Horizon Call of the Mountain PS VR2 Gameplay Review - FEAST HORIZON THIS!

PS VR2 owners the world over will soon be able to step into the world of Horizon and it has never looked better! In this spoiler-free Horizon Call of the Mountain PS VR2 Gameplay Review, Ian Higton discusses the highs and the lows of Horizon Call of the Mountain gameplay alongside how the brand new PS VR2 headset and Sense Controllers elevate the experience. If you're a fan of VR, Horizon or both, this review is for you!
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[@pierce1616]

I will never understand why people consider this headset expensive. In comparison to so many other tech products (iPhone, Quest Pro, Macbook, etc) I think the pricing is reasonable considering everything it offers.

[@SkemeKOS]

100% I mean, yeah its a lot of money but what do people expect?? You get what you pay for. I'd much rather have a high quality product(that is actually a lot cheaper than usual compared to similar spec headsets) over a cheap £250 headset with crappy specs

[@Hollobaby1231]

i feel like cuz they don’t know about it really, it wasn’t until i actually purchased a quest 2 headset that i was like ok this is fire and a lot of fun and ultimately ended up pre ordering this headset for release

[@dragoonseye76]

I think meta started a smear campaign against psvr2 as well

[@devonmarr9872]

Also the theater mode let's you play games on a 100" 4k OLED 120hz screen.

[@AndyHTu]

It's not that it's not worth the price tag. Iif you look at the general audience it doesn't matter what's in there it's just that price. This applies to everything. It's only about if a product is worth it to spend that much on or not. For many I don't think it will be

[@SkemeKOS]

Exactly what I was expecting really. An impressive 'spectacle'/tech demo to show off what PSVR2 can do. I still feel like I'm gonna enjoy this a lot more than you though

[@antwango]

yeah im thinking that Sony is intentionally wanting to sell this to everybody to get people in on it and feeling like a bad ass

[@artofgarduno]

this is not a tech demo

[@andrer4508]

VR is about immersion. i take climbing a mountain any day than standing still and shooting.

[@priscilabee583]

'I dont know what a shadow carja is' Dude, are you serious? thats basic horizon zero dawn information.

[@iNoScopedMLK]

The critique on the climbing seems to be the consensus. Hopefully they''ll add some combat focused challenged modes to scratch the combat itch.

[@GizmoMaltese]

I'm not a big fan of climbing for long periods in VR. I remember in Boneworks there was this section where you had to climb up this long long ladder. My shoulders hurt. I got almost to the top then I fell. Then I tried again and fell again. That was it. I was done for the day. I was so f-in angry lol.

[@jaylenadegoke]

PCVR snobs are excited to hear that Horizon isn’t better than Half Life Alyx, the only game they seem to be holding unto since they haven’t gotten anything else in nearly 3 years

[@sluxi]

As a VR snob that mostly plays PCVR but is interested in adding a PSVR 2 to my headset collection I am disappointed in hearing that it is more "The Climb" than Alyx. I wish for VR games that could be great even if a flat version was made. I think Alyx achieves that but also uses VR to achieve something that you could not get in a flat game. For Horizon it unfortunately sounds like VR is almost a crutch that is the only reason to consider it good.

[@avoimestiautisti1583]

PCVR has been completely stagnant for years now. It's great there is finally something to finally challenge the Quest.

[@Lylamariam]

Developing a proper VR game is expensive as hell.

[@Elgsdyr]

My general impression is that most PCVR users are excited for PSVR2 and what it could mean for the general VR market - even if they may have no intention of getting it themselves. So I think using a word like "snobs" is quite a bit off the mark.

[@decadent.]

@@avoimestiautisti1583 In terms of official games. there is not a lot of genuine quality ones. But, PCVR has mods / injectors etc that allow almost ANY game to be played in VR. Personally, I am far more interested in the quality of the game than whether it makes full use of motion controls. I look at VR as a more immersive way to play games in general , the logical extension of a monitor.

