Nodachi VR

Nodachi VR is an action game from Sir Fansi (Kampai Raptor), a developer who says he releases a new VR game every week. In this one you hold a sword and fend off an undead invasion. It is distributed through SideQuest, where it was first listed in August 2021.

How it plays

The setup is short and simple. You are the last person left to protect a holy cherry tree, and under no circumstances can the tree fall. An army of undead advances on it, and you cut them down with your blade. The pace rises the longer you last, so each run turns into a test of how many enemies you can defeat before you are overwhelmed or decide to stop.

There is no story campaign or progression system described in the listing. It is a score-chasing piece built around one idea: close-range sword combat that steadily speeds up. The tags list adventure, combat and horror, the last reflecting the undead theme. Like the rest of the developer's weekly releases, it is a compact experiment rather than a full-length game, which also makes it a quick and free thing to try.

Comfort

SideQuest rates Nodachi VR as moderate in comfort. Fast sword swings at a rising tempo can be tiring, so give yourself room to swing and take breaks; our guide to motion sickness in VR covers the basics.

How to get it and what to know

• Price: free.
• Installed from SideQuest by sideloading; see our guide to sideloading on Meta Quest.
• Also available on itch.io.
• Supported headsets: Meta Quest headsets such as the Quest 3 and Quest 3S, plus Varjo headsets.
• Scope: a small, single-idea game from a weekly release series, so expect a short experience.
• SideQuest has only a handful of user ratings for it so far, and more than 14,000 downloads.