Climbing mountains might be one of the most exhilarating experiences you can have. Strength management and maintaining a sure grip takes its toll, but also pushes your adrenaline way past its normal levels. Of course, there’s a catch — you can fall and land face down a hundred meters below. Perhaps that’s why Crytek decided to take its chances with The Climb, which lets you climb mountains in virtual reality.
You might dare to take on that vertigo experience when you know there’s no real danger, but VR can convince you it’s pretty damn real (as we felt during our hands-on experience with the game). It’s the company’s first real attempt at conquering the VR market.
Crytek’s The Climb dropped onto the Oculus Store just a few weeks ago, and the frantic marketing campaign the company has been running isn’t over yet. Reaching for new heights, the company has issued a promotional video where it has asked climbers at an indoor climbing center for feedback.
Participants with various levels of experience strapped on an Oculus Rift to take their first look at what it’s like committing to a vertical climb in virtual space. Beyond the varying levels of expertise were also large age gaps. The video shows that the participants all reacted very positively to the experience. and some also seem to have tried a head-mounted device with 360 degree motion tracking for the first time, which also is likely to have played a part in their responses.
Aside from the single-player experience presumably provided in this demonstration, The Climb also features multiplayer elements. Players can compete to reach the top faster than their friends, and there are even ghost hands in-game to make sure you can keep track on how far ahead, or behind, you are. The locations are based on mountain ranges like the Alps, and you’re expected to keep an eye out for the eventual pterodactyl (a flying dinosaur for all you who haven’t seen Jurassic Park).
