Review: Horizon Call of the Mountain is PlayStation VR2’s killer app
In 2023, it’s still genuinely weird to feel exhausted after playing a video game. It’s even more odd to fully believe that you’re in the middle of a life-or-death battle with a fifty-foot-tall robotic dinosaur. Horizon Call of the Mountain did this to us countless times.
As the main, and only original first-party launch game, Horizon Call of the Mountain serves in large part to sell early adopters on PlayStation VR2, and it’s hard to imagine a better first showing on the new headset from Sony’s premiere VR studio Firesprite games (incidentally, you can read our PlayStation VR2 review now).
Horizon Call of the Mountain is a VR spin-off of the main Horizon series, following Ryas, a former member of the Shadow Carja group, one of the many splintered factions in the world of Horizon. The game begins with Ryas in chains, being led to answer for his crimes. When the boat you’re being transferred on is tipped into the water by Snapmaws, you’re enlisted to pay for your crimes in a new way, by finding out what happened to a missing member of Horizon series protagonist Aloy’s tribe.
Horizon Call of the Mountain is part rock-climbing game, part Legolas simulator. Linear levels will see you navigate large cliff faces that can be scaled using the various tools you unlock as you progress through the game, which leads to larger and more complicated climbs.
The game is linear, but there are a few moments of divergence which lead to different gameplay encounters depending on which path you take. All of these missions can be replayed from the central hub, so you won’t miss out on any gameplay or collectibles by picking one path over the other.
The bow combat in Horizon Call of the Mountain is fantastic. The whole experience hangs on whether or
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