Asgard’s Wrath 2 review

The potential for virtual reality feels wholly untapped by the majority of the industry, waiting for that one game that offers an immersive AAA open world that allows you to exist within it just like you would Skyrim or The Witcher. We’ve seen some developers try it, but as much as it is about delivering the world and the story, the gameplay needs to be good to keep you going back – to keep you playing. Asgard’s Wrath 2 delivers on everything it has been promising, and despite it not being an established franchise just yet, I was more than happy to spend hours exploring everything it had to offer.

The stakes in Asgard’s Wrath 2 are pretty high. After all, you’re a Cosmic Guardian who has the fate of all existence resting on your shoulders. You must travel across the realms to find the trickster Loki and stop him from causing chaos. I never played the first title in the series, but a cool recap plays out via a cutscene where you travel on the shoulders of an eagle and watch the events leading up to your current journey. The scale is huge, and right from the start you get the impression this is going to be something special. After meeting up with the Weavers, you start to understand just where your adventure will take you.

When it comes to the gameplay of Asgard’s Wrath 2, you’ll possess a variety of key figures that all have specific traits and abilities, with weapons that all play an important role in both combat and traversal. The first mortal you meet is a man called Abraxas, who is great when fighting enemies in melee. For fans of Kratos’ axe in God of War, you’ll be able to freely launch Abraxas’ axe at enemies, switches, and obstacles, then recall it by pulling it back from a distance by yanking your hand back. It can also be frozen in mid-air and pulled from side-to-side.

He also uses a sword that will eventually be able to turn into a whip, which is a fantastic mechanic that can be switched from the whip to a steady blade with the touch of a button. Fighting warriors or creatures is exhilarating, but blocking and parrying is just as important as landing a killer blow. One thing players might be curious about is whether it can be played sitting down. While it absolutely can, you’re going to get so much more out of it on your feet. It’s important to move into the right position in order to both attack and protect yourself, and it isn’t always easy when you’re on the sofa.

Along the way, you’ll unlock new heroes that have some interesting weapons that change combat in fun and exciting ways. Cyrene has a harp that needs to be strummed for ranged attacks, as well as using a Jellyfish for electrical attacks, while Alvilda has a bow with blades on it that can be used at a distance or up-close. These different characters are all varied in how they control, but it’s always fun experimenting with attack patterns to get the most out of their skill set. Whatever your options for damaging enemies are, you’ll need to be smart, wait for the right opportunity, then act accordingly. There’s also a skill tree where you can unlock some impressive special moves, and weapons can also be imbued with buffs to increase their efficiency.

Playing in virtual reality can be tiring when fighting for some time, but it makes that feeling of immersion so much stronger. Asgard’s Wrath 2 is such a big game, and every battle feels different. Some enemies are harder to kill than others, but they can have weak points you can take advantage of. While combat is exciting and varied, getting around the world is another fun aspect to the gameplay. You’ll climb up rocks, run across walls, and travel across expansive locations on the back of your mount. I never got tired of hopping on the back of my panther and rushing across the desert, and it’s so smooth and just downright cool.

Some of Asgard’s Wrath 2’s trickier moments come in the form of puzzles, specially when you enter God mode. This turns you into a huge version of yourself and has you cast an eye down upon the area from up high to try and solve whatever obstacles face you. From a visual standpoint, it highlights the scale of the world, and always impressed me with the detail in Sanzaru’s level design. While environments might not be as dense as other AAA titles filled with NPCs, there’s still a lot to admire in the Egyptian architecture and its natural settings, whether in the deserts, dungeons, or temples, and when you get to see the fiery realm of Muspelheim, it’s quite something.

There’s a lot to do in Asgard’s Wrath 2, such as crafting and cooking, fishing, completing requests at the Hideout (your temporary home), and more. You’re never stuck for something to do, and it’s a testament to the care its developers have put into making it such an impressive title. Depending on how sensitive you are to VR, be it in the motions or simply how long you can cope with the headset on before it gets a little too much, saving is frequent, allowing you to jump in and out as little or often as you want. I have a high tolerance for staying in VR for some time, but even I had to tag out every few hours or so.

Another cool part of Asgard’s Wrath 2 are the Uncharted Rifts. These act as dungeons where you progress through to earn plenty of rewards. They can be pretty challenging the further you go, starting off against standard enemies like scorpions and soldiers, to big bosses that all have particular attack patterns and methods to defeat them. You can summon allies or leave your soul behind to attack other player’s in their dungeons, and by collecting corrupted ether and rift beads, you can unlock various things to help you succeed while inside and out of the dungeon.

I was always impressed by the visuals on Meta Quest 3, and it feels like a step in the right direction for the new headset. There’s plenty of detail in its worlds and characters. The various environments you find yourself in are beautifully detailed, and the scale and distance you can see in every one always left me excited to journey forth. Some of the areas can seem a little barren or lifeless, but due to the amount of traversal and combat, those spaces are often filled with you being active. It’s also worth mentioning the sound design is pretty decent, especially the voice acting, although some lines while exploring were repeated quite a bit.

Asgard’s Wrath 2 is a huge game that rarely feels like it’s wasting your time. Combat is always exciting and at times tiring, but you’re never forced to keep going, with constant autosaves happening and the ability to save and quit at any time. Travelling on your various mounts is one of my favourite things to do, but even inside temples or dungeons, climbing up walls or swinging from place to place was also fun to do. With various quests outside the story, puzzles to get stuck into, and a story that kept me entertained, it’s one of the best VR titles I’ve ever played.