When I played the Everest VR demo last month at GDC, it terrified me. My fear of heights (or more accurately, my fear of falling) combined with the full-body immersion the
When I first started playing The Climb, though, I plowed right through it, compelled by its challenges, superb audio design, and stunning scenery. Sitting firmly in my desk chair, hands on an Xbox One controller, I wasn't remotely deterred by any perceived sense of danger as I was with Everest VR. I didn't feel my stomach drop when looking down and seeing nothing but 10,000 feet of empty space and perilous rock formations below me. I wasn't horrified when my character fell to his death after slipping on a technical grip during the crux of my climb.
Suspension Cables, Double Nopes, And Terrifying Presence
Then I stood up and played. It's all my brain needed to be sold the illusion. Suddenly each new grab was purposeful. I avoided shortcuts in favor of longer but easier routes. My hands became soaked in sweat. I struggled to find my balance, had trouble keeping my legs rooted down, and felt them alternate between shaky and tense (tense because I discovered I'd been frequently on my tiptoes, "reaching" for that barely attainable hold above me).
Why the dramatic increase in presence from simply standing up? For starters, it helps better transmit the sense of height. Plus, by more accurately portraying the state of your in-game character, the illusion is intensified. Craning your neck to peer around corners and help grab a just-out-of-reach hold feels more natural and achieves better results. All of these things combine to more easily trick your brain into believing the reality it's being presented with. As we've discussed before, once your brain is sold on the experience, it fills in the gaps. Even when your avatar is essentially just a pair of hands!
When I was confronted with traversing a suspension cable between two rock formations in order to proceed? I noped right out of that the first time around, and had to remain seated in order to get across. You can hear it in the gameplay video below. I just put down the Rift headset and walked away in a minor fit of shock and horror.
Free solo rock climbing isn't exactly a boring sport, and Crytek has captured a compelling slice of that experience. It makes the climbing sequences we've played through in games like Uncharted and Tomb Raider feel downright silly. In The Climb, we're given three large areas to ascend: Bay (inspired by Halong Bay in Vietnam), Alps (inspired by the Swiss, Austrian, and Bavarian Alps) and Canyon which pays homage to the Grand Canyon. Each one has multiple difficulty levels, multiple paths, and is stuffed full of secrets, shortcuts, and picturesque scenery to both inspire you and terrify you.
Rock Climbing Power Fantasy
Note that The Climb is a VR rock climbing game, not a VR rock climbing simulator. There's a heaping helping of "Tom Cruise in the opening to Mission Impossible 2" power fantasy here, as your character can leap across 8 foot gaps and grab the tiniest grip in a cliff-face one-handed. Not without risk of course, but more effortlessly than what's humanly possible without being some kind of 'roided out superhero.
Don't assume The Climb is easy, though. Completing each area involves a bit of puzzle-solving and pathfinding, but your ability to stay alive depends on maintaining stamina levels of each of your hands. To move around, you simply gaze at the precise location you want to grab onto, then squeeze the controller's trigger that corresponds to your right or left hand. If you're locked onto a good grip with both hands, your stamina recharges and remains maxed out. Dangle dangerously with one hand, and your stamina -- cleverly indicated by a bar just below your hand -- drops insanely fast. The further apart your hands are, the faster it depletes.
A screenshot from Crytek's 'The Climb' for Oculus Rift. Gotta love CryEngine!
To increase your stamina, you "chalk up" periodically to improve your grip and reduce sweat (hell, do that in real life if you have a fear of heights because your controller is going to get wet). The risk/reward factor is amplified by the fact that you can depress the trigger for each hand halfway down to prevent loss of stamina for that hand, with the risk itself being the potential to lose that sweet spot, thus losing your grip and plummeting to your death.
What About Motion Controls?
When Oculus Touch launches, The Climb will support the Rift's motion controllers. Initially I was ready to blast Crytek for not waiting until this "secondary" Rift launch to release their game, but simply standing up changed everything. After spending more time with The Climb, I'm not convinced that more realistic motion controls will result in a better experience. In fact, I'm worried they might actually increase the risk of arm strain or immersion-breaking possibilities. But since I can't possibly know how the game will change when these are implemented (which will be an optional control scheme), I can't knock the game based solely on speculation.
For now, I think the more abstract control scheme fits the game well, although I wasn't sold right off the bat.
Notes And Musings
- Crytek has stuffed The Climb full of 99 achievements, with progression coming in the form of unlockable cosmetics like wristbands, watches, gloves.
- The Climb has some moments of genuine terror, like technical grips that crumble as you grab them, or poison ones that dramatically decrease your stamina. Or any time you have to attempt an insane jump.
- You can practice your skills on a procedurally generated climbing wall, which ramps up in difficulty the longer you're on it. And the game has six different "bouldering" scenarios to master on top of the 3 large maps.
- You can eventually unlock 3 different times of day for each course, and each bring their own unique difficulties and advantages.
- Because of the inherent challenge, checkpoints throughout each course are generous.
- Racing against a friend's ghost is exhilarating!
- Seriously, play this game standing up. It reduces potential neck strain. In fact, the potential for a bit of very real neck pain is the only reason this game loses a point. You'll crane your neck quite a bit trying to hit that perfect hold, and if your neck muscles aren't super strong you'll feel it the next day!
The Bottom Line
I've talked before about how the simplest actions -- stuff we typically take for granted in traditional "flat" games -- can feel very deliberate in VR. With The Climb, Crytek has taken a throwaway traversal mechanic from games like Uncharted and masterfully turned that into its own compelling and complete experience.
The Climb
Platform: Oculus Rift (PC)
Developer: Crytek
Publisher: Crytek
Released: April 28th, 2016
Price: $49.99
Score: 9/10
A review code was provided by Oculus for the purposes of this review.
