Crysis 4 teased with a graphics card-melting trailer
According to a blog post from developer Crytek, Crysis 4 is still in the early stages of development.
New Update For The Climb 2 Brings Monthly Challenges, Collectibles
A new update for Crytek’s The Climb 2 introduces monthly challenges, with rotating seasonal collectibles for you to unlock each month.
The update will spread collectibles across the maps, each of which will help you unlock a new wristband that can be equipped onto your virtual hands. Each of the wristbands displays a diorama-type scene, with little objects and themes for different holidays, seasons and times of the year.
You can view some of the new wristbands in the Summer Collectibles trailer, embedded above.
These collectibles will change each month according to seasonal themes and the new monthly event challenges. The first set of event challenges begins this month, running from August 10 to 17. Players will have to hunt down stylized apples, which will eventually unlock a farm-themed wristband. In October, players will have to collect pumpkins to unlock a Halloween-themed wristband, while December will of course be Winter Wonderland themed.
“Completing each event will require players to explore and work out how to climb to each of the collectibles, bringing a new dynamic to playing through each of the game’s levels,” said Senior Producer Fatih Özbayram. “Our talented artists have really produced something special with the wristbands, and some of them look like miniature worlds, right there on your wrist in the game.”
The Climb 2 released earlier this year, exclusively for the Oculus Quest platform, despite the original game’s origins as a PC VR title that was later ported to Quest. These new monthly challenges continue a stream of free content update for the game — back in April, the first Freestyle Expansion Pack released for The Climb 2 as a free update.
The August monthly challenge begins August 10 for The Climb 2 on Oculus Quest.
Crysis Remastered Trilogy coming to consoles and PC this fall
Crysis Remastered Trilogy was announced for all consoles including Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5.
The Climb 2 Freestyle Expansion Pack Launches Tomorrow
It may have seen a bit of a delay in its launch but Crytek’s The Climb 2 certainly delivered when it arrived in March for Oculus Quest. As part of the Oculus Gaming Showcase today, Crytek has announced that a new content update is due to arrive tomorrow, Thursday 22nd April, the Freestyle Expansion Pack.
The update will put your climbing skills to the test because there won’t be any checkpoints to rely on. Plus, you’re encouraged to not use any chalk when climbing any of the levels, you’ll be awarded bonus points if manage to. Rather than the scenic views you get to enjoy in the main campaign, the pack will feature the same minimalist design of the training levels but it’ll still offer both ‘casual’ and ‘professional’ gameplay modes.
Crytek will be launching the Freestyle Expansion Pack in two parts, with 12 levels in total, six arriving tomorrow and the rest at a later (unannounced) date.
Additionally, even The Climb 2 is getting in on VR’s rhythm action craze. The update will introduce: “rhythm-based climbing where you’ll see disappearing grips along your route, requiring you to learn the grip patterns to the beat of a background track to progress through,” notes the Oculus Blog.
With the launch of The Climb 2 Crytek challenged players to scale 15 new maps which included a cityscape for the first time. New gameplay elements like dynamic ropes, containers, ladders, and climbing equipment react to your weight for greater realism, whilst ledges can crumble and some even cause damage by reducing your grip quicker.
VRFocus’ review of The Climb 2 found the experience: “continues that simple, addictive gameplay that just draws you in, easy for newcomers to get to grips with whilst veterans should find enough new content to keep them happy. Crytek’s return to VR has been long overdue.”
The Climb 2 Freestyle Expansion Pack will arrive tomorrow as a free update for owners. Cast your eyes over the trailer below and when more content becomes available, VRFocus will let you know.
Freestyle Expansion Pack Coming To The Climb 2 Tomorrow In Free Update
At the Oculus Gaming Showcase today, Crytek announced the Freestyle Expansion Pack for The Climb 2. The pack will release in two parts, starting with a free update tomorrow.
The Freestyle Expansion Pack will add a whopping 12 new levels to the game, split over two separate parts. The first part, with six of those new levels, will be available in a free update for the game that launches tomorrow. The new levels will have both casual and professional modes, but there’s not any checkpoints throughout them. Additionally, you can get bonus points for completing them without using any chalk.
