Horizon Call of the Mountain review: a PS VR2 showcase built on climbing

This review is an AI-written assessment. It is based on official game details and on what published reviews broadly agree on, not on hands-on play.

What it is

Horizon Call of the Mountain is a first-person adventure set in the world of Sony's Horizon series. It was co-developed by Guerrilla and Firesprite, published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, and released on February 22, 2023 as a launch title for PlayStation VR2. It needs a PS5 and PS VR2, and it is sold on the PlayStation Store with a list price of $59.99, though it is often discounted.

You play Ryas, a disgraced former soldier, climbing vast mountains, hunting machines with a bow and crafting items as you go. Climbing makes up most of the journey, with hand-over-hand movement up cliffs and ledges between scenic set pieces. Combat happens in arenas where you circle the machines on a fixed track, dodging and firing arrows. Sony's page highlights the headset's feature set: 2000 x 2040 per eye HDR visuals, headset vibration, 3D audio, finger touch detection and adaptive triggers that tighten as you draw the bowstring. UploadVR finished the campaign in about nine hours, and Road to VR in about 7.5 hours with roughly 60% of the optional content found.

Strengths

• Graphics. This is the point every review agrees on. Road to VR called it "some of the best graphics" in VR, and UploadVR found its environmental detail comparable to Half-Life: Alyx. MIXED called the environments "stunningly beautiful."
• Sense of scale. Seeing Horizon's giant machines up close is the main draw. Wikipedia's summary of critics notes that the first-person view conveys their size in a way the flat games cannot.
• Archery. Game Informer said firing a bow "feels great," and Road to VR called the combat system uniquely designed for VR. The adaptive triggers and haptics add to it.
• Characters and presentation. Road to VR praised the facial capture, and MIXED described the NPCs as "incredibly well animated."
• Comfort options. UploadVR listed seated or standing play, stick or arm-swing locomotion, vignettes, an eye tracking toggle and auto-loading arrows. Road to VR noted three preset comfort profiles.
• Recognition. UploadVR rated it Essential, and it won Best VR Game at the 2023 Golden Joystick Awards.

Weaknesses

• Too much climbing. Game Informer, which scored it 6.75/10, found climbing took up most of the game and compared it to "a cat scratching a wall." Road to VR felt the climbing rarely threatens failure, so it lacks challenge.
• Linear and on rails. According to Wikipedia's summary, IGN and Push Square found it so constrained that it felt closer to a tech demo than a full Horizon game. Combat is locked to circular tracks.
• Thin story. UploadVR wished Ryas were a more interesting lead, MIXED called the story "fairly simple," and Game Informer felt the villain arrives too late.
• Fiddly systems. Road to VR found the force-grab imprecise, dodging less fluid than it could be and arrow crafting shallow.
• Physical demands. MIXED warned that the climbing tires your arms over long sessions. Road to VR scored comfort 7/10 and noted that motion-heavy sequences may bother sensitive players.

Who it suits

It suits new PS VR2 owners who want a showcase for the headset's display, eye tracking and controllers, and Horizon fans who want to stand next to the series' machines. Players who enjoy calm exploration and scenic climbing will get the most from it. Anyone hoping for an open-world Horizon game with free-roaming combat will be disappointed, since the design is linear. Players prone to motion sickness have a good set of comfort settings, but should take breaks during long climbing stretches.

How it compares

Next to Half-Life: Alyx, it matches much of that game's visual detail but has far less physics interaction and puzzle variety. Next to Asgard's Wrath 2 on Quest, it is shorter and much more linear, but far more polished visually. Among PS VR2 exclusives, it remains one of the clearest showcases of the hardware alongside Gran Turismo 7's VR mode.

Critical opinion split along one line. UploadVR, Road to VR (8.5/10) and MIXED treated it as a landmark launch title. IGN and GameSpot, per Wikipedia, both gave it 7/10, and Game Informer 6.75/10, mainly because of repetitive climbing and linearity. Wikipedia lists a Metacritic score of 79. The broad agreement is that it is one of the best-looking games in VR, while its gameplay is solid rather than exceptional.

Sources

• PlayStation: Horizon Call of the Mountain official page
• UploadVR: Horizon Call of the Mountain Review: A Stunning Showcase For PSVR 2
• Road to VR: Horizon Call of the Mountain Review - A Visual Feast That Takes VR Climbing to New Heights
• MIXED: Horizon Call of the Mountain review: Simply amazing!
• Game Informer: Horizon Call of the Mountain review, A Mountain Too High
• IGN: Horizon Call of the Mountain Review
• GameSpot: Horizon Call of the Mountain Review
• Wikipedia: Horizon Call of the Mountain (reception and awards)