Virtual reality gaming is often said to be lacking big games that can draw in the general public, with even the likes of Half-Life: Alyx struggling to really boost the number of headsets being sold. Sanzaru Games seems to have taken this to heart, however, dropping the fourth highest-rated game of 2023 in the last half of December.
Asgard’s Wrath 2 is, unsurprisingly, the sequel to the 2019 Asgard’s Wrath which scored itself a very respectable 88 on review aggregator Opencritic. Asgard’s Wrath 2 blows that out of the water though, currently rocking a stunning score of 93 on Opencritic which makes it the fourth-best game behind The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur’s Gate 3 and Metroid Prime Remastered.
There is a caveat though: Asgard’s Wrath 2 only has 8 reviews attributed to it thus far whereas Zelda and Baldur’s Gate 3 have 140+ each. As more reviews come in, the overall score could change by quite a bit.
Over on Metacritic, Asgard’s Wrath 2 is holding down a score of 94, probably owing to Metacritic assigning different “weights” to specific outlets, such as IGN. That makes Asgard’s Wrath 2 the four-highest-rated game on Metacritic as well.
Speaking of which, it managed to scoop a 10 out of 10 from Travis Northup of IGN who delivered this verdict: “Asgard’s Wrath 2 is the full-fledged VR open-world RPG I’ve always wanted to play, and for that matter it’s one of the best RPGs in any perspective I’ve played in years. With four unique characters and stories, fantastic and satisfying combat, intricate and rewarding RPG systems, a great story, and an entire roguelite dungeon-crawling mode thrown in just to show off, this masterpiece completely nails almost everything it tries – much of which has never been pulled off in VR. The Meta Quest 3’s killer app has arrived, and even after more than 90 hours throwing squids at gloriously shredded lizards and whipping across gaps, I’m still eager to jump back in.”
Meanwhile, Matt Gardner of Forbes gave it the highest praise I could imagine when he said: “Asgard’s Wrath 2 is on a completely new level–a game that doesn’t just hit the same heights as Half-Life: Alyx, but one that finally replaces it as the gold standard in VR gaming.”
Better than Half-Life: Alyx? Those are some fighting words, Matt.
The closest the game has come to a negative review so far, though it’s still very positive overall, is from UploadVR, a website dedicated to covering virtual reality in ways that IGN and Forbes are not. Harry Baker penned their in-progress review of the game, stating that: “Asgard’s Wrath 2 offers Quest players more than ever, on an uncharted scale. There are some incredible moments of bespoke gameplay, expert cinematic direction and animation, and awe-inspiring sequences of truly god-like proportions. However, the game also curtails to conventions that don’t always serve the medium it’s designed for, with pockets of epic gameplay wrapped around a flatscreen-derivative structure.”
It’s important to note that Harry Baker hasn’t published the full review yet.
How about GameRant? Anthony Taormina penned their review and game Asgard’s Wrath 2 a pretty impressive 4.5 out of 5. Here’s what GameRant said about it: “Asgard’s Wrath 2 is without a doubt one of the best VR games and a surefire system seller for Quest 3. It presents an engaging character action experience that leverages the power of Meta’s new VR headset and tech to ensure fast and fluid combat, a rich set of environments, and a scope that is consistently jaw-dropping.”
Only one question remains, then: can Asgard’s Wrath 2 find financial success, too? VR gaming still doesn’t have a massive audience which makes large-scale projects a risky proposition. Hopefully, enough people will buy Asgard’s Wrath 2 so that the developers can continue making quality games that help bring people into the virtual reality.