That’s not all though — Crytek also said that a new “rhythm-based climbing” mechanic is dropping as part of the update. “You’ll see disappearing grips along your route, requiring you to learn the grip patterns to the beat of a background track to progress through.” We’re unsure if this new mode applies to just the new expansion pack or all existing levels, but we’ll find out tomorrow.
The Climb 2 launched early last month after being advertised and announced alongside the Quest 2 launch mid-2020. Here’s a snippet of our review:
The Climb 2 is held back visually by its target platform, but it more than makes up for it with some thrilling climbs, incredible vistas, and excellent new game mechanics to really help keep you grounded. I don’t have a fear of heights or anything like that, but I absolutely did feel my stomach fall in fear when peeking out over the ledge a few times. It may not be as pretty as it could be with some poor texture quality here and there, but my arms are sore and I had a blast so it’s hard to say that affected my experience all that much overall.
You can read the rest of our review here.
The first part of the Freestyle Expansion Pack for The Climb 2 launches tomorrow.
‘The Climb 2’ Gets a Free Update Tomorrow with 6 New Levels & Rhythm-based Climbing
Crytek today announced at the Oculus Game Showcase that its solo climbing game for Quest, The Climb 2 (2021), is getting a nice little slice of new content tomorrow.
Called the ‘Freestyle Expansion Pack’, the free update will be landing on April 22nd, bringing along with it six new levels that you can play on both ‘casual’ and ‘professional’ modes.
The studio says there won’t be any checkpoints, and completing levels without chalk will get you bonus points.
Crytek is releasing the DLC in two parts, which will bring 12 new levels in total. The studio hasn’t said when the second half is due, but we’ll probably be more than busy with the newly announced “rhythm-based climbing” challenges.
The studio says it will introduce “disappearing grips along your route, requiring you to learn the grip patterns to the beat of a background track to progress through.”
The Climb 2 earned a solid [8.5/10] in our review for its refined climbing mechanics, interesting new challenges, and mesmerizing exotic locales.
The post ‘The Climb 2’ Gets a Free Update Tomorrow with 6 New Levels & Rhythm-based Climbing appeared first on Road to VR.
Competition: Win The Climb 2 for Oculus Quest
It may have been a little later than planned but this month saw Crytek’s highly anticipated virtual reality (VR) title The Climb 2 finally arrive for the Oculus Quest platform. And it certainly delivered, offering incredible vistas and shoulder stretching gameplay. VRFocus has teamed up with Crytek to offer our readers a chance to win a copy of The Climb 2 this week.
Exclusive to Oculus Quest and Quest 2, The Climb 2 is all about scaling sheer rock faces, over hangs and even skyscrapers, looking for the best route to the top. The same physical gameplay returns for the original, where you can leap across chasems, perilously hang by your fingertips and try not to fall off.
There are also new features to contend with. Alongside 15 new maps, Crytek has introduced dynamic objects like ropes, containers, ladders, and climbing equipment that react to your weight for a realistic feel. Ledges can now crumble and some even cause damage by reducing your grip quicker. As you complete levels you’ll unlock customisation options with 32 gloves, 25 watches, and 36 wristbands available.
VRFocus’ review of The Climb 2 found the experience: “continues that simple, addictive gameplay that just draws you in, easy for newcomers to get to grips with whilst veterans should find enough new content to keep them happy. Crytek’s return to VR has been long overdue.”
So onto the competition. VRFocus is giving away The Climb 2 codes for Oculus Quest. There are multiple ways to enter the giveaway with the standard prize draw entry rules applying: Follow us (or already be following us) on Twitter (@VRFocus) or alternatively, visit our Facebook page or YouTube channel to get an entry for each. Winners will receive a single randomly drawn code. The competition will be open until 11.59 pm GMT on Thursday 25th March 2021. The draw will be made shortly thereafter. Best of luck.
‘The Climb 2’ Review – Ascending to Greater, More Fun Environments
The Climb 2 has continued to refine what made the first game in the franchise so much fun. It serves up more interesting and challenging climbs across more exotic locales, and it does it with a few new flourishes over the original that will have you revisiting levels and leaving little to dislike about Crytek’s acrophobia-inducing sequel.