[@74Spyderman]

The climbing was what I was looking forward to the most. So I’m good.

[@Atlink]

I guess my idea of climbing a mountain in VR and having sore arms is kind of the immersion I was hoping for. Like, I don't want to feel like I'm NOT climbing a mountain in any capacity...

[@luiscnchl]

That’s what I was thinking. I loved psvr games that left me out of breath literally too!

[@notBrocker]

Exactly plus it’s really good for your body

[@BigFrogg]

Sounds more like a great tease of what’s possible and hopefully coming soon in terms of first party games. I really hope though that in later games they at least give the option to remove the hand holding for more experienced VR players

[@Elgsdyr]

Thank you for your honest and balanced review that has confirmed my suspicions. This comes across more like a showcase demo rather than an actual game. Even being a big fan of HZD (haven't played HFW yet) and having been onboard with PCVR since the early days, I'm most likely going to skip this unless I can get it on a massive sale at some point.

[@KillahMate]

Well you won't need to really, it's only playable on a PSVR2 and if you ever buy a PSVR2 it comes bundled in. You shouldn't ever be in a situation where you'd need to buy it.

[@Elgsdyr]

@@KillahMate There's a cheaper "non-bundle" option too.

[@KillahMate]

@@Elgsdyr Ah, fair enough.

[@fifty2eighty248]

All they need to do is port regular games to vr like gt7 with dual sense support and they win

[@hollywoodguy70]

Doesn't work that way. There's a reason devs have spent nearly a decade working out how to design VR games.

[@alexatkin]

Not all games are really suitable as different people are more susceptible to sickness than others. I never got round to playing Skyrim VR either (despite owning it) as I have issues with headsets fogging up and become fatigue quickly, so games designed specifically for VR are more suitable for me. I do intend to give GT7 a go though, despite not really being into the GT games, as racing games are by far the most suitable. Trouble is, you need a wheel for it to be fully immersive.

[@fifty2eighty248]

@@hollywoodguy70 games like dying light can be ported and should be

[@fifty2eighty248]

I think any first person game could be ported, depends on how much they want to spend but if no man’s sky can then any first person can

[@lasttrueviking3687]

Why would you use a VR headset on GT7 and play it with a controller? 😂😂 wasted on you fella.

[@Aloyhero]

The Shadow Carja are the main human villains in the first game lead by a dumbass leader of the eclipse who got Rost killed.

[@LacroixboiMarx]

As a bundled game it seems fun enough. I probably wouldn’t buy it alone, even as a HZD fan. I’m getting PSVR2 this Xmas if it doesn’t randomly have some surprise sale/I don’t win a scratch-off between now and then. 😂

[@futurafreeze]

this review and gameplay were both informative and hilarious, thank you

[@notoriousbmc1]

That video opener makes this game a 10/10😂

[@swavezmartin]

I received an email last night my order has been shipped estimated delivery wed feb 22 come on psvr 2

[@GizmoMaltese]

Why don't they just give people the full Horizons open world game? I hate when they make a VR version that is a stripped down version of the actual game. That's why I love Skyrim VR. It's all of Skyrim not some mini-Skyrim game. This looks like fun but I really wish it was the full Horizons game in VR the way Skyrim is.

[@griffgames9538]

Skyrim was ancient from a technical perspective and easier to power in VR. The full Horizon games would require quite a bit more computational muscle to 100% convert (intact) to a VR experience.

[@TheRandomGuyTheFarNoGameCat]

I'm sorry the lore of Horizon doesn't grip you. I adore the characters in that universe. So really all your review has done, for me, has made it a must buy. 😅 Cheers Ian, you mad lad.

[@masterpanos100]

Is it just me or motion sickness seems somewhat of a problem? I guess it comes down to eventually getting used to it

[@nightcatarts]

Some people don't experience any, some experience terrible motion sickness, & if you experience it IRL that doesn't seem to equate to whether or not you'll experience it in VR. As long as you start with lots of short sessions in games where you're primarily seated then you can build up a tolerance over time, & high, stable framerates are vitally important too (which is far less of a concern with this than PC VR).

