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Asgard’s Wrath, a single-player AAA RPG action-adventure game. Developed by Sanzaru Games for the Oculus Rift and Rift S VR headsets. Fully supports Oculus touch controllers. The game is rated for players aged 18+.
Game Languages: English
Game Length: 25-40 hours
Download Size: 132.97 GB (disc space required)
Unleash the wrath of the gods in a mythical Norse adventure where you become the next great Asgardian god. Forge your destiny as a mortal hero and living god in an action RPG of unworldly depth. Explore different classes and yield their diverse powers with a revolutionary combat system only possible in VR. Solve larger-than-life puzzles and recruit animals into loyal warrior companions that fight by your side.
Sanzaru Games are the creators of some truly awesome titles, including Spyro: Year of the Dragon. Their first dive into VR was Marvel Powers United VR, clocking in a four star rating on the Oculus store. Pretty damn good considering it was their first VR title! Their latest VR game Asgard’s Wrath, released in October 2019, is by far their best creation to date. In fact, it’s already become a top title in the Oculus store.
I have to say, hands-down, Asgard’s Wrath has to be the best VR game I have ever played. Although I’ve never really been a big fan of RPGs, nothing has ever come close to what I’ve experienced playing Asgard’s Wrath. The sheer depth, creativity and playability this game offers, diminishes most of today’s top-rated games. If you’re after a truly captivating VR experience, Asgard’s Wrath is the game for you. In fact, it’s so good, I’ve even decided to brand myself with a tattoo...
Lovers of the Skyrim series flocked to its VR remake, leading it to become a huge success. Asgard’s Wrath follows in Elder Scroll’s footsteps to take VR fantasy games to new heights. Asgard is a must-have for serious fantasy fans - I’m even confident that those of you that aren’t into RPGs soon will be. You won’t be disappointed.
Asgard’s Wrath’s main menu system is pretty straightforward. Firstly, there’s three difficulty settings available to you:
‘Mortal’ is the easiest setting for those who want to experience an adventure with less demanding combat. Enemy attacks don’t necessarily require you to fight back, so nothing particularly challenging.
‘Legendary’ is a good entry level in regards to difficulty. It still allows you to experience the game in its full glory, but has a balanced level of combat challenges. Enemy attacks normally require minimal attacks and parries.
‘Wrath’ Well, it goes without saying that only true gods can play at this level. Combat is far more demanding and requires accurate combat movements.
Asgard’s Wrath has three comfort levels to choose from. I would start the game using full motion. If need be, you can make changes to the comfort level at any time from the menu. For those used to VR and that don’t experience motion sickness, choose the immersive option. The locomotion is pretty smooth anyway.
After choosing your godly form, you’re quickly injected into the game’s main tutorial. Guided by on-screen instructions, you’re taken through the various controller movements. Next, you journey onwards through the gods’ portal, where you battle the Kraken, a vicious sea monster.
The game kicks off in Aegir’s Hall, a watering hole for local gods and ale-slurping bums alike. Pottering around in here is an ideal way to get used to some of the game mechanics, such as moving around, interacting with NPCs and picking up objects.
As part of your first quest, you must complete seven short objectives here. There’s nothing too challenging, but the tasks let you get comfortable with the basic gameplay mechanics and menu structure.
Aegir’s Hall is also where you meet Loki, a key character in Asgard’s Wrath. He serves as your mentor and guide throughout the game. He sends you out on a grand journey to collect special gemstones through various quests. Once you’ve done so, you’ll be set for your next series of adventures.
Further details about your quests are accessible by entering the menu and opening the Quest Book, where you’ll see a more detailed view of your objectives.
I found the menu system pretty intimidating, as I rarely play RPGs. I guess that those who play this kind of game all the time are accustomed to such elaborate menus. Luckily, it’s all good stuff. There’s tutorials, a recipes section for crafting spells and potions, an inventory, a world map to access your quests, general game settings and an option to exit, should you want to save your progress before exiting the game.
Asgard’s Wrath allows you to play as several characters, each with their own story campaign and side quests. You start as Ingrid, the Shieldmaiden hero, who has been marketed as the main character. You also have the ability to transform yourself into a god. As a god, you wield the power to play as a variety of different heroes. While in god mode, you also have a bird’s eye view of the environment, towering over the game as if it’s a chessboard. You can grab items that are normally inaccessible and move objects that are too large for your mortal form. Then, you’re free to return to hero-mode to complete a puzzle and unlock another part of the level.
I think the best part of Asgard’s Wrath is how the game developers have used NPCs to add depth to puzzles and combat. In particular, there are ten different animal companions to unlock, such as Egil, a hulking shark. Each has its own special abilities, but take note that you’ll need to choose the right follower for each stage to uncover all of the secrets and to find hidden loot.
Meet the 10 followers; Sigrid - Steinar - Siggi - Fafnir - Egil - Astrid - Hulda - Rolf - Runa - Bjornhild
All of these mystical animal followers are there to be found and unlocked.