The Climb 2 Details:
Available On: Oculus Quest
Release Date: March 4th, 2021
Price: $30
Developer: Crytek
Reviewed On: Quest 2
Gameplay
Here’s some ancient history: I first played The Climb after it launched on Oculus Rift in 2016; it was a technically impressive game but suffered from the lack of motion controls, which really hampered the whole experience. That was before Oculus released Touch to consumers, and they were still bundling original Rifts with an Xbox One controller. It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come with standalone VR headsets in the meantime, and as a result The Climb 2 feels miles away from my first experience with its predecessor.
Of course, I’ve since played The Climb the way it was meant to be experienced, namely with full motion controls so you can physically stretch and grab your way through the winding handholds through each level, and wirelessly so you can really go wild. And The Climb 2 follows very much the same recipe as the first, although there are a few notable differences between the two that make the sequel a more enjoyable experience overall.
On the outside, The Climb 2 may feel very similar, however it actually offers a more diverse collection of climbing possibilities that go beyond the original. That’s not to say I wish it didn’t go conceptually farther in some areas, but it’s a worthy successor just the same.
Level design shines in The Climb 2, giving you a host of options to amble up each of the game’s separate mountain formations. Harder and easier routes present themselves along the way, so you can climb however you feel most comfortable. Far jumps with crumbling handholds make for great shortcuts, but also pretty obvious deathtraps. You can choose to venture through even more annoying handholds, like the ones you have to dust off first, or the ones with spikes that sap your virtual stamina. Things like unsafe ladders and loose monkey bars are everywhere, so you have to choose wisely.
It’s easy to throw caution to the wind though since the periodic checkpoint system allows for automatic restarts. Like in the original, you also have two supernatural gifts too (outside of incredible arm strength) that I never really used. You can rewind to your last checkpoint once per climb if you need to backtrack, and you can magically reveal available pathways if you’re lost. I tended to look around first for obvious pathways, so I never really ended up using either.
The number of levels are the same as the first—15 in both—but there’s a greater diversification of areas to climb around in the new game. In The Climb 2, you return to the first three areas (Alps, Bay, Canyon), which feel very much like rejiggered versions from the first game, but then you’re offered two entirely new areas: City, a very Mirror’s Edge-looking assortment of contemporary buildings and skyscrapers, and North, basically rural Iceland, replete with polar bears and puffins.
My favorite by far was the City area, which offered a bunch of unique gadgets and one-off climbing experiences. Shimmying from exposed brick to a crane ladder, and then to a zipline through the building tops is simply a thrilling experience.
On the other side, I find construction scaffolding that makes you slip down a level if you’re not careful which pipe you grip. My only wish is Crytek spent more time building unique cityscapes, since they offered such a fun and weird mix of climbing possibilities. Basically, I’d play the hell out of a hypothetical The Climb: City Edition.
One of the most puzzling gadgets is the many flipping billboard walls that offer temporary handholds, making it a timed exercise. I would do everything I could to launch myself past these if I could.
All areas offer three distinct difficulty levels, each of which took me around 15 minutes to complete on the first run, making for a little under four hours of gameplay. That’s with only playing each level once, and not challenging other users on the leaderboard, which superimposes a ghostly pair of hands into your run up the cliff.
One minor thing that’s worth mentioning is that chalking has changed for the better. Although you still need to depress the secondary trigger and shake your hands for chalk, it feels about 50 percent faster, which makes the process less annoying. Just like the game’s predecessor, you don’t really need chalk if you can manage the ‘just right’ grip strategy, but it’s nice to know that it’s a slightly less cumbersome action.
Lastly, my least favorite discussion is about leaderboards. I think the game is engaging enough not to even need to focus on leaderboards, although some may differ in that opinion. Just the same, you can accrue points by comboing grips, which is done my moving fast enough to not break the combo chain. The faster your run, the higher your score. The more challenging grips, the higher the score. If you’re into obsessing over points, The Climb 2 will accommodate.