[@trailblazer8380]

When I first played I got slight headaches, the more I played, the less it got. Now it doesn't effect me. A boat game would pair nicely with the motion sickness effect 😂

[@Dookie563]

If you look close you can see where the foviated rendering works

[@langdon7x]

Two videos in one day! Eurogamer, you spoil us.

[@theswissmiss69]

This seems like the perfect game for me!

[@arzibx]

Luckly I changed my PSVR2 pre-order from the bundle version to the single version the last week... Even when Horizon CotM looks amazing, it doesn't seems like the AAA kind of game I would spend full price for, but just a very prety linear on rails experience. However, I've bought REVIII and GT7 already and I'm very excited for open world games like No Man's Sky (wich I've played for more than 400hours on PSVR1) :)

[@thenet3d]

Ha ING played horizon now, imo you made the right choice. I played about 2 hours of it today hoping there was more to it but its dull. The climbing dominates most of the activity in this game and it gets boring real fast. Climbing by hand and later using pickaxes is just not interesting. Everything about this game is dull except the graphics, I finally gave up after being confronted with yet another mountain to climb after spending 2 hours of climbing and 2 battles which even that is not that exciting. I have given it a go and can't even sell the game on as apart from the box design, you get a redemption code which allows you to download a digital copy of cotm. If I am being honest, I am a bit disappointed with the psvr2 games so far. Lucky for me I had pistol whip on the psvr1 so just installed the psvr2 version from the playstation store which was a free update. I do feel like I might return the psvr2, I only bought a PS5 for that reason. I have a feeling that when the quest 3 lands, Sony is going to be in trouble as the top games do not depend on the most powerful hardware. Pistol whip is my favourite game so far which after investing almost a grand on this and PS5 it's the simpler less processor intensive game that I am enjoying the most. I also have resident evil village. Graphically it's brilliant but I think it's a case of you have to enjoy that style of game to appreciate how good it is.

[@Joeybatz33]

I bet they can add more options for combat and hopefully dlc more suited for veteran vr players

[@jakkudemoff3043]

It's exactly everything I feared it would be based on the trailers..

[@nightcatarts]

Can't say I'm surprised by any of this. It was always going to be a tech showcase "experience" sort of thing, especially given that it's being bundled with the headset. Well okay, there is more climbing than expected. Maybe they'll patch a free move setting in later on (and increase the movement speed) to make the combat a bit more freeform.

[@RidireOiche]

Can you enthusiastically -jump- check for fall damage off the top of the mountain... for science I used to check for fall damage all the time whenever aloy ran out my patience

[@trailblazer8380]

So you ride a hover board during combat???

[@Sakkat_Gaming]

combat seems pretty meh. I wanted more weapons and explosions. nevermind, I saw Gamertag play it and there's definitely a lot of explosions.

[@Wokevaccine]

Hmm. It should be called "The Climb - Horizon add on". Nothing wrong with that. I love The Climb.

[@katfromthekong414]

Oh this looks amazing (even though Ian seems to have more fun flipping people off lol)! Loved the series and its beautiful landscapes and world building! Considering the DLC will only come out on the PS5 it seems it's finally time I get one... 🤔

[@PoMpI_]

Hey brother my psvr2 is not immersiver anymore after i played this demo.. meaning when is see through vr im not seeing full screen i have like a helmet tunnel and now it's on all of my games :(

[@tzey1]

me wondering why the game character is flipping off the dino, then I realise its Ian and it all makes sense

[@mooferoo]

Ian might have been bored, but Ian being bored usually results in the best funnies.

[@WaynerTheGamer]

So its Secretly a EXERCISING game 😆 what in the World?

[@alexatkin]

Yeah it seems a bit expensive for a climbing game, think I will just get Kayak VR: Mirage at launch.

