Das Freestyle Update für The Climb 2 wird in zwei Teilen erscheinen und wird einen neuen Freestyle-Modus, neue Strecken und einen Modus, der euch im Takt der Musik klettern lässt, beinhalten. Der erste Teil des Updates wurde gestern für die Oculus Quest und Oculus Quest 2 veröffentlicht und ihr könnt einen von fünf Keys für das Hauptspiel bei uns gewinnen.
The Climb 2 Freestyle Update + Gewinnspiel
Um am Gewinnspiel teilnehmen zu können, müsst ihr nur das verlinkte Video auf Youtube kommentieren und schreiben, warum ihr einen Key gewinnen solltet. Die Teilnahme ist bis zum Sonntag dem 25.04.2021 um 20 Uhr möglich. Im Anschluss werden wir die Gewinner und Gewinnerinnen per Zufallsprinzip auslosen und kontaktieren.
The Climb 2 ist eine Fortsetzung von The Climb, welche exklusiv für die Oculus Quest erschienen ist. Hier findet ihr das Spiel im Store von Oculus. Für das Gewinnspiel wurden uns fünf Keys kostenfrei von Crytek zur Verfügung gestellt.
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.
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 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.
Image courtesy Crytek
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.
Image courtesy Crytek
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.
Image courtesy Crytek
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.
Image courtesy Crytek
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.
Image courtesy Crytek
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 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 exclusivelyfor the standalone Quest platform. And it really excels at iterating and expanding on what made the previous game so compelling.
The Climb 2 Review – The Facts
What is it?: A VR ‘rock climbing’ game that spans urban and exotic natural environments Platforms: Quest Release Date: March 4th, 2021 Price: $29.99
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.
The Climb 2 Review – Comfort Settings
The Climb 2 doesn’t really have any comfort options since the entire experience of simulating climbing necessitates all of the design decisions the developers made. If you have a fear of heights or get squeamish from artificial camera movements, this might not be the best game for you. That being said, physicality has been known to alleviate those feelings in some cases, which means the reaching, arm-swinging, and jumping you do while playing this in real life might sidestep VR sickness for you.
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.
Looking for the new VR games March 2021 list? We’ve got you covered!
We’re getting a little further into the year and, slowly but surely, seeing more and more high profile releases come our way. This month graces us with the return of an Oculus-exclusive series and the long-awaited follow-up to a VR horror classic. Let’s dive in!
An early access release of a futuristic new sci-fi racer. Z-Race has you jumping into the cockpits of anti-gravity racers and speeding around physics-defying courses. Expect single-player modes and leaderboards this month with full multiplayer options arriving further down the line.
Stargaze (March 3rd) – Played With Fire, Rift
Played With Fire’s fantastical VR adventure is inspired by the story of the Little Prince, and sees players observing alien planets through a telescope, recording their findings and using their discoveries to solve puzzles. Stargaze is already available on SteamVR but gets a Rift launch this month with a Quest version on the way, too.
After a long wait Crytek’s sequel to The Climb is finally ready. A new set of diverse environments are waiting for you to clamber up, but make sure to pace yourself, use plenty of chalk and get ready for huge jumps if you want to make it to the top. This one’s an Oculus Quest exclusive for now, but there’s no word on a possible Rift version.
Cosmodread (March 25th) – White Door Games, Quest, PC VR
The developer of Dreadhalls returns with this long-awaited VR horror follow-up, previously known as Cosmophobia. In Cosmodread you explore the dark, dank corridors of an abandoned spaceship, trying to find a way off. This being a VR horror game, you won’t be alone. Along with enemy drones you can defeat with futuristic crossbows, something more sinister stalks you on this ship. This one’s for the bravest among us.
Warplanes: WW1 Fighters (March) – Home Net Games, PC VR
Already available on Quest, the SteamVR version of Warplanes is aiming to take off on PC VR in March. Either take off in realistic, physics-driven combat across single and multiplayer options, or try out the more accessible arcade mode. There’s two campaigns to take on and 14 different types of planes to master.
What will you be picking up from the list of new VR games March 2021? Let us know in the comments below!
Wie Oculus über den eigenen Blog mitteilt, wird The Climb 2 von Crytek am 4. März für die Oculus Quest und Oculus Quest 2 erscheinen.
The Climb 2 von Crytek Oculus Quest
The Climb 2 wird dem Vorgänger treu bleiben und euch zum Klettern in unterschiedliche Gebiete schicken. Insgesamt sollen 15 neue Maps euch vor neue Herausforderungen stellen und zudem wird es einige Inhalte zum Freispielen geben.