Immersion
The Climb 2 can be breathtakingly beautiful. That said, at least in my prerelease version, it feels like the game is knocking up against Quest 2’s modest compute overhead, which necessitates some lower res textures, and also what I assume is a very strong use of FFR (fixed foveated rendering), as you can clearly see the border between higher resolution sections in the middle of your field of view and those ‘feathered out’ in the periphery.
That may just be that the game needs more optimizing, because even with these minor niggles in mind, it’s ultimately well executed when it comes to not only the static visuals, but also its moving parts, like the world’s wildlife.
It’s pretty often that you’ll look over your shoulder and see a curious little beast curiously peering down at you, making you feel a little less alone in the whole pursuit. Some aren’t so friendly though.
You’ll also run into physics-based things like dangling bags, ropes, and climber tents that you can use as grips, which makes the world feel more alive. The Climb 2 also does a much better job of integrating hand grips into the climbing environment, so they aren’t nearly as glaring as the stark white lines from the original.
Comfort
Climbing in VR is a surprisingly immersive way of moving around, but also really comfortable. There’s something about artificially shifting your point of view with a direct 1:1 hand movement that keeps you feeling in control. I played for hours at a time, and I never felt wobbly or nauseous.
Here’s some advice from a VR old timer: make sure to keep an eye on your neck.
The Climb 2 is best played standing up or in a chair that can recline somewhat. It’s not because you’ll need your full body to play, because you really only need enough space in front of you to swing your arms. Rather, having regularly played VR games for the past six years, I can say with confidence that the strain your VR headset can put on your neck isn’t inconsequential. Inclining your head using only your neck as the fulcrum at a 90-degree angle and not compensating with your body’s physical posture (standing or sitting) is a recipe for strains and stiffness, which can linger well after you’re done playing.
The post ‘The Climb 2’ Review – Ascending to Greater, More Fun Environments appeared first on Road to VR.
The Climb 2 Review: Quest Gets A Real Cliffhanger
The Climb 2 drops today on Oculus Quest and we held on tight to bring you our thoughts. Check out our The Climb 2 review right here for more details!
The Climb 2 Review
I never really thought that The Climb was a game that needed a sequel. Crytek set out to make a game about climbing mountains in VR and they achieved that. Thankfully, I was wrong.
The first game originally released on Oculus Rift for PC VR way back before the Touch controllers were even out, using just a gamepad and trigger buttons at first, but has since been adapted for motion controllers (obviously) and was even ported to Quest. Now the sequel, the aptly named The Climb 2, is out exclusively for the standalone Quest platform. And it really excels at iterating and expanding on what made the previous game so compelling.
Given the fact that The Climb 2 is a game that prides itself on its vistas, it’s a bit weird to not even have the option of playing it on a PC-powered headset to really push as much detail to as many pixels as possible. Hopefully it gets ported to PC eventually like Myst VR.
Despite the fact that the visuals are clearly held back by the mobile processing power of the Oculus Quest, The Climb 2 still manages to look absolutely breathtaking at times. When you’re in the thick of things, clinging on for dear life, desperately scanning the side of a cliff trying to find the next handhold, you don’t tend to notice the muddy up close textures, but they’re still there. Or when you’re standing at the top of a mountain and looking out at the gorgeous landscape you don’t usually notice that the water isn’t moving or that the natural landmarks are a tad blurry, even though they are.
The original announcement trailer for The Climb 2 included a footnote that footage shown was captured on a PC and yet the game isn’t available for PC VR headsets. That’s a bit misleading in my opinion because, even though The Climb 2 does look nice, it doesn’t look anywhere near as sharp or detailed inside the headset as they made it seem in the trailer.
That being said, visually it did impress me far more than the original’s Quest port. That felt like a massive downgrade compared to its PC counterpart, so releasing this one on Quest first is probably a smart call so if it does get a PC port that will be viewed as an upgrade, rather than the reverse.
When compared to other Quest games though, and especially when played on a Quest 2, there’s no doubt that it’s one of the best looking games on the platform by far. Especially in the more rocky and mountainous courses, where the art style really excels best. I wasn’t a fan of the visual style in the city environment, all of the buildings looked like they were made of plastic rather than actually feeling realistic.