[@PeterMarvellous3]

Naughty Ian and his fingers.

[@ezemirl]

Nice review👍

[@gogreengameon2146]

How did you find the smooth turning option? Some have said it caused discomfort, having a "ghosting" (Virtual Reality Oasis) and "double-image" (Digital Foundry) effect.

[@MsUltraBob]

Looks nice but I’m much more excited for Resident Evil Village and GT7. Also does anyone knows if No man sky will be playable with the Psvr2 on launch ?

[@nightcatarts]

Ian did a video on games that had been announced for launch at the time & NMS was in there: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bKPSeZ2AgaZ4grM and there's also a separate vid with launch titles for beginners to VR.

[@MsUltraBob]

@@nightcatarts Nice i wasn’t sure because I heard some rumours that it was delayed but I never found a confirmation for that. I would love to try it out on release date.

[@nightcatarts]

@@MsUltraBob It may have been delayed since that vid, you just never know these days. If it is, I doubt it'd be a very long delay though since the conversion has already been done & they just need to update it for the new tracking and things like foveated rendering (which is probably where a delay would come in).

[@MsUltraBob]

@@nightcatarts true could be possible.

[@inFamous_BigT]

@@MsUltraBob I heard it got pushed back, but still launch window of the first month.

[@justinthematrix]

So it’s shoulder workout: the game?

[@Pointman11111]

5:05 Can you look at her in detail? Respectfully of course...

[@darrenc80]

£60 for a climbing game. Will wait until it's in the bargain bucket.

[@avenpace]

I believe that this game will be epic.

[@purplesharpness32]

The future!

[@nigelgregory7090]

I’ll be waiting before playing this , as good as it looks it’s a showcase game , nothing more

[@johnmc3862]

Okay Sony, Time for Bladerunner.

[@edwinwelch1946]

How is the motion sickness. I can't play VR due to feeling very ill

[@nightcatarts]

What did you try it on in the past? This one's likely to be easier on anyone because the framerate & frame pacing should be solid across the board, whereas they can vary a lot on PC & mobile stuff like the Quest is kinda shit when it comes to both.

[@edwinwelch1946]

@@nightcatarts I've only played the quest 2 and used it on PC for half life alyx and boy oh boy everytime I played I wanted to vomit. I was sick for hours after playing

[@nightcatarts]

@@edwinwelch1946 May be a combination of framerate & just a lack of practice. Alyx is quite a full on game, whereas things like Beat Saber are better for building up a resistance to the nausea. Playing in short stints often seems to be the way to do it, rather than trying to force yourself to keep playing when you begin to feel unwell. Then, gradually, you can play for longer periods at a time.

[@edwinwelch1946]

@@nightcatarts never got sick with beat saber at all. Only with games that has a lot of moving around and looking around

[@nightcatarts]

@@edwinwelch1946 Yea that's the stuff you have to build up to gradually if you want to play them the same way as flat games. Most VR games now have a lot of configurable options like blink turn, vignetting, teleport that can all help make them playable without triggering nausea. The looking around problem sounds more related to a dodgy framerate though, & playing a different game or turning down the quality is all that'll help with that (unless the headset itself simply doesn't refresh fast enough).

[@moogiesboy]

Ian, Ian, Ian Ian. Love Ian.

[@robozot]

great review. Shame that it’s a showcase and not a real game apparently - I was hoping for dinosaur action, not bad HZD dialogue and climbing. Loved your graffiti though!!

[@loopywatwat]

"Feast Horizon This" 🤣🤣🤣

[@alexhvr5365]

Can´t wait 😍

[@mareo187]

Aloy meets in Ryas in the game which been confirmed by ign, but I do hope their temporary introduction become something more in the near future in a mainline game, possibly a romantic one.

[@Aloyhero]

Aloy is a clone of gay woman so no thanks! plus there are no romance options in both games i dont want it shoe horned in the third game.

