A single-player sci-fi shooter made largely by one developer: fight robots, aliens and 10 bosses across 18 chapters of a strange, branching story inspired by Half-Life.
Vertigo 2 is a single-player sci-fi shooter and adventure from Zulubo Productions, the studio of developer Zach Tsiakalis-Brown, who made most of it alone over about six years. It launched on SteamVR on March 30, 2023, and came to the PlayStation Store for PS VR2 on January 15, 2024, in a port published by Perp Games. There is no standalone Quest version; the developer has said he prefers to keep the game on PC VR rather than scale it down.
Story
A sequel to the 2016 game Vertigo, it takes place in Quantum Reactor VII, where alien plants and creatures from other universes are leaking in and android security forces patrol the halls. The story is strange and often funny, clearly inspired by Half-Life, and it branches, so a second playthrough can lead to different weapons, enemies and bosses.
How it plays
The campaign runs about 10 hours over 18 chapters, with 10 boss fights. You can carry 14 weapons, each with its own hand-operated reload, and upgrade them at stations hidden in the levels. Combat is mixed with environmental puzzles and very varied locations. The cast is fully voiced and the game has an original soundtrack. It was named UploadVR's VR Game of the Year and Road to VR's PC VR Game of the Year for 2023. The Into the Aether story expansion came to Steam on April 25, 2025, for $9.99; it is not available on PS VR2.
Comfort
Smooth movement and teleport are both supported and can be combined, with snap turning, a seated mode, artificial crouch, height adjustment and movement blinders. Some sections move you automatically or involve sideways movement, which can bother players who are sensitive to motion. It can be played seated, standing or in room scale.
What to know before buying
- It costs $29.99 on Steam and the PlayStation Store. Steam also offers a free demo.
- On PC it works with SteamVR headsets, including standalone headsets connected to a PC. On PlayStation it needs PS VR2 and Sense controllers.
- It is single-player and uses motion controllers. It is rated PEGI 16 for strong language and strong violence, and ESRB Mature.
- Voice acting is in English. Steam lists text in 10 languages, including French, German, Spanish, Japanese and Simplified Chinese; the PS VR2 version has English, French, German and Spanish text.
- Steam user reviews are Overwhelmingly Positive.