They’ve done a great job of expanding on the controls in the previous game and luckily if you never played the first one, it doesn’t take long to run through the tutorial and get up to speed. You simply reach out and grab ledges, ropes, ladders, and so on using the trigger and keep an eye on your stamina rings on each wrist. The harder your squeeze a ledge with one hand the more stamina depletes, while grabbing with both hands recovers both, or you can hang with one hand to recover the free hand. You can press the grip button and shake your hand to re-apply chalk as well.
However, things get interesting once you master the art of half-gripping and jumping, or what I like to call ‘throwing yourself’ across levels. For a half-grip you simply only press down the trigger partially and it won’t decrease your maximum stamina, which means you can can go longer without re-applying chalk, but it’s tricky to get the pressure of your squeeze just right.
Then if you can combine this with a jump/throw, you can clear large gaps and huge distances without even losing much stamina at all. Most courses can take upwards of 10 minutes to clear on your first try, but there were special rewards for doing some of them in under four, for example. You’ve got to throw and leap all over the place to make that kind of blistering pace happen.
There’s a lot of new nuances here as well with the ropes, zip lines, sharp rocks, breakable rocks, and more. Plus, even if the city levels didn’t look as good up close as the mountain regions, the diversity of levels here is fantastic. There are five total regions (such as Alps, City, Canyon, etc) and each region has three climbs with two difficulty modes each.
If you choose the ‘Easy’ mode then your time and score won’t be tracked on the global leaderboard since chalk and stamina aren’t required, but it’s a good way to learn the layouts. On ‘Professional’ difficulty you’ll have to keep track of stamina and keep your hands nice and chalky.
The difference in difficulty between ‘Easy’ and ‘Professional’ is pretty drastic, especially on some of the harder courses. Regardless of the one you pick you can always tap a button for arrows to pop up and provide guidance for which way to go and you get one free ‘rewind’ ability to reset back at the previous checkpoint without losing any time.
The difference is in stamina management. Since you don’t need to worry about chalk on ‘Easy’ it just totally changes the dynamic of the whole game, but like I said before, it’s still handy for learning layouts.
The Climb 2 is a convincing experience, if for no reason other than how good it looks. I played with a fan pointed at my body most of the time to simulate a nice cool breeze and that really helped a lot too. After just two or three climbs, each of which usually take 10-15 minutes depending on familiarity, my arms were already getting sore.
I know the Quest 2 Touch controllers don’t weigh much, but they absolutely feel like they do when you’re climbing mountains in VR. The Climb 2 seems like a contender for being a really good accidental VR workout experience. I didn’t get into the unlocks much since it doesn’t really change how I play the game, but there are dozens of gloves, wristbands, and more to unlock.
The Climb 2 Review – Final Verdict
The Climb 2 is held back visually by its target platform, but it more than makes up for it with some thrilling climbs, incredible vistas, and excellent new game mechanics to really help keep you grounded. I don’t have a fear of heights or anything like that, but I absolutely did feel my stomach fall in fear when peeking out over the ledge a few times. It may not be as pretty as it could be with some poor texture quality here and there, but my arms are sore and I had a blast so it’s hard to say that affected my experience all that much overall.
For more on how we arrived at this score, read our review guidelines. This review was conducted using a digital pre-release version of the game on a Quest 2 headset.
The Climb 2 releases today for the Quest platform on the Oculus Store at a price point of $29.99. Let us know what you think if you get a chance to try it down in the comments below!
Review: The Climb 2
When Crytek launched the original The Climb back in 2016 as an Oculus Rift exclusive it seemed way ahead of its time. Gorgeous to look at, it was hampered by the Xbox controller until Oculus Touch arrived at the end of that year, highlighting how good the new motion controllers were. That now seems an age ago, and plenty has happened since then. For one, its long-awaited sequel The Climb 2 is now exclusive to the Oculus Quest – the poor Rift isn’t getting a look in – and second, can scrambling up new rocks still be as exhilarating in 2021?