[@thomass.1154]

Hype, great Hardware

[@thelastbrickbender2139]

“I don’t care about the lore of the world, therefore the story sucks”

[@newogame1]

Unforgetable? Lol

[@DefinitiveMedia22]

BEST review so far, The only true honest review lol

[@hatdownlowofficial]

I called it a linear boring showcase - all of the reviews of saying 70% of the game is climbing 😂😂😂

[@zaydolla1]

Vr was pooping during lock-in idk about now it’s a great gadget but right now it’s time to squeeze the pockets

[@SkemeKOS]

That doesnt make any sense.

[@74Spyderman]

@@SkemeKOS I think he meant “popping” not “Pooping” which are two totally different things. Lol

[@chan13153]

So basically this is first gen VR tech demo with modern graphics. Wasn’t this supposed to be their half life alyx and Asgard’s wrath. SMH

[@chan13153]

@@adrenalinejunkie3828 So many youtubers were hyping this game up to be the next BIG AAA VR experience. This was supposed to be the rebirth of AAA VR games and Sony was gonna lead the charge. Graphics def look like a big AAA game but the gameplay looks like a mixture of the climb with first Gen VR combat from 2017. I didn't expect this to be as good as Half Life Alyx and Asgards Wrath but was expecting something in the same tier as Boneworks, Saints and Sinners. If this was the case I would had been more than happy and would had dropped $600 easily. Instead this is something that is in the same tier as DoomVFR when it was first released. Pretty graphics ruined by crappy gameplay. Such a big disappointment.

[@emiliotobar293]

Es la basura más grande que a echo ps5

[@eliastico]

Thanks for spoiling Aloy’s presence 😐

[@allensnyder4641]

The fact of Aloy’s presence in the game has been known from PlayStation’s marketing for some time now.

[@jseigle_]

It was confirmed a while ago

[@touchingevil2302]

No Thanks! I want Killzone VR then i buy psvr2

[@benyoung5410]

✌️✌️

[@mclarenrob2]

I hope future Horizon games go in a different direction with the story. It's awful.

[@thebubba1]

I ordered the bundle and now i feel like i wasted my money on this game....this sounds like a lame tech demo

[@didibus]

I was smart enough not to order the bundle haha, trailer always made me feel it was going to be like this. I got RE8 and GT7 instead.

[@joelface]

Don't worry. You'll like it. An 8 hour game isn't a tech demo. I've played tons of great games with that playtime.

[@Qwerty1987Ytrewq]

I am glad I bought the bundle. Its cheaper than buying the Game separately. Maybe i like it more than i expect right now. Visually it should bei stunning anyways..

[@opiumpoetry72]

First 👊

[@dthomas4566]

Always honest, thanks Ian

[@martinalvarez3526]

9:36 XD

[@xxxxxx4288]

this game is a joke

[@merissaj4518]

I have been waiting for this video! Thanks, Ian!

[@EJD339]

Idk. Maybe it’s just me but I always thought the Horizon stories have always been was pretty mediocre. Still a fun game.

[@TheOnlyJohnAbraham]

Only 7 hours for a full priced game is a pretty hard sell for me. Even Half Life Alyx took me over 10 hours to complete and that was bundled with the Index. I can't help but feel that Sony dropped the ball by not making this a more fleshed out experience.

[@thesherlockhokage3046]

The game takes from 7 to 12 hours. That is a good length. Sony seems to be in full support for PSVR2

[@moncimoov]

depending how u play, HLALYX actually took me 20 hours to complete.. HLALYX have lots of interaction, u will stop often and play with many objects.. lookong stuff that took lot of time and addictive.. i suspect this game will do the same.. i can imagine myself stop moving in this game for a whole few minutes just to look around... or touching bushes and trees...

[@Adam_U]

@@thesherlockhokage3046 "Full support" lol they don't even have an Astro Bot game and the only new VR game they've funded is CoTM

[@thesherlockhokage3046]

@@Adam_U RE8,RE4 exclusives to PSVR2. GT7, Firewall Ultra, Horizon, Switchblade. These are all launch exclusives. Other than more than 30 launch games. How many games do you want?

