gun range and free roam are a very good way to practice and experiment with different load-outs. Onward doesn’t play like most VR shooters, games like Raw Data for example have really great core elements like swinging your arms down and back up again to reload or using the left hand touch pad to teleport around the level. As mentioned above, moving in Onward is best suited to someone who is used to all aspects of VR gaming, to reload here you must eject your weapon ammo, take a new magazine from your belt, insert and pull the lever. Add this action to being in a hostile environment and things can get real tense for something that is all virtual, little touches like seeing the end of your weapon barrel smoke or putting your hand to your radio to speak to a team mate all adds to the realism that Onward brings.
Onward is available now at VR Here, I strongly recommend if your interested in this game then book with us for multiple sessions to learn it’s controls and modes. This is one for 2 or more players, even though it features single player options it’s really great to team up with someone to get the full experience that Onward provides so well.
Bryan Field
Centre Manager/Virtual Reality Specialist
Geek of nature, lover of all things tech & gaming. You can find me at VR Here!