It shouldn’t come as any surprise that a VR title built by Crytek on its CryEngine still looks absolutely stunning, on either Oculus Quest headset – Quest 2 does look better obviously. Whilst it’s easy to get engrossed in scaling a new peak as fast as possible ensuring you don’t plunge to your death, just like the original, The Climb 2 doesn’t need to be a fast, arm wearing experience. Even before reaching the top, it’s always nice to look down and around to appreciate the majesty of it all.
But you’re not just here for a pretty sunset or a unique view of the city below, you want to climb, leap for narrow ledges and hang by a couple of fingertips whilst looking for the next suitable outcrop. And that you can do many, many times over. If you’ve played The Climb then all the same basic principles still apply, each hand has a stamina gauge to be cautious of, suddenly losing your grip if it depletes. You can chalk up to extend that grip, carefully chalking one at a time when holding onto a ledge. Plus there are numerous checkpoints on each route up indicated by climbing rings to attach to.
Crytek has gone bigger and better with The Climb 2, introducing new elements which further ground you in the experience, keeping you on your toes (fingertips) at all times. You get a taster of these in the training mode but it’s not until you’re out on a cliff edge that these features really begin to sink in. Dynamic objects are now a major part, affected by any weight placed upon them. So ropes across a cavern bob up and down, metal girders start to give way and ladders creak and move as they’re being crossed. In the first of the city levels, there’s a section – depending on the route you take – where a seemingly sturdy ladder is running up an incline on the side of a building. When it suddenly gives way and swings down the side of the skyscraper that was an “oh sh*t, oh sh*t” moment holding on for dear life. Absolutely brilliant, and only achievable in VR. Kind of like the bridge scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Alongside dynamic objects you have to deal with rocks that crumble after a couple of seconds, others you have to clean off before grabbing so a careful eye on that stamina is required. Or then there are the ledges and outcrops which actually hurt you. They only reduce your stamina but it drops very rapidly so time is of the essence navigating these tricky sections. All of this helps build that sense of tension, a feeling rightly felt when embarking on extreme sports like these. Moments of levity do exist as well, being able to grab hold of ziplines to whizz through the air – almost needs a fan setting up!
With new gameplay features come new environments to explore. There are five main locations which each have three areas to climb for a total of 15 levels. That may not sound like loads but the excellent layouts of the maps and their multiple routes mean you can keep coming back to find a better line and improve those times. Most of the levels consist of impressive cliff faces and beautiful vistas with the City levels really changing things up a notch. Using suction cups to scale vertical glass walls and jumping between scaffolding and window ledges hundreds of feet in the air, this is the closest most are going to get to being French rock climber Alain Robert, also known as “the human spider” because of his incredible feats. It’s the sense of scale in The Climb 2 that makes it what it is, very unique in the VR world. Ok, so titles like Population: ONE have ‘go anywhere’ climbing mechanics yet they don’t feel daunting or breathe taking.
So it’s a shame The Climb 2 is single-player as being able to ascend a mountain with a mate would be superb. Instead, the competitive element comes from leader boards and speed runs. That’s in the Pro Mode, you can always go casual where times and points don’t matter, just the joy of climbing, which is fun all by itself.
Don’t for one moment think The Climb 2 is easy on the arms, the whole experience is a proper upper body workout. When you truly get engrossed in a climb not realising your arms have been above your head for 10 minutes and they begin to get tired, that’s when you know the gameplay has got you. Reaching the top feels like success, thankfully there’s no need to find a way down. Successfully completing stages will award you new items to accessorise those floating hands, with 32 gloves, 25 watches, and 36 wristbands to unlock. Arms are nice to have in some VR experiences yet you won’t miss them here, they’d almost get in the way if that makes sense.
After its announcement during Facebook Connect in September 2020, The Climb 2 instantly became one of those hotly anticipated titles. There may have been a little longer to wait as the 2020 launch window went by but in all fairness, it was still worth it. The Climb 2 continues that simple, addictive gameplay that just draws you in, easy for newcomers to get to grips with whilst veterans should find enough new content to keep them happy. Crytek’s return to VR has been long overdue.