[@Adam_U]

@@thesherlockhokage3046 Half of those are just existing games with VR support added afterwards and the others are hardly big games. VR needs to be more than low-mid-budget indies if it's ever going to take off. You can argue about it if you want but literally every single gamer I've ever spoken to about PSVR2 (or ANY VR headset) has said the same thing, "if it had more games I'd buy it" Call of the Mountain was a good move but Sony should have had WAY more games of this caliber developed specifically for PSVR2. They have so many talented studios that could have put out amazing games. Another Astro Bot should have been bare minimum, I'm genuinely baffled it's not there

[@StuffNotKnown]

Ian plays games exactly how i would (and all games should). Don't give me finger controls if you don't expect the V's to everyone and everything

[@Poesghost]

I don't like that the combat is on rails. Probably a deal breaker for me. Sad.

[@Poesghost]

@@adrenalinejunkie3828 I can understand that. Would have been nice to been given the option to choose. I’ll still get the PSVR2 at launch.

[@TheKennyboy92]

Putting up the two fingers every few minutes was hilarious!

[@timothywhite7431]

Him not knowing what a shadow carja is made this golden 😂

[@GamingMyWholeLife]

VR footage really makes you dizzy as they look around all the time 😯

[@steviecava]

Can’t wait.🎉

[@JustAnotherGamer1005]

Is this taken from the 'social screen' output? Because you can see the foveated rendering working. I was hoping they would be able to turn that off somehow for the social screen, as it can be very disctracting (even giving me a bit of naussea, that's why I noticed). I can pinpoint exactly where you are looking at, with that bit where you are in a conversation with multiple people.

[@Oldskoola]

How should that be possible when it’s a performance enhancing feature?

[@JustAnotherGamer1005]

@@Oldskoola I'm confused at what part you are actually questioning at.

[@nightcatarts]

@@JustAnotherGamer1005 The social screen output is just mirrored. If you disabled foveated rendering, or locked the position of it, it'd mean the screen wasn't mirrored anymore. If it wasn't mirrored, the PS5 would need to render out everything all over again, which would tank performance.

[@JustAnotherGamer1005]

@@nightcatarts Exactly. Hence why asked the question. Theym solution of foveated rendering has a positive impact in VR itself, but the output of the social screen "takes a hit" (depending on how strong it's going to be blurred). Well, atleast those looking at the social screen, are going to notice where you are exactly looking at.

[@nightcatarts]

@@JustAnotherGamer1005 Going by the Horizon game & how good that manages to appear almost regardless of where on the output you look, I think it'll be fine. Might be strange sometimes if the player has a tendency to look at unusual things instead of what the devs set up as the intended focal point at any given moment though.

[@Flaggyt]

Brilliant title. :)

[@Deadmare]

fact it has floating hands is enough for me not to get it Ill get re8 instead

[@eurogamer]

That also has floating hands

[@Deadmare]

@@eurogamer not any more seems you missed the new trailer. They got rid of floating hands ,you now have full body and arms in re8 psvr2. Go check out psvr2 re8 new trailer It looks awesome

[@corey_massey]

Tell me that you are out of shape without telling me you are out of shape..... Reviewer: i played the game entirely in a seated position and had to reach above my head so much that I thought my arms were going to fall off...... Me: What?!?!? How?!?!?!?

[@nightcatarts]

Clearly, Ian's arm muscles weigh a lot more than yours.

[@corey_massey]

@@nightcatarts In your mind you thought this was a clever reply but when was the last time you heard of anyone with massive arm muscles complaining about how hard it was to lift thier arms when they would have to lift heavier weights than your just thier arms to get massive arm muscles in the first place. Now you just look foolish for trying to make that joke, which made no sense!

[@nightcatarts]

@@corey_massey ..