“The Climb 2 führt dynamische Objekte wie Seile, Container, Leitern und Kletterausrüstung ein, die auf das Gewicht des Spielers reagieren. Durch das Hinzufügen der Stadt erhöht sich die Gesamtzahl der Schauplätze auf fünf, während 32 Handschuhe, 25 Uhren und 36 Armbänder für Abwechslung sorgen. Neue Tageszeiten und Schwierigkeitsgrade wurden über alle Karten verteilt, und Sie können sich mit Freunden messen und die Bestenlisten in asynchronen Multiplayer-Modi erobern.” (Oculus Blog)
Crytek stopped the teases today and revealed the actual release date for The Climb 2. It’s coming to Quest / Quest 2 next week on March 4!
The Climb 2 was originally revealed late last year during the first ever Facebook Connect digital conference, alongside a slew of other Quest games like Myst VR and Sniper Elite VR. Originally, The Climb 2 was slated for late 2020 but got pushed into 2021. Now, Crytek is finally confirming the launch date for next week.
If you ever played the original game, The Climb, you might notice one of the most obvious changes this time around is the prominence of skyscrapers and more urban environments in the artwork and trailer footage. From the looks of it, The Climb 2 is aiming to have a bit more variety in its locations.
The thrill of climbing comes alive with The Climb 2 — explore a new city setting and exhilarating new maps with breathtaking views. Ascend grand peaks, navigate vast caves, climb skyscrapers, and discover hidden shortcuts as you find your path to the top. Compete with friends and conquer leaderboards in asynchronous multiplayer modes. From exploring mountain environments to scaling urban settings, feel the rush of climbing without ropes, and experience breathtaking vistas as you scale new heights.
When we reviewed the previous game back when it first debuted on Oculus Rift, it was breathtaking and exhilarating. Fingers crossed the sequel can live up to those same lofty expectations.
The Climb 2 will release for Oculus Quest and Quest 2 on March 4. In the announcement trailer it states the game is coming “only” to the Oculus Quest platform.
Crytek stopped the teases today and revealed the actual release date for The Climb 2. It’s coming to Quest / Quest 2 next week on March 4!
The Climb 2 was originally revealed late last year during the first ever Facebook Connect digital conference, alongside a slew of other Quest games like Myst VR and Sniper Elite VR. Originally, The Climb 2 was slated for late 2020 but got pushed into 2021. Now, Crytek is finally confirming the launch date for next week.
If you ever played the original game, The Climb, you might notice one of the most obvious changes this time around is the prominence of skyscrapers and more urban environments in the artwork and trailer footage. From the looks of it, The Climb 2 is aiming to have a bit more variety in its locations.
The thrill of climbing comes alive with The Climb 2 — explore a new city setting and exhilarating new maps with breathtaking views. Ascend grand peaks, navigate vast caves, climb skyscrapers, and discover hidden shortcuts as you find your path to the top. Compete with friends and conquer leaderboards in asynchronous multiplayer modes. From exploring mountain environments to scaling urban settings, feel the rush of climbing without ropes, and experience breathtaking vistas as you scale new heights.
When we reviewed the previous game back when it first debuted on Oculus Rift, it was breathtaking and exhilarating. Fingers crossed the sequel can live up to those same lofty expectations.
The Climb 2 will release for Oculus Quest and Quest 2 on March 4. In the announcement trailer it states the game is coming “only” to the Oculus Quest platform.
It doesn’t take much to imagine what that might relate to.
The Climb 2 was announced late last year around the launch of the Oculus Quest 2. But Crytek’s sequel is the last remaining game revealed alongside the device that hasn’t actually launched yet. We had expected to see it in 2020 given that the game has been listed on the Oculus Store for a while now. As far as we know, this one’s a full Quest exclusive – there’s no Rift version announced as of this time.
The first game in the series, first released for the original Oculus Rift before even the Touch controllers had launched, remains one of the most effective showcases of VR around, tasking players with scaling cliffs in idyllic locations.
Of course, this tease isn’t definitely related to the sequel but, given that The Climb is now a few years old and already has an Oculus Quest port, it’s most likely we’re talking about The Climb 2. Could we be due a release date? Will we get a new glimpse at gameplay? We’ll have to wait until later this week to find out.
What The Climb 2 news are you hoping for? Let us know in the comments below!