Swapping between Followers lets you experiment with different combat tactics, so it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with the skills that each has to offer.
Controlling your Follower is simple. Just point and click to tell it where you want it to go and which enemy to attack. The AI is pretty good, in that they do a good job of staying out of your way and respond quickly to your instructions. You can even virtually interact with them, giving them a High-five!
Let’s face it, this wouldn’t be a true RPG without an exhaustive list of collectibles and extensive crafting options. Asgard’s Wrath has it all. With so much to collect you’d need a virtual backpack the size of a cargo container to store everything. However, the developers created an intuitive, if ridiculously large, inventory system. It’s segregated into three storage options for ease of use.
First, there’s the traditional two dimensional menu-based depository. Next, there’s a quick-select wheel with a limited number of spots for faster in-world selection. The final storage option is equipping and storing items on your character. This is ideal for stocking up on health and revival potions should you need to rejuvenate your Follower. Items are simply added to your character via the established point and click method and placed in belt, leg and shoulder pockets, giving you access to key items on the fly.
You’ll find loads of crafting materials through the various levels: in barrels, boxes and even corpses. These can be used to upgrade your gear and your Follower. You can also craft useful items by merging several together.
It won’t be long before your inventory fills up with tat. At this stage, it’s probably a good idea to unload these at Aegir’s Hall; either to craft useful items or to sell any excess junk. Oh, and Aegir’s Hall is accessible anytime, so keep that in mind.
Asgard’s Wrath’s puzzles present an engaging mix of challenges that more often than not, require you to pay close attention to your surroundings and act quickly. While most puzzles are done while in hero-mode, usually involving some assistance from your Follower, there are some puzzles that you can undertake in god-mode as well. Make sure to explore as much as you can, because as you progress new paths and content will become accessible.
In addition to the puzzles, there are some good riddles to solve. Snorri, a cute little gnome, sets them for you. To solve them, work out what item he’s referring to and bring it to him. The item is usually nearby and is often acquired when you’re in god form, so have a good look around! Get it right and you’ll be rewarded with upgrades to your ever-expanding inventory. Rewards can be anything from cash to golden needles. Again, you can trade these items at the merchant’s in Aegir’s Hall.
Asgard’s Wrath has a user-friendly interface that seems almost too good to be true; everything about the button layout and how they interacted with the game mechanics and menu system felt so natural.
In terms of movement, there’s no teleportation option as such, but that didn’t deter me in the slightest, as you’re given multiple options regarding movement anyway. The movement is smooth and slick and I didn’t experience any nausea whatsoever. However, I was a little disappointed that there’s no option to sprint. At least as you progress, your hero’s stamina and speed increase.
The characters are well thought-out, each with their own personality, story and unique weapons and abilities. There’s a variety of swords and axes, most of which can be crafted and upgraded. The game also features some ranged weapons and even a couple of explosives!
I loved the fact that Asgard’s Wrath’s gameplay offers so much diversity. Taking on the different hero roles kept things fresh and upbeat. The addition of the animal Followers was just the icing on the cake. Interacting with them felt fluid and satisfying: when you give them a thumbs-up, they gesture right back at you. Likewise, saving them from near-death by throwing them healing mead was neat, especially when my companion responded by joyfully offering a high-five in return. So cool.
VR enthusiasts have been waiting for a game like Asgard’s Wrath for years. The game just shines in so many ways. The levels are beautiful with some excellent combat and the straightforward but detailed story comes together to form something outstanding and unique. Each of the unique Hero weapons have their own quirks that make them delightful to fight with. For example: Ingrid's throwing axe spins right back to you when you hold your hand out and squeeze the grip button. Simply brilliant!
Asgard’s Wrath is a huge game, particularly for VR. It offers plenty of playability, delivering anywhere between 25 to 40 hours of gameplay, so excellent value for money.
My one note to players would be that if your game runs on a mechanical drive, I highly recommend swapping it out for a solid state drive (SSD) or an M.2 NVMe drive. Your PC will run much quicker. Best of all you’ll get anywhere between 65 - 90% reduction on your game load times. Keep in mind, Asgard’s Wrath is a whopping 132 gigabytes and over time games will get much more graphically detailed, so please bear that in mind. Asgard’s Wrath looks absolutely stunning in conjunction with NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER on 'High'. For optimal fidelity and without any loss of clarity or jitter, max out on the 'Epic' quality setting with the powerful RTX 2080Ti. For the low-down on the best graphics cards gaming, click here.
Asgard’s Wrath is an incredible interactive adventure that captures you in its world of fantasy and imagination, delivering a truly immersive VR experience from start to finish. Overall, it’s a masterpiece in its own right and as far as RPGs go, it sits in a league of its own. Playing this really felt like I was peeking into the future of VR. I can’t wait to see what’s next.
If you're an avid VR gamer and one for experiencing the best VR has to offer, Stormland is a must have game. Another fantastic AAA game you may want to try is Half-Life: Alyx.
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Asgard’s Wrath