Windlands 2 is easily the strangest feeling I’ve ever had in VR.
A virtual reality platformer, the game asks the player to swing from branch to branch using their twin grappling hooks. The movement that this system creates is incredibly engaging, but intense enough that I could feel myself leaning into the imaginary momentum even though I had no need to. (This is possibly why I found it so tricky to get the hang of, which developer Nick Pittom was extremely patient in dealing with. Thanks Nick!)
Yet despite this immersion and movement, I didn’t get any of the motion sickness that VR sometimes brings with it. Instead, there was only a sense of freedom and fluidity. The developers explained that this is likely because of the weightlessness of the movement tricking your brain into not worrying about whether or not you’re actually still.
Swinging Through the Sky
The demo also introduced some of the intriguing characters that players will meet along their journey, and the bow and arrow combat (which I personally also struggled with). It all comes together in absolutely gorgeous environments and level design that intuitively leads the player towards where they need to be.
Players will be able to get to grips with the game – hopefully better than I did! – when it releases on PSVR, Oculus, and Steam later this year.
Cliqist got hands-on with some games at EGX Rezzed – click here for all of our coverage.
