Call of the Mountain is supposed to be PlayStation VR2’s showcase, and in some important ways it works exactly that. Shooting an arrow with a bow in VR feels great, and having the chance to see the world of Horizon from a novel perspective can be exhilarating. However, Call of the Mountain’s main gameplay has trouble finding fun at the base level, which ultimately ruins the larger experience.
Call of the Mountain features a perfunctory cameo from Aloy to remind you you’re in her world, but this game follows Ryas, a former Shadow Carja who has been given the rare opportunity to be blessed pardon for his crimes, as long as he tackles what could be a suicide mission. Call of the Mountain’s story focuses on a small group of characters with family and political histories, and watching those relationships collide is the most interesting part of the story. There is one big bad point, but they reveal themselves surprisingly late – too late to inspire confrontation with them.
To succeed in his quest, Ryas relies on two important skills: he’s a very good archer and he’s an accomplished climber. That second skill takes up the bulk of the game, and unfortunately, it’s an element that I don’t like. Moving Ryas’ arm to push him up a cliff or climb a rope rarely fails, but it means most of my time involves miming a cat’s movements. was scratching against the wall while my face was inches from the cliff. It’s not fun to perform, even if it works.
Tools unlocked throughout the game, such as the ability to create ziplines in specific situations or toss a rope over your head, add some variety, but it never fixes the level of discomfort. of basic climbing.
On the other hand, combat can be thrilling and it doesn’t take long to feel like a skilled marksman. Robot battles take place in specific arenas and change your abilities. Ryas surrounds his opponents in a circle and is able to dodge quickly to escape attacks, and it’s all quick and fluid. Like the core Horizon games, taking down specific armor elements will result in higher damage, though here it acts more like a bonus than a core mechanic. I especially enjoy the one-on-one battles with the larger robots, which require more strategy than just targeting the right area, such as activating large explosives at the right time.
I doubt Call of the Mountain will greatly assist your goal, but I totally welcome it. Shooting the Stormbirds out of the sky with a single shot at a vantage point, or hitting that optional target from what feels like a mile away is always well rewarded.
Ryas is also a tinkerer and has to combine his different ammo types, as well as the new tools he unlocks throughout the game. Attaching an arrowhead and dynamite to an arrow or wrapping a piece of rope around a new tool is a small but fun action to perform in VR.
Call of the Mountain’s other great success came from the simple act of looking around. The world of Horizon, with abandoned technology dwarfed by the aesthetics of nature, is amazing to look at. There are plenty of opportunities to just stare at something interesting in the distance, and I usually take the opportunity to do so – unless I’m climbing a mountain. Then I can’t get through this part fast enough and will speed to my destination.
Horizon Call of the Mountain is a nice introduction to PlayStation VR2. This is the game to use if you want to show off your new tech to friends and family. There’s even an unlockable mode perfect for this, which is a passive journey in a canoe through a jungle full of robots. What sets the game back so much, though, is Call of the Mountain’s over-reliance on climbing. The smaller parts of the game, robots fighting, crafting items, and looking around, are the highlights. Climbing a mountain is not, and that’s where you spend most of the experience for about six